Tag along with veterans of the Midwest Laser Tag Association as we game test the newest Laser Tag system on the market: RECOIL. "The World is now GAME", but it'll need to iron out some bugs first.
Interested in an honest review but when that dude said “ In the real world that doesn’t work” talking about respawn I cracked up turns out in the real world you don’t respawn
Glad to see this, I got mine a week ago, got some people from work getting theirs from clearance and with their discounts so Im waiting to try it out when we all have ours and a good location to play at.
Your review deserves a lot more than this. I needed to see how this system compares to other laser tag systems, from an actual laser gamers' perspective. The software issue can be easily addressed by updates, which is revolutionary. Everything can be possible in the future (multiple hubs bridging, have more variables user-defined, or even open an API port for people to make their own game type). All these can be done at no cost from the users.
I've already made a video comparing the basics of RECOIL and two other laser tag systems. I'm not a computer programmer, so I'm relying on updates to improve the function of this system in the future. As of now, it's difficult to have a game without running into some pretty crippling glitches Of the 6 games we played over two evenings of testing, only 1 of those games was bug-free.
This review should more prominently point out that software and firmware patches have FIXED most, if not all of the complaint issues within this video. An updated review would be a good idea. It would be nice to see you point out the known issues with rechargeable 1.2v cells vs alkaline 1.5v cells in the guns and transmitter too. (signal strength , and gun battery-saver-modes )
Im wondering if you tried using a wifi extender to extend the range of play area and improve the connection? And any fixes on app and such? Or were no new tests and "improvements" made?
We actually just did this and did a round or two of RECOIL. 4 players, (2 pistols, 2 rifles), and it was certainly less buggy than before. Still had one player with a Respawn glitch where it didn't show him back in the game, but he could get hit and had to be Killed to get things to "reset" properly. Also had one person's sound effects caught in a looped glitch where they played continuously until they were killed. Other than that, less buggy than before.
what would be good is if you could get two or three wifi hubs and connect them together to make a joined network extended the range of play are or getting better connection. also hubs need to be placed 3-5 feet above ground to work might fix most disconnections
Its an awesome laser tag game. But I have problems where I get disconnected or out of range from hub when I play outside with my friends. But my internet was really good. What might be my problem with it?
The RECOIL blasters have three IR Sensors mounted on the blaster and a fourth one that plugs in and runs a cord to a sensor clipped to an article of clothing on your back.
I was a big original Worlds of Wonder Lazer tag player growing up and saw these in the store the other day. So it is basically just REAL world style MMOFPS(with the added features of the app). Cool concept to get people off the couch and play again. But not really fan of it ONLY being App based. I am guessing they are basically worthless if you can't get a wifi signal or don't want to use your phone(drain the battery/use data)?
It seems that your video discussion and comments indicate that the problems you were having exist more with the software than the hardware. Has the system or software improved since you did this video? I have a lot of land around my home, I’ve been looking at various laser tag systems and this looks like it would be a great activity for our guests when we have parties. Also, how is the durability of the equipment? I don’t expect it to be pro quality, especially for the price, but I don’t want junk either. Sorry for so many questions. Your video was great and it now has me interested in this product. Thanks!
Just bought it today. June 18. Took a while to get everything set up. Played three two min games to get the feel and then it disconnected us and said screw it and put it up. Glad toys r us went out of business and we got it for about $20. I would be beyond mad if I payed the $100ish for it.
As far as I know, RECOIL blasters can only link to a RECOIL WiFi hub, so unless there's a way to modify it to use something with better range, I don't know that it would work.
It took some effort but I figured out how of feed this system into a enterprise grade outdoor/indoor wireless system (at my house, I'm a networking guy) and it helps out a lot. Having MIMO with my own system helps with the range and obstructions as well. @bazookafied Were you running your GPS in high accuracy mode?
I'd say the BRX would be best if you have a serious group of Laser Taggers assembled that will be going for more of a MilSim scenario. It's a solid blaster with great performance, but it does have a hefty pricetag. I'd say go with RECOIL if it's more of a casual group of players that wanna have some fun around the home our outdoors in the neighborhood. Most of the glitches experienced in the video have been addressed with revisions to the APP and, as long as everyone has a cell phone, you should be able to have a good time with em.
Accuracy is spot-on. Sensors are built into the blasters themselves. There's also an additional sensor you can clip to your back for 360 degree coverage.
