David Hayter – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

June 16, 2020

David Hayter Teases Phantom: Covert Ops In New Trailer Ahead Of Release

Kayaking stealth game Phantom: Covert Ops is out on Oculus headsets on June 25th and the iconic voice of David Hayter (aka Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid) is here to tease the game one last time before release.

Hayter voices the villain General Zhurov, an ex-Soviet running the rogue Cold War-era naval installation that players infiltrate by kayak. Hayter teased the Oculus Studios game from nDreams in the UploadVR Showcase. Check out the latest trailer here:

While the premise might sound like a bit of a stretch we’ve played early versions of the game on a number of occasions and remain impressed by just how immersive it feels. You’ll find yourself carefully inserting your oar into the water and navigating through tight channels at just the time to avoid detection and reaching for the right weapon to take care of the task at hand.

Here’s how Jamie Feltham described it in a recent write up:

Sitting in a chair and using motion controls to paddle through reeds, taking one end of an oar to push yourself off from a wall, or grabbing a side and pulling yourself into position; all of this feels distinctly convincing in a way we don’t normally experience. It’s equal parts authentic and intuitive, offering truly human-powered movement mostly without the strange disconnect that comes from moving your virtual self while your real self stays in one place. I only say mostly as I don’t believe that contrast will ever completely vanish in any VR game for current systems, but it’s certainly diminished here. Plus constant paddling is, quite rightly, a bit of a workout.

Phantom: Covert Ops is out on Rift and Quest on June 25th.

Check out every trailer, article, announcement, interview, and more from the UploadVR Showcase right here.

The post David Hayter Teases Phantom: Covert Ops In New Trailer Ahead Of Release appeared first on UploadVR.

May 1, 2020

David Hayter On Metal Gear Solid VR – ‘I Think It Would Work Very Well’

Think a Metal Gear Solid VR game could work? David Hayter, the iconic voice of Solid Snake reckons so.

Hayter said as much in an interview with Upload last week. Discussing his new role in VR stealth game, Phantom: Covert Ops, he talked about how the genre is well suited to the platform. “It gives you such paranoia about what’s going on behind you and what angle [enemies] can see you from, and you’re really right in it,” Hayter said.

“The silenced pistol is so effective at hugely long ranges and, just like you say, in Metal Gear you have to line up that laser just right, but you can hit guys way across the wind,” he later added. “It’s really cool.”

But does Hayter think Metal Gear itself could work in VR? “I was also in a game called Republique and that was produced by Ryan Paton who produced Metal Gear 3 and so I got that for the Oculus and it really works,” he explained. “It’s different from Metal Gear but a similar sort of stealth mechanic and it’s really immersive and very effective. I’d love to see Metal Gear on Oculus.”

There have been a lot of interesting takes on the stealth genre in VR over the past few years; some more influenced by Metal Gear than others. 2019’s Espire 1: VR Operative, for example, was a solid attempt at adapting many of the series’ core mechanics to VR. But Hayter agrees that a Metal Gear VR game could add a uniquely cinematic feel.

“You have real face-to-face meetings with these characters and you’re right in it,” he said. “I mean that was the thing about the first Metal Gear was that it was the first truly cinematic game experience and now of course we’re into multiple levels beyond at this point. But I think it would work very well.”

Sadly we’re not likely to get a Metal Gear Solid VR game anytime soon; the series has been silent since 2018’s Metal Gear Survive and creator Hideo Kojima (who has a few interesting ideas about VR himself) split from publisher Konami all the way back in 2015. But, if Konami ever did decide to revitalize the series, we’d definitely love to see it reimagined in VR. Especially all those hour-long cutscenes.

Do you think Metal Gear Solid VR could work? Let us know in the comments below!

The post David Hayter On Metal Gear Solid VR – ‘I Think It Would Work Very Well’ appeared first on UploadVR.

April 30, 2020

Solid Snake Voice Actor David Hayter Will be Phantom: Covert Ops’ Lead Villain

nDreams’ upcoming virtual reality (VR) title Phantom: Covert Ops looks set to offer one of the most promising stealth experiences of 2020. Today, the developer has announced that the voice actor behind Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid, David Hayter will be voicing Phantom: Covert Ops‘ lead antagonist.

In Phantom: Covert Ops players are tasked with infiltrating a Cold War naval installation run by disgraced ex-Soviet General Zhurov (Hayter). The entire videogame takes place on water with players having to manoeuvre around in a kayak.

“Phantom: Covert Ops is a ground-breaking next-level VR game and one of the finest stealth games I’ve ever seen or been part of,” commented Hayter in a statement. “Without doubt, virtual reality brings a new level of immersion to gaming and to be a part of that was incredibly exciting.”

