Microsoft launched its series of Windows Mixed Reality (MR) headsets in partnership with Lenovo, HP, Dell and Acer last month with the Samsung Odyssey arriving in November. After the first spate of launch titles other videogames have slowly begun appearing, the latest being Pinball FX2 VR by Zen Studios.
Pinball FX2 VR has appeared on numerous head-mounted displays (HMDs) over the past year, featuring on Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. The Windows MR edition features the same three core tables as the other versions: Secrets of the Deep, Epic Quest and Mars. An additional five tables can be purchase via the Pinball FX2 Season 1 downloadable content, adding CastleStorm, Wild West Rampage, Paranormal, BioLab, and Earth Defense.
Pinball FX2 VR has been a hit virtual reality experience for Zen Studios, mixing old school pinball gameplay with modern immersive technology. Just like you’d be able to do in real life you nudge the tables if needed whilst strategically activating the flippers to get the ball where you want it.
Each table is highly detailed, with all sorts of action taking place beneath your nose. You can lean right in to check out the artwork or analyze the table, looking for the best way to score points or uncover new areas that you may not have noticed. Adding that good old VR twist to it all, whilst playing each table the characters and imagery come to life around you, with aquatic sea monsters appearing from behind the table or a spaceship suddenly flying over your head.
VRFocusreviewed the Oculus Rift version of Pinball FX2 VR back in 2016, giving a full 5 stars, saying: “Pinball FX 2 VR is a hugely pleasant surprise not in that a VR edition of the franchise has been created, but that it’s of such a high quality. Zen Studios has created some remarkable digital recreations of pinball and yet every other version now seems redundant: Pinball FX 2 VR is the way digital pinball is meant to be played.”
Pinball FX2 VR is available now on Windows MR for $14.99 USD, with Season 1 Pack DLC also available for purchase for $24.99.
For any further updates from Zen Studios, keep reading VRFocus.
Originally released on Steam for the HTC Vive by developer RocketWerkz, Out of Ammo is a popular virtual reality (VR) shooter that combines wave shooter elements with tower defence. The developers have now teamed with publisher Zen Studios to bring the title to the PlayStation VR.
The main gameplay of Out Of Ammo is ‘Survival’ mode, which involves the player acting as the general on a battlefield, co-ordinating the building of a base, placing buildings and defences in the right spots, issuing orders to troops and even calling in bombing raids. When the enemy gets too close, though, players can get right in on the action by taking control of one of the troops. Players can control a Rifleman and pick off enemies from a distance, a Medic to get troops quickly back on their feet, repair your fortifications as the Engineer or blow the enemy to bits as the Rocketeer.
The varied locations were a highly-praised aspect of the original title, so of course they make a return to in the upcoming PlayStation VR version. Players can try out urban combat in the City map, take on the harsh Desert, or test their skills on the World War 2-inspired Beachhead map, or the Alpine, Port, Forest or Contact maps.
For players who want a more intense experience, there are additional modes, such as Icarus, which is played entirely in first-person as the player is trapped behind enemy lines, forced to scavenge ammo and supplies in an effort to stay alive until rescue arrives. Or players can take on Vertigo, a cyber-warfare challenge where players need to hack a computer console whilst being under attack by guards. Or there’s Overwatch mode, where you take the role of a sniper, trying to protect the passengers of a crashed helicopter from encroaching enemy forces.
Out Of Ammo will be available for pre-order on the PlayStation Store from tomorrow. Users who place a pre-order will get a free copy ofCastleStorm VR. Out of Ammo is due for release some time in Winter 2018.
VRFocus will bring you further information on Out of Ammo as it becomes available.
Out of Ammo from RocketWerkz is an odd little game that was originally exclusive to the PC-powered Rift and Vive headsets, but according to an announcement today on the official PlayStation Blog, the game is now making its way to Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) during winter 2018 by way of a port via Zen Studios.
