While there are plenty of first-person shooters (FPS) for virtual reality (VR) headsets, the amount of decent military style experiences are fairly limited. XREAL Games, the team behind A-Tech Cybernetic, has announced its second title which looks to tackle this problem head on with Zero Caliber.
Zero Caliber looks to offer one of the most realistic military style FPS experiences yet for VR headsets, combining a story-driven single-player campaign (which can also be played in co-op) with a realistic combat system.
The story revolves around a dystopian United States in the not too distant future where fresh drinking water has become Earth’s most precious commodity thanks to pollution and an abundance of micro-plastics. So naturally the military tried to keep control, and failed. Then mercenaries and private armies popped up to seize control, and of course a bunch of religious cults. The most powerful of which is an organisation called the ‘Tlalokii’, who are harboring a secret that could save humanity. Of course you’re stuck in the middle of all this and its down to your trusty gun to sort things out.
“Our goal is to develop a realistic military FPS for Virtual Reality headsets,” states the team, so all the weapons have been accurately modeled on their real-life counter parts, including their reload mechanics. And so has the gameplay, with players needing to find cover, duck, crouch, sneak, peek around corners, and clear obstacles all with real-life movements.
The videogame will be released in two parts. First of all there will be the Steam Early Access launch on 13th September which will feature all of Zero Caliber’s core mechanics such as physics based interaction, customizable weapons with various attachments. This version will also contain the tutorial, first half of the story and several co-op missions.
XREAL Games expects to keep Zero Caliber in Early Access until early 2019, when the second half of the story will be released alongside additional weapons and separate co-op missions. To tempt players ahead of the Early Access launch the studio has confirmed a free demo will be released on 5th August, 2018. AS VRFocus learns more about Zero Caliber we’ll let you know.