The Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K is a fully automatic blaster capable of firing 8 rounds per second with even more power and accuracy than other Rival blasters.
Including a built-in rechargeable battery and a monstrous 200 round capacity and it’s like a Rival Nemesis on steroids!
However, it is very expensive and features some slightly odd ergonomics, so will this stop it taking the Nemesis’ crown?
Read on to find out…
FACTSHEET
Pros
- Unleashes a ridiculous eight shots per second.
- Has a 200 round hopper
- Very easy to reload
- Theoretically more accurate than the Nemesis
- High capacity rechargeable battery included
Cons
- High price tag
- Unusual ergonomics of the blaster
- Ammo can get expensive!
- Nothing else really
Key features
- Advanced Acceleration System – 8 rounds per second and even more accurate than other Rival blasters
- High-capacity hopper holds a battallion crushing 200 rounds
- First NERF blaster with an inbuilt rechargeable NiMh battery
- Fires at a velocity of 100 feet per second (30 meters per second)
- Suitable for ages 14 and up
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Range - 8/108/10
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Accuracy - 9/109/10
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Ergonomics - 7/107/10
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Ammo - 10/1010/10
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Rate of Fire - 10/1010/10
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Weight - 7/107/10
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Reliability - 8/108/10
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Fun - 9/109/10
Summary
This NERF Rival blaster is a monster! If you want to lay down fire this is your blaster
However it is big, heavy and expensive…and amazing fun!
NERF RIVAL PROMETHEUS REVIEW
The Nerf Rival Prometheus MXVIII-20K blaster seems to have everything – a highly advanced acceleration system that can fire as fast as eight rounds per second. This is much faster than and harder than even the Nemesis and has twice the ammo of even it’s massive 100 rounds.
Also, as a one-up on the Nemesis, the Prometheus comes with a high capacity built-in battery so you can keep firing for longer too (there must be plenty of mod-kit makers hating that!)
As you can imagine, I was really excited to get hold of this, as those specs look as amazing as the price is eye-watering!
Unboxing and Getting Started
Once you take everything out of the box, you will find:
- The Prometheus blaster
- The blaster feet
- Detachable handle
- A rechargeable battery and charger
- 200 rival rounds
- Blue and red team indicator flags
- The shoulder strap
- The instruction manual
Once unpacked you will need to put the battery on charge. This is not harder than charging your phone. Once charged, the battery is inserted at the back of the blaster, under the base of the trigger handle.
Next up you attach the feet. These are not designed to be removed once attached and make the Prometheus stable when you put it down. Without them, it rolls around and falls over…usually off the table…not that I’d know…ahem!
You also need to fit the front handle although, unlike the feet, this is designed to be removed so you can swap it around for lefties and righties.
There are a few rails on this blaster, but I have no idea why as they are positioned in a way that you cannot put anything on them without getting in the way…there is a rail between the feet ferchrissakes!
The shoulder strap features plastic catches, but it seems pretty strong and never felt like it would break for me.
The Prometheus only comes in white, so you get the team flags so you can pick a side…this is looking to be the norm for NERF Rival these days.
One great feature about the Prometheus is it’s included rechargeable battery pack. Now it does take a while to charge, at least a few hours out of the box but it saves you from having to buy any batteries for it. Once the battery is charged in a power outlet then you can place it in and secure it with a Phillips screw, and you are ready to go.
While Nerf has been selling rechargeable packs for the smaller battery-operated Rival blasters for a while now, having one included is a big plus in my books.
The integrated power-pack also allows another really useful feature in the shape of a charge light. This sits on top of the trigger grip as an LED which glows green when all is well, and then starts flashing before going red to tell you you have almost no power left.
This will switch off if you leave the blaster for a few minutes and is another nice quality of life addition.
Design and Ergonomics
The Prometheus doesn’t have the usual ergonomics as unlike most other blasters, you do not shoulder it you shoot from the hip. This helps explain the funny looking handle sticking out, which is essential for the firing position. The handle component spins freely allowing you to aim up and down easily.
For want of a better description, the Prometheus is designed like a heavy gunner from Aliens (or the Mastodon in the Mega range…which I also like!) so you sling it low and shoot from the hip.
