THE VR GRID

PSVR PSVR‘ alt=’PSVR’ id=’templ_icon_36′ width=’40’ height=’40’ /> Hub Category: PSVR PSVR

  • Pirate Flight

    Pirate Flight

    Developer / Publisher – Andreas Von Lepel
    Price – US $15.99 / EU €15.99 / UK £10.99 / AU $19.95
    Release Date –May 1st, 2018
    Control Method – DS4
    Play Type – Sitting
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    Flying in VR is awesome!  In almost every VR experience I have played where flight was a component in one way or another, I can’t help but marvel at just how cool it is to be soaring above cities, cruising through tunnels or even through stories in a book.  That sense of freedom makes genre’s utilizing flight a little near and dear to my heart as that has been one of dreams since I was a child.  Pirate Flight hopes to bring a more casual flying experience to fans by simplifying not just controls, but visuals as well for an game that can be played by those with even the most sensitive of constitutions.

    Hit the throttle and crush these fools

    The controls here are very basic.  Throttle is handled by the game, though you can use a boost button if you would like to go a little faster.  Steering is handled by the left thumbstick and during the balloon shooting missions, you can press ‘square’ to shoot some giant balls. There are 3 different game modes; Rings, Race & Balloon with each offering slight variations on the games core mechanics.  These modes are broken up into 10 levels per stage over 3 stages, for a total of 90 different levels.  The initial stages are very easy, and my hand almost never left the boost button unless I needed to make a slightly sharper turn.  The later stages get slightly more difficult, but I found this to be more of an issue of memorization then in-game skill and besides the balloon maps, most of the ring and race stage were a breeze and I beat almost every stage on the 1st try.

    The largest factor holding Pirate Flight back is the visuals.  I thought for sure this was a port from a mobile title and was a little surprised that this is a PSVR exclusive.  Everything has a very cartoonish esthetic and lacks a lot of details.  Character models look like original Mii characters from Nintendo’s games and the poly count is just really low.  However, because of those simplistic visuals, the frame rate is solid and runs flawlessly at 90 FPS on either model of PlayStation and while I was definitely unimpressed by the look of the game, it didn’t take me too long to look past the visuals and enjoy the gameplay.  The 3 stages each have their own look (Island, Jungle and Ice) so just when I got sick of looking at one background, I unlocked the next.

    Each of the 3 worlds offers a dramatically different look

    Like the visuals, the audio is simple.  Your plane has a quiet hum and there is 1 catchy beat that plays through the entirety of the game and after the 1st level, I was more then burnt out on it.  It’s completely serviceable, but if you plan on playing for an extended time, your best bet is to throw on your Spotify playlist.

    Like so many other games, a 3-star system is in place to help test those skills.  1 star unlocks the next level while any more are just for bragging rights and trophies.  As long as you almost never let off the throttle in the race or ring mode, the 3 stars are easily attainable.  In balloon mode however, sometimes the balloons are strapped to planes or dragons and fly around the map and while there is a arrow on your planes dash to point you in the right direction, those moving targets can be tough to track down in a timely fashion.  There are also 10 pilot models to unlock which doesn’t change up the game in any way, but when you finish a mission, you get to look at your new self.

    As of right now, blinders are on with no option to remove them, though the dev has stated that the fix for that will be coming for shortly in a patch.  I ran into a respawn issue where my plane was just to to close to island forcing an almost instant crash and an unfortunate level restart to bypass that, though it only happened to me twice in my play.  The plane does require fuel, which floats in the air as some coins with a heart logo on them but I almost never needed to worry about my fuels as the coins are scattered everywhere or just pop up along the same path that you are racing on.

    These dragons don’t offer much in the way of competition

    Pirate Flight succeeds at what it sets out to do, but what that is really isn’t that amazing.  The easy difficulty will turn off those looking for a challenge and simplistic visuals will more then likely do the same, especially for those who have played more graphically impressive games like Eagle Flight or Ultrawings.  With that said, the simplistic nature of the game lends itself well to those who experience sim sickness and are just looking for a casual, worry free flight in VR.  With roughly 2-hours of content there is a fair bit to get through and it is a solid introduction to Flight in VR with minimum comfort issues.  If your looking to show this off to grandma or maybe show something to a child in VR, this is probably where Pirate Flight shines the most

    What would I pay? The $15 price tag still seems a tad high to me.  The content is there, but the presentation and simplistic gameplay put this more in the $10 range for me, but if you’ve headed my words an are still interested, the full price isn’t insane.

    Andreas Von Lepel provided The VR Grid with a review code for this game and, regardless of this review, we thank them for that!

