Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
RetroBlox Inc. has revealed a modular gaming console that's compatible with original cartridges for legacy 8-bit and 16-bit hardware, allowing veteran gamers to craft an all-in-one solution for their retrogaming needs.
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Nearly four months after launch, Playroom VR remains one of the best reasons to own PlayStation VR (PSVR). Sony Japan’s brilliant minigame compilation is a free download, but it frankly embarrass some premium games with the sheer quality of its cutesy collection of single and local multiplayer experiences.
Today, Sony is adding another game to the set via a free piece of DLC. It’s called Toy Wars, and it’s a terrific blend of turret shooting and co-op action that you should definitely download.
Toy Wars has a simple premise; the VR user controls a toy gun that’s aimed using the DualShock 4’s motion controls. They have to defend the game’s cast of adorable robots from incoming enemies that slither out from beneath cupboards. Up to three other players can take a gamepad outside of VR and control giant mechs that can smash enemies with their fists. If even one baddie breaks the line and injures the turret? Game over.
Though the game can be played on your own, it’s much better with at least one friend, as things quickly become overwhelming without any help. Standard enemy types are taken down with just a few hits, but larger, tougher variations are introduced just seconds into the game. These foes take a considerable beating before they topple, and the game turns into a manic juggling act as you try to keep three sides of approaching nasties away. If (but let’s be honest, it’s actually when) you fail, then a UFO appears and sucks everyone into its illusive vacuum of doom.
It may not be as innovative as some of Playroom’s other multiplayer games, but as a shooter, Toy Wars is frantic and satisfying. It’s also proof that the DualShock 4 can be just as immersive a tool for VR shooters as a Move controller is. Spraying fire across the room feels powerful even if all you’re really using is the VR equivalent of a Nerf gun, and the communication needed with friends to ensure your safety gives it a touch of Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes. It’s one of the few VR games that shows you how great asymmetrical co-op can be.
What’s great about this piece of DLC is how naturally it fits into the overall set of games. It feels like it’s been here from day one. Not only are its mechanics as refined as anything else you’ll find in the package, but its presentation remains irresistibly adorable; seeing the characters from the other games cowering behind you as you fight for them is an especially nice touch.
Of course, what we really want to see from Sony Japan is a full-length edition of the excellent Robot Rescue minigame, but we’ll settle for this for now. Playroom VR has opened the doors to DLC in the best way possible and we can’t wait to see what else is in store.
Tagged with: dlc, free, PlayRoom VR, playstation, ps4, PSVR, sony japan
Last week we reported on the details of the first piece of DLC for Capcom’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard [Review: 9/10]. Released today for PlayStation 4, Banned Footage Vol. 1, the first pack of new content, includes three things for intrepid horror junkies like myself to sink their teeth into. The aptly titled Nightmare is a wave-based survival mode, Bedroom is an escape-the-room puzzle experience, and Ethan Must Die is a brand new game mode. Only Nightmare and Bedroom feature PlayStation VR (PSVR) support.
Unfortunately, this means that the most interesting new feature (Ethan Must Die) is left out of the VR fold, but we have our fingers crossed it will get support later on.
Instead of accessing the new content from VHS tapes inside the game itself, you’ll actually go to the Main Menu and find them all under the “Extra Content” option. From here you can select the Banned Footage collection or the new Ethan Must Die game mode.
You can watch a quick teaser video above showing off what’s in store for the Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 collections. The second set is due to release on PS4 in two weeks on February 14th. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with blood, guts, and gore?
The first piece of new content in Banned Footage Vol. 1, Nightmare, offers some much-needed replayability to a game that formerly only consisted of a single-player campaign. You’ll take on the role of Clancy, the cameraman from the Beginning Hour demo and one of the playable VHS tapes found in the core game. The events found here supposedly take place after he is separated from the rest of his crew. Your objective is to survive for 5 hours until dawn.
You’ll start off in one of the basement rooms of the Baker House, near the processing area. If you completed the base campaign, it will be immediately recognizable. You’ll start with a small collection of resource scraps that can be used to purchase items like guns, ammo, first aid kits, skill upgrades, and more. Spread throughout the basement are processor that create more scraps over time. You can also set traps in pre-defined locations.
