When we were kids there was no cooler place to have a birthday party than at the local Laser Quest. If I concentrate hard, I can still smell the unique combination of sweat, feet, and pizza, so imagine my utter joy when I was asked to play with review the Laser X. This version came with two Laser X Blasters, both requiring 3 AAA batteries, I immediately raided all the TV remotes to get the Blasters working. I hopped from foot to foot until my husband got out of the shower and then yelled the instructions at him over my shoulder as I ran upstairs and hid. The Laser X comprises of two components: the chest harness with the receiver piece and the laser X blaster. The receiver piece is on an elasticated harness that is easy to slip on, one size fits all, this is the target your opponent will aim for, and the Laser X Blaster is attached to it via a cable. To turn the unit on there is a small switch on top of the receiver vest that needs to be set to either Red team, Blue team or Red/Blue team, this last option means you can be shot by everyone, ideal for parents or your least favourite friend.

The rules are simple, 10 shots and you are out, every minute you are not shot you gain a life back, hold the trigger for 2 secs, quickly point the barrel of the Blaster to the ground and back up to reload. I had selected Red team and was hiding under the bed, what ensued was a fifteen-minute battle that involved way more swearing than necessary and came to an end when my husband ‘accidently’ smacked me on the hand with the Blaster. So, what’s the best and worst about the Laser X? Starting with the worst, the noises will blow any attempt at stealth, there is an option to plug in headphones, but it still beeps outside the headphone which is annoying. A mute button could make things more exciting. The build quality isn’t great, the trigger could have a larger movement and thin plastic materials make me wonder how much of a bashing the Blasters could take, and during frantic game play, it’s inevitable. Reloading the gun is a bit hit and miss and can result in lots of flapping the gun up and down in a panic. Lastly the accuracy is as questionable as the range. The box claims it “works up to 60 meters away with pinpoint accuracy,” not quite convinced about this one but who knows, maybe we were just rubbish? That brings me around to the best bit, you can play it indoors or outdoors (outdoors is probably best), day or night. The Blaster lights up your team colour, so you can easily recognise your enemies, and the receiver piece moves from green through to red as you lose your lives. As much as I found fault in the Laser X, it is still a lot of fun. Its simple game play is part of its charm and the inaccuracy and tricky reloading weirdly added to the excitement, but you are going to need more than two players to enjoy the true Laser tag experience. RRP £49.99

3.9 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Fun

Physical

Easy to operate

Lights, sound and audio responses

Cons

Hard to reload

Build quality could be better

Accuracy not great

You will need more than