  • MLB Home Run Derby VR

    MLB Home Run Derby VR

    Developer / Publisher – MLB
    Price – US $19.99 / EU €N/A / UK £N/A / AU $N/A
    Release Date – April 26th, 2018
    Control Method – 1 x Move Controller
    Play Type – Standing
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    We haven’t seen a lot of licensed sports in VR and the only one that comes to mind is the NBA 2KVR experience from way earlier in PSVR’s life cycle and that offered us a bare bones NBA experience focused more on mini games then anything else.  Home Run Derby seems to be pseudo sequel to that title as the game has little to do with the MLB save for the few arenas you get to play in and the MLB logo splashed all throughout the game.

    Batter up!

    Controls are simple, and a first for me in VR.  There is only 1 mode and in that mode you take to the plate, face the pitcher and swing at the ball that he hurls towards you.  What I found interesting is the pitcher is actually 90 degrees left or right of the camera depending on which stance you pick so when you swing, the Move controller stays nicely within the cameras field of view.  It’s intuitive and works great in VR and if anyone else is designing a VR baseball game, take note.  There are 2 pitching options, normal or pro, and each changes the pace of the ball flying toward you, slower or faster respectively.

    The big draw here is choosing 1 of 3 official MLB arenas which I’m assuming are relatively accurate recreations of their real-world counterparts.  My main contention with the visuals here is that nothing looks that good.  The crowd is comprised of pixelated 2D sprites and the field and pitcher don’t have a lot of finer details and remind me of sports games from 15 years ago.  There is also no calibration screen and I found that the game liked putting me closer to the ground then was realistic and the bat you wield looks like it’s about a foot and half long, creating a disconnect between the incoming ball and your bat.  Nothing here looks inherently bad (minus the bat) but don’t expect to be blown away.  Crowds ooo,  ahhhh and cheer at strikes fouls and homeruns, a commentator will occasionally drop a line about a good or bad hit and the entire game, including the menus, is absent of any type of music

    The visuals in this game are anything but impressive

    The one mode allows you to hit as many balls as you can out of the park in 90 seconds which for me, was easier said then done.  Like I said, I had trouble wrapping my brain around my teeny tiny bat which I think was my 2nd largest reason why I missed so many swings.  The first reason is because swing speed matters and I couldn’t help but pull my swings for fear of launching my controller into a wall.  I tried to hold the controller with 2 hands but alas, my hands were a little to large to make that comfortable and I ended up just swinging with my right.  Each stadium has giant targets to hit in the home run zones which multiply your score, which is based upon how many feet your ball traveled.

    That’s it really, you just play in 90 second increments over and over until you get sick of the game.  I feel like Home Run Derby could have benefited greatly from some local multiplayer play, both in and out of VR.  Maybe have a second player take control of the pitcher or set up a mini tournament and switch off with friends and see who can get the highest score.  There are online leaderboards, broken up by difficulty and arena, so as you get better you can at least see how your skills compare with the rest of the world.

    Woo hoo!

    I liked the spirit of this game, but it feels lacking in content and is basically just you, a bat and a ball in VR and while that may sound fun for a bit, I think for many it will wear out its welcome way sooner then later.  The biggest draw is playing actual MLB arenas, but if this isn’t a concern for you there is very little else to sustain your interest for more then a few rounds.

    What would I pay? This is $5 game capitalizing the the MLB logo plastered all over this thing.  Unless you have been clamouring for a VR baseball experience since you bought the headset, stay away until it’s more appropriately priced.

  • Virry VR: Wild Encounters

    Virry VR: Wild Encounters

    Developer / Publisher – Fountain Digital Labs
    Price – US $19.99 / EU €28.49 / UK £23.99 / AU $42.95
    Release Date – April 24th, 2018
    Control Method – DS4
    Play Type – Sitting
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    The first Virry experience, Virry: Feel the Wild took us to Africa and let us get up close with a few select animal and added some light interaction, trivia and some calming scenery to help relax you and maybe boost your mood a little.  Wild Encounters is that exact same experience all over again, only with new 360 videos to watch, with new questions and some new serenity spots where you can just sit back, relax and take in the sounds and sights.

    The elephants are cool!

    With your DS4 you can navigate the circular menu and select options.  During the videos you can look around in 360 and at the onset of each video you will be required to shake your controller to throw down some food.  It’s all just carefully edited footage so there is no real interaction, just start a video, sit back and relax.  Besides the animal videos is a serenity mode that takes you to 3 locations that offer a looping video of a scenic spot to some optional relaxing music.