Exploring this game mode requires quickly memorizing the layout and making trips between the different processors to stay stocked up on your scraps and supplies. The traps are best saved for late-game usage to get the most out of them. Rooms that have objects in the middle (such as tables) are useful for keeping distance between you and the Molded creatures that spawn. Careful aim and keeping a cool-head will be crucial to passing this new mode.
While it’s not necessarily infinitely replayable and would be improved by more maps or multiplayer, it feels like a welcomed addition to the game. That being said, I can’t help but feel like it should have been there to begin with. It adds a missing layer to the experience that was very likely ready to include by the time the game launched.
This bit of content feels the most similar to what’s already found in the VHS tapes from the base game’s campaign. You’ll start out as Clancy once again, strapped to a bed this time, as Marguerite stops by to deliver your supper. After she leaves it’s up to you to frantically search the room for a way out.
In practice, it plays out much like a real-life escale room puzzle would, tasking you with exploring every nook and cranny of your surroundings for a way out. But you have to be careful because if you make too much noise then she’ll come back to inspect on what’s going on. If she catches you out of bed then it’s Game Over. If you hear her coming, then you have to try and put everything back the way it was so she doesn’t notice.
Even though it’s not a wave-based survival mode like Nightmare, this one felt more nerve-wracking to me. Part of that could be because Marguerite as a character is more terrifying and disgusting than the Molded, which act much like the over-used zombie archetype that they seem to be based upon.
It’s unfortunate then that it loses its appeal after you’ve figure it all out, but it was fun while it lasted. A bit reminiscent of the Happy Birthday tape from the original game, albeit with a more frantic and rushed premise.
Finally, the most interesting piece of new content in the bunch is a brand new game mode called Ethan Must Die. While it adds the meatiest junk of stuff to do with the most interesting replayability elements, it unfortunately lacks any PSVR support. Hopefully that changes.
You’ll start out alone and afraid in an attempt to surpass the overwhelming odds of an entire game mode tailor-made just to kill you. Whereas the core campaign featured a litany of ways for you to fight back or run away and hide, Ethan Must Die doesn’t sport those same fine luxuries.
Instead, everything in this game mode appears to be randomized. The higher the star rating on a crate the better item it could have. When you die, you’ll leave a gravestone behind and if you make it back to that gravestone on your next playthrough, then you get a randomly selected item from your past corpse given back to you. It’s almost like an even less forgiving version of Dark Souls’ death and soul system.
It’s strange that this mode doesn’t support PSVR play because for the most part all of the assets are reused from the core game even if this is a “new game mode” technically. It’s a lot of fun and features a disgustingly difficult gauntlet of challenges.
If you loved the original game, then this is worth the $9.99 price of entry. However, I’d recommend getting the $29.99 Season Pass to get this, Banned Footage Vol. 2 (typically $14.99) and an unannounced third piece of paid DLC content all together. You’ll save money that way.
However, if you weren’t amazed by Capcom’s brand of first-person horror in Resident Evil 7, then this isn’t going to do anything to change that. With the most interesting piece of content lacking PSVR features, it’s a bit of a hard sell if you’re a fan of Sony’s HMD, but is still worth playing outside of VR.
Tagged with: banned footage, capcom, dlc, horror, playstation, ps4, PSVR, Resident Evil 7
Official numbers show that over 80,000 gamers are opting to play the new horror game Resident Evil 7: Biohazard in virtual reality, making the genre one of the most compelling for the platform.
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The moment most PlayStation VR fans have been waiting for ever since E3 last year is finally here: Resident Evil VII is finally out. Not only does it live up to expectations, it may very well be one of the best horror games we’ve played in a very long time — VR or otherwise. If you have a PS VR and aren’t playing this game, then you need to remedy that problem immediately.
Thankfully, there are still more solid games on the horizon, such as Star Trek: Bridge Crew, to look forward to. However, don’t expect any massive floods of new releases since the PSN is much more strict than Steam or Oculus Home.
It’s been a little while since we’ve published any new releases, so there isn’t anything from last week to catch up on. But if you want some of our recommendations for the best PS VR games to play, we’ve got you covered.
