PSVR

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2020 Roundup, the year that was.

Richard Armitt 1908 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

How do you have a 2020 Roundup? A year that has put the Annus in Annus Horribulus. The ongoing pandemic notwithstanding its been a year where everybody seems to have shared tragedy on some level. Having lost close friends, dear pets and suffered a weather event catastrophe I’m just glad COVID has not yet reached my door.

Here we at the dawn of a New Year, and just like twelve short months ago. Everybody is wishing that when that calendar clicks over the trend gets better. We should take a quick spin around the highlights of what we managed under such adversity.

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Star Wars Squadrons
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Star Wars: Squadrons (Playstation 4 + PSVR)

Guy 1913 Views ,  ,  , 

Star Wars Squadrons, you say?

The close of 2020 is fast approaching, not to mention the end of the current generation of consoles. I for one did not expect this late in the piece to be blindsided by a wee budget priced title made by EA!? of all publishers, to come out of nowhere and insert itself squarely in my 2020 game of the year considerations.

Finally someone at EA has seen fit to make a game worthy of the juggernaut IP that is Star Wars. And to boot, they have drawn heavily from one of the all-time great video games of the past Star Wars: Rogue Squadron.

Back in 1998 it was THE flight/space combat game to play. It has baffled many a gamer pundit why it has been over 20 years since we could strap on an X-Wing at shoot stuff.

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Iron Man VR, PSVR Review

Richard Armitt 1644 Views ,  ,  , 

Iron Man VR has been a while coming, having had a hands on at PAXAus last year and seeing the recent demo hadn’t moved on much from then. That said, the Rocket Boots have firmly landed hard in our living rooms now.

It has to be acknowledged that Iron Man (the Robert Downey Junior version) led, assembled and exited the Avengers Franchise for a decade. In that time we had a very ropey Iron Man game back in the 360/PS3 era, which didn’t make much use of the man.

You’d think Iron Man would be a perfect shoe-in for a VR game or experience. Remember how good the final swing was in that Spiderman one a couple of years back? Iron Man VR must surely offer that view from the legendary helmet, the sheer nature of donning a headset making sense in more ways than one.

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3dRudder - RUN THE GAME
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3dRudder for PSVR : Q/A with Stanislas Chesnais

Richard Armitt 1708 Views ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , 

We are no strangers to PSVR here at the site and its fair to say we are constantly surprised by the improvements being made in PSVR games. Something exciting on the horizon with future Australasian distribution is the 3dRudder.

As a feet-on experience it makes the difference and fills a gap. Anybody that has tried been challenged by movement in PSVR versions of Skyrim or DoomVFR  (already on PC) would agree, if they were integrated 3dRudder would change the game.

Our thanks go to Stanislas Chesnais, CEO, for taking the time to answer our questions and hopefully pique some interest in the 3dRudder. Knowing The Wizards and wishing No Man’s Sky integration was on the horizon can’t wait to give it a spin. Literally.

Now, DoomVFR – time to lift your PSVR game.

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Espire 1 VR Operative
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Espire 1: VR Operative, PSVR Review

Guy 1281 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Espire 1: VR Operative was touted as a fully immersive Splinter Cell-esque type VR game. Which was music to my ears and the slick launch trailer just added to my hype levels.

The game is built around the idea of taking remote-control of a stealthy Espire Robot. Then infiltrating various buildings and factory type levels to take down armed terrorists. An Espire unit can use an array of gadgets, guns and even navigate levels full of verticality with its magnetic hands.

Like I said, a really cool premise.

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ESPIRE1 VR: Stealth Operative
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Espire 1: VR Operative, Hands On

Richard Armitt 1190 Views ,  ,  , 

A blur of a few weeks ago at PAX I go to go hands-on with Espire1: VR Operative from Digital Lode. On that day the release had been pushed back to a loose ‘pre-xmas’. It felt appropriate to hold back until a day like today, when the launch date was finally announced.

And that Release Date is THIS WEEK! Yes, THIS WEEK!

The game has been described as a Stealth VR Shooter, Guy has been dribbling over it for months because to him, it’s Splinter Cell VR. Either way Espire 1: VR will certainly tick some boxes.

