Review: SlugTerra Deluxe Blaster Set - 15-Piece - Eli vs. El Diablo Nacho (and Burpy & Joules 2 pack)



Thanks to Jakks Pacific for the samples!  I saw these pop up in Toys R Us a few months ago, and they looked interesting to try out, so here we are.

Slugterra is a new cartoon, and this set of toys is based around it.  Here's a commercial:



What is included in the set
Stats:
Price: $32.99
Pull & release blaster; trigger is fake
Includes:  See photo
Demo video:



Size comparison

Shield Comparison
Dart comparison (without canopies)
Shield may be hanged.
SlugTerra darts w/Open canopies

How to Play
Joules figure sold separately, hood ornament deco.

Burpy figure sold separately, attaches as a hood ornament of sorts.
 MOAR PICS
REVIEW:

Whew!  Right off the bat, this isn't a typical blaster set.  It is priced and geared around a target shooting game, not tagging your opponents personally.

And yet, I was pleasantly surprised at the power this thing had.  Don't let the dart with the canopy shot deceive you, these little blasters have a bit of power in them.  I was hitting around 30'-40' with regular darts (Nerf Elite, Buzz Bee, Dart Tag, etc) and just under 30' with the darts the blasters came with without the canopies.  The canopies, being parachutes, of course limited the darts to 10', just enough range for a target shooting game for kids.  And that's just fine.  Getting the darts INTO the barrel was a bit of a struggle for some darts, but in that case barrel tightness probably helped in the range department.


The darts that the blasters come with, even without the canopy aren't very good for distance, but they look cool and fit the theme of the show.  The blasters looked cool and futuristic, good for any kid to pretend they're Eli or any of the other characters in Slugterra, and the little slug dudes are fun to look at and even engaging to a degree. 

Per the show, the little "slugs" sold in 2 packs attach to the top of the blasters. My niece and nephew (8 & 10 years old, respectively) thought this was a nice touch and that it was super cute.  Personally, I thought Burpy makes a great iron sight though this might adversely affect holstering.

The Slugterra blasters don't have triggers, but considering Jakks Pacific is the same company that brought out the recent Max Force line, I wasn't entirely put out by this.  Considering this had the other kiss of death of being a licensed property, the range being near 40' nearly blew me away considering how small the blasters are.

If you consider this as a game for your kids, then you get a huge set of stuff in box and ready to go (with the exception of some slug guys to mount on the blasters) for $32.99, which isn't too bad for an interactive licensed board game with a lot of different items included.  If you're looking for a new sidearm, these are a great size with good range, but as a dart tag player you might find the pull and release mechanism a little awkward (especially if you're bigger than an 8 year old) and maybe check out the bigger versions of these blasters.  Although, if you really need the trigger action you may want to pass on this.

Overall, I thought they looked pretty cool and for a parent looking for a simple game for their kids to play and maybe do some dart tag when the mood strikes, these aren't a bad way to go for a starter set of blasters and darts.  Again, I think the power level of these rivals some relatively similar 2 player sets and for a close if not identical cost.  I'd chalk this being a touch more expensive due to the licensing involved.

In any event, hope this was helpful!  








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