Oculus Rift Black Friday Pack: Lone Echo, Onward, Superhot, The Climb, Arizona Sunshine, GORN, and Eleven For $99.99 – Saving 50%

Oculus Rift Black Friday Pack: Lone Echo, Onward, Superhot, The Climb, Arizona Sunshine, GORN, and Eleven For $99.99 – Saving 50%

Facebook’s Oculus is offering a Black Friday game bundle on the Rift’s VR app store. The pack contains 7 major games for $99.99 – Lone Echo, Onward, Superhot VR, The Climb, Arizona Sunshine, GORN, and Eleven: Table Tennis VR.

At their regular prices the games would total to $209.93, thus this pack saves $109.94 (%52). The deal is one day only, ending at midnight tonight Pacific Standard Time.

Onward and Arizona Sunshine are on sale separately at 40% off and 50% off, but the other games are not. While this certainly isn’t a budget oriented deal, we think these games are some of the best that VR gaming currently has to offer. All seven would make excellent additions to your library.

Lone Echo [8.5/10]

Lone Echo is a roughly five hour voice acted story driven VR game. It was created by The Order 1886 developers Ready At Dawn, funded by Oculus. You play as a service android under the command of Captain Olivia Rhodes. When a catastrophe strikes, you and Olivia must work together to try and repair the station. We were highly impressed with the game when we reviewed it, giving it 8.5/10 and concluding:

Lone Echo is a landmark achievement in three key areas of the VR experience: locomotion, UI, and interaction. The winning blend of intuitive movement, discovery-based gameplay and character-driven storytelling create a compelling sense of presence that few VR games could hope to match, while the considered pacing gives it a fresh identity. I hate to mark it down on such a trivial aspect as length, but the package simply feels incomplete, rounding off in the second act and depriving you of both the narrative and mechanical evolutions I was expecting to encounter in the third. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that I expect its sequel to be one of VR’s very best.

Onward

Onward is a realistic multiplayer military shooter which feels like playing Insurgency in VR. Remarkably, it entered early access when it had just one developer. Since then, it has become one of the most popular multiplayer games in VR.

Check out our interview with the developer or player’s field guide for more information on Onward.

Superhot VR [9/10]


Superhot VR is a unique shooter experience where the faster you move, the faster time moves. If you keep completely still, time will freeze. It is a perfect blend of mental and physical challenge, and perhaps one of the best VR games ever made.

When we reviewed the game, we gave it 9/10, concluding:

SUPERHOT VR is a pure, distilled, injection of unadulterated adrenaline that will get your blood pumping just as quickly as time stops in the game itself. With every movement you make, time creeps forward ever so slightly, and everything from the level design to the way it feels to dodge a series of bullets in slow-motion is orchestrated to reinforce the core ideals of the experience. From start to finish it plays out like a fantasy ripped from the screen of every action movie; an indulgent cacophony of visual and gameplay excitement.

The Climb [8/10]


Still today, The Climb has some of the best graphics you can see in a realtime VR game. The game remarkably launched for the Rift using an Xbox controller, before the Touch controllers released, but received a large update on the launch of the controllers to add full support. Even with an xbox controller we were impressed, giving it an 8/10 saying:

There may be some control issues holding it back but, in the end, The Climb creates a world in which the mechanics are so satisfying, the visuals are so beautiful, and the sense of accomplishment is so real that you just want to continue doing what the game enables you to do so perfectly: keep climbing.

Arizona Sunshine [8.5/10]

Arizona Sunshine is a zombie FPS with a full voice acted singleplayer campaign and co-op multiplayer. When we reviewed the game, we gave it 8.5/10, concluding:

Vertigo Games proved that even in the most saturated genre we’ve seen for VR games this year — shooters with zombies — there was still room for something fresh. Arizona Sunshine combines the narrative power of a fully-featured 4+ hour campaign mode, with the intensity of a wave-based horde mode, and then adds multiplayer to both experiences. The protagonist’s witty humor make it worth recommending on his charming personality alone, with enough depth and variety to keep people coming back for several hours. By doing so many things so well, Arizona Sunshine quickly rose to the top of the pack as the best overall zombie shooter we’ve seen yet in VR.

GORN


GORN is a comically over the top cartoon gladiator simulator which many consider to have the best melee mechanics in VR. As the game isn’t out of early access yet we haven’t formally reviewed it, but in our preview we stated:

If there were ever a VR game to convince even the strictest of VR pacifists to chop someone’s head off, it’s this. I dare you to not smile just a little as you hit a man so hard his eyeballs fall out. This plays like a hyperbolic anticipation of everything VR will one day come under fire for; an in-the-face parody of the inevitability of it all. I can picture the Fox News complaints about young children ripping people’s arms off in VR already, but here’s a game that makes actually doing that joyously silly before anyone’s really made it thrillingly empowering. I can’t help but admire the developer’s angle here.

Eleven: Table Tennis VR


Eleven is seemingly the most simple game in this bundle, but to many it will provide the most hours of fun. Eleven represents the mastery of virtual table tennis, a sport so ideally suited for VR that VR companies often use it as an example of what the medium can do when giving interviews to news outlets.

While we haven’t formally reviewed Eleven yet, as of this article it sits on a 4.75 star rating on the Oculus Store and 95% on Steam.

