REVIEW: Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow

Little bow peep

Although we did some damage with the Nerf Sidestrike, the zombie hordes are still threatening to eat our brains, regardless of how small a snack that would be. And so we brought out the big guns - or big bows in this case - hoping that the Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow could help. Continuing our look at the latest in the Zombie Strike range from Hasbro's Nerf line of toys, this time round we've moved up from a pistol to a more meaty weapon. The Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow is a mid-sized Nerf gun, similar in shape to the Rough Cut.

Green and brown is the order of the day once again, a colour scheme we really like on the newest blasters. This is a two-handed gun that allows you to load (and then fire in rapid succession) four of the green elite foam darts. Unlike the Rough Cut blaster there is no pump action loader, but rather a top-side cocking plunger which is connected to the bow arm itself.

And this is where our imaginations must kick in, as the Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow isn't really a bow at all. That bendy arm on the front, and the draw-back black elastic, does sweet bugger all. Remove the bow (or don't bother clipping it on in the first place) and the blaster will work just the same.

But having a blaster that looks like a crossbow certainly fits in with the Zombie Strike's more rugged aesthetic, so despite that useless length of plastic on the front of the Crossfire, we rather think it looks pretty cool.

In range tests we weren't all that impressed in terms of distance, as our shots tended to max out at about 50 feet. What we did like however, was the Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow's accuracy. All four of those darts shot straight and true despite the blaster's severe lack of a barrel. Seriously,  this thing shot straighter than the uber-barrel of the Nerf Mega Centurion,  so major props there.

Although we adored the Zombie Strike Sidestrike pistol for its simple effectiveness,  the Crossfire Bow seems to highlight what the Zombie Strike line of blasters is all about: appearance. Superfluous additions, such as the defunct bow arm, gives the blaster a specific look and makes it more of a plaything than something a serious Nerf enthusiast would be interested in possessing. So if pretending to be the hillbilly guy from The Walking Dead is your thing, this is your blaster.

We'd be very interested to see what comes next in the Nerf Zombie Strike range, and whether imaginative play will take further priority over shooting your friends in the face for laughs/sport. Bring it on, Hasbro.

£16.99

Available from www.amazon.co.uk

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