Here is a quick rundown of three recent or upcoming virtual
reality game releases. See if your favourites are coming back, and if they have
been handled correctly or ruined by money-hungry corporate types:
Stormland: The excitingly titled Stormland is a VR action
adventure game that is sure to capture your interest and your enthusiasm. Explore
unknown islands, discover hidden treasures and grapple with new and wonderful
technology. But it is not only the storyline and the missions that make this
game a delight to work through – the physics engines have been crafted to make
the best of both virtual reality advances, but also motion capture and video
perspectives. In short, the game looks great, the movements and weightiness of
objects are authentically designed, and it works realistically in a virtual
reality world. The game is due for release in 2019 – not long to go at all!
Wolfenstein Cyberpilot: Wolfenstein was one of the very
first video games, adored by fans around the word despite the clunky graphics,
the laggy play and the awkward play (compared to games now, that is – for the
time, they were cutting edge and completely mind-blowing!). So to hear that
there is a new version, updated and improved for the 20-teens, was a very exciting
prospect. Almost too exciting, and the reality has not – so far – lived up to
the hype. Visually, the game is good, but the controls are heavy and unresponsive,
and there is no apparent interaction between the avatar’s hands and all the
controls which is frustrating. Due for release in 2019, let’s hope the
producers rethink things and include the best of the new tech with the best of
the old well-loved formulation…
Gungrave VR: released last December, Gungrave brought back
the well known and loved character Grave, from 2004’s sequel Gungrave: Overdose
(itself a continuation of the original game: Gungrave). Gungrave VR is a bold
mixture of first person play and third person action, with a good and compelling
storyline driving the action.