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10 Best Mods And Custom Maps For Pavlov VR Shooter

10 Best Mods And Custom Maps For Pavlov VR Shooter

Pavlov VR continues to provide the quintessential FPS experience for players who want frantic, classic game types such as Team Deathmatch and Search & Destroy in a modern-day military setting. While not as hair-raisingly intense or competitive as its distant cousin — Onward, which it is so often compared to — it does constitute a fluid, fun FPS for both friends and competitors alike.

Hearkening back to the mechanically creative attitude of Garry’s Mod, Pavlov VR also stands out for its open support of user-made maps and mods; some of which have introduced features such as day/night cycles and entirely new game modes. Furthermore, if you do decide to check out Pavlov VR for its asking price of $9.99 on Steam, then the following is a list of mods that you absolutely should not miss out on.

Dust 2

A classic map from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dust 2 fits perfectly into Pavlov VR’s gameplay pacing — which is not conceptually different from Counter-Strike’s pacing at all. This isn’t just a fantastic port, it’s also a fantastic first map for new players to learn Pavlov’s mechanics in. As in the original Dust 2 map, this Pavlov VR iteration is set up with the game’s bomb-defusing Search & Destroy mode in mind.

Office HQ

Another instantly recognizable classic from Counter-Strike, the Office HQ is a decently large map that’s versatile and perfect for any of Pavlov’s game modes. Its contrast of open horizontal space cut off by long hallways that are compromised by weaving office boardrooms leave plenty of opportunity for different kinds of play. This makes it a heavily balanced map for competitive players to round off in.

Facility

Ported in as a classic map from Rare’s GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64, Facility is a series of tightly woven corridors and shooting galleries that make for intense door-to-door skirmishes. It’s bananas to get a full room of people into this map for a free-for-all Deathmatch, since the bullets don’t really stop flying until the match is over. A word of warning: spend very little time in the central hallway or on the stairs. As other players spawn in small rooms adjacent to those primary thoroughfares, it’s easy to get caught in crossfire from all directions if you’re out in the open for too long.

Ziba Tower

Ziba Tower is another ported map, this time from Battlefield 3. Unlike many other maps in Pavlov VR, the Ziba Tower penthouse feels exceptionally clean with attention paid to small aesthetic details. It even has multiple swimming pools for you to dip your feet into. In contrast to Facility, Ziba Tower is much more spacious and can feel quite lonely without a full lobby of players or AI bots. Granted, I particularly enjoy Ziba Tower’s use of vertical space — making for really interesting Team Deathmatch sessions rife with tactical firefights between vantage points.

Practice Range

The Practice Range is perfect for new players who want to try out all of Pavlov VR’s weapons without feeling the pressure of enemies firing back. Even as an experienced player, this map offers a slew of versatile physics-based target practice toys that you can play with to improve your aim. I enjoy challenging myself to hit vases across the range down the ironsight of an M1911, but that’s certainly not all there is to do. There are a number of exercises on the Practice Range that are designed to test your accuracy and skill with each of Pavlov VR’s weapons, including breaching rooms and moving targets. All of them are worth doing at least once.

Rust

For those who remember spending countless nights in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s high-octane free-for-all matchmaking lobbies, Rust sets itself apart as one of the most beloved close-quarters skirmish maps in recent gaming history. In Pavlov VR, it’s sort of striking to see Rust presented to me as a virtual place that I feel I have now visited, but it doesn’t function any worse than it did in Modern Warfare 2. In fact, VR presence makes Rust come to life in a special way, if not solely because Pavlov VR’s gameplay mechanics fit naturally on top of its meticulously-crafted chutes and sandy rampways. Expect frantic and charged combat from all sides as players chase one another up, down, and around corners.

The Office (Dunder Mifflin)

A perfect re-creation of Dunder Mifflin’s office space, titular The Office (Dunder Mifflin) is another skirmish-focused map that puts players into a tight proximity with one another. Granted, most of your time will be spent ducking behind desks and chairs or inside of Michael Scott’s personal office. Some of the boardroom spaces as well as the staircase offer more breathing room than the primary office space, but shotguns and heavy pistols reign supreme here. While the few main office areas are connected by hallways, those hallways can be difficult to defend and are quickly swallowed in gunfire during Search & Destroy mode. Meanwhile, tight doorways can provide enough cover for yourself or other players to hide in wait, which can still easily backfire either way if you aren’t paying attention.

Village TTT

TTT is a game mode that was already popular in Garry’s Mod, but has taken on new life inside of Pavlov VR. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a play on the classic murder mystery whodunnit, where up to three players are traitors and up to seven players are civilians — including one sheriff. Either the civilians outlive the timer (or eradicate the traitors), or the traitors murder the civilians before the timer runs out. While regular civilians can’t tell who’s a traitor and who’s a fellow civilian, the sheriff is immediately visible to every player at the start of the game. Traitors are visible to other traitors, but are outmatched from the very beginning — rewarding a sleuthier approach to picking off civilians rather than take them on full-stop. Unless the sheriff gathers the bulk of the civilian players into one spot early, they are usually the first player to be picked off, making sheriff the most gruelling position to play as.

Pavlov VR’s iteration of TTT comes in a few different flavored maps, including Manor and Asylum, but many players agree that it has been done best with Village. Based on Kakariko Village from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, this version of TTT comes with plenty of nooks and crannies for traitors to hide out in, as well as a testing machine that allows players to determine who’s a civilian and who’s a traitor.