Price: $59.99 (Season Pass for $29.99 also available)
Resident Evil VII: Biohazard is finally out. It’s the latest entry in the long-running survival horror series and sees the franchise enter the immersive realm of virtual reality for the first time. You can read and watch our review here, check out our tips for new players, and even read recommendations about whether or not you should even play it in VR at all.
Recommendation: One of the best PS VR games thus far. This is a must play.
Price: $39.99
Racing games are a perfect fit for virtual reality, but other than Driveclub VR, there aren’t many options on Sony’s headset yet. Moto Racer 4 only has limited PS VR support, but it should be getting more game modes later.
Recommendation: Not worth the price if you’re only interested in the VR features, but a decent arcade racer otherwise.
Tagged with: biohazard, new releases, playstation, PSVR, Resident Evil Vii
Moon Studios and Ori and the Blind Forest director Thomas Mahler has called Xbox's Project Scorpio a "full-blown" next-gen machine. He compared it favorable to the iterative design of the PlayStation 4 Pro.
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New gaming hardware launches always lead to a rabid fervor. Early adopters and brand loyalists will line up days in advance just to be one of the first consumers to get their hands on a particular device. I personally know people that have camped out for new phones, gaming consoles, and Black Friday shopping deals. It’s a real thing. PlayStation VR was no different when it released.
But what I haven’t heard much of is the need to do that for a device that’s been available to the general public (at least in most regions) ever since early October. Now, over three months later in late January, folks in Japan are still being forced to line up outside just to get their hands on a PS VR headset. It would appear Sony is having trouble keeping up with demand, even all this time later.
In the images posted by Twitter user kaztsu, you can see hundreds of people across a wide variety of locations around Japan sitting, standing, and even sleeping outside to save their spot in line. It’s hard to tell exactly how many people were waiting over the past few days, but across the entire country it was likely several thousand. The rabid fans were photographed by by Twitter user kaztsu and first reported on by Kotaku.
When fans found out that a new shipment of Sony’s PS VR headset was set to hit stores that day, the lines started forming. Reportedly, demand was so high, even at this stage of the product’s life cycle, that many of the people pictured are simply there to receive a mere chance of getting one. Exact shipment numbers weren’t guaranteed and many of these people aren’t waiting on a pre-order or pre-purchase of any kind, they’re new buyers.
According to the Kotaku report, major retailers were passing out raffle tickets in the morning and announcing winners later in the day. In some large cities, such as Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo, people started lining up as early as the night before to try their chances at scoring a headset.
Despite the closure of RIGS developer Guerrilla Cambridge, excitement for Sony’s PS VR remains higher than ever. However, it does make you wonder if this is pure demand outstretching supply, or if there is a shortage of some kind going on?
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard [Review: 9/10] just released this week for PlayStation 4 and features a 10+ hour campaing that’s entirely playable inside the PS VR headset. That’s sure to provide gamers with enough thrills (and nightmares) to make the long and arduous wait worth the time.
Have you ever waited outside for a product launch? Did you have trouble getting a PlayStation VR, or still haven’t gotten one yet? Let us know in the comments below!
Mervils: A VR Adventure is a charming little game. When we first previewed it on the HTC Vive, it reminded us of a slightly more open-ended, admittedly less polished, version of Lucky’s Tale [Review: 9/10]. At its core, Mervils is a platformer with adventure, action, and RPG elements sprinkled on top.
It’s already out for Vive and Rift, but now developer VitruviusVR has announced it’s coming to PlayStation VR as well on February 21st, 2017.
This is an indie game through and through. Mechanically it’s similar in concept to the excellent, but painfully short, Robot Rescue game from Sony’s free Playroom VR compilation, but you won’t get the same production values here. Many textures feel flat, character designs are a bit bland, and some of the controls are a little floaty. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a serviceable option for a genre that’s criminally underrepresented in the VR space right now.
After playing great entries like Lucky’s Tale and Robot Rescue, 3D platformers clearly have potential in the immersive space and it’s encouraging to see fledgling studios like this embracing the medium by adapting a beloved genre for VR headsets.