    The videos look alright though they are only 360, not 3D, so don’t expect to feel like you are really there.  With that said, when a few animals get close, especially the elephants, it’s hard to deny just how close they do look and feel.  The videos were filmed in 4K and then scaled down to the headset so while the videos have clarity on objects and animals up close, things get very blurry far away.  Each video lasts a few minutes and typically you watch these animals interact with the food used to lure them into the camera’s view.  Compared to the 1st Virry title, I found the videos to be slightly longer in Wild Encounters and offered more moments where the animals noticed and interacted with the camera, which was amusing.

    As these videos are taken from live feeds, so too are the sounds.  You do have optional commentary whereupon your female host will provide factoids and questions during the videos.  The beauty spots have some relaxing music to accompany them so if you were looking just to chill in Africa for a bit and take in the sights, that option is here for you as well.

    Hey hey, it’s a monkey and he’s about to monkey around!

    At the start of the experience, you will be asked to pick your current mood from a bunch of options. Later, you will be asked to reassess your mood and pick from the same options. The purpose of this is to showcase how calming and relaxing viewing these animals can be, but really wasn’t an option I cared for. Virry tracks your responses so answer honestly and you can see just how much your mood changes in a positive direction after watching the savanna wildlife.

    Virry also offers live streams to capture the animals’ day and night activities but unfortunately these come at a cost.  Included with your game purchase is 15 minutes of live streaming and after that you are required to donate to view more. The cost is quite low, only $3.50 a month but the live streams are only available in cinematic mode and may or may not actually feature any animals. As this is on reserve, the wildlife free roams and may not be anywhere near the cameras. If you try viewing at night time, Virry tells you this and offers up the live stream from the previous day which is great, but still plays out “live” so if nothing is going on when you turn it on, you just have to sit and wait. That’s fine for the live stream, but an option to fast-forward the previous days stream feels missed.

    Every issue I brought up in the last game is still present here.  The videos are still on the shorter side and once you have viewed them all, there is very little drive to come back to them again.  The devs promote the game as a relaxing and meditative experience, but this really only applies to the beauty spots which unfortunately, don’t look that good in VR.  That’s not to say the other videos aren’t relaxing, but they are just too short to really set any kind of tranquility before they end.

    This video showed me why Giraffe’s don’t eat food off the ground very often

    The core experience here will last you less than an hour but does offer some intriguing content.  The live feeds are a good addition in theory, especially considering that donation goes to the reserve this is filmed at, but having cinematic mode as the only viewing option makes viewing these in VR dull. I liked the trivia bits, and when the animals got really in your face, but for me this was a one and done experience. That said if you have a few friends or family members that might be into the content presented in Virry, the highlight moments are great to share.

    What would I pay? The first title sold for $10 and I stated if the content interested you, it may be worth the purchase.  The same thing applies here which is unfortunate as the asking price is confusingly twice that.  For that price I expected a lot more content then what was here. If you want this, wait for a sale.

    Fountain Digital Labs provided The VR GRid with a review code for this title and, regardless of this review, we thank them for that!

     

     

  • Dead Secret

    Dead Secret

    Developer / Publisher – Robot Invader / Frame Interactive
    Price – US $14.99 / EU €N/A / UK £N/A / AU $N/A
    Release Date – April 24th, 2018
    Control Method – DS4
    Play Type – Sitting
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – No
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    Dead Secret is a game that has been on my reviewing radar for a long time and is constantly brought up when talking about the best games and experiences for the Gear VR headset, and assuming that version is next to identical to the PSVR version, I could see why.  You play as a reporter who is investigating the death of an elderly scientist named Harris Bullard, but it doesn’t take too long before you stumble across evidence that not all is as it appears, and even what you discover may be in question.

    Having a body in VR always makes me happy!

    With a Dual shock controller, the entire game play like a point and click adventure.  To move around you look at the area you want to look at and when you see the foot icon show up, you can then walk to that area and investigate.  While you are standing in front of whatever you wanted to check out, look around and when the spy-glass comes up you can click for information, maybe discover some clues, trigger a puzzle, or read an article.  There is an inventory system in place that, once again just involves clicking to grab it then clicking to use it, with game often handling combining items so you don’t have too.  As you find clues the game automatically takes notes for you to refer back on and at the end of each chapter you can answer questions about what you have discovered to keep those key points in your head.  As you progress, new areas in, and out of the house become available for you to explore and revisit as well as some cool items and inventions which spice up some of the gameplay.