Hyrule Market

While not introducing any new gameplay, Hyrule Market is where I’ve had the absolute most fun playing Team Deathmatch and Deathmatch modes in Pavlov VR thus far. It’s a complete reimagining of the Hyrule Market from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, including a perfectly simulated day/night cycle that adds a level of dynamic ambiance unseen in other maps. The vast majority of the combat takes place across the town centre, but there are surprises around every nook and cranny. For example, as you enter different shops and buildings, their correct OST plays, which is uniquely delightful and sure to evoke nostalgia on its own. But the cherry on top is the fully-explorable Temple of Time, which you can enter at your own peril.

Jailbreak Mod

Jailbreak’s slower-paced cops and robbers affair stacks (up to) three guards against up to seven prisoners. The job of the prisoners is to pool resources together so they can craft the tools necessary to escape from the prison. Meanwhile, the guards are meant to stop them from doing precisely that. But when a prisoner dies, they respawn inside of their prison cell with none of their items, meaning that it’s in a prisoner’s best interest to avoid incurring the wrath of the guards at all.

There are very few mechanical rules in place to hold Jailbreak up — a double edged sword, allowing guards to abuse their power and randomly shoot prisoners for looking at them the wrong way. Instead, the modders opted to leave Jailbreak’s abstract rules listed on the walls of the prison. To follow those rules and decide when/how to enact them, any given guard requires a combination of reading comprehension, snap problem-solving and empathy. As such, Jailbreak is best seen as a game mode where the player engages real humans behaving in eerily appropriate ways when put into certain positions. Guards act flippantly with their power while prisoners scurry around trying to avoid dying and therefore losing their items.

Violence isn’t always a winning strategy as a prisoner, but killing a guard and taking their key makes the process of moving between locked doors far easier. And the moment at the turning point when you finally kill a guard who’s been excessively aggressive to you and the other prisoners is a satisfying moment indeed. As is the moment when you lead your fellow prisoners to an escape route only to realize that one or two prisoners are left stranded, so then the five of you shoot your way back into the prison to execute a final stand.

The thrill of playing as a prisoner in Jailbreak comes from each risk assessment you have to make before taking the next necessary step forward, each step getting more important than the last, driving a feeling of tension that leads to the cathartic moment of escape. As a guard, however, Jailbreak can be more or less boring depending on what kind of person you’re willing to act as.

This is why ultimately, Jailbreak exceeds at creatively using Pavlov VR both to place human behavior under a microlens and provide a compelling gameplay reason for true multiplayer role playing in VR. It’s also where I’ve had the most fun playing Pavlov. Well done!

Note: Jailbreak Mod also has a sequel, Jailbreak Mod 2, which takes place on a different map and contains slightly advanced rules. Some players believe this second iteration is a big step backwards from the original, citing unintuitive map layout and issues with a new crafting menu interfering with the Oculus Rift control scheme.

 

It’s a massive joy to play Pavlov VR; not only for its punchy VR gunplay, but also because of the modding community that continues to add new maps and content for repeat players to consume and explore. That said, if there are any maps or mods you feel deserved to be on this list, then let us know!

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Something for the Weekend: Oculus Winter Treats

The Halloween sales are now over so for those non-horror fans out there who have saved their cash the Oculus Store has got plenty of deals going. From shooters to sports titles and puzzle experiences there should be something for everyone.

Onward

One of the best known military-style first-person shooters (FPS) for Oculus Rift, Onward features 5v5 online battles where players have one life, no heads-up display, and no crosshairs, Onward also includes solo/co-op modes against AI opponents. To add to the realism Onward features dynamic time of day, weather effects, and multiple environments and scenarios to play through, as well as an artificial locomotion system to make the hectic gameplay as comfortable as possible.

Onward is currently available for £10.99 GBP on Oculus Store, rather than the usual £18.99.

Gun Club VR

For Gun Club VR the Binary Mill has focused on a highly realistic design and gameplay mechanics, allowing players to test their shooting skills across a range of scenarios which even include a few zombies along the way. All the weapons are highly detailed, with players able to handle, load, cock and fire them just like the real deal. They’ve been developed to provide real-world ballistics so you can select burst or full auto depending on preference.

Gun Club VR is currently available for £10.99 GBP on Oculus Store, rather than the usual £14.99.

Gun Club VR

Escape Room VR: Stories

Based on the popular real-life escape rooms this title leverages VR to its full potential. With highly detailed models and intractable objects within realistic looking environments, players will actually believe they are in those rooms needing to escape. Each room has its own plot and they all combine together to deliver a story that features multiple endings. If you want to experience a thrilling adventure then this is the title for you.

Escape Room VR is currently available for £8.99 GBP on Oculus Store, rather than the usual £10.99.

Submerged: VR Escape the Room

Header Goal VR

Header Goal VR: Being Axel Rix is a sporting football experience that solely revolves around using your head to deflect balls back at an assortment of targets, with an overarching storyline about a young player called Axel Rix.

Header Goal VR: Being Axel Rix is available now for £2.99 on sale from the usual £10.99 for Oculus Rift.

Header Goal VR image 10

Wanted Killer VR

“Four heroes, four styles: Play your way with a choice of four unique heroes. Unleash dual-pistol damage as Ricky, get up-close and personal with Teo, strike as stealthy assassin Mia or cut loose with machine gun-toting Aya.”