I appreciate the thorough review, the other (obviously sponsored) videos you allude to were relatively uninformative. For the future of Lazer Tag systems as a whole I hope this does well. I think the key to success here will depend on the company continuing to improve the app. Worst case scenario is this ends up in bargain bins after the holidays, like when the LTARs were $9 at ToyRUs.
+Bazookafied The dependency on the app is unfortunate, as it turns out my none of my phones are even compatible with said app. The 16 player limit is also a turn off.
Laser X, Laser Challenge, LTTO, LTX, and LTAR all have pretty much unlimited range and support for any number of players. The question that nags at me is this: are the advantages to a linked game with all this technology in RECOIL strong enough to outweigh those limitations? If the gameplay was flawless and glitch free, you could probably argue that it is. As of now, there are still a number of bugs in RECOIL that hamper gameplay.
It's been slow going but I've managed to acquire a mix of 20 LTTO, LTX and LTAR (Including a Master Blaster) for less than $50 total. Plus I have rechargeable AA batteries for all of them. Now I just need friends, haha.
Yes it would. We've even modified the Wifi Hub with a better antennae to increase range. However, this hasn't stopped the occasional software glitch with connection to the hub. Glitches are far less frequent than they used to be when this system first came out in 2017, but the fact that they still happen is a Game-ending problem we've had for our players.
There are three sensors built directly onto the surface of the blaster and a fourth optional sensor you can plug in and wear on your body (probably best to wear on your back). Hit detection is reliable and accurate from what we've seen and is comparable to other systems like Lazer Tag and Laser Challenge.
The Latest release of the App is pretty stable. have not experienced any issues. don't think there will be a new release though. this was one of the first versions of the app. it more then a year old.
The SR-12 can fire more before needing to reload and also had longer range. However the Rate of Fire is pretty much identical between the two blasters.
I found the biggest glitches are if you set the unlimited time the match fails , incoming fire just being incessant ,crate drop locations and failure to pick up even when dead on top of the location
I can't connect to my Nexus 6, my son's Nexus 6, or my wife's Pixel. It does connect my boys two Samsung tablets, but they are pretty big and don't fit into the phone holder. Support gives lame things to try and fix Bluetooth connection problems, but none of them worked. As a side Note, the local Toys R Us has them on sale at 40-50% off during their going out of business sale.
Yes, but it's already been established that this was not the issue. Even when standing directly next to the hub, regardless of height, it wouldn't connect. There was a bug in the game settings that caused them to "lose connection". It has since been resolved.
Hoping many of the bugs we've experienced are fixed! Going to have another round of testing in October. If there are major differences or improvements, I'll link them from this video.
Takeout Masaki it would be relatively cool, but that would mean that a friend that you had over at your house would be at a severe disadvantage. I would like customization, but everything would be unlocked.
Its not a software issue that disconnected you the instructions specifically say to position the hub 3-5 ft off the ground. This is because the hub doesnt just create a circle it creates a bubble so it is possible to be in range and not be connected
That wouldn't explain why different game modes we tried DID work even with the hub on the ground. It also does not explain why none of the devices ever reconnected, even when standing right next to the Game Hub. It was later confirmed to be a software problem with the App that caused the issue. Said software issue has supposedly been fixed but I have yet to run another test to confirm as of yet.
Bought this for my kid is it possible to let him and his friends use our old smartphones with no service as long as we download the app on our WiFi first?
Your phones don't need a sim card, you're good. You can just DL the app with your own Wifi, then activate the HUB when you play and connect to that wifi. That HUB controls the tracking, item pick-ups, etc.
Steven Chau thank you for the great answer I walked around Walmart with in the car for hours trying to get a straight answer even called tech support with no avail I bought it anyways thank you
Even with the hub at 3.5 ft off the ground we were having issues. The problem ended up being a glitch in the software that was remedied later on. However, even with the fix, other glitches and problems continued to show up. I'm not sure what the software is like now because it's been 2 years since we've even tried using this. At a certain point the glitches just get in the way of the gameplay and we were tired of constantly dealing with it.
This would be pretty cool if everything would work right. Its alot like a COD game but real life. What if everything worked right and played on a air soft or paintball field?
The plan is to give it another go when weather improves. It's been an unusually cold and dreary start to Spring in my area so far, so we're waiting for warmer conditions. However, I did just try a few test matches with the updated Recoil App and we still ran into game-crippling glitches. Of the 6 games we attempted, we only managed to have 3 that actually worked.
We religiously used Laser Challenge gear for nearly a decade. Team Force, Team Force 2000, V2, and Radar Extreme were really the only good sets to get though, as Jakks Pacific ran the line into the ground for many years after it left ToyMaxx's hands. A shame, really.
