Fort Solis’ incredible character animations are a step forward for video games
We went hands-on with Fort Solis and came away wowed by its meticulously detailed character animations.
E3 returns to LA in 2023 thanks to the company behind PAX
E3 announced its not only returning physically in 2023, but is getting help from the company behind PAX.
A new Tales from the Borderlands game is coming this year
A new entry in the Borderlands spin-off series is coming from Gearbox and 2K.
Hands-On: Spaceteam Is Full Of Absolute Co-Op Choas
There aren’t many more panic inducing activities then being trapped in a chaotic situation with little options to free yourself. If you happen to find yourself trapped on a malfunctioning space station and only have your crew to fly on, as you do in Spaceteam VR, then the situation is even worse.
During PAX East 2020, I got the chance to go hands-on with Spaceteam VR, and what I found was a surprisingly faithful step up from its mobile predecessor.
For those unaware, Spaceteam originated in 2012 as a mobile game, allowing players to participate in a cooperative effort to save themselves and the spaceship they were on. The premise is fairly simple: each player has access to a terminal that receives directions for the other players to do. By working as a team – or shouting at each other, as that often happens instead – the goal is to continue beating levels and keeping your spaceship intact.
In Spaceteam VR, the premise is basically the same, only made much more chaotic thanks to the capabilities that virtual reality allows. Instead of just pressing a touch screen to fix things, you’ll have to actually reach out and interact with the various items at your terminal. Alongside the added three-dimensional twist, being strapped into a VR headset adds a surprisingly difficult component to things. Understanding and reacting to the instructions being yelled to you becomes a bit more difficult when you have to constantly be on a swivel to find exactly what doohickey you’re supposed to press or pull. Combine that with having to shout out other directions while listening for your own, and it provides an extremely frantic but incredibly fun time.
Spaceteam VR features three different difficulties, with the harder difficulties giving players many more controls to be responsible for while amping up just how tough the anomalies that occur are. In easier modes, you might only be responsible for a handful of duties, but tuning things to the hardest difficulty will require you to be on your ‘A’ game. According to Cooperative Innovations, some of the tougher anomalies will include player’s heads shrinking, instructions being presented backwards or with missing letters, and in-game voices on players becoming high pitched and hard to decipher.
Elsewhere in the game, controls are pretty standard for VR titles. You’ll have levers to reach out and grab, buttons to push, and items to grab on the fly as you try to complete your specific instructions. Putting out fires, taking down aliens that try to invade the ship,and having to hammer out mistakes are just some of the many other trials you’ll face while attempting to stay alive. The longer you go, the tougher the challenges you face become, until you eventually find yourself frantically yelling at a teammate to repeat orders as a fire rages on in front of you.
The real draw of a game like Spaceteam VR is in its group play settings a bit like if everything went wrong in Star Trek: Bridge Crew, and Cooperative Innovations seems to have thought of that at every turn. Although the game is primarily meant for virtual reality, players will be able to join in locally on their smartphones or tablets and play along. It’s a great feature that will no doubt come in handy when playing the game, especially because of its six player capabilities. Thankfully for players who don’t have access to a ton of people, Spaceteam VR will also support cross-play between Oculus Quest and other PC VR platforms, in an effort to make the game as accessible as possible to a large base of players.
While Spaceteam VR may not be the most innovative title, but it does offer a ton of replayability and a very fun atmosphere once you dive in. Combine that with the fact that Cooperative Innovations has presented a ton of ways to play, and Spaceteam VR is easily one of the most accessible and fun titles to land on a VR device in some time. There’s no doubt this has the potential to become a big party game in the same vein of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, and it wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see it happen.
Spaceteam VR is currently set to launch sometime in April, and will be available on Oculus Quest and PC VR, with a PSVR release planned for sometime this year.