In Out of Ammo players take on the role of an army general that’s tasked with waging war on a variety of battlefields. In the Survival game mode, it plays out a bit like a hybrid between a real-time strategy game and a first-person shooter. You can plan your base-buidling from a birds eye-esque perspective and then take control of different units during battle to influence outcomes or swap your unit type at any time. Riflemen get fully auto rifles, Snipers attack from a distance, Medics can heal allies, Rocketeer blow up stuff, and Engineers can repair stuff and blast away bad guys with deadly shotguns. There are eight different levels in the game to explore and fight your way through.
Additionally, there’s an Overwatch game mode where you take on the role of a single Sniper in a clock tower that oversees a group of soldiers as they progress through a level.
If you pre-order Out of Ammo on PSVR then Zen Studios will throw in a free copy of CastleStorm VR. Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
Mit Planet Minigolf hatte der Entwickler Zen Studio bereits die PlayStation 3 erfolgreich beglückt. Für die virtuelle Realität steht jetzt der Nachfolger Infinite Minigolf nach der Veröffentlichung bei Steam für die PlayStation 4 und PSVR in den Startlöchern. Das bunte Minigolf-Vergnügen mit Kurs-Editor soll schon am 25. Juli erscheinen.
Infinite Minigolf: Einlochen mit PSVR
Infinite Minigolf will wie der Vorgänger Planet Minigolf keine wirklichkeitsnahe Simulation sein, sondern erweitert das klassische Thema um Spielelemente, die so in der Realität kaum oder gar nicht möglich sind. Beispielsweise verpasst mit etwas Glück ein Rentier in der Weihnachtsmann-Winterwelt auf dem Nordpol dem Golfball einen Tritt und befördert ihn damit direkt ins Loch. Die Grafik ist einfach, meist quietschbunt und im Comic-Stil gehalten.
Wem es auf Dauer alleine auf dem virtuellen Minigolfplatz zu langweilig wird, kann sich auch im lokalen Multiplayer-Modus mit anderen Spielern in Turnieren messen. Bis zu acht Golfer können zumindest in der PC-Version gegeneinander antreten, notfalls auch mit nur einem Controller. Das Highlight des Spiels sorgt zudem für echte Langzeitmotivation: Mit dem Leveleditor lassen sich einfach eigene Herausforderungen schaffen und mit anderen Spielern teilen.
Infinite Minigolf: Der Level-Editor ist ein Highlight des Games
Beim Vorgänger Planet Minigolf haben Minigolfer die Qual der Wahl aus zehntausenden selbst erstellten Kursen und Löchern. Mit der Veröffentlichung für die PSVR am 25. Juli sollte sich auch die Anzahl der Kurse für den Nachfolger deutlich erhöhen, schließlich stand der Titel bisher nur als Early Access für die HTC Vive und Oculus Rift bereit. Infinite Minigolf kostet auf Steam knapp 15 Euro, ein vergleichbares Preisschild sollte auch die PlayStation-Version auszeichnen.
Last October saw Zen Studios release a followup to its popular golfing title Planet Minigolf in the form of Infinite Minigolf on Steam Early Access. Currently supporting Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the developer announced that the videogame will be fully released this week with support coming to PlayStation VR as well.
Infinite Minigolf aims to take what made the previous title so good and give it a modern makeover, improving the visuals whilst delivering extremely accurate physics. While players can just play mini-golf to their hearts content, Infinite Minigolf is all about user generated content. So they can craft their own course creations and experience tons of customisation options, to share their ideas with other players around the world.
And what is likely to be a first for cross-platform play, every course created by the community is shared across all platforms. So when the videogame officially launches on 25th July, whether players are on PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch or Steam (including HTC Vive and Oculus Rift), they’ll all be able to play each others courses.
Last year Zen Studios released its second virtual reality (VR) title after Pinball FX 2 VR with CastleStorm VR for both Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Today, the studio has announced that headset support is being expanded with the PlayStation VR version due to arrive on 1st August.
