NZ Airsoft product reviews

Be forewarned. The name Airsoft is an outright lie, the bullets are not soft. They will break skin on close combat shots. Take a long sleeve shirt or jersey and gloves are certainly recommended.

Beside the warning, I have to say that this is the most fun I have had in along time. As a long time paintballer I was surprised at how much more fun Airsoft is, with the only real disadvantage being it is much more an honour system with Airsoft compared to paintball. With paintball you can see the paint explode on the person, with airsoft you have to rely on the person you are shooting to admit to being shot. Whilst we didn't seem to have any issues with that in our games it is something to wonder about when playing against people you don't know.

Compared to paintball, the guns are more realistic, in fact the hire weapons we used were M4 replicas, You don't have a big hopper on the top of the gun so you are able to use the sights or at least look down the barrel of the gun to give more accurate shots, due to also not having a large CO2 bottle at the back, the weight of the guns are more realistic and can be held how a gun should be held when firing. This creates a far more realistic gaming environment which is why Airsoft games are more commonly designed to run in mil sim games.

BB's are priced at about $20-$30 for around 2000BB's At this price you can play a full day and not run out of ammo. Compare that to paintball and you will have a lot more game time for a lot less money.

I can't wait to go back and have another go at this and have already started looking at buying my own gear. Out of the three (Paintball, and Laser Combat) this was certainly my favourite. I'm Hooked.

Out of the three activities provided (Paintball, Lasertag, and Airsoft) this was the most enjoyable. I ended up playing this game for a good 5-6 hours and could have played for even longer. With our "tour guide" Magic, we were put through our paces, and shown many manoeuvres to successfully navigate through buildings, clear rooms, breach doors, and to cross doorways with the least exposure. This game had the largest number of people playing with approximately 12 people per team for the most part, and this gave the game much more depth.

Using Ward 16, both floors of the building were usable, and with three sets of stairs, there was no single place where you could camp and be safe. You had to either be mobile, or you had to have a strong strategy within your team. Even if you don't have a strategy at first, you will eventually learn to find safety in numbers, and soon start using the environment to your advantage, creating cover, and misdirection.

The pain from the ball bearings was significant, but it was only short-term pain, and would make you call "hit" when you were hit, but allowing you to quickly resume the game unhindered. Two weeks later I only have one mark left that has almost completely healed, the rest were gone within days. A far superior game, that had real team ethic and bonding.

In the 3-fer wargames we played, Airsoft was the second game we played, and it was far more interesting than the Laser Tag we played. Everyone in our review team had some good experience with military tactics after playing the laser tag, and we all needed it, as I really found being hit by the projectiles quite painful! The guns only fired 6mm BBs at around 20% the propulsive speed than than of a paintball gun, but the surface area of the BBs and the fact that they were made of of hard plastic meant that the impacts caused WELTS to break out on my skin!

It was interesting to know that the gun I was holding was an exact replica of a real gun, except that the inner workings of the gun were different. The range of the projectiles was quite large, which is why I was thankful that one of the rules was that if an enemy player gets you at point blank, they are only allowed to yell "BANG!" instead of shooting you, so it was great that the game had well founded and enforced rules. The game was well run as well, there were several different game scenarios, and all of the ones I played were fast-paces and highly enjoyable!

The level of safety was paramount. While not everyone in our group got shock-absorbing vests - I think only one reviewer got one - the masks were great. They covered the ears, mouth, and pretty much the entire lower half of the face. We were also supplied with safety glasses, because if the BBs can cause welts, they will absolutely obliterate eyeballs, so it's good that this organisation follows standard health and safety codes. Since NZ Airsoft is not so much an organisation, like Megazone laser tag, or bowling clubs, where they all have set places reserved specifically for the games, Airsoft is more of a sport. The equipment can be hired or purchased, and you can join Airsoft clubs or book for events or special occasions, which is a great feature.

After playing the sport at the wargames, I would seriously consider joining a club and using this as a substitute for paintball, as it is far more kick-a$$, if you will pardon that expression. Overall, I have to say that I am really impressed with this sport, and would love to play again sometime, I will just have to remember to bring slightly more padded clothing so I can still feel the impacts without so much of the unpleasant pain!

Having played electric-series Airsoft many years ago, with some mates in the forests around Himitangi, I was well aware of how amazing this sport can be. Unfortunately, I had forgotten how much those little BBs can "tickle" when you catch 6 of 7 of them on your shoulder at once.