Wanted Killer VR is available now for £6.99 on sale from the usual £7.99 for Oculus Rift.

Wanted Killer VR

A Chair in a Room: Greenwater

“A Chair in a Room: Greenwater is a tense Virtual Reality horror game set in America’s Deep South. Drawing on elements of Southern Gothic and using settings of derelict towns, run-down motels and murky, decaying swamps, A Chair in a Room will take you through an investigation of institutional corruption, religious immorality and murder, which can only be unlocked by searching deep within your own psyche.”

A Chair in a Room: Greenwater is available now for £14.99 on Oculus Store, rather than the usual £18.99.

Elven Assassin

Developed by Wenkly Studio, Elven Assassin pits players against hordes of incoming orcs as they try to attack your town. The title features both single-player and multiplayer modes. Playing solo it’s all about highscores to achieve a global ranking by not only killing thousands of orcs but also in style, getting headshots or extreme distance kills.

Elven Assassin is available now for £8.24 on Oculus Store, rather than the usual £10.99.

Onward: Update 1.4 integriert Spec-Ops-Modus, Halloween-Features und Waffen-Attachments

Downpour Interactive veröffentlicht das neue Update 1.4 für den beliebten Multiplayer-Shooter Onward, welches zahlreiche neue Features und neuen Content ins Spiel integriert. Dazu zählt ein völlig neuer Spielmodus, neue Gameplay-Features sowie UI- und Map-Überarbeitungen.

Onward – Update 1.4: Neuer Spielmodus Spec Ops

Mit dem neuen Patch dürfen die Spieler-/innen innerhalb des neuen Halloween-Events den zusätzlichen Game-Modus Spec Ops ausprobieren. Innerhalb des Spec-Ops-Modus tritt ein aufgepowerter Volk-Soldat als Jäger gegen ein MARSOC-Team an. Der einzelne Spieler erhält für seine Jagd nur ein Messer als Waffe, dafür ist er schneller, hat mehr Sichtweite und darf auf Zusatzitems, wie Blendgranaten zurückgreifen. Das Ziel der MARSOCs ist es zu überleben, was aufgrund beschränkter Munition zusätzlich erschwert wird.

Onward – Update 1.4: Neue Gameplay-Features, Balance-Updates und Fehlerbehebungen

Neben dem neuen Spielmodus integrieren die verantwortlichen Devs zahlreiche weitere Features ins Spiel. So dürfen die Spieler-/innen zukünftig auf C4-Sprengstoff mit Fernzündung und Molotows zurückgreifen, um für reichliche Zerstörung auf dem Schlachtfeld zu sorgen. Die explosiven Sprengstoffe stehen der Klasse der Spezialisten zur Verfügung.

Doch auch Waffenliebhaber kommen auf ihre Kosten, denn ab sofort ist es möglich, beliebig viele Waffenaufsätze an seine Schießeisen zu montieren. Zudem sind nun auch einige Pistolen mit Attachments wie Rotpunktvisieren oder Schalldämpfer aufrüstbar. Apropos Pistolen: die Five-Seven ersetzt ab sofort die USP.

Zusätzlich gibt es eine Überarbeitung des UI sowie der Map Subway. So wurden neue Ein- und Ausgänge sowie Spawnpunkte platziert, um mehr taktische Vielfalt sowie ein ausgeglicheneres Balancing zu gewährleisten. Zudem wurde das Hauptmenü im Zuge von Halloween in einem neuen Theme gestaltet. Neben den Gameplay-Features gibt es zahlreiche Balancing-Updates und Bug Fixes. Die gesamten Patch Notes könnt ihr hier nachlesen.

Onward ist für 22,99 Euro für Oculus Rift und HTC Vive auf Steam sowie derzeit zum reduzierten Preis von 14,99 Euro im Oculus Store erhältlich.

(Quellen: Steam Blog | Video: Downpour Interactive YouTube)

Der Beitrag Onward: Update 1.4 integriert Spec-Ops-Modus, Halloween-Features und Waffen-Attachments zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

Onward Update 1.4 Adds Spec Ops Halloween Mode And Pistol Attachments

Onward Update 1.4 Adds Spec Ops Halloween Mode And Pistol Attachments

Onward’s 1.4 Update today brings with it a lot of improvements and new additions. Chief among them is a brand new game mode called Spec Ops, which works a lot like typical “Infection” modes from other shooters. In the mode, a Marsoc soldier armed with only a knife gets increased speed, visibility, and some utility items to try and take out the Volk team. It’s hunter versus hunted.

You can see a teaser of the mode, which has some heavy Halloween-style undertones, right here:

Also included in the 1.4 Update are molotovs and C4 for the Volk specialist class, pistol attachments like suppressors and red dots, a revamped Subway map, some new gun models, better UI, and more. Onward will also be free on Oculus Home this weekend from today until October 29th so you can try it out at no charge to see if you like it.

Onward is widely considered to be one of the (if not the absolute) best VR shooters on the market and it was first created by a single indie developer. You can read more about its origin story here. We’re still waiting to hear about what’s next from developer Downpour Interactive.

Since then the game has gone on to include co-op modes, tons of maps and guns, and so much more to establish itself as the premiere VR military simulation shooter. Check out our field guide for detailed advice on getting started with the game.

Let us know what you think of the update down in the comments below!