CastleStorm VR is a 2D, action-strategy role-playing game (RPG) that puts players in charge of a castle. Featuring a vivid and stylish cartoon aesthetic, the videogame equips players with a legion of pit knights, soldiers, archers, griffins and other characters with which they can attack the opposite rival stronghold. Each castle is located at either end of the battlefield and their forces must break through to bring the enemy to ruin, whilst defending their own fortifications from enemy attacks.
Players don’t just have to go for an all out attack strategy either. If they’re feeling more defensive they can build up the castle to be indestructible, unlock rooms with special powers and abilities and place them strategically in the Castle Builder.
CastleStorm VR will be available for PlayStation VR on 1st August. The price has yet to be revealed.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of CastleStorm VR and Zen Studio’s, reporting back with any further announcements.
Pinball might not sound like the most suitable choice for virtual reality (VR) but Zen Studios has shown that’s not the case with its title Pinball FX2 VR. Originally released as an Oculus Rift launch title almost a year ago, its since made its way to HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. Now the pinball experience goes mobile coming to Samsung Gear VR.
Just as its previous releases Pinball FX2 VR comes supplied with three tables Mars, Epic Quest, and Secrets of the Deep. Then if players want more content in-app purchases are available, with Paranormal, CastleStorm, Earth Defense, Wild West Rampage, Biolab and The Walking Dead tables on sale individually. Further tables will be added in the future.
To offer a unique VR pinball experience, Pinball FX2 VR brings the tables to life, with characters and more appearing around the tables. Additionally, the videogame scoreboards will track your Pro Score, Team Score, table stats and more to let you compete against players from all over the world!
Pinball FX2 VR can be purchased through the Oculus Store for $4.99 USD/£3.99 GBP. Paranormal, CastleStorm, Earth Defense, Wild West Rampage, and Biolab are each available as in-app purchases for $2.99, while The Walking Dead table can be bought for $4.99.
As a kid, the local candy store had three arcade machines and a pinball machine. It’s where I first played games like Altered Beast and Mortal Kombat. It’s also where I enjoyed Addams Family,Terminator 2, and other lauded pinball tables. Though they seemed old fashioned compared to the cutting edge of games like Mortal Kombat, the sound of metal against metal held an allure to this grade-schooler. Years later, the candy store ditched pinball altogether and I never used flippers ever again. Until this week.
Pinball FX 2VR is a new adaptation of the popular virtual pinball game for PlayStation VR and HTC Vive releasing in North America on November 29, though it has been available for some time on Oculus Rift. It is from Zen Studios and the tables featured here were in the company’s previous release Zen Pinball 2, a non-VR title. The biggest change is that they are now in virtual reality. And what a difference that makes.
The game loads up and you are in a virtual house, another luxurious living space to rival the likes of Oculus Home. You have three pinball tables set up, a wall with trophies from the games, a gallery with scoreboards to compare your pinball wizardry with friends or other players worldwide, and an entertainment center that summarize the games, presents options, etc. You can switch out the three machines to whichever ones you prefer. And when you are done just looking around this virtual home, you can click on a machine and start playing it.
Suddenly you and your invisible body are standing before a machine, taking in the colorful lights and exciting sounds. This large machine feels like it is there. You can glance around it or lean down into it for a better look at the images and labels. And then you play, using the Dualshock’s bumpers for the flippers, the left analog for rocking the machines (just avoid causing a Tilt error) and the right analog to pull back the ball launcher. There is a visceral quality to seeing the machine there in three dimensions, versus a flat screen on a flat monitor. Predictably, it makes it feel that much more like you are playing a real pinball machine.
Graphically, the machines are detailed. The pixelated dot matrix displays are there in all their orange glory. Metal balls, ramps, and triggers all look quite convincing. On top of all this is a layer of effects (or should I say FX?) only possible in a video game. Polygonal characters move and walk around under the glass of the table, such as cowboys in the Wild West Rampage machine. Creatures also sit on top of machines, like the sheep from Castle Siege.