    I hope you enjoy reading, because their is a fair bit in here

    The visuals here look alright, but definitely show their mobile based roots.  Textures are washed out, edges are very hard, and the color palette used makes the entirety of the game look sterile.  With that said, the house does look and feel authentic enough and Dead Secret delivers on a VR pet peeve of mine…you have a virtual body!  I always appreciate looking down and seeing a physical form and the mirrors scattered around the house showcase that and you can check yourself out in all your feminine, broken arm glory…the protagonist is a woman btw.  Though the game takes place mainly in a house, it doesn’t take too long before the creep factor sets in and while the game may not look stellar, it does the job in setting up and immersing you in this horror/detective story.  There is a lot of reading to be done here and I do mean a lot, but thankfully the devs have made all the text in this game very easy to read, a task manyVR games fail at.

    Making up for the lacking visuals is the stellar audio.  Creepy music never lets up and keeps you on edge as you explore the house.  There are jump scares that just wouldn’t quite work if it wasn’t for the audio backing it up.  There are cinematics peppering the campaign as well some voice-over work when certain items are triggered, but for those expecting everything to be read to you, think again.  You are in the role of a journalist and when you find a piece of paper, it’s your job to read it.

    Once you find this device, the creep factor increases dramatically!

    The bulk of this game plays like an old-school Resident Evil game with a heavy reliance on exploration, reading and puzzle solving.  A few unique elements are introduced thanks to the Mr. Bullard’s inventions and mix up the gameplay nicely.  Add in the potential villain who could be nearby at any moment and though this is relatively linear tale, there is a sense of unease that never left me throughout my 2-hour playthrough.  I did enjoy the fact that your character has a broken arm, which allowed the game to set up barriers that could easily be removed if they were in the real world, but the broken arm prevents you from bypassing these obstacles.  It’s a nice touch that adds to the realism to the game.

    It’s unfortunate you can’t free roam the house, but the nav-point system in play works well enough and it wasn’t too long before I just accepted it and enjoyed the story that’s here.  As I said there is a fair bit of reading to get through, so be aware of that.  When you discover an new item, your protagonist may say something like ‘I remember there was a drawer missing a handle’ and while I get the need to remind people of past discoveries, these little ‘clues’ to my next step annoyed me and I would have preferred having to figure out my next move on my own, but that’s a minor complaint and I don’t have too much else to whine about here.  There are 5 different endings to the game, 2 happen during the campaign and the other 3 are options presented at the games grand finale so for those completionists out there, now you know.

    It should go without saying…but you should probably stay away from this nut job

    Dead Secret plays like a point and click puzzle solver with an emphasis on suspense and horror.  The story is very deep, and the puzzles are quite satisfying, though a little on the simple side at times.   I enjoyed how the mystery here unfolded and the big reveals as the plot advanced had me thoroughly engrossed in the story.  If you are looking for a horror-mystery and don’t mind a bit of reading, pick this up.

    What would I pay? Dead Secret plays like an above average mystery/horror movie and is priced along those same lines.  $15 for a few scares and an intriguing story…I don’t regret my purchase!

     

  • Just In Time Incorporated

    Just In Time Incorporated

    Developer / Publisher – Second Wind Interactive
    Price – US $14.99 / EU €14.99 / UK £11.99 / AU $19.95
    Release Date – April 24th, 2018
    Control Method – 2 x Move Controllers
    Play Type – Seated, Standing
    Pro Enhanced – Yes
    Digital Only – No
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    I love when something new comes our way in VR, or at least something that mixes a bunch of known gaming elements and merges them together into something that feels fresh.  Just in Time Inc. puts you in the role of an associate at an insurance firm which utilizes super heroics and time travel to help save their clients from some unfortunate fates.   It’s has comedy, action, suspense and some intuitive puzzle-like situations that had me watching my clients die over and over until I figured out what to do.

    Each mission briefing has some comical elements

    As you are armed with 2 power gloves, you are going to need 2 Move controllers, and unfortunately, it’s only click-turning and teleportation here.  I’m okay with the teleportation as it is incorporated in the game quite nicely though an option for free turning feels missed.  It’s explained that your gloves cause time to slow down, which I assumed was a power I could turn on or off but is actually just some justification for the entire game playing in slow motion.  The gloves you wear can also catch bullets, which can be aimed back at the enemy who fired them, or anyone else for that matter.  Additionally, you can grab select items in each stage, which typically can help you solve that puzzle.