Arriving at the venue, we were first greeted and given a quick run-down on the day's plans... starting with a Laser Combat session to teach us how to handle our weapons properly, then a full-on airsoft game with, and against, experienced players and ex-military. I tell you, even though I undoubtedly looked like a total nood, I felt like a Navy Seal! This was a thrill-a-second game for me, because I opted to take the pain and be on the front lines, leaving the defender stations for those less inclined to take a hit.

Running, well... stalking more like, through the empty and abandoned High-Security Psycho Ward of the old Kingseat Mental Hospital, carrying an authentic-feeling assault rifle, throwing tiny little BBs at an obscene rate of fire in the exact direction I wanted them to go... awesome fun!

Though our "review game" was only slated for an hour, some of the booked players to subsequent games didn't turn up, so we were invited to take their places and continue playing. Some of us did, some opted to take a break... because you may be surprised how much of a work-out you get even WALKING in the game, let alone running in a crouch for an hour trying to see everywhere, hear everything, and avoid getting hit.

Overall, this is a brilliant way to have some combat gaming - it's less painful than paintball, has more "feedback" than lasertag, and is more exercise than sitting in front of your console of choice and giving your thumbs RSI/OOS for 16 hours straight. The crew are professional, give you clear and accurate safety guidance, make no bones about the weapons - the weight, the accuracy, and the cost should you decide to be a silly-bugga and break one - and are quick to guide you to better and more enjoyable play. They can tailor a day to fit your needs, right down to designing scenarios that test your skills while maximising your fun. SO WORTH IT!

Airsoft, a game that I know is going to hurt (my husband has played it in the past and he even knows someone who lost a tooth through the game) but one that, since it was free, I thought would be worth a go any ways.

Before we even got onto the field we were shown our guns, given our ammunition and fitted with safety goggles and a mask to cover the rest of our faces, and whilst not the most comfortable (mine did start to give me a headache, but it wasn't really something I could adjust mid-battle) it was sure needed to protect the face.

First we headed back onto the Tyre Yard, it's part concrete, mostly grass, a few trees and a bunch of car tyres and truck tyres stacked up around the area. Like the Laser Tag we had our set area for re-spawning and the first game was really just getting used to the guns, though not much different than the laser guns, this time if you got hit it hurt like anything and my first injury was a shot to the head, yeowch!!!!!!!

We then started a game of Capture the Flag' joining up with some other people who play a lot more often than any of us do. We started off in the tyre yard, but were allowed to go throughout the yard and the asylum. To be honest, I did feel like giving up about halfway through, walking back to respawn having taken a shot to the arse and three to my hip at the same time, but I kept myself going and ended up being rear guard as we attempted to protect our flag and capture the oppositions.

Whilst I didn't enjoy getting shot (and I not once managed to make it to the second storey) it was quite a bit of fun at the end, and a great story, as my team managed to capture the flag, bring it back to base and then got confused and thought it had to go back to the enemies base. Whilst I have no idea if I actually hit anyone, I know I would have hit one person (but was nice and yelled bang instead of shooting at point blank range). Today though, my thighs are not happy with me, from the exercise and the crouching for half an hour straight.

I have some bruises and welts to show for the day, and whilst I'm not sure I would ever do it again, it was a fun afternoon, the setting was spot on and the team running the show was great.

I've played airsoft before, out in the bush is a friends backyard, a game that I have always enjoyed and was very happy to be having a game with my wife.

The first thing that I liked about the field itself is that we started off in a Tyre Yard, with standard car tyres and truck tires staked about the yard, with a few trees as well, this was a great course, especially when first getting used to the guns and the running and the crouching again. Once having fired off a few rounds and been hit a few times, we moved over to the old asylum, this was great, though sometimes disorientating as due to two levels, people could shoot at you from upstairs and when everyone is shooting at once, where the heck do you run?

The marshalls were great at their job, keeping everyone in check when needed and you could tell that they really know their stuff, easy to communicate with and big ups to them for making sure the 'pro's' were split up amongst us newbies. The guns were really good quality, which also made me a bit more careful with them than I may have been, especially when taking into consideration how much it would have cost to replace one gun.

Everyone was professional, really friendly, happy to answer any questions and I had a great time.