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Onward Adds a Spooky Twist to its Free Weekend

Military first-person shooter (FPS) Onward has become quite the popular Early Access title since it launch in 2016 on Steam then 2017 for Oculus Store. The videogame was part of the recent VR League: Season 2 alongside Downpour Interactive’s fairly regular free weekends for players to demo the experience. This upcoming weekend is no different, apart from the fact that it’s Halloween next week so the studio has something creepy in store.

Onward

Onward’s free weekend begins tomorrow, Friday 26th October, 6pm BST and runs through until Monday 29th, 5am GMT on Oculus Store. The team has released a very brief trailer for the Halloween event, showcasing a dust bowl of a town where visibility is highly reduced.

Teasing a bit more info one of the development team took to Reddit to confirm that the new spooky gamemode would be complimented with new gear. No specifics were mentioned but it could see attachments for sidearms being employed.

If you’ve yet to try Onward then this weekend is the perfect time to try. Featuring 5v5 online battles where players have one life, no heads-up display, and no crosshairs, Onward also includes solo/co-op modes against AI opponents. To add to the realism Onward features dynamic time of day, weather effects, and multiple environments and scenarios to play through, as well as an artificial locomotion system to make the hectic gameplay as comfortable as possible.

Onward has over thirty different weapons to choose from, with a number of mods available in the game’s lobby, including red dot sights, flashlights, 12x scopes, and more to add a tactical advantage to each combat scenario. This will obviously be increased with the Halloween update.

Downpour Interactive has yet to confirm when Onward will be fully released. When it does VRFocus will let you know.

This Week In VR Sport: Recruitment, Table Tennis And The Future Of eSports

Every weekend VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories as part of This Week In VR Sport. This week, the Mount Royal University Cougars women’s soccer team is using VR to help with recruitment and training, Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR is coming to PlayStation VR, and Oculus talk about the blood, sweat, and tears of eSports at Oculus Connect 5. 

Mount Royal University Cougars

Mount Royal University Using VR Try-Outs For Their Women’s Soccer Team

Those looking to earn a spot on the Mount Royal University Cougars women’s soccer team may soon find that their try-out goes beyond the pitch and into VR.

As reported by globalnews, the University is looking to explore how they are use VR technology to help them recruit players and train athletes already on the team. This came around following Cougars head coach Tino Fusco notices the importance of review match footage. After reaching out to Mount Royal University associate professor Anthony Chaston, a way to incorporate VR into his coaching was developed.

By taking 360-degree video of Cougars players during practice matches the plan is to use the footage to immerse players and recruits into a real soccer scenario and see how they perform. The system could also be used by the coaches to provide them with a unique perspective to review plays and improve their teams performance.

“If I can get a recruit in my office and sit her down and put the headset on her and actually be on the field and be able to see 360 degrees, now I’m able to challenge the athlete and say, ‘Do you understand the game?’” Fusco said.

The solution could see the recruitment process for the team become more in-depth while all allow Fusco a means to challenge the teams knowledge and performances in an immersive way. As the technology continues to get rolled out to the team, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.

Racket Fury - PSVR

Racket Fury: Table Table VR Coming To PlayStation VR Next Month

Earlier this week it was revealed that developer 10Ants are bringing their VR table tennis title to PlayStation VR next month. Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR was originally released for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive back in 2017 and then the Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR earlier this year. Now, the title will be coming to the PlayStation VR headset giving even more players a chance to enjoy some sci-fi inspired table tennis.

“We can assure that the game is exceptionally challenging, engaging and fun! Thanks to the advanced physics, developed in cooperation with professional TT players, every match you’re about to play is going to be a really immersive experience” said Sebastian Boczek, CEO of 10Ants Hill in a statement.

Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR gives players the chance to experience a realistic and immersive table tennis experience that will see them traveling to a range of sci-fi locations. With advanced physics and challenging AI opponents to face, the title is able to recreate the real-world feeling while also putting a few twists on things. There is even a workshop where players can develop their unique robot-character to create the ultimate table tennis player.

Oculus Connect 5 eSports

Oculus Talk eSports At Oculus Connect 5

At the recent Oculus Connect 5 event, Christopher K. McKelvy, Head of eSports at Oculus to the stage to deliver a short keynote on the companies current and future VR eSports plans. Titled “Blood, Sweat, and Tears: A Tale of VR Esports” the talk explores what makes VR so appealing within this rapidly growing and expanding market sector. Oculus have a vision to grow the VR eSports ecosystem and feel that it will play a key part in the future of gaming as a whole. 

As mentioned in the talk, the market is on track to have an audience size of over 500 million with $1.5 billion (USD) expected in revenue. Titles such as Onward, Sprint Vector and The Unspoken are some of the titles that are mentioned during the talk as being some of the most played and most successful on the Oculus store.

Oculus are of course heavy invested in the VR eSports scene being involved in the VR League, which held it’s season 2 finals at the Oculus Connect 5 Event. One part of the keynote that is a nice touch as well is that McKelvy spends a moment talking about the players and some of their stories, even sharing his own. The full talk, which last around 17 minutes, can be watched below and goes over Oculus’ strategy to revolutionize eSports and keep creating more excitement.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.

Something For The Weekend: Beat The Cold Winds With Deals On Oculus Titles

Time for another entry of Something for the Weekend, the weekly series where VRFocus bring you a number of deals on virtual reality (VR) titles. As the cold winds are blowing this weekend why not stay inside and experience a new VR adventure. With plenty of deals to be found on the Oculus store, below you’re find a number of titles that are sure to be of interest. This includes intense multiplayer action in the likes of Onward, a relaxing experience in Monzo VR and even a fantasy adventure in Lila’s Tale. As always, be sure to check back every weekend for even more deals right here on VRFocus.

