Who doesn’t love lasers? If you grew up in the 80s and 90s (or the 50s and 60s, for that matter), you grew up with laser fights seeming like they were going to be a key feature of life. Of course, in Laser Tag, they are, as a painless answer to paintball that’s way more sci-fi – and that, with toys like these, can be played at home!
The promotional images for the World of Laser X will take you back to nostalgic childhood adverts and, personally, I'm comforted by the idea that kids still want this stuff. The world hasn’t changed so much after all. Laser X sent us a whole armory of toys to play around with, all of which take a simple game of laser tag and raise the bar.
On first impressions, all of Laser X’s toys have a satisfying design. They’re chunky and don’t feel fragile, and care has been taken to add in lights and sci-fi details that vary from toy to toy. The guns light up blue and red, and the receptor pads that register hits glow green, which then depletes to yellow and finally red to show your failing health. The sets are complete with suitably sci-fi noises for shots, hits, activating and de-activating, and a voice that can serve as a couch, and tells you when you’re running out of HP.
We didn’t receive any of the Original Blasters; instead, we got pretty much every other toy Laser X offers to raise the stakes from that simple starting point. The Original Blaster has a range of 200ft; every blaster we received except the Mini exceeded that.
The Morph Blaster (range: 300ft) is apparently the first-ever fold-up blaster on the market. When folded, the blaster forms a target that comes with three game settings, which allows kids to play solo. Unfolded, the blaster looks a little clunky, like a Star Wars Imperial Walker, but unfolding the blaster is satisfying, and you get two toys in one! This might be a great present for an only child, so they and a friend can have a blaster each, but they can still play against their target when on their own.
With a 400ft range, a light-up scope and 25-shot rapid blast, the Long Range Blaster makes sure that you feel as though you have something superior to your friends. I’m not sure of the application of the Minis, except to be easier to pack or to carry on your person. These really make me wish the toys came with holsters – load a few of these up as spares whilst you run around with one of the larger weapons and you could start to feel like a real space rogue.
By far the most impressive of the blasters, though, was the Fusion Complete Blaster Set. This set includes two Fusion Blasters, a front vest, a micro-receiver, a long-range adapter, a wide-range adapter and a spotting scope. The final three items can be added onto your Fusion Blaster to ‘mod’ it, letting you switch between weapons like a veritable mercenary. Another fun twist we received was the Gaming Tower. This adds new levels to group games, including the danger of a 360° turret, or enabling you to play Capture the Flag, and it even opens up a range of single-player games.
If you already have a set of blasters, the Gaming Tower is a worthwhile expansion to your set, and this adds the most new features to your game. In terms of weaponry, my favourite by far was the Fusion Blaster – all the add-ons just make you feel ‘cool’, though you’ll need to tool up before you enter the fray, as there’s no way to carry the extra parts with you.
All Laser X blasters are compatible with each other, so no matter what friends own from the range, they can play together with ease. The game is able to incorporate unlimited group sizes (imagine the glorious carnage), and the blasters give you the option to play one-on-one, in teams, or with a ‘rogue’ setting, it’s every player for themselves!
Overall, the Laser X toys work well, and they’ve put in the effort to be more than an average laser tag toy. These are great for kids and a guilty indulgence for adults, and feel like they could withstand some bangs and crashes and still work. Pew pew!
5 out of 5
Look good
Feel sturdy
Responsive
All Laser X gear works together
Affordable price
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