    If you have played Out of Ammo, this game looks like it takes place in the exact same universe.  Characters are very blocky with some low-resolution pictures in place for clothing and other details.  It’s not the most impressive game I have ever seen, but it does play flawlessly, and the simple art style allows for some seamless action.  Every stage is in slow motion, while you are not, making for some cool and often time hilarious visuals as explosions slowly expand from their source, an army of giant rats slowly makes their way toward an unsuspecting scientist or you may be busy slicing off heads with a samurai sword.  Each stage contains a different look and other then the bad guys, you never really see the same things twice.  It’s crisp and clean and as each scenario is introduced, the art style just gives everything a very comical vibe!

    They call me ‘The Bullet Dodger…errrr Catcher

    Many moments in the game are inspired by pop-culture references and as such carry some nice music which fits perfectly with the parody nature of the game.  Levels inspired by James Bond or Indiana Jones contain some subdued tunes that match the action perfectly.  Sound effects are also decent, but as the game is in slow motion, the only effects I really noticed was the sounds of gunfire and explosions. In no way does the sound detract from the game and my ear holes were happy.

    The game is broken up by 3 separate tiers or promotions, plus some bonus missions.  The initial stages are relatively easy and introduce the necessary mechanics for later missions.  You can grab weapons from bad guys hands, pick up and toss grenades, teleport across a level in almost an instant, take off sprites clothing, punch a clown and a few other whacky things that make this game about death quite comical .  Stages contain specific items to help you prevent the death of your client, sometimes offering multiple solutions and some replayabilty to the game.  Scenarios also range from escort type missions to saving people from a burning building, circumventing an assassination attempt or stopping a suicide bomber.  There are a host of situations that make each stage feel fresh, and though some can be circumvented in a minute or so, once you know the solution, others may require attempt after attempt as you constantly fail at saving your targets.  Frustration will abound in these stages, but as you get closer and closer to your goal with each failure, it just makes victory taste that much sweeter.  Each scenario feels unique so if you aren’t a fan of one, you can revisit it later and check out the other unlocked scenarios at that promotion level.  It’s all very tongue in cheek and works wonderfully and never wore it out its welcome.

    So many rats!!!

    My largest issue with Just in Time Inc is the controls.  Some levels require you to be on your toes and failing to act to fast will result in a forced restart of that mission.  I found throwing items to be very finicky and more often than not, whatever I tried to throw far typically ended up at my feet, forcing me run away lest I hurt myself.  I also found the click turning to be a little cumbersome  during a few missions and getting to close to whatever you are grabbing is all to easy with teleport only movement.  It’s never game breaking by any stretch, but when I failed a mission because of the movement mechanics, I couldn’t help but get a little irritated.   A smaller annoyance I had was the lack of interactivity the stages did have.  Given the scenario, it might not matter, but in some of the larger stages, it feels like there is a lack of options when it comes to environmental variables forcing you to play a little more linearly then the game suggests.

    You see that boys and girls? That’s what success looks like!

    With those gripes aside, Just in Time Incorporated is still a well polished and unique game that entertained me throughout my hour and half or so playthrough.  A few missions held me up as the trial and error gameplay threw me for a whirl, but I really did enjoy figuring out the solutions to some of these scenarios or just racing around the map like a mad man trying to kill bad guys before they killed me or my clients.  The short nature of many of these stages also lends itself well to sharing with friends as watching someone fail at a mission you beat on the first try is always good for a laugh.  Just in Time Incorporated is a great change of pace to many of the games we have seen in VR and has enough charm and polish to back up the solid gameplay.

    What would I pay? The $15 asking price for this is spot on.  It’s not a large game and I enjoyed the challenge some of the stages offered as well as the dark and (slightly) sadistic comedy vibe that peppers this whole game…plus saving guys and gals in slow motion always makes me feel like a badass!

     

     

     

  • SUPER AMAZEBALLS

    SUPER AMAZEBALLS

    Developer / Publisher – Braincells Pruduction Inc.
    Price – US $4.99 / EU €N/A / UK £N/A / AU $N/A
    Release Date – April 10th, 2018
    Control Method – 2 x Move Controllers
    Play Type – Seated, Standing
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    If you remember that old Labyrinth table top game than you may be showing your age just a bit.  For those who don’t know what that is, it’s a 1ft(ish) square block that has dials on either side of it to tilt the play surface up or down in that direction.  The goal was to get the ball to the end without losing it down holes placed throughout the maze.  It tested both your reflexes and strategy skills as any one misstep could spell your doom.  SUPER AMAZEBALLS is that game on so many steroids that if it were in a sanctioned sport, it would be illegal.

    Check out my ball…it’s amazing!