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Hands-On: Paper Beasts Is A Beautiful And Relaxing PSVR Exclusive
When it comes to virtual reality games, not many strive to give you the experience that Paper Beasts does. Instead of a frantic world that immerses you via its gameplay, Paper Beasts chooses to let you sit back, relax, and take in a world that unfolds before your eyes.
Last month we got a chance to spend some time with Paper Beasts at PAX East, and see just how it was shaping up as it gets closer to its launch date after having tried it last year at Gamescom.
The first thing you’ll notice in Paper Beasts is just how quiet and calm the game is. The demo started off by having me rip away a series of tents, which gave way to reveal a gigantic creature that was seemingly made out of a ton of tree branches. Rather than attack you or scare you off, however, the creature simply walked away and after a brief introduction into how to move about the world, it became more of a companion than anything else.
Paper Beasts utilizes a standard snap direction movement system and many of the beasts within the game act as guides, showing you where to go as you take in the wonder of the world in front of you. The giant, deer-like creature wasn’t the only animal to be found in the world of Paper Beasts, though. After doing some exploring, smaller creatures began popping up around me, content to simply sip on water that had sprung forth as well. In many ways, Paper Beasts is almost like an interactive safari, allowing you to watch the animals exist in their “natural” habitat, or interfere by feeding them or, on some occasions, saving their lives.
After being introduced to smaller creatures in the demo and getting a chance to feed them, things turned violent. Another animal, this one glowing red and much more aggressive than anything I’d seen before, attacked the smaller creatures. Although you’re an audience member to the nature in front of you, you can interfere if you choose by picking up either animal to separate the two. However, nature will always take its course, and eventually the predator got its prey.
Throughout the demo, I experienced very brief moments of what the game had to offer, including being tasked with saving the large creature after it got stuck in the water before being treated to a violent whirlwind of sorts that ended my experience. Although my time with Paper Beasts was short, I was still able to play around in the game’s sandbox mode too, which gives you the ability to essentially play God in your own personal world.
It was in this mode that the real appeal of Paper Beasts seemed to show up, as I was not only given free reign of things to do, but there was just a ton of things to experience. Once inside the sandbox, players can choose from their size of planet before getting to work. On each PS Move controller, a long list of options were at my disposal, including the ability to add different elements to the planet, drop in various wildlife, change the weather, and even move the Sun in the sky. While I wasn’t sure what every ability and creature did, Pixel Reef assured me that players would come into contact with mostly everything in the sandbox mode while playing the single-player campaign, so you’ll have more than enough experience once you finally dive in.
Building a fully functioning ecosystem takes a lot of time, and even when things look like they’re going right, one wrong movement can ruin it all since the world isn’t static. Much like any real ecosystem, the things inside of Paper Beasts’ world act on their own accord. For example, certain creatures will interact with the plants and trees that blossom, causing new forms of life to sprout in the process. You can even insert chaos into the sandbox, dropping in predatory creatures that, if left unchecked, will end all life in your sandbox until you come back.
The beauty of this mode is that much like real life, you don’t have to be present for things to happen. According to Pixel Reef, the sandbox you build in Paper Beasts will continue on even if you aren’t paying attention, which will allow you to set life in motion and return later to see just how it’s doing. It’s in those moments where the real allure of Paper Beasts shines, as it’s extremely easy to lose yourself in the process of playing with a world that is not only reacting to what you do, but growing and changing on its own.
While I had only a small amount of time with both modes, I found myself anxious to dive right back in when the game launches on March 24 exclusively for PlayStation VR.
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Hands-On: Sniper Elite VR Takes Aim At Nazis With Deadly Accuracy
Last month at PAX East we had the chance to check out a preview build of Sniper Elite VR from Rebellion on PSVR using the PS Aim Controller, similar to the demo we played from E3 2019.
The Sniper Elite series has earned a strong reputation as of late with its easy-to-play format and iconic “bullet time” deaths introducing players to a new way to take down Nazis during WWII conflicts. With a handful of sequels and plenty of material to work with, the team at Rebellion has now set their sights on virtual reality with Sniper Elite VR. Let’s see just how it stacks up against its non-VR brethren.