The idea is that you are going to use this to protect your base and lay down a lot of foam if any enemy gets too close and this is where those 200 rounds and 8 rounds per second come into their own.
The biggest drawback is that it makes it really hard to hide behind a wall and fire due to the angle of the trigger. For a heavy gunner, this is a bit awkward.
As mentioned above, the front handle can be switched to suit left or right-handers, and it actually sits on your hip pretty nicely when the strap is in place.
There is a very good reason for that strap though – fully loaded, it weighs in at over seven and a half pounds! This does not make sprinting very easy due to this hip-slung nature and size, but then this is not really its job.
Finally, There is a small panel at the end of the handle, indicating battery charge. This glows green when you’re fully charged and ready to go, blinks red when your charge is low and is a steady red when you need to recharge. If you haven’t used your blaster in two minutes, the light switches off.
Loading
Now time to get started with the hopper. The actual blaster parts are arranged in some ways similar to the Nemesis, but with a few differences.
Aside from the hopper being double the size, the agitator and conveyor belt for the ammo is much longer too. This helps to deal with the larger capacity and the increased rate of fire compared to the Nemesis.
Loading is actually slightly easier than the Nemesis as the opening is a touch larger, so you can dump in handfuls or even pour the Rival rounds in. You don’t need to fully load, so if you are in the middle of a battle, a quick handful, slam the door shut and you are up and running again.
The door does need to be shut or this will not fire though and it can take a short while for the next few rounds to make their way along the conveyor once reloaded.
Firing
The Prometheus is a flywheel blaster, which means a second trigger is used to spin it up before you can fire. This second trigger is on the underside of the grip.
The firing mechanism is similar to the Nemesis in that it uses a conveyor belt system to deliver the darts to the flywheels rather than the pusher arm used in earlier NERF blasters like the RapidStrike.
If you find your Prometheus will not spin up, the first thing to check is whether the hopper door is shut. Yes, this caught me out! There is also an ambidextrous safety catch that stops it revving, so check both of these if nothing happens.
Once it has spun up, use the top trigger to let fly with a wall of Rival foam.
Do beware though, even with 200 rounds, it will go through them darn fast! We clocked an average speed of 102fps although they do drop off the longer you keep your finger on the trigger (although not as much as some) and if the battery is getting low on charge.
The rear handle of the Prometheus has all of the main controls for blaster use, and is made to be fully ambidextrous. The safety has a tab on either side of the handle, and a flick of your thumb can operate it.
On the off chance that the blaster shuts down and doesn’t turn back on after you recharge the battery and reinsert, there is a reset button on the right side of the blaster. Just press that with a pen or paper clip to reset the board and start fresh. I have yet to encounter such a situation, but the fact that it’s there just in case, means there’s a small chance it might happen at some point.
Accuracy
The longer feed belt and mechanism are theoretically more accurate than the one used in the Nemesis and Khaos. However, since it has been designed to be fired from the hip…you cannot aim it!
This is actually a bit churlish as you really don’t care, you just pull the trigger and watch as the air is filled with Rival rounds and steer them towards your prey!
Once you see the first few rounds arc towards your enemy, you can quickly adjust and within 20m or so, it is extremely accurate!
Verdict
The Nerf Rival Prometheus is is an absolutely insane blaster and quite possibly the best stock blaster I’ve ever used….to a point!
It has unrivaled ammo capacity and absolutely menacing performance in a very intimidating package. However, the ergonomics and bulk limit it to a very specific type of gameplay.
The included rechargeable battery is very nice (these should really come included with the Nemesis too) as otherwise, you would be going through lots of very expensive batteries and make this even heavier than it’s already not inconsiderable weight.
This is still not a cheap blaster to own – the power and capacity still see you eating through ammo at unfeasible rates. Add this to the high purchase price and you will find yourself needing deep pockets!
The feeling of power as you chuck out rounds at that speed is utterly addictive though and if you turn up with one of these, nobody on your team will complain…although the opposition might!
So if you want to play the heavy gunner, or just love to be the biggest, bad-ass in the game, this is going to be your weapon of choice.
However, if you like to play much more of a fast and loose style, you may be better off with the Nemesis