If you want to know how far technology has gone, then this guide will surely take you by surprise. Hasbro has made sure that with each new product they invent, they add something in it that was lacking in the previous models.
Nerf Laser Ops Pro is one such example. Introducing this model into Nerf guns is like reviving the concept of smartphone laser tag from scratch. I have not been a huge fan of laser tag blasters with smartphones, but this Nerf laser blaster is surprisingly really good and one surely has a great time with this one.
In the following review, I will be explaining this product in detail and explain how each of its features is a great deal to play with. I shall also be sharing my own experience with this model and how much fun I had in the arena with this.
Table of Contents
History of Nerf Laser Ops Pro:
Nerf mainly gains its popularity from its blasters that shoot foam darts and balls. Nerf Laser Ops Pro, a new addition to the already great collection was introduced in 2018 and has proved to be a really good addition. This product is also the successor of Lazer Tag – another laser tag series by Nerf.
Back in 2008, Nerf released a blaster called Phoenix LTX Tagger and so far it has proved to be one of the most popular blasters in this series. The best and also most surprising thing about this blaster is that although it is not available in the toy stores anymore, as Hasbro discontinued its production after a few years, you can still order it via Amazon and it will be at your doorstep within a few days.
This information only shows how popular Phoenix LTX Tagger is and has been among the public that despite not wanting to, the producers have not halted its production. I also wrote a detailed review about that blaster and how brilliant it is, but it does not mean in any way that Nerf Laser Ops Pro is any less in quality or performance.
Smartphone Laser Tag Background:
Combining smartphones and laser tag, whereas, is a very genius idea indeed but it also has come out to be a complex and difficult combination. Smartphones, as we can see from history, are devices that evolve continuously and there is no stopping their progress.
The prime example of how swift changes in the smartphone world takes place is the iPhone no matter how advanced and brilliant the new model is, it is replaced by an even more advanced one within one year, and that is not too long a time.
And then there are plenty of brands and a great number of smartphone models all competing and changing – it gets so difficult to get a hold of them. In the case of smartphone laser tag guns, the app that runs on smartphones and controls the laser tag gun has to continuously evolve just as the phone models do.
If the apps fail to keep pace with the phone’s evolution speed, these applications become incompatible and outdated and cannot keep pace with the competitive market.
Now let us talk about what kind of experience it is to play with smartphone laser tag guns. Playing laser tag games with smartphones can be quite risky if you are new to it. One major obstacle is augmented reality which makes it difficult for the players to process the whole setup.
Now imagine you are running around in the park or aimlessly in the streets all the while constantly having your eyes fixed on your smartphone screen. Dangerous, wouldn’t it be?
Another reason why am I not a huge fan of augmented reality or smartphone laser tag games are that I prefer old-school games more. When the tech is not involved and we shoot with a blaster, it is more fun and thrilling. All you have to do is to grab your laser tag gun and start shooting at your opponents in the arena. It is simple and exciting and so easy.
Nerf Laser Ops Pro Details:
The Laser Ops Pro series consists of two types of blasters. These are:
1. The DeltaBurst:
This type of blaster includes sniper rifle-type blasters.
2. The AlphaPoint:
This series includes pistol-style blasters which are of smaller size.
The blasters from both these series are bought separately. However, they can work together as well if you are playing a laser tag battle at home. Moreover, there are plenty of similarities in the blasters of both these series and very minute differences.
I shall be talking about these similarities and differences in the following sections:
The Mobile Application:
You can use the smartphone application both on Android as well as iOS for blasters belonging to both these series which will help you enhance your laser tag battle experience.
The Smartphone Usage:
One most important thing that many people get wrong and I think I need to clarify first is that you do not need a smartphone to play with these smartphone laser tag blasters. Using the mobile app and the smartphone is completely optional. So much so that you can play a complete laser tag battle at home without using your mobile phone.
My personal opinion about this strategy is that it is a very clever and smart business move that also satisfies people like me – those who look for old-school options.
However, if you want to play laser tag Ops pro with your smartphone, you only need to download the app on your phone. This app can be downloaded for free either from Google Play or the App Store of your phone.
If you are thinking about how to handle your smartphone, then you can either attach it to your arm or wrist by using the armband. Or you can simply attach your phone in front of the blaster by using a phone mount.
