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Cube Warfare: The Wii-Nerf Connection

There are plenty of Zapper knock-offs on the market right now. The most well-recognized is the Nyko Perfect Shot, with its military pistol profile, but you can find everything from a Star Wars blaster shell to a Raving Rabbids-themed plunger gun for the Wiimote. None of these double as Nerf guns, though. Fortunately, there's another option.

Combine a light gun and a dart gun and you get the Nerf N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3. This single-shot pistol has a removable launching mechanism that can be switched out for a standard Wiimote. Just take the launcher off the gun, pop in the remote, and you have a very nice pistol-grip off-brand Wii Zapper.

The Switch Shot was conceived as an accessory for Hasbro's N-Strike Wii game. It was a simple rail shooter like Link's Crossbow Training or any of the numerous light gun arcade game ports the Wii has seen over the last few years. While it didn't exactly blow peoples' minds, it did see enough success to spawn a sequel, Nerf N-Strike Elite. Elite adds a strange little puzzle-solving element to the shooting action, requiring the use of a red filter on the gun to uncover secrets and vulnerable spots. The Switch Shot that came with N-Strike Elite features a flip-up red filter that thankfully slides right off of the gun when not in use. It's not a standard N-Strike accessory, though; it only fits over the Switch Shot's pistol butt.

As a Nerf gun, the Switch shot is surprisingly powerful. The little blaster uses a nice, strong spring connected to a direct-fire plunger that can really put darts into the air. It actually manages to shooter further than a Maverick, but the single shot means it's only good for sniping and as a back-up weapon. The gun offers space for two additional darts, and a small N-Strike accessory rail on the underside of the barrel can fit a tactical light.

Originally, the Nerf N-Strike video game and gun combo cost as much as a full Wii game. Fortunately, it's seen a significant price slashing since then. The stand-alone gun is $15 at Gamestop, and Walmart carries the full Nerf N-Strike Elite set, with both the Switch Shot and the second Wii game, for just $15.54. That's $4 cheaper than the Wii Zapper. You might not get Link's Crossbow Training (which is a scant $2 used from Gamestop), but you get a handy dual-use gun that can fire darts and handle a Wiimote, plus a Nerf-themed Wii rail shooter. Not a bad deal.