Onward screenshot 1

Onward

Engage in intense tactical multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) action in this immersive title. Coordinate and communicate with your team to complete objectives in online infantry combat. How you perform as a team along with your marksmanship skill to claim victory over the enemy team. Featuring a range of different maps set during day and night, complete with unique weather effects, players will feel the rush of being in combat. With only one life, every action counts.

Onward is available now for £10.99 (GBP) down from the usual £18.99 for the Oculus Rift.

Dead Ground Arena Screenshot 03

Dead Ground: Arena

Maybe you are looking to enter an arena full of horrible monsters and unleash massive amounts of damage from over twenty different types of weapons. If so, then Dead Ground: Arena is the one for you. With a number of different missions and challenges that will have your protecting VIP’s to surviving waves of enemies in small areas, this action packed title will keep your heart pumping as you feel the adrenaline rush.

Dead Ground : Arena is available now for only £7.14 (GBP) down from £10.99 for the Oculus Rift.

Budget Cuts

“Budget Cuts is a great title, with substantial story and meaty, challenging gameplay, and an entertaining style, but it does suffer from some significant performance problems that do detract from the experience. Budget Cuts could be elevated from good to utterly brilliant if it is given a little more time in the oven to bake in and correct the issues.” – Read VRFocus’ Staff Writer Rebecca Hills-Duty preview of Budget Cuts.

Budget Cuts is available now for £19.99 (GBP) down from £22.99 for Oculus Rift.

Monzo VR-CoverArt

Monzo VR

Have you wanted to build model kits within VR? If so, then Monzo VR is the title for you. Featuring a range of highly detailed model kits to build including cars, World War 2 planes and even a Da Vinci Paddle Boat, players can enjoy the peaceful process of building model kits all within a relaxing and beautiful environment.

Monzo VR is available now for £3.49 (GBP) down from £10.99 for Oculus Rift.

Sairento VR new screenshot 3

Sairento VR

“In the end though it all comes down to how much time and enjoyment you’ll get out of Sairento VR and rest assured it’ll be plenty. If Mixed Realms hadn’t managed to nail down the movement system then Sairento VR could’ve been just another FPS with a myriad of options. Instead, Sairento VR is one of the best free flowing combat titles available for VR headsets, showcasing how far development of VR locomotion has come.” – Read VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer review of Sairento VR.

Sairento VR is available now for £17.24 (GBP) down from £22.99 for Oculus Rift.

Lilas Tale VR screenshot

Lila’s Tale

When Lila’s brother suddenly entered a mysterious dungeon, all things went from fun to trouble. Afraid of the dark, Lila took a deep breath and entered the darkness filled dungeon. Now, players enter this fantastic and magical experience and help Lila find her lost brother by overcoming the darkness and the puzzles that await within.

Lila’s Tale is available now for £2.29 (GBP) down from £3.99 for Oculus Go and Gear VR.

Please, Don’t Touch Anything

“Theoretically, you can see everything Please, Don’t Touch Anything has to offer in less than an hour and, at present, there’s little reason to return beyond that. However, the puzzle challenges get increasingly convoluted once you’ve broken everything once and found clues to what should (or could) be coming next. It’s still unlikely to take you more than an evening to find all 30 of Please, Don’t Touch Anything’s endings, but it’s a journey that will remain with you due to it’s constantly evolving nature and it’s return to 0 upon every completion.” – Read VRFocus’ Editor Kevin Joyce’s review of Please, Don’t Touch Anything

Please, Don’t Touch Anything is available now for £5.09 (GBP) down from £10.99 on Oculus Rift. It is also available on Oculus Go and Gear VR for £3.49.

Worlds at War

Worlds At War

When the world is at war with aliens it is up to you to defend your carrier-group from a relentless attack. Control airplaces, helicopters and combat-boats as you unleash all your firepower to stop the onslaught. This action-packed horde-mode videogame will have you dealing with a lot of enemies at once so get ready for a challenging fight.

Worlds At War is available now for £7.99 (GBP) down from £12.99 for Oculus Rift.

Virtual Ninja VR Hero

Virtual Ninja VR

Pick up your Katana and Shuriken as you step into the shoes of a mighty ninja and must defeat the enemies that want to see you dead. Throw, slash and defeat the enemies to face each of the five bosses before taking them down and claiming victory. With online leaderboards your score will be up for everyone to see and beat. Want to be a master ninja? Then prepare to master the art of combat.

Virtual Ninja VR is on sale now for £4.49 (GBP) down from the usual £7.99 for Oculus Rift.

Red Matter

“All in all, Red Matter is a very high calibre VR experience, neatly weaving its story and puzzle elements together. It by no means perfect, following the line of other puzzles in VR that are seemingly unable to offer plenty of reasons to come back for more. So like a good meal take it slowly and savour the moment.” – VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham’s review of Red Matter.

Red Matter is available now for £19.49 (GBP) down from £24.99 for Oculus Rift.

That is all for this week but remember that VRFocus gathers all the best sales and deals every week, so check back next weekend at the same time to discover more.