    The mazes in question are placed inside clear spheres which you must manipulate using your in games hands.  You are going to need 2 Move controllers to play this one, as well as steady hands, patience and maybe just a little luck.  Once you press the trigger, a hand icon shows up on the sphere, anchoring that position to your controller, from here you just move the controller in whatever direction you want, tilting the sphere in that same direction.  It took me a few stages before I began to feel more comfortable with this scheme, but when I did, I began to pull off some stellar moves that kept my ball on the track where it should have fallen.  When your ball goes off the track, it resets back to a certain checkpoint, usually very close to where it fell off and on more than a few occasions if it bounces at just the right spot before it falls, your ball may even jump ahead to the spot you were trying to reach, saving you some grief.  Every time your ball falls off, 5 seconds are added to your time with the goal being to complete each track as fast as you can.

    It’s a simple game with a simple look and it works.  The sphere is always the same size and depending on the stage it may be damn near full of twists, turns, loops and mazes or rather sparse with a 2-bar track just bending all around the inside of the sphere.  Tracks are colorful and change up in look as you beat each one.  The background stays the same, but I was honestly so focused on the gameplay that I didn’t even notice it until I went to re-watch myself playing.  Customization options allow you to move your sphere into an ideal position or resize it should it feel to small or big.

    Put your skills to the test and see how you stack up with the rest of the world.

    Audio wise your little ball sounds like it’s made of steel and as it travels along the path it sounds like a steel ball would as you can hear it roll and hit walls.   There is a selection of dubstep and techno tracks that play during the game which to me didn’t really fit the action and felt very akin to the soundtrack in Stunt Kite Master.  There is thankfully an option to turn this off so if you want something a little different, just pick something from your Spotify playlist instead.

    The physics at play here are really something to marvel at as the weight of the ball just felt perfect.  With that said, a few courses felt a little cheap in their design and I only really circumvented them by luckily triggering the checkpoint system, enabling me to bypass an obstacle or 2 that may have taxed my skills beyond their limits.  That said, most of the courses are more than fair and as long as you are patient you can get that ball to the end…just don’t expect to get a high score or anything.   I also noticed that the tracking can be a bit jerky at times causing me to lose the ball during sections that require finesse.  Once you beat a track you can go back to it whenever you want and beating all 25 courses unlocks Hardcore mode which doesn’t allow for failure on any of the tracks making it much truer to its Labyrinth roots.

    The courses only get harder as you progress

    SUPER AMAZEBALLS is a great little dexterity-based puzzler that will test you brains and skills at subtly manipulating a tiny ball through a variety of tracks.  It’s addicting, challenging, rewarding and the cross-platform global leaderboards show exactly where your skills fit compared to other players.  This is a solid little game that utilizes VR in a great way and is a showcase for a game type that just wouldn’t work on a television.

    What would I pay?  The $5 asking price is so easy to say yes to.  Depending on your skills this will take you probably an hour and half or longer to beat and it’s so easy to replay a level and see if you can’t do just a little better on the leaderboard. This is a solid game for a great price.

  • Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality

    Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality

    Developer / Publisher – Other Ocean, Owlchemy Labs / Adult Swim Games
    Price – US $29.99 / EU €29.99 / UK £24.99 / AU $39.95
    Release Date – April 10th, 2018
    Control Method – 2 x Move Controllers
    Play Type – Standing
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – No
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    I’m not the biggest fan of the situation simulation genre; that’s not to say they are bad games, far from it.  I totally acknowledge that a few of the most important VR games are in this genre and are also some of the higher quality games available for any of the headsets, they just kind of bore me.  I typically find the tasks to be to simple to keep my interest very long or the emphasis on freedom just has me wishing for something to do besides just mess around.  So far, we have seen only unique IP’s in this genre for the PSVR but now, thanks to the fine folks behind Rick and Morty, we get our first tie-in that uses the same tropes we have seen in similar titles, yet thanks to the universe it takes place, still manages to feel a little fresh.

    I’m not gonna lie…seeing these 2 in VR is pretty sweet

    Like any situation simulator, you need 2 hands and thus need 2 move controllers.  As a clone of Morty, you just grab stuff and move it, place it, push it, pull it or any other actions that require the use of your awesome human extremities.  Some unique gaming elements include a wrist watch where Rick communicates your next task to you, a You-seeks which summons a being who mirrors your every action allowing you to manipulate objects out of reach, and portals which bring you to a completely different area to retrieve an object needed for whatever you are currently working on.  There is a shooting section that offers some simple dual wielding blaster action and a game inside a game lets you make some simple life choices whereupon you can see the consequences of your actions.  Rick’s garage features a limited teleport system that takes you from one of 3 stations while the rest of the game is played stationary as you work with whatever is in front of and around you.