The kayak has a range of useful items within easy reach of the player, offering both stealth and loud approaches. A silenced sniper rifle and pistol to quietly take down guards, or an MP5 and C4 if they don’t want to be as subtle.

“Having someone of David’s calibre portray one of the main characters in the game speaks volumes about what we’re trying to achieve with Phantom,” said Tom Gillo, VP of Development at nDreams. “Oculus headset owners and fans of stealth games like Metal Gear Solid, will leap at the chance to take on this villain!”

Originally demoing Phantom: Covert Ops during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019, VRFocus’ first impressions found that: “What’s been shown has great promise” and could be “Potentially nDreams’ best VR game to date.”

nDreams previously announced that Phantom: Covert Ops will arrive on 25th June 2020 exclusive to Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift headsets. Take a look at the latest trailer below and as further details are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.

April 30, 2020

‘Phantom: Covert Ops’ Taps ‘Metal Gear Solid’ Snake Voice Actor for Main Protagonist

Oculus exclusive Phantom: Covert Ops is on track for its June 25th release date on Rift and Quest, and today developer nDreams has announced that David Hayter, the English voice of Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid franchise will voice the game’s lead villain, Nikolai Zhurov.

If it wasn’t clear enough from the name of the game, Phantom: Covert Ops is a stealth action game. And who more fitting to play the game’s lead protagonist than the voice of stealth gaming icon Solid Snake; David Hayter has voiced Snake in more than a dozen Metal Gear games dating back to the original Metal Gear Solid (1998).

In Phantom: Covert Ops Hayter plays the role of Nikolai Zhurov, an ex-Soviet General who wants to change the outcome of the Cold War.

Phantom: Covert Ops uniquely puts the player in a tactical kayak—no, we’re not joking, and in our preview of the game we found it’s actually a quite compelling bit of VR game design. nDreams says that the game’s story and missions will unfold over the course of a single night, as the player tries to stop Zhurov from executing a dastardly plan.

Solid Snake Actor David Hayter Returns To Stealth In Phantom: Covert Ops

Huh, Phantom: Covert Ops?!

That’s right, the legendary voice of Solid Snake himself, David Hayter, is appearing in nDreams’ upcoming VR stealth game, which we’ve already compared to the Metal Gear Solid series. Hayter will be playing General Zhurov, the ex-Soviet antagonist that runs the rogue Cold War-era naval installation that players infiltrate by kyack in the game. Whereas gamers are used to bringing Hayter along for the ride as they take down Metal Gear (except for Metal Gear Solid 5 but we don’t talk about that), this time they’ll be facing off against him. Check his work out in the new trailer below.

“This is sort of the gamer’s opportunity to take on Solid Snake now that he’s older and gone completely insane,” Hayter told me in an interview last week.

“It’s funny,” he later added, “my whole career I played heroes. I was Solid Snake, I was Captain America. And when I turned 40 it all turned to villains.”

nDreams itself sought out Hayter for the role as a nod to stealth gaming’s past. For the actor and screenwriter, it was a chance to not only return to a beloved genre but to try VR itself; the studio sent him an Oculus Quest. “You really feel — I hope they don’t mind me saying this but you really feel like Solid Snake in that kyack and moving through. So the ability to take on the antagonist role and shut that down was really fun and interesting. And I felt like this was a nice launching pad into the next-generation of what stealth games were going to be.”

It’s not actually Hayter’s first VR role; he appeared in episodic stealth series Republique, which was ported to VR a few years ago, and also had a little-known role in Oculus Rift launch app, Farlands. But this will be his biggest appearance in a native headset game yet.

“I did know that a lot of the character was going to come through in public address systems that are sort of barking orders,” he said. “So I will say it was a pretty extreme performance that took a lot out of me. I had to dominate this world, it’s like being the voice of God in this game.”

Now that he’s self-isolating like the rest of us, Hayter has been checking out a lot more of what VR has to offer. “I’ve been using it quite a bit,” he said. “I got The Room, which is so beautiful and amazing. My daughter and I do a lot of escape rooms and I got that. I’m about to get A Fisherman’s Tale, I haven’t tried that yet but it looks amazing. Vader Immortal was stunning, and playing in the lightsaber dojo quite a bit.”

Phantom: Covert Ops releases on June 25 for Oculus Rift and Quest. Check back soon for more coverage of the game.

The post Solid Snake Actor David Hayter Returns To Stealth In Phantom: Covert Ops appeared first on UploadVR.

August 6, 2019

Solid Snake actor calls out EVO for using his voice without permission

David Hayter, the voice actor behind Metal Gear Solid's main character, Solid Snake, was none too pleased to learn that the fighting tournament EVO had used his voice without permission.