This Week In VR Sport: Vuzix And OnCore Target AR Golf, The VR League Finals Draw Near And Watch PGA TOUR Coverage In VR

Every weekend VRFocus brings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories as part of This Week In VR Sport. This week, a reminder that the VR league Season 2 finals are being held at the upcoming Oculus Connect 5 event, Vuzix has announced a partnership with OnCore to produce AR experiences for golf players and fans can now watch PGA TOUR coverage in both VR and AR. 

VR League

VR League Season 2 Final To Be Held At Oculus Connect 5

The ever growing VR eSports scene will be making another big step soon as it has been announced that the VR League Season 2 finals will be features at the upcoming Oculus Connect 5 event.

The Oculus Connect 5 event is taking place on September 26 – 27 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose and it is here that teams will face off against each other in the world finals of the VR League season 2. This will see teams for popular VR titles such as Onward, The Unspoken, Sprint Vector and even Echo Arena battle it out to take home the victory and the prize. The VR League is sponsored by Oculus and ESL so it isn’t much of a surprise that the final will be held at the Oculus Connect 5 event and might even become a trend in the future.

VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest from both the Oculus Connect 5 event and the finals of the VR League Season 2 as they develop, so stay tuned for more.

Vuzix Announces Partnership With OnCore Golf To Bring AR Experiences To Golf Players

Vuzix Corporation, known for their Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses, have announced that they are partnering with OnCore Golf to deliver new AR enhanced experiences for golfers on the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses.

The two companies will team up to create AR instructional, entertainment, and educational programs that golfers of all skill levels can enjoy at any venue – including driving rangers, golf entertainment centers, on the golf course, and at home – all center around the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses. The two companies are planning to introduce their first AR golf experience in early 2019 and will leverage third-part ball launch system at driving ranges and practice facilities.

By mid-2019, OnCore expects to launch its smart GENiUS ball and offer it with the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to allow for real-time AR tracking and analysis for golfers to use in actual course play. The system will include a range of features such as instructional and caddying advice using a network of both professional golf instructors and artificial intelligence (AI), along with GPS location and sensor technology. More features are expected to be announced in the coming months closer to the release of the product.

“We are excited to enter into this partnership with OnCore Golf and believe it can create an entirely new form of entertainment and training experiences for golfers of all skill levels,” said Paul Travers, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vuzix talking about the new partnership: “Bringing Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to the golf courses, golf entertainment centers and driving ranges gives us an opportunity to connect with more than 25 million active golf participants that play on more than 15,000 golf courses across the USA.”

“Coupled with an appropriate golf ball launch system, wearers can see their flight statistics in real time. Connecting the digital world to the real world through the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses allows wearers to keep their phone in their pocket and eye on the ball while offering an opportunity to improve their golf handicap or just simply have a lot fun while trying.”

VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on this partnership in the future as it develops.

PGA TOUR

Watch The PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs In VR And AR

PGA TOUR announced earlier this week that it was going to give fans an immersive way for fans to experience coverage of the FedExCup Playoffs event for the 2017-18 season. On offer are three holes of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club which are being broadcast in VR with fans also able to enjoy some of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings warm up on the driving range.

Fans will be able to enjoy coverage of East Lake’s par-3 9th, par-3 15th, and par-5 18th closing hole in VR with an AR option available as well. In order to enjoy this content fans can watch it on Twitter, Periscope, the PGA TOUR mobile app and on the Samsung Gear VR via the PGA TOUR VR Live Oculus application. The remaining live coverage will run today from 1pm – 6pm (ET) and tomorrow at the same times.

To experience the AR cover, fans will need to download the PGA TOUR AR app to their device and then find a flat, horizontal surface on which to display the content. Once the model has loaded viewers will be able to select a player to watch and then enjoy their shot trails in AR. There are a number of different players and holes available to pick so make sure to try them all out in AR. For more information on the application and setup process, here over to the official website.

That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.

9 Oculus Rift Apps That Have To Be Ported To Santa Cruz

9 Oculus Rift Apps That Have To Be Ported To Santa Cruz

Yesterday we broke the news that Oculus is tentatively targetting a Q1 2019 release for its Santa Cruz standalone VR headset. The news doesn’t come as too much of a surprise given Oculus’ Rift and Go devices both got early releases in their respective launch years. What did raise eyebrows, though, is the news that the VR specialist is keen to port many of the games that have launched on Rift over the past two years to its new device.

With its sensor-free inside-out tracking, Santa Cruz technically should be almost as capable as the Rift on the tracking front, though there were a few small hiccups when we last tried it at Oculus Connect 4. Spec-wise, though, the headset almost certainly won’t measure up to the high-end PCs that power the Rift, which makes speculating about what games could make their way over an entertaining task.

Below, then, we’ve listed nine Rift apps that we think absolutely must come to Santa Cruz. It would be easy to just repeat our existing list of the best Rift games you can play today, but we’ve taken technical ambition into heavy consideration for this list. We’d love to see Echo Arena on a mobile device, for example, but it feels like too big of an ask (we’d be happy to be wrong of course).

Beat Saber

We recently saw someone on Reddit say that if Santa Cruz has Beat Saber as a launch title then it’s basically going to print money. There probably isn’t a better way to put it; Beat Games’ Star Wars-style rhythm action game is arguably the closest we’ve yet gotten to VR’s killer app, attracting plenty of attention for its lightsaber-fuelled gameplay. It’s so popular that people are even ripping it off with very little effort to conceal it.

