Light Strike...Action at the Speed of Light!

My husband told me that he would have happily traded his mum, dad and favourite nanny to have got his hands on a set of Light Strike guns when he was a 10 year old boy.  The idea of having a gun with lights and sounds that could actually register hits when you shot on target, was the stuff of school boy fantasies as he played Cops and Robbers using his fingers as make believe weaponry.

I know a lot of parents are very anti-gun toys, but I have a 24 year old son who was exposed to toy guns and  war based video games and he has turned into the most sensitive, loving, well adjusted adult, so I am not a member of the gun-free-play camp.  I see no problem in toy guns and do not believe they encourage violence in any way.  Kids have played at being soldiers, spies or cowboys and Indians for generations, I see it as a rite of passage for young boys.  If they don't have toy guns, children will use sticks or fashion weapons out of Lego.  It does not mean they will grow up with a blood lust.  It is make believe and I think sheltering kids or banning this play is potentially far more damaging.  Just thought I'd get this in here before I begin my review so you know my viewpoint on these products.  I appreciate other people may not share my views.

We were sent a fantastic bundle of Light Strike guns and accessories to review from Wow Wee Toys.  They bring the world of video gaming to life with lights, colour and sound.  They are not made to look like realistic modern weaponry...this is futuristic, fantasy stuff! With one on one tournaments or team battles, the Light Strike range is a versatile toy for older children to play with.  The guns are very impressive looking and come in a variety of styles which have different features such as varying fire rate and reload time.  They can be customized with the accessories such as the enemy scanner, scope for greater range and refractor launch for extra fire power.  When you shoot an opponent a health light goes off on their gun.  Losing three lights freezes them out of the game until they re-spawn.  You can activate shields to minimize enemy damage and give you a tactical advantage. Ammo is unlimited but you have to re-load to keep topped up.

Ready for Action!

I was impressed with how exquisitely detailed the interactive futuristic guns are.  They have a finger print recognition feature which is a nice high tech touch.  They are well built and robust.  The buttons use touch-tech activation to control it.  As the guns have built in sensors there is no need to wear a special target jacket to record hits. They bring the fun of laser tag to your home in a simple and innovative way.  Each of the designs of gun are different so you can choose the one that suits your own strategies.   The fire and reload times vary.  Each gun is further customizable with accessories.  Each gun comes with a separate light up target for practising your aim.  The voice and sound features are excellent and add to the role play element.

There is an Intelligent Targeting System which allows games such as Capture the Flag which gives the team or player the advantage of having a medic to restore health or lets them use bomb mode to damage enemies using a 360 rotational burst of gunfire.  It would work well in a multiple team situation with experienced players.  It can also be used as a target in a solo game. However, we preferred the old fashioned one on one shoot-em-up method of play.  We did all agree though that the colourful ITS looked very impressive spinning around with its lights blazing!

Accessories include the Scope which increases the range up to an impressive 100 ft which is useful when playing outdoors.  Sniper mode can be used for single shot action.  The Scanner detects enemy activity up to 30 ft away so you can shoot first and gain the advantage in a game.   The Refractor adds fire power to take out multiple enemies with a super shot. It adds recoil action to the gun which makes it rumble as you shoot. The Machine Gun gives you super fast fire power.

Using the Scope.

Our overall opinion is that the accessories are a bit of fun but not essential to the gameplay, as is the ITS.  The sound effects of the game are spot on and add excitement.  They are really futuristic and include voiced instructions telling you when to reload or activate your shield.  They do give you the feel of being in a video game or a movie.  To experience the gameplay at its best, you would need two guns.

The Light Strike products use a lot of batteries, each gun takes 4 AA's and the targets take 3 AAA's.  The ITS takes 4 AA's.  The accessories just plug in and do not require further batteries.  Batteries do however seem to last quite a long time.

The Light Strike toys are recommended for ages 6 and up.  My 42 year old husband, my 24 year old son and I had hours of fun together!  I honestly thought it was an awesome toy which brought out the kid in me!  It is particularly fun playing in the dark and looking out for your enemies' lights as they take cover.  Goodness knows what my neighbours must think!   Freddy did like pushing the buttons on the gun and enjoyed the sound and light FX, but it is obviously not aimed at very young children.  It is an amazing piece of kit that will please both experienced gamers and youngsters alike.

Light Strike Assault Striker GAR/ SR-1  RRP £39.99
Enemy Scanner RRP £9.99
Refractor RRP £9.99
Machine Gun RRP £9.99
Scope RRP £9.99
Intelligent Target System RRP £24.99

See lightstrike.com for further details!