The most overt example of these gaming graphics surround you and the pinball machines. When you are playing, the virtual home dims, so you can focus on the pinball, but the space around it fills with different visuals and sounds befitting the table. Mars has asteroids and spaceships. Paranormal has the Loch Ness Monster rising from an ocean. The new The Walking Dead machine has a life-sized Clementine on the left side, hiding from a grasping zombie on the right. These immersive graphics are a cool use of virtual reality, though they can distract you from the fast-moving ball and other action of the pinball games themselves.
There is a good variety of tables to be had with this release. The game comes with three machines for $15: the science-fiction themed Mars, the sea adventure Secrets of the Deep, and the heroic fantasy Epic Quest. The Season 1 DLC, priced $25, includes five more tables: the supernatural themed Paranormal, the Mad Scientist-esque BioLab, the fantasy warfare of CastleStorm, the alien invasion of Earth Defense, and the self-explanatory Wild West Rampage. The machine based on Telltale’s The Walking Dead games is a separate download for $7.
Each machine has some really unique features: the puzzle cube and haunted house of Paranormal, the roleplaying fight system of Epic Quest, the building and upgrading of a mutant in BioLab, the exciting events of Wild West Rampage, the giant robot that actually shakes the machine for Earth Defense, or the missions and moral choices of The Walking Dead. I found the Mars table the most pedestrian, but not bad by any means.
All the tables have appropriate music and voices, from songs of adventure or suitably creepy atmospheric tunes, to the silly voice of the hero from Epic Quest or the confidence of the female bounty hunter of Wild West Rampage. Fans of all different genres have something to like in Pinball FX2 VR. And with The Walking Dead machine, you actually do missions and moral choices from the five episodes of the first season of that game. The voiced quotes from the characters you love are a nice touch as well. It all adds up to something followers of that series will appreciate.
Final Score: 7/10 – Good
Undoubtedly fans of Pinball will be happy here. They get a faithfully made three-dimensional replication of their hobby, albeit spruced up with modern-graphics that defy real life, albeit intruding to the purity of it all as a whole. Novices to pinball should enjoy the games for sometime too, though the difficulty of pinball in general and the challenge of finding and trying all the events and missions in the games may discourage some. Regardless of player ability, the feel of virtually standing there and actually getting sore fingers after a few hours is something of an accomplishment. And you may find yourself surprised to be coming back for that thrill of activating multi-ball or hitting the jackpot in a game.
If you love pinball games currently there’s not a great deal to choose from, besides Zen Studios Pinball FX2 VR on Oculus Rift. Today the studio has announced the videogame will be coming to PlayStation VR this month along with some new content.
Bobby Hopper – Community Manager, Zen Studios made the announcement via the PlayStation.Blog, saying that Pinball FX2 VR will be available through the PlayStation Store on 29th November, but only for US customers at present. Along with the standard version of the title which has three tables available, Mars, Secrets of the Deep, and Epic Quest, PlayStation VR owners will also be able to purchase the Season One Expansion pack. This adds a further five tables: CastleStorm, Wild West Rampage, Paranormal, BioLab, and Earth Defense to the base game.
But that’s not all Zen Studios has one more table to add to the pot, one themed on The Walking Dead. “The VR version of The Walking Dead Pinball brings the complete experience of the beloved 2014 table into fully immersive virtual reality,” says Hopper. “You’ll experience choice-driven gameplay along with original story dialogue from the award-winning cast, in scenarios that include choosing who to save and who to leave behind in a walker attack, keeping up morale, searching for food and supplies, acquiring important tools, and navigating through the herd amidst an oncoming walker breach.
“As the action unfolds, walkers bear down on you. Fight your way through all five of the table’ s episodes to a thrillingly climactic wizard mode.”
When it goes on sale Pinball FX2 VR will retail for $14.99 USD with the Season One Expansion pack selling for $24.99. While The Walking Dead pinball table can be downloaded for $6.99 on launch day.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pinball FX2 VR, reporting back with any further updates.
Fallout and other games from publisher Bethesda will soon be coming to Zen Studios' virtual pinball platforms. In the past, Zen Studios has created tables based on 'Portal', 'The Walking Dead', and 'Plants vs. Zombies'.
