When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing ...

Remember when Nerf blasters were simple, toy-like affairs? Times have changed, and now we have heavy, belt-fed, battery-chugging monstrosities that appeal to cubicle warriors as much as to children.

It's hard to pin down exactly when Nerf started going for broke with its gun designs, but it may have been around this time last year when the Vulcan was released. That gun featured a 25-dart, ...