Espire1 has been put together by a passionate and driven micro team of developers. The game ‘feels’ like a release from a much bigger studio and deserves some attention. I can only hope the install base on the PSVR gives it a strong showing. I for one will be leaping into an Espire unit this weekend. To stealth, shoot, scan, climb and hack my way out of trouble.

Espire1: VR Operative – it’s VR Splinter Cell, what could go wrong?

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Concrete Genie Review, PS4

Richard Armitt 1907 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

Only last week my wife was watching me play another game and she asked ‘why is it always shooting’? Sadly I knew exactly what she meant, then I fired up my Concrete Genie review code and we both got lost for a few hours.

First party developers Pixelopus have created something new and unique, a game that drips with charm and subtlety. It is fair to say although short by some standards Concrete Genie is a beautiful experience that lifts your spirit.

Concrete Genie tells the tale of a boy saving his hometown Denska from darkness with magical graffiti. It is beautiful, colourful and enriching.

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Blood & Truth, PSVR Review

Guy 1101 Views ,  ,  , 

Every now and then I play a game and it floors me. It’s not often mind you, I’m talking once or twice in a console generation. Anyone who reads my stuff or follows me online, knows I am a PSVR fan and I love it, warts and all. But ‘Blood & Truth’ is something special, it’s a leap forward in mainstream big budget VR experiences and I am going to break from the traditional idea of a “Review” for this one.

So here we go….

“Do you and your PSVR a favour……….Go and BUY Blood & Truth”!

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BoxVR Review, PSVR

Richard Armitt 1748 Views ,  ,  , 

Look, I am the first to admit I can’t play rhythm games, my physical structure does not generally move to music in any shape or form without a massive amount of encouragement or threats.

Yet, here I am, really enjoying the music and movement co-ordination with BoxVR.

Overall, BoxVR isn’t going to replace an actual gym or a six mile run, but it does get you off the couch and it does help you to break a sweat. I can’t say it has changed my life, but I will say this, there is a spring in my step that wasn’t there in this tired old body a couple of weeks ago and I am looking forward to my next session more than the Triple A game I’m supposed to be playing.

Think on that.

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Blood & Truth PSVR hands-on preview

Richard Armitt 1076 Views ,  ,  ,  , 

We recently had the opportunity to send cheeky chappie Darren Price on an hands on adventure with new PSVR title Blood and Truth, and it turned better than a Bank Holiday in the Queen Vic.

“I recently entered a world of old lags, muppets and geezers for a trip to the East-End London with PlayStation AU and their up-coming PSVR game, Blood & Truth.

Blood & Truth comes to us from SIE London Studio, the same developers that knocked out the VR Worlds anthology title for PSVR. The new game is an extension of their acclaimed The London Heist sequence that was the highlight of VR Worlds.

If you are familiar with Guy Ritchie films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, you are on the right track. This is a game chock-full of violent Cockney villains, so expect loads of tasty-looking, tooled-up geezers, lots of swearing and comedy East-End accents.”

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Game ReviewsGamingPC / MacPS4PSNetworkPSVR

Falcon Age, PSVR Review

Richard Armitt 1271 Views ,  ,  , 

Since launch PSVR has been a platform full of experiences and a lot of them either off the wall or surprisingly original. Falcon Age probably sits in those two camps with a 20/80 split.

A brave new single player experience from Outerloop Games, a Seattle based Indie company with a pretty tight team roster. It shows in the way the game has been crafted, it is deep without being complex and does exactly what it needs to. Built from the ground up as a VR title the game is a sci-fi adventure in the shoes of Ara, a young girl imprisoned by some temperamental robots on a barren planet.

Pretty straightforward then, the first few game days get you into the control scheme nicely by running some prison day-to-day routines and forcing you to converse with one of your captors. Some of the humour, writing and art style here start to feel like a nod toward Portal and that’s okay.

It’s a setting that serves the purpose of the story, but feels light on structure, which isn’t that big a deal when you remember this is a game, in VR where you can fist-bump your Falcon before sending it off to rip up a rabbit.

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