The chance to play Beat Saber tether-free is just too tempting to pass up, and would really encourage us to lose ourselves in the music more than ever. Add to that the fact that incoming features like multiplayer and a track editor will be much closer to completion by the time Santa Cruz launch rolls around and this could be the biggest game on the platform.

Blasters of the Universe

If I had to pick a wave shooter to be ported to Santa Cruz (and, let’s be honest, there’s probably plenty of them coming) it would have to be Secret Location’s stylish Saturday morning tribute. Why? Because Blasters of the Universe is as much about dodging as it is attacking. It’s a bullet hell game, which means you need to avoid a steady stream of projectiles being shot right at your face. Can you think of any better test for the headset’s inside-out tracking?

As a showcase of VR’s ability to put you right in the action, Blasters of the Universe is one of the best examples currently out there. With a deep weapon customization system and an endless game mode, there’s more than enough here to keep you entertained and it’s simple enough for anyone to pick up and play.

Apex Construct

We probably wouldn’t have put Apex Construct on this list if it weren’t for the fact that Fast Travel Games showcased a mobile VR version of the game running on Gear VR back at GDC 2018. While the results were promising, Gear’s lack of positional tracking and its 3DOF controller aren’t ideally suited to Apex’s world-spanning adventure. Santa Cruz, though, is the perfect remedy for that.

Apex Construct offers one of that most-requested of things, a full single-player campaign in a VR game that isn’t a wave shooter. It might not be ground-breaking from a design perspective, but its mix of intriguing story and engaging combat lays a great foundation for what to expect in the future, and it’s definitely worth playing in its own right.

Superhot VR

If Beat Saber isn’t VR’s killer app then Superhot VR is next in line. This hugely popular spin-off is a winning mix of time-halting mechanics and VR’s robust tracking options, creating a shooter in which every tiny twist of the head or movement of the hand matters. You have to kill all enemies in a level before they kill you, making for an incredibly tense and expertly-designed experience in which you set the pace.

Superhot might be a little more on the ambitious side of this list, but it’s definitely one of the most essential choices. Nearly two years on from its original release and it still hasn’t been topped in terms of raw excitement and accessibility. There’s still nothing else quite like Superhot VR, and that’s exactly why Santa Cruz needs it so badly.

The Climb

Another more ambitious addition; The Climb remains one of the most visually impressive VR experiences on the Rift. That said, it’s also one of the most popular games on the platform and one of the best to quickly demonstrate VR’s transformative power to put you in an entirely different place leading out an entirely different life.

With that in mind, then, we’d implore Crytek to get to work scaling down the sparkling graphics in order to get an otherwise-simplistic game running on Santa Cruz. Clambering up the sides of mountains and cliffs remains one of the most thrilling and intuitive experiences that you can have in VR. Part of what’s so amazing about The Climb is the simple fact that it works, even when your feet are still rooted to the ground. Santa Cruz is the perfect way to showcase that.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew

When we’d go hands-on with Star Trek: Bridge Crew pre-launch Ubisoft would have a four-player setup in one room. Even though we were all meeting in VR, having your friends in the same room really helped enhance the experience, allowing us to communicate with great ease and all sharing in the laughter as we blew up aliens. Sadly, as good as the final release is, bringing four PCs and four VR headsets into the same room with all the necessary sensors just isn’t feasible for many.

On Santa Cruz, though, it most certainly is. We can totally see ourselves heading over to a friend’s house for VR game nights in which we pilot the Enterprise and beam people up. True, we still probably won’t have many friends that buy Santa Cruz, but cross-play support with non-VR platforms and PSVR might make this more of a reality, too. This is one place Santa Cruz boldly needs to go.

Google Earth VR

So far the incredible Google Earth VR has eluded mobile VR platforms, including Google’s own Daydream devices. Santa Cruz really needs to buck that trend, though, because there really isn’t a better way to quickly demonstrate the power of VR that strapping the entire world to their head and letting them explore to their heart’s content.

Google Earth VR allows you to go anywhere, so it’s only right that it comes to a headset that allows you to do the same. Plus, we’d love to see an updated take on the app that perhaps adds some next locations and maybe even integrates without mobile Google VR apps like Street View in some way.

Rec Room

Rec Room is another app that hasn’t made its way to mobile headsets just yet, but with Santa Cruz’s inside-out tracking now is the perfect time to port the best social VR platform out there over. Against Gravity’s ever-expanding platform has made a name for itself as one of the most positive and entertaining places to meet up with people in VR, and it’s time to let anyone get a taste of that.

Rec Room allows you to do anything from play sports to paintball with friends around the world. A VR enthusiast telling their gamer friends that they could be playing dodgeball or taking part in co-op quests if they buy this single piece of VR equipment could be a huge selling point for Santa Cruz. This has to happen.

Onward

We’ll dream just a little for our final entry. Onward is one of the most complete, comprehensive multiplayer VR experiences on Rift, though its relatively simplistic visuals have us hoping we could get at least some form of port onto Santa Cruz. Even if it meant a sacrifice to player count or map size, it’s something that should be considered.

Onward has made a name for itself thanks to its realistic competitive combat that answered a call few other developers were addressing at the time of release. Competition might be stiffer by 2019 but the remarkable work Downpour Interactive has done sustaining the experience thus far has us confident it could thrive on Santa Cruz.

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