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Nerf® ArenaBlast: The Analysis
Part One

  
NerfCenter Editorials

Written On 06/14/99

  
Editorial by Andy Grau

(The information in this article is mostly speculation and should not be treated as official information about Nerf ArenaBlast.   This is an editorial, not a news article.)

Okay, so everyone’s heard of the new Nerf first person shooter computer game from Hasbro Interactive, right? It’s based on the ever-popular Unreal 3D Engine and promises to be awesome! Well, with all this information buzzing around, I thought it would be an appropriate time to analyze not only the press release which details much about the game but also to analyze what types of guns and such can possibly be found in the game.

Please look over the Hasbro Interactive Press Release in our news section (if you haven’t already) before attempting to understand what I’ll be talking about.

Those Crazy Weapons

For those readers who have never played Unreal before (and I pity you), here’s a brief overview of the game. You run around and shoot people. Not really exciting, right? Wrong. Throw in about thirty to forty beautifully rendered battlefields, support for all major 3D graphics cards, outrageous multi-player support (and fun) and a virtual smorgasbord of armor, upgrades, and weapons, and you’ve got an insanely fun game. Speaking of weapons, this is a list of the guns found in Unreal:

1. Dispersion Pistol - The basic handgun.
2. Auto-Mag - An automatic pistol.
3. Stinger - Comparable to a machine gun.
4. ASMD - A weird plasma-type weapon, used for fast attacks.
5. Eightball - A rocket/grenade launcher, capable of firing six pieces of ammo at the same time.
6. Flak Cannon - Shoots shrapnel.
7. GES BioRifle - Shoots radioactive slime, produces "mines."
8. Razorjack - Shoots giant razor blades.
9. Rifle - A Sniper Rifle, used for long-range attacks.
10. Minigun - Shoots bullets insanely fast. 

So What Does This All Mean?

By now, you’re probably wondering what the heck all of this has to do with Nerf ArenaBlast. Well, sit tight - I’m setting up a very nice comparison. Watch:

"Players must have quick reflexes and sharp aims as they maneuver through the arenas using virtual versions of brand new Nerf Blasters for 1999 such as Wildfire, Secret Shot II and Triple Shot, familiar faves like Ballzooka and Pulsator, and all new gizmos for the CD-ROM such as ScatterShot, MightyMo, Hypershot and Whomper." -Hasbro Interactive Press Release

Now before you start wondering how the heck the Pulsator can be a "fave," take a look at the number of guns were listed - nine. Looking back at the number of Unreal weapons, you can see that there are ten. Keep this in mind while I start to compare the two games.

The Nerf ArenaBlast Weapons

To give Hasbro the benefit of the doubt, let’s just assume they meant to say "Triple Strike" instead of "Triple Shot." (Either that or the Hasbro naming department hasn’t been getting much sleep - think "Big Bad Bow.") I really doubt that Hasbro will produce two weapons in the same year that start with the world "Triple."

I’m not a game designer, please understand this. However, I will assume that when you base a game on an already-established engine, it is best to keep the new game as similar as possible to the already produced one. In this case, I’m assuming that Hasbro Interactive will try to keep Nerf ArenaBlast as similar to Unreal as possible (to keep problems from occurring.) It just makes sense - why fix something that isn’t broke?

So, when comparing the two games, I’ll just assume that the weapons will function similar to their counterparts. See, they compare really nicely (well, kind of):

1. Dispersion Pistol, Secret Shot II
2. Auto-Mag, Wildfire
3. Stinger, Triple Strike
4. ASMD, Pulsator
5. Eightball, Ballzooka
6. Flak Cannon, ScatterShot
7. GES BioRifle, (Whomper / MightyMo)
8. Razorjack, (Whomper / MightyMo)
9. Rifle, ????
10. Minigun, Hypershot

(The Unreal weapon is on the left, the potentially similar Nerf ArenaBlast weapon is on the right.)

By looking at the unknown weapons’ names, I guessed what they might do. For example, the "ScatterShot" must scatter ammo around, much like the Flak Cannon does. (Brilliant!) With the "Hypershot," the gun must shoot pretty fast, leading to "hyper" being part of its name. As for the "Whomper" and "MightyMo," I’m at a loss, but I doubt that they could be used for snipering.

You see, that’s where the tenth weapon comes in. What weapon does Hasbro want us to think is an "awesome" sniper gun? Which gun did they market as a "long-range" rifle? No, not the Sharpshooter (it’s too old), the . . . Expand-A-Blast! (Arrrgghhh!) Trust me, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Expand-A-Blast reared its ugly head in the game as a last-ditch attempt to get that gun off store shelves.

To Be Continued . . .

Thus ends part one of the Nerf ArenaBlast Analysis. This will you folks something to think about. Trust me, this game will rock!

Next week, I’ll explain how Hasbro’s toy division will get a boost from this game. I’ll also explain my crazy weapon comparison chart (see above) in greater detail and provide some insight into what other gameplay elements will probably show up in this game.

 

Please note: for editing purposes, proper copyright information is not displayed in editorials.  Anything related to Nerf ArenaBlast (including the name "Nerf ArenaBlast") belongs to Hasbro Interactive.   Nerf weapon names are trademarks of Hasbro, Inc.  "Unreal" and the Unreal weapon names are trademarks of GT Interactive.

Triple Shot?
The Triple Strike™.
The Triple Shot.

One and the same?

 

 

 

"Throw in about thirty to forty beautifully rendered battlefields, support for all major 3D graphics cards, outrageous multi-player support (and fun) and a virtual smorgasbord of armor, upgrades, and weapons, and you’ve got an insanely fun game."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

". . . I’m assuming that Hasbro Interactive will try to keep Nerf ArenaBlast as similar to Unreal as possible (to keep problems from occurring.)"

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