I always look at Nerf Guns with amusement. This is not belittling Nerf users as I think it's awesome for casual gaming and when shooters, whether airsoft or real steel, get their trigger fingers itchy but are somewhere that such guns are not applicable (office, home, party, etc.) and need to scratch their itch. Also, Nerf Guns won't get you into trouble as they obviously look like toys to keep that nosy neighbor from calling the police while you play backyard skirmishes. My amusement I guess, is due to my airsoft background, since whenever we hear about brighthly colored guns, alarm bells always go off.

But with the Nerf Rival, here is something that I can bring anywhere with pride if I'm not at the airsoft site or gun range. I can just stash it in the car or bring it to work just to be ready when office warfare erupts. If airsoft team mates just got lazy to drive to the nearest airsoft facility and would like to chill at home with you, then just bring it out for some fun time ruining your mother's garden shooting each other with the Nerf Rival.

The Nerf Rival was developed to answer the need by Nerf users for something faster and more competitive to use. With two models, the Apollo XV-700 and the more expensive Zeus MXV-1200, the Nerf Rival Blasters fire off dimpled Nerf Balls at a speed of almost 70mph or 100fps max. The ammo can be purchased at 50 round refills that cost US$17.99, or at .35 cents per round. Still not as economical as plastic airsoft BBs, but as long as they don’t get totally deformed or torn, you can still pick them up for reuse. The Nerf Rival blasters are magazine fed with the Apollo XV-700 more of standard magazine style while the Zeus MXV-1200 reminds you of the PP-19 Bizon where the ammo feed is done with a horizontal magazine. The foam Nerf Balls are dimpled like golf balls for more stability while in flight.

The US$25 Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 has a manual reloading mechanism and a 7-round magazine. All you have to do is slap the magazine into the pistol grip and load it with the charging handle that is on top of the gun,

The US$50 Nerf Rival Zeus MXV-1200 is battery operated as it has an electric motor-operated firing mechanism. It also has a higher capacity 12-round horizontal magazine that can be loaded either on the left or right side. Upon its release, somebody made a modification to make it fire in full-auto. In a battle of Apollo versus Zeus Nerf Rivals, it’s obvious who will be outgunned.

If any of the videos are any indications, playing with Nerf Guns  just got more fast paced with the arrival of the Nerf Rivals. Not exactly as powerful and as tactical as airsoft guns, but at least they can provide us with a safer way to shoot each other when we are just too far from the nearest airsoft skirmish site.