    It’s time to get your dual-wielding action on!

    Typical of the genre, and completely expected given the show this is based on, everything here is cartoonish and exaggerated making for visuals that pop in VR.  The simplistic details on models and basic color palette give everything a very clean look.  As a fan of the series, venturing into Rick’s and Morty’s world is an absolute delight and almost every “random” object around you is a nod to 1 episode or another and had me chuckling in remembrance of those past adventures. Seeing these characters in glorious VR is crazy awesome.  The few environments are fully realized and are perfect representations from the series which is great for people familiar with the show but may be a little less impressive to those just dipping there foot in this universe for the 1st time.

    Thankfully, Justin Roiland and a few other actors reprise their roles here and play their parts without fault.  Rick is a sarcastic, crusty old scientist who continually berates not just you but everyone else in the game, while Morty is a more dim-witted insecure teenager who takes just as many jabs at you as Rick does.  The comedy here is great, though sparse at times, but nails the same level of humor from the TV series.  A few characters from the series pop up and further hammer home just how niche this title can be at times.  Like I said, fans of the show will pull a lot from this while those unfamiliar may not just not quite get what is happening.

    Troy is a game inside a game…so meta.

    There are 3 mini-games you can revisit, a shooting gallery that has you shoot armed insects and tracks just how many you can kill in one session.  ‘Troy’ is a parody of a game featured in the series that’s let you make very simple choices at certain points in a virtual life and watch the comedy unfold.  Troy takes about 5 minutes for 1 playthrough and offers enough different options to make this feel fresh a little longer than I thought it would.  Lastly is a battery charging station which requires you to spin dials, pull levers, and press buttons all at an ever-increasing pace which was fun during the required campaign portion, but I had little drive to return to it after I beat the game.

    My largest issue with Virtual Rickality is the tracking.  At numerous times during my play I was battling the limitations of the PSVR camera as sometimes objects were just out of the cameras range.  I ended up calibrating my position in game to be lower than default, which remedied some of these issues, but when I got caught up trying to grab something, I couldn’t help but get a little annoyed.  Some may find the lack of guidance during some portions of the game to be a little confusing, but I liked having to just stop and think about what the game was asking of me and figure these puzzles out on my own.  The game never gets to difficult but offers enough unique gameplay elements to make it stand out from similar titles.

    You can’t help but feel like you are playing through an episode from the series!

    Virtual Rickality’s largest strength is its fan service, which ironically is also it’s biggest weakness.  I expect fans of the series to eat this up and probably spend more time in here than they might think.  The actual game took me around 2 hours to complete, but I was messing around a bit as I enjoyed looking at a Plumbus and other items from the series or just making sure I listened to every piece of dialogue without cutting it off.  Once the game is complete, there are a few bonuses and Easter-eggs to look for which once again are just for Rick and Morty fans.  If you have never seen an episode of Rick and Morty, then I feel most of the humor and jokes will just fly over your head and you’ll be wondering what all the fuss is about in the first place.

    What would I pay? As a fan, I’m okay with the $30 asking price, though some may feel it’s a bit steep.  Virtual Rickality plays like an extended episode from the series and I loved being a part of it.  For those that aren’t familiar with TV show, you’d be better off waiting for a sale.

     

  • Operation Warcade

    Operation Warcade

    Developer / Publisher – Ivanovich Games / Perp Games
    Price – US $19.99 / EU €19.99 / UK £14.99 / AU $26.95
    Release Date – April 10th, 2018
    Control Method – Move Controllers, DS4, Aim
    Play Type – Seated, Standing
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    I think most of us early VR adopters have been looking forward to not only seeing what new ways we can experience games, but what VR games can bring to classic genres.  What I have never seen before is just how VR handles placing a full arcade game in a virtual space and playing it in both traditional and newly immersive ways.  Clearly inspired by classic shooters like Operation Wolf, you take hold of a gun on an actual arcade cabinet and begin to unload at all sorts different enemy soldiers and vehicles in your quest to conquer all the stages.

    Pictures don’t quite show just how close you are to the action

    With all 3 PSVR methods of controls available, if you have the Aim or Move options, just stick with those.  The DS4 is tracked and plays like the Aim controller, but is just not quite as comfortable, or fun, as the other options as it locks your hands in front of you.  You only get one gun no matter what method you pick, so while the Move controllers allow you to throw grenades with your left hand, the other methods just assign grenade tosses to buttons.  That’s about it really, enemies appear from the right and left of the screen or pop up in windows or from behind obstacles scattered around the ever-panning environment.  You can choose “immersion” or “classic” mode with latter placing you in front of the arcade cabinet as  if you would in real life and the former placing you right next to the screen where you can actually lean in and see further left or right, as if looking through a window and for me is the way better way to play.   If this sounds dull to you, which it’s not, and you need more convincing there is also immersion mode!