With over six hours of content spread across five unique worlds with several items to retrieve and upgrade over the course of the adventure, it should scratch a very specific itch for fans of old-school 3D platformer collectathon games. If you have fond memories of playing Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Jak & Daxter, Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank, and other similar adventures, then this should be right up your alley as long as you don’t go in expecting a AAA-quality masterpiece.
Mervils: A VR Adventure is currently slated for release on PS4 specifically for PlayStation VR through PSN on February 21st, 2017. VitruviusVR is aiming for a price point of $19.99 — the same as on Steam — but Sony has not yet confirmed that price as of the time of this publication.
Tagged with: adventure, mervils, platformer, playstation, PS VR, PSVR, Robot Rescue, rpg
MLB: The Show 17 introduces a new “Retro Mode” this year, making it easier for less experienced players to join in on the fun. More information on the mode will be unveiled in February.
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Adding limited VR support to a game that would appear to be a good fit for comprehensive support seems to be a trend lately in the games industry. Perhaps it’s a way for developers to experiment without sinking too many funds into VR development, or perhaps it’s symptomatic of a larger issue with adoption numbers. Either way, more and more developers are opting for small slices of their games in VR rather than the entire experiences.
Joining the ranks of Gran Turismo Sport, the recently released Moto Racer 4 also only supports VR for a small handful of race types, although they claim that won’t always be the case. The game is published by Microïds and developed by Artefacts Studio.
The full game (which the above trailer incorrectly states is already fully playable in VR) features 15 different game modes between single and multiplayer with up to 10 total racers in local and online multiplayer. Additionally, you can race in both asphalt (high-speed racing bikes) and Dirt modes (stunt-filled Motocross).
But unfortunately only the single player Time Attack and Hot Lap modes are supported as of this time. Luckily, according to an official press release, “Microïds and Artefact Studios will progressively and freely make all game modes and races, already available in Moto Racer 4, compatible in VR,” but there is no time frame on the rest of the game’s content.
I tried Moto Racer 4 with the PS VR headset and while it was disappointing that I couldn’t play the entire compliment of game modes, such as with Driveclub VR [Review: 7/10] for example, the sense of speed was unmatched inside Sony’s HMD. There aren’t many racing games to choose from yet with support for the PlayStation headset, so Moto Racer 4 was a bit liberating in a way. Driveclub VR provides an excellent outlet for cockpit-based racing, but sitting atop a bike in Moto Racer added a more visceral nature to the speed and made me feel more vulnerable.
That being said, it doesn’t look too great visually. Playing the game inside the headset’s downgraded resolution transforms a game that was already only average into something visually sub-par by modern racing game standards. The framerate is reportedly improved on the PS4 Pro version, both inside and outside of the headset, which lets it run smoothly, but still leaves a bit to be desired in terms of graphical fidelity.
Strangely, even though Moto Racer 4 is also available for PC via Steam, there doesn’t appear to be any support for the Vive, Rift, or OSVR headsets at this time, but maybe that can be incorporated later on like the rest of the game modes.
“It was the first time we’ve worked on this feature, and we known that it would be a challenge to make it comfortable for a moto racing game, certainly more difficult than a car race,” said Production Director at Artefacts Studio, Olivier Gaudino during an interview. “During production, we have been faced with motion sickness, and we had to work particularly on camera settings in regards to the bike and the locations. We tried several adjustments in order to reduce motion sickness, VR tests were interesting since each person had a different sickness reaction. Finally, we found a way to reduce the motion sickness, and the immersive experience is really strong during the races, in GP mode and Dirt mode as well.”
At this time with such a limited VR offering, it’s hard to recommend Moto Racer 4 as a racing game if you’re intrigued by the VR support. Additional game modes will be added to Sony’s headset at this time, but right now there just isn’t enough to do. If you’re a fan of the franchise in general and would like to try it outside of the headset however, you’ll find a capable arcade racing game with plenty to do and lots of bikes to ride.
Moto Racer 4 is now available on PlayStation 4 with limited PS VR support as well as on Xbox One and PC.
Tagged with: artefact studios, microids, Moto Racer 4, motocross, playstation, PS VR, ps4, racing