Chislehurst Cave War review
Review by Paul Fiander
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When it comes to the wide world of Nerf it's unusual to find a truly unique experience to dive into. The Chislehurst Cave War simply called Cave War is one such experience. The setting gives the evening a remarkable feel as you move around in the dark under torchlight with an echo filled environment ready to disorientate you. The sound of modified flywheels was never too far away and even my new arsenal additions in a Rival Artemis and Kronos created some rather spectacular sounds.
As this was only the second event organised at the venue there were still a few teething problems, these mostly related to the actual size of the complex which are a bit of a logistical nightmare. Throughout though the organisers and marshals kept players as up to date on goings ones as possible. Game rules were explained in a concise and understandable fashion allowing even a new player like me the ability to feel comfortable and able to get involved in the matches. The rules set felt sensible and I was rather impressed by the insistence on eye protection by not only the organisers but other players as well. The restriction on modified blasters to under 130fps felt justified due to the sometimes close proximity of engagements. I know there are other considerations to the projectile velocity but I appreciated the rule to allow a more universal involvement. The Ammo supply was great with a mixture of Rival and Regular ammo available for all to use. These were placed at a meeting point near the game zones entrance. This allowed for easy reloads in-between rounds and the boxes never seemed to run dry despite some heavy consumption blasters on display. As mentioned above I chose to run with the Rival Artemis and Kronos. These are both Spring powered blasters allowing for a quieter engagement. I prefer this type of blaster anyway as I enjoy the more tactile feedback you get from firing and reloading. Thankfully they did not put me at a disadvantage and I managed to grab a few downs throughout the night. This worked particularly well when engaging a Nemesis user who was using a small hole in a wall to rain rounds down on us. The key was waiting for the reving to stop that way you knew you a few seconds to return fire before the revs and rounds would begin again. At this point the slam fire on the Artemis came in really handy. |
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My favourite game type had to be the Rush-like game which was seemingly created a little bit on the fly. Much like in Battlefield games the idea was for the attackers to take one point with the defenders falling back to a separate base when they were downed. It allowed for a concentrated attack effort once the primary area with more entrances was taken. I would love to see this expanded with multiple fallback points created. However this could cause a few logistical issues namely ammo but it could make players scavenge from the floor a bit or even just be a bit more conservative with their shots, either way it would another dynamic to the evening's proceedings.
Unfortunately the Cave Wars are a monthly Saturday event at the moment meaning I will only be able to get involved in an occasional fashion due to work commitments. I will though encourage those able to attend to do so as it really is a great location allowing a truly enjoyable evening.
Below are a few videos shot by other players on the night. They do a great job of showing the atmosphere of the night and some of the gameplay.
Unfortunately the Cave Wars are a monthly Saturday event at the moment meaning I will only be able to get involved in an occasional fashion due to work commitments. I will though encourage those able to attend to do so as it really is a great location allowing a truly enjoyable evening.
Below are a few videos shot by other players on the night. They do a great job of showing the atmosphere of the night and some of the gameplay.
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