The game app allows you to play both single-player and multiplayer battles. It is also very intuitive and convenient to set up. In the case of the multiplayer mode, you can distinguish between a single-device and an all-device option.
This means that not all the players in the battle need to have a smartphone. When players use the single-device mode, it means that all the blasters used in the struggle will connect and function in sync with the one smartphone being used due to Bluetooth technology.
However, in the case of all-device mode, all the players on the battlefield must have a smartphone with them and the apps installed on their phones. In simple words, it’s either one player using the phone and the app, or all players using the phone and the apps. There is no middle ground in this scenario.
If you use the all-device mode, each player’s device syncs to one player’s device which is considered the assigned master device. It also means that one player is significantly the host of all players during the game.
The phone app is very simple and easy to use it also tracks the duration of the scores of each player during the game. It also adds immense value to the quality of the game but then again, that’s optional.
AlphaPoint Blaster:
Let’s dive into the details of the AlphaPoint blaster and see how it works.
AlphaPoint blaster is the smaller blaster among the two blasters that are available in the Nerf Laser Ops Pro series. This blaster is semi-automatic in functioning and is in pistol style. The blaster comes with instructions manual in the package, that have all the information regarding the blaster – from assembling it to using it.
A rubber armband is also included in the package as well as a mount attachment that enables you to fix your smartphone on the blaster. The package, however, lacks something extremely important. This blaster operates on four AA alkaline batteries and these batteries are not included in the package.
When the players press the trigger of the blaster, the laser beams come out of the barrel at the front of the blaster. These beams are composed of infrared radiation. It means you cannot see the rays being emitted from the blaster. However, these rays are of low energy and perfectly safe for your eyes and you do not get hurt once you get hit by them.
Above the barrel at the front of the blaster is located the target receiver. The target receiver keeps track of the hits the player receives. One best thing about playing with this blaster are that you do not have to wear the laser tag vest to register the number of hits you or any other player takes.
One important thing I forgot to mention before is that keep in mind that you don’t have to have pro sniper skills to hit the smaller target. I am not going to lay out everything in detail but hitting and scoring targets are super easy and very convenient even for newbie players. My guess from my experience is that the laser guns must emit infrared beams that are very wide, and this is why they can easily hit the target receiver and seldom miss it.
All in all, it is a very easy and straightforward experience to use this blaster. All you have to do is to press the power button that is located at the back of the blaster, and it activates the gun.
Then depending on the color, you want to be associated with, you can select a team for yourself. The colors are green, red, and purple. Purple color denotes more liberty where you can hit anyone you like, play freely and there are no teams.
Red and green colors denote teams and you can only hit the opponents. To hit or tag someone, you only need to press the trigger. You do not have to rely on prime or any other feature to hit the target. There is an indicator at the top of the blaster. It helps you learn how much ammo you are left with.
If you are close to running out of ammo then no need to worry, you can easily reload by using the button located at the bottom of the blaster.
About sounds, well, you would have to get used to lots of sounds that come with this home laser tag blaster. Each action has a different sound so you might like some and dislike others, so it will take some time for you to adjust to it.
3. DeltaBurst Blaster:
The blaster is sniper-style and the package includes the blaster, the instructions manual, a phone mount for attaching your phone to the blaster, and the rubber armband. To operate this blaster, you require six AA alkaline batteries which are not included in the package.
Although this blaster has lots of similarities to the AlphaPoint blaster, it differs from the former in the following ways:
Some of its buttons are located in different spots than the AlphaPoint blaster. Its indicator works in a slightly different fashion, and it shows your leftover ammunition in numbers and not in colors.
Final Words:
In the above guide Nerf Laser Ops Pro review, I have described all the features of these two blasters in detail which are the latest production of Hasbro and new addition to the Nerf series.
Hasbro has done a brilliant job at providing their customers with the best of the best blaster – which are brilliant in performance, quality, and features. The shooting range of both the AphaPoint blaster and DeltaBurst blaster is about 68 meters or 220 feet. This is such an ideal shooting range that many of the blasters cannot beat this range as they have much lesser than this.
Moreover, as someone who is not very fond of smartphone laser tag blasters, I am impressed by how efficient this app works and how convenient it is due to its single vs. team mode.
I hope you find this article helpful enough to choose the blaster of your liking. Do let me know in the comments which feature you like the best and which one you plan to buy.
Thank you for reading!
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