Launch Lansing is not yet open as of my writing this post,
however they plan to be very soon...keep your eyes open for them by mid-February
2019. My experience was particularly special because owners Val and Matt Dalson
were kind enough to allow me an advance preview of their site and newly
completed arena even before the place was officially open. I want to extend my
thanks to them and also to the staff who were there to greet me when I arrived
at the new Launch located inside the Meridian Mall in Okemos, MI.
Chris and Peter were the first people I met upon my
arrival. I told them a little bit about my laser tag adventures and then, along
with Sam and Christina, we made our way to the entry door to their Fury Laser
Tag Experience.
We entered the vesting room and I was really psyched up
to see the packs ready for action. This was exciting!
Every time I put the vests on I'm appreciative that I
don't have to lift it over my head. The vests are very comfortable. Peter asked
me if the clips felt right to me and I assured him that they did. As we suited
up for the game I half-jokingly volunteered to give the briefing. They took me
up on my offer and I gave them my speedy recitation of the rules...
After the camera was turned off, then I rapped the
rules...but we'll save that for another day! :)
Then the time came to begin the first game! I went into
the arena sight unseen, so this video gives you a little peek at how things
went as well as a walking tour of the arena.
The equipment is very comfortable to use. As someone who
has spent a lot of hours with the Nexus style phaser it felt familiar in some
ways. You can opt for using a Zone hold and grip the top of the phaser or hold
it from below to cover one of the sensors on the bottom. This just feels right
to me and more natural than some other styles. However the new design
has some very distinctive features. The body of the phaser is significantly
longer and the blue extended tip has a sensor on the inside so you can shoot
right down the barrel. It's got a good half inch laser beam and felt very
spot-on accurate. There's an easy touch circle on either side just above the
trigger which allows you to toggle between modes comfortably whether you are
using your right or left hand.
Another significant point to note with Helios 2 that you can see
here is having the speaker right on the phaser itself. The sound quality was very good!
We experimented a bit with the dual firing modes, going
between the shotgun and blast options that you can see on the nice color screen
at the back of the phaser.
I think they currently have the shot speed set a
little faster than it is at my home site, so I enjoyed getting to play around
with that timing. We all took the opportunity to try things out between games
in the vesting room...Peter got a kick out of realizing he could take out four
players with one shot!
Then I wanted to see some of the back end elements. This
system can be controlled using a cell phone, but they showed me another
controller that looked a little like a car starter.
Besides allowing the game master to deactivate a player
if necessary this also allows them to do utilize a very smart new
feature...pausing the game.
Check out the new HAL box (named for the movie computer
you think) and notice that there are two buttons. One will still start and stop
the game, but the other now allows them to pause a game without losing data. I
remember a tournament experience I had with the Ascendance team a few years ago
where that would have been a VERY handy feature, so it's nice to see it here.
We played again and took a few pics in the arena. You
will recognize immediately that it's a Creative Works design.
I had such a great time getting familiar with the space.
If you like Zone already you will appreciate that the game feels the same as
you expect.
I can't tell you how happy it made me to be among the
first people getting to see the arena and try out the system. This was a great
time and the staff were terrific! I thank them so much for allowing me this
advance preview of Helios 2.
When we had our fill and the staff had to return to
getting things ready for the grand opening Peter took me for a tour of the rest
of the Launch facility. They will have food available (including pizza, dessert
and more) as well as plenty of cool activities for all ages. There are areas
for dodgeball...
Xtreme Dodgeball...
A ninja course...
...and a Battle Pit that will be for a jousting kind of
activity. That looks REALLY fun!
And of course, trampolines! I got a bird's eye view of it
all from their upstairs observation deck where Peter told me a bit of the
history of Launch.
He explained to me that the concept for Launch was a
collaboration between Rob Arnold and Ty Law (a three time Super Bowl Champion
with the New England Patriots...how appropriate that I got the tour on the big
game weekend). They started the first Launch business in Rhode Island so that
they could take the trampoline park idea to the next level for their kids to
have a high energy place to play. Well, based on what I saw, I'd say mission
accomplished! There are Launch franchises in quite a few states and I am
excited that there is one opening soon in New Jersey that will also have Helios
2 so I'll get to experience this system again before too long. Maybe next time
I'll even try the trampolines!
Well, I always enjoy a unique laser tag experience and I
thank Launch Trampoline Park of Lansing for providing me with exactly that.
Helios 2 is great and I hope that it attracts a lot of laser tag players (I
know they'll be seeing a lot of players from Fort Wayne very soon) and I wish
them lots of success. I'll definitely return the next time I pass through
Michigan!
Comments or Questions?
Contact: tivia@tiviachickloveslasertag.com
Websites: www.tiviachickloveslasertag.com and
www.photonforever.com
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