Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars – Page 3 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

November 21, 2017

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars Gets YEBIS Visual Overhaul, SteamVR Support Confirmed

It’s a telling sign of the growing popularity of virtual reality (VR) when more and more well known studios start to bring their IP’s to the medium. There’s been Square Enix with a couple of titles, Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV and Million Arthur VR: Character Command RPG, or how about Bethesda with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR, Fallout 4 VR and DOOM VFR. Then in September during Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia’s (SIEJA) PlayStation press conference for the Tokyo Game Show another gaming juggernaut entered the fray with Konami’s remaster of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner. Now the studio has confirmed the adoption of YEBIS to improve the videogame’s visual quality.

YEBIS is an optical post-effects middleware created by technology and game development company, Silicon Studio Corporation, allowing developers to utilise various effects such as glare, depth of field, color correction and anti-aliasing in post process with live action video or CG real-time visuals.

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Using the software Konami has dramatically overhauled Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars for 4K resolutions, with YEBIS providing a wide range post-effects and upgrades to HDR and VR support.

“I cannot forget the excitement of the day we implemented “YEBIS”, when we saw many characteristic post effects of “ANUBIS” now shine with the brightness of the current generation standards, compared to how they first looked 15 years ago,” said Noriaki Okamura, Producer of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars in a statement.

In addition to the YEBIS announcement, Silicon Studio Corporation have also confirmed that the title will support SteamVR, opening up the possibility that Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars will be released on both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars is set to release in spring of 2018 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4 Pro, PlayStation VR and Steam. It was originally released in 2003 on PlayStation 2, and again for PlayStation 3 in HD bundled with the original Zone of the Enders as part of the Zone of the Enders HD Collection.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars, reporting back with the latest updates.

September 24, 2017

Screenshots for Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars Unveiled

The Zone of the Enders franchise began in 2001 with the release of the original videogame on PlayStation 2. Created by legendary videogame creator Hideo Kojima, Zone of the enders subsequently spawned sequels, spin-offs and an anime series. Soon it will return with full 4K graphics and virtual reality (VR) support.

Konami will be releasing an updated and remastered version of the second title in the series, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner on to PlayStation VR, with 4K graphics for PlayStation 4 Pro users. PlayStation VR users will be able to pilot the iconic JEHUTY mecha robot in first-person, seeing the cockpit surroundings in immersive detail.

Based on the HD remaster that was released for the PlayStation 3 back in 2012, though featuring remastered audio, VR support and what Konami have called ‘Cutting Edge post effects’. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars is due for release some time in Spring 2018.

You can view some screenshots depicting how the graphics will look below, including some shots of inside the JEHUTY cockpit.

VRFocus will bring you further details as they becomes available.

September 19, 2017

Zone of the Enders and Neko Atsume Coming to PlayStation VR in 2018

Earlier today Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia (SIEJA) held it usual PlayStation press conference ahead of the Tokyo Game Show 2017. The company didn’t disappoint when it came to PlayStation VR announcements, revealing two brand new videogames, Konami’s Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner and Hit-Point’s Neko Atsume VR, whilst Gungrave VR got it’s first trailer.

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars will be a remastered version of the original title released for PlayStation2 in 2002 and re-released in HD for PlayStation 3 in 2012, this time with 4K graphics for PlayStation 4 Pro and full virtual reality (VR) support. Using PlayStation VR players will be able to enter JEHUTY’s cockpit for some first-person combat action. The videogame is due to launch in Spring 2018 worldwide.

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On the opposite end of the spectrum is Neko Atsume VR which is some sort of cat feeding simulator. Few details were released other than a 2018 launch date. Expect this one to be Japan only.

Finally there’s the first ever trailer for Blueside and IGGYMOB’s Gungrave VR. Due for release later this year on PlayStation VR in Japan, followed by Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the title certainly looks like a frantic, arcade shooter.

For any further updates from the Tokyo Game Show 2017, keep reading VRFocus.