Anne Schermerhorn it is currently on sale on amazon for $92.00. If you want to get it, this may be a good time. Here is a purchase link: www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B072548K9T/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512014021&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=recoil&dpPl=1&dpID=41tK66RluuL&ref=plSrch
My son and I just got these, and tbh I'd rather see a way to remove the Bluetooth completely. Latency is an issue when you play with not only a low range antenna over a wireless network, but adding in an additional wireless step to communicate with the phone makes the lag nearly unusable.
Odd that you experienced so much lag. We just did another game testing out stuff today and things worked fine. A few glitches, but hardly any lag. Are the devices and apps all up-to-date?
Bazookafied Yeah everything is updated. Is Simplecoil still a thing? Like I was saying removing one of the wireless components seemed better to me and if they deleted the hub... That would be amazing.
SimpleCoil and LaserCoil are being developed on the enthusiast-side of things, but RECOIL will likely always need some sort of wireless connection to a device to work. Because the blasters lack any sort of scoring, team info, ammo limits, health monitors, or any visual feedback, they need a phone to connect via Bluetooth for it to work on a basic level.
Bazookafied all I wanted was one of the wireless parts gone. I just did a trial game with my son (10 min game 10-2 in my favor) holycrap.. Simplecoil has been awesome and lag free with multiple firing modes. I'll try the laser one later but atm I'm in love. Also it does need a Wi-Fi network for leaderboard and dmg adjust but at least I get to use my own equipment.
Geek Krew I wish that was the case. Even when directly next to the hub it didn’t work. This was an App glitch that Recoil fixed a month or so after our testing.
Bazookafied oh ok yea. A friend of mine actually just bought this from toys R us on sale. An I was a little skeptical about it. But after playing it I was actually p impressed really
The limited range still gets me and any time I play with more than one other player, there's some kind of glitch that comes up. Wish the bugs got worked out of this after being released for nearly a year.
By utilizing the Wifi Hub and GPS from the smartphone, you can "Pick Up" ammo, health, and special attacks during battle. If you've picked up an Air Strike ability, you can select which player you'd like to attack and they'll be remotely "attacked". It's a pretty cool feature!
I googled veteran and : "a person who has had long experience in a particular field." It can be used any way of experience. Military dudes, cry me a river
Jorge Padua hm. Well I have messed with different laser tag systems, both in home product form and at different amusement park or commercially rented setups...for 35 years. I am a laser tag veteran. And a military veteran. I would say the system has connectivity issues, and while the smart devices give awesome options for ammo drops and things....you have to supply the device. Possibly too much smart phone reliance. I have been using the laser x system and while it is a simpler classical design, it is very easy to start up and go out of the box. Yah it doesn't have a central system to keep players honest for respawning, but it is lots of fun. Anyway, a good honest review on recoil. It has huge potential but is limited on wifi range, I think, as its main drawback. The app glitches are fixable with updates.
Even when the router was 3-5 feet above the ground, we still had glitches. Even when standing directly next to the router, we would still have the issue. This review was done in 2017. Back then, there were a lot of glitches with the App and the connection issue was one of them.
For some reason my recoil game kinda sucks because one of the guns are accurate and shoot at enemy players realistically, but the other gun can shoot at enemy players from anywhere, you don’t even have to aim remotely at the player. You could shoot yourself with this gun and it would hit another player, it kinda sucks to play a game where one person has aimbot and the other player has to actually try and aim 😕 does anybody know how to fix this problem
My kids, friends & family as well as myself like the laser tag games but WE ALL agree that there is to much BS involved just to play this style of laser tag.
That's mostly due to the troublesome iron sights, but the RECOIL blasters don't have much more range than the Laser Ops PRO gear. Unless the "Nerf Version" you're referring to is the Phoenix LTX (2008) or LTAR (2012), as those are incredibly accurate and will easily hit targets up to 400 feet in broad daylight.
Cewl as Heck hurting is fine. But when we play in a public park, or inside a school or business, or anywhere, damage to the area or hitting people who aren’t playing isn’t really an issue. There’s no limitation to where you can play.
Airsoft requires someone to own property or the group to live near a secluded area, it's a lot more expensive, the equipment requires a lot more maintenance, it's (slightly) easier to cheat, and requires protection. Recoil only shares the cheating problem.
If you haven't got this yet....don't, it's totally worthless and doesn't even work right, the app crashes so much it's not even playable most of the time.