    Classic mode lets you play like it’s 1987!

    Immersion mode takes you “inside” the game instead of the overhead/side view of the action.  Throughout each stage are certain icons that can be shot which momentarily pause the action and put you in a first-person mode inside that game.  Many of these moments involve, just shooting from cover or driving through the stage while shooting, which is great with dual moves as you have to steer with 1 hand while shooting with the other.  You may be placed in a chopper, shooting from the skies or in a fighter jet or boat with mounted machine gun.  These immersion moments break up the gameplay wonderfully and spice up the action nicely.

    Each of the 6 stages has 6 levels and 3 stars each.  In order to unlock more stages, you need to get those stars.  Those stars are stage specific goals like getting a certain number of headshots, not killing civilians, running over a set amount of enemies with your jeep or a host of objectives which add some nice goals keeping Warcade feeling fresh.  It won’t take too long before you are forced to revisit past stages to get that 1 star that eluded you on your previous attempts but thankfully each stage only lasts a few minutes so multiple plays never really get a chance to feel old before you have reached their end.

     

    Immersion mode literally puts you in the game!

    The visuals here are probably the most disappointing aspect of the game.  The stages are washed out and don’t carry a lot of detail but are serviceable.  The guys you are shooting at look like army men and, excluding immersion mode, look just fine as they are usually so far away that details would be hard to see anyways.  Vehicles and buildings lack any real detail and look more like basic geometric shapes twisted together to form those objects.  Pop-ins and outs are rampant but mostly occur on the right and left sides of the play area so don’t really affect the action to much.  Given the nature of the game the look works and when combined with the variety of options presented in immersion mode, it’s easy enough to forget how lacking this can look and focus on just having fun taking out the bad guys in all manner of ways.  The presentation may also be saved by some much better audio.  Guns all sound great, enemies yell upon death and vehicles all sound like they should.  If you want to change up the music, you can go with visceral silence, some techno jams or more traditional actiony rock tunes.

    Other then the visual foibles at play, there really isn’t too much to whine about here.  Some of 3-star goals can be a little tricky to get, but I have yet to encounter one I haven’t been able to get after 1 or 2(or 5 or 6) attempts.  Some can feel a little unfair at 1st, but as you get better they can become easier and after you achieve that goal, you no longer have to worry about it so just focusing on only 1 objective becomes very easy.  Besides the typical machine guns, shotguns and sniper rifles other more eccentric weapons pop up like throwing knives, explosive bow and arrows, freeze grenades, a gravity gun and a few more amusing options.  The classic mode also has limited ammo making you dial back just how often you pull the trigger while immersion mode lets you unload with reckless abandon.

    If you can’t tell, that’s an enemy solider on the end of my gravity gun!

    There is a host of content to get through and every time I encountered a new type of immersion mode excited me, and there are plenty.  The visuals are lacking, but the gameplay and content more than makes up for those shortcomings.  This is a throwback title given a VR makeover that works great.  It’s cool to lean into your screen and look around or toss a grenade from outside the cabinet.  You also unlock power-ups that help you out and there are leaderboards for both modes that just keep track of you accrued score so the more you play, the higher you’ll place.  Operation Warcade is an awesome homage to classic cabinet shooters from the 80’s and 90’s that transitions great into VR.

    What would I pay?  The $20 asking price is fine for this. 36 stages, a host of objectives, 2 modes and some great mix-ups in gameplay make this game feel fresh way longer than you might think.

    Ivanovich Games provided The VR Grid with a review code for this title and, regardless of this review, we thank them for that!

     

  • Time Carnage

    Time Carnage

    Developer / Publisher – Wales Interactive
    Price – US $19.99 / EU €19.99 / UK £14.99 / AU $26.95
    Release Date – April 10th, 2018
    Control Method – Dual Shock, 2 x Move Controllers
    Play Type – Seated, Standing
    Pro Patch – No
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    Time Carnage is a wave shooter which in all honesty is a genre that just needs to leave VR alone for awhile.  There have been a few great wave shooters, but most, more often than not are easily forgettable or just down right bad.  I can see the draw for a developer to make a stationary shooter in VR given some of the limitations of the technology but unless you have a crazy high budget to bring some over the top amazing visuals or