Because Rebellion is no stranger to VR after having worked on Battlezone and Arca’s Path, they’ve included a variety of ways to play Sniper Elite VR. During my time with the demo, I had the option to play with either the traditional teleportation method of movement, or a smoother approach with the PS Aim Controller’s analog sticks.
Calibrating your gun on the fly is a breeze too, and should definitely come in handy. Unfortunately, the demo units available at PAX East suffered from some very poor tracking, which was explained away as the bad lighting in the convention center. It’ll be something to watch out for when the game launches later this year, but did seem more like a PAX East specific issue, thankfully. We didn’t have those problems when trying the game at E3 2019.
The level that I got to play at PAX East was a simple one, placing me on a rooftop that was under siege from various Nazi soldiers. In typical Sniper Elite fashion, I had to make my way around the level, taking out enemies until everything was clear. While you’re able to use either the DualShock 4 or the PS Move controllers to play, the demo at PAX East came equipped with a PlayStation Aim Controller, and it seems like the best way to play on PSVR.
When given the option of using the PS Aim Controller, that’s usually the case. It just helps make things feel way more natural. Instead of simply running around and using a controller to aim, you handle the gun in every way including when it comes time to set up a shot on an enemy. Bringing up the gun and staring down the scope isn’t a revolutionary thing in VR, but it does help to further immerse you into the game, and there didn’t seem to be any problems in quickly getting off multiple shots.
The Sniper Elite series has become well-known for its ability to focus in when aiming, allowing players to get a much more accurate shot and also watch exactly how the bullet enters an enemy, with an x-ray style killcam showing just how much damage you do. This function also shows up in Sniper Elite VR, and is incredibly useful, as it helps slow down the action and emphasize the big impacts. The aforementioned x-ray killcam returns, too, but doesn’t have any sort of VR functionality. Instead, it’s just like a watching a quick flat 2D clip of bones and internal organs exploding.
While many might play Sniper Elite simply to take down some Nazis in different ways, there is a storyline that runs through each game. For Sniper Elite VR, there will be a campaign as well, although the exact details of it have yet to be revealed. For those who just want to have fun with the game, though, you’ll be able to replay the missions in order to try and get a better score at the end. Because many of Sniper Elite’s maps are so big as well, you’ll have plenty of time to try and become the best sniper you possibly can be.
Sniper Elite VR will also be launching on PC VR headsets too, although we only got to try it on PSVR at PAX East. If you’ve ever had the chance to check out a more conventional FPS in VR, you’re likely ready to take on Sniper Elite VR when it launches later this year.
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Sony cancels its appearance at PAX East over coronavirus fears
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Stormland Looks Awesome in its Latest Trailer
Insomniac Games’ upcoming Oculus Rift and Oculus Rift S exclusive Stormland is one of VRFocus’ most keenly anticipated titles of 2019, set to offer a massive sci-fi adventure to players. While there’s still no confirmation regarding when the title will arrive this year, the studio has just released a rather epic looking trailer to keep fans excited.
The trailer is for PAX East, a videogame event in Boston, US, which starts tomorrow and runs through until Sunday 31st March. Expanding upon the original trailer released last year for the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), this new video mixes in both cinematic back story content with plenty of action-packed gameplay footage.
Stormland puts you in the role of a robot who just happens to be a gardener on a lush alien planet. That was until The Tempest shattered your android body, so you must head out across the planet to augment yourself and save your friends. The title will feature both single-player and multiplayer options, with players having complete freedom to run, climb and fly across the expansive terrain.
The trailer features some impressive and diverse looking locations, massive battles against giant robots, explosive scenery, and much more.
When VRFocus previewed the title we said that: “So Stormland is a VR title that takes inspiration from some of the best the medium has yet offered to make something bigger than the sum of its parts. It’s surprising to see the developer go this route after the more immediate nature of The Unspoken and Feral Rites, but fresh from the success of Spider-Man for PlayStation 4, Stormland is undoubtedly Insomniac Games’ most ambitious VR project to date.”
Hopefully, with the release of Oculus Rift S taking place in the Spring, Stormland will follow suit and be released sooner rather than later. As more details are revealed, VRFocus will keep you updated.
Insomniac’s Stormland Gets Story-Driven Trailer For PAX East
It was just last week we got a fresh look at Stormland, the new Oculus Rift S exclusive from Insomniac. But another new trailer arrives this week, just in time for PAX East.
This trailer has a much bigger focus on story. We see what the game’s titular setting looked like before an event called ‘The Tempest’. We also learn that players are in search of ‘the others’, which likely refers to other defunct robots around the world. In the world of Stormland you too embody a robot that appears to have been left offline for many years. Once reactivated, you explore what remains of the world, upgrading your abilities by finding pieces of other robots.
And, finally, we get some more action-packed gameplay clips. While last week’s hands-on mainly focused on exploration, this video reassures that Stormland offers plenty of first-person shooter (FPS) action. Visually the game is easily one of VR’s best-looking titles and our hands-on suggests it’ll be one of its deepest too. Gamers often call for VR to get full, long-form, AAA videogames and Stormland certainly looks like it could fit that bill.
And, yes, Stormland will be playable at PAX East this weekend. Oculus is set to have a pretty big presence at the show, showcasing much of the content it revealed at GDC. Attendees will also get a chance to try out Asgard’s Wrath and Journey of the Gods.
The game should be out later this year. It’ll support both Rift and Oculus’ shiny new PC VR headset, Rift S.
Tagged with: insomniac, pax east, Stormland
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New ‘Stormland’ Trailer Shows a Menacing Enemy and New Environments
Oculus today revealed a new trailer for its upcoming Rift exclusive, Stormland, which is in development by Insomniac Games and due for release later this year. The new trailer gives us a glimpse at bigger and badder enemies and new environments that players will explore on their journey to reclaim their world.
Stormland is a promising action adventure title that builds on Insomniac’s prior Rift exclusive titles, Edge of Nowhere, The Unspoken, and Feral Rites, all released in 2016.
The studio’s experience in VR is clearly shining through in Stormland; on the several occasions in which I’ve demoed the game thus far, I’ve come away very impressed with the game’s freeing locomotion scheme—which seamlessly brings together elements of smooth locomotion, flying, and climbing in a way that makes the player feel very in-control—and a cohesive approach to VR interaction.
A new trailer revealed today begins to hint at the game’s underlying story setting, which seems to involve a once thriving robot civilization that’s been wiped out by “The Tempest.” As the player, you’re expected to “reclaim your world.”
The trailer also gives us a glimpse at a much more menacing enemy than the humanoid robots and flying robots that we’ve seen in previous demos. This much larger baddie sports mobile energy shields and looks ready to put up a more significant fight. A good thing too, as enemy variety is key to keeping gameplay fresh.
In Stormland, Insomniac appears to be doing a great job of making the easy to controler while at the same time making the player feel capable and embodied. Smart VR design choices can be seen at every turn.
There’s the multi-pronged locomotion scheme, which not only naturally paces gameplay but allows the player to navigate large spaces with both vertical and horizontal dimensions; the ability to rip apart empty weapons for useful scraps, rather than simply dropping them on the ground; an intuitive shoulder and hip inventory system, along with a holographic map projected from your hand; and weapons which can be used with one hand or two, with some meaningful differences between the two. I could go on (really).
Stormland is brimming with potential, and we can’t wait to get our hands on the full game. Unfortunately Oculus still isn’t ready to reveal a release date more specific than ‘2019’. Our best guess is that the company will choose to launch the game alongside Rift S, which is expected this Spring.
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