Opinionary and Review .:

By: Gen. Taloneer

Notes: This is an article I have released, I wrote it after discussing the 2005 lineup with NiborDude. This article was written for review and opinionary on my part for the new lineup, and things to come for us here at Soakerdom. If you don't want to read the review, skip down to the last section. This topic is not open to criticism. Thanks and enjoy reading!

Introduction

Ever since the new millennium, the world has seen many events come and go, some good, some bad. For Soakerdom, it was no different. We have seen members come and go, and emotions flying faster than any CPS 2000 could shoot. Members left disgusted at some newer blasters, and others stayed, and endured a hardship of low performance and cheap marketing skills on Hasbro’s part, some would say. However past these dark times, there is new hope with the 2005 lineup.

EES

For 2002, Hasbro released the Max-D series line, debuting the 2000, 3000, and 4000 pistols along with the 5000 and 6000 rifles. For many this was an unexpected turn, but fair in judgment. The lack of power in 2002 from the power of the 2001’s Monster XL was blamed on a slight slump in business, the CPS 4100 and CPS 2100 kept most of Soakerdom in good favor. There was a predicted “CPS 4500” to come out, but it was mere speculation, and had no proof from Hasbro. Many high command Generals like General RAK predicted a fresh, new line of CPS guns. However it was not to be so.

In the winter months of 2003, Hasbro previewed their 2003 lineup to the world: introducing the EES Sonic, tempest, and Turbine. Small and cheap looking, Soakerdom was devastated. Tests by our members also revealed that their performance was poor. The 2003 line was aimed obviously at a younger audience, all the trinkets; bells and whistles were included, especially in the Turbine model. For hardcore soaker users, they proved of little use. However the economy of America was changing, young kids wanted a water gun under 20 dollars for parents to afford, the didn’t care how it worked, just as long as they had it, because it looked cool. A lot of people decided that this was temporary, and would give their beloved Hasbro one last chance for the 2004 season.

Because of weak blasters, prices for older models like the 1998 line and Monster XL soared to an all-time high on auction sites like Ebay. At one point, the Monster XL was in so much demand; it was up to at least $210.27 at the end of one auction. It was a race to nab the best blasters, and only the people with no lives at all or the very rich could afford the hefty prices of Ebay. Soakerdom came at a standstill that winter, summer activity for 2003 died down significantly. Soakerdom felt that they were being alienated from Hasbro, for the next couple of years, not one letter was ever given to Soakerdom, and it was ignored, so to say.

SoakerTag

SoakerTag was a brand new concept, where you could shoot targets off of your opponent, and sometimes that residue left over would make a little bit of mess.. To Soakerdom, the 2004 soaker-line preview was a disaster, especially when news of “AquaSquirtz”, an even younger, brattier version of Super Soaker, was released with an action figure. This did it for a lot of people. After this, we saw less of Commander Bob, General Rak, WetMonkey772, and a lot of other past Soakerdom fanatics. However there was praise for Soakertag that it was a step up from the EES line. ChrisReid, the owner of the known largest water gun collection to date, commented that he loved the Triple Aggressor, the premier top blaster of the line. In my personal view, I did not care much for the 2004 lineup. However Hasbro did re-release the CPS 4100 in 2004, shortly before Toys R’ Us filed for bankruptcy. For who were left, their was a huge discussion about converting to homemade weaponry. Soakerdom once again held its breath, awaiting the 2004 line.

Water Warrior Enters the Fray: Buzz Bee Toys

I was also the first in Soakerdom to report in about a new manufacturer of water guns: Buzz Bee Toys, with the Water Warriors Lightning. When I got the blaster, I was overly enjoyed with it. A few months later through testing, Isoaker commented about the “Hydro-Technology” that it uses, an alternative to CPS that Hasbro was using. For many left, Buzz Bee Toys brought new hope for newer, more powerful soakers. We are all satisfied that a company is coming to the fanbase, and a HUGE thread with over 22 pages was created to offer suggestions for improving their blasters. We were all excited that Super Soaker, the king of the water gun market, now had competition. The Water Warriors guns were great, but could use improvement.

SoakerTag Elite

We believe that SoakerTag Elite was planned by Hasbro in response to the new Water Warriors line of guns. It was first discovered by Doom on the United States Patent Site, all we found was “SoakerTag Elite”. Recently we got an information leak from a Star Wars message board on a “Wookie Blaster”. With that picture, in the lower left-hand corner, were a few of the 2005 Soakers from Hasbro. A first their was speculation, but now Soakerdom is proud to say that we have hope for the 2004 line. Despite speculation, there is hope; we know this is a huge improvement over the 2004 lineup. Whether they will be CPS, Air Pressure, or Piston, for once they all, except the Vaporizer and Liquidator rehashes (we assume they were hot buys in 2004) look very promising. To me, the Arctic Shock looks like it may have a Balloon type CPS bladder of some sort, for the Flash Flood, that far back part behind the nzzle could be a new breed of Cylindrical CPS bladder. However, we cannot give a full opinion without tests. We know one thing: 2005 with Water Warriors and SoakerTag Elite will be very interesting, both offering supposedly large rifles and backpack cannon, which Soakerdom commented on wanting. Only time will tell, this may be the year we were looking for. I have hope for all these newer blasters, only field testing will tell if the performance lives up to the looks. Stay tuned to Soakerdom for more details. After all, Isoaker did receive the message: "CPS is not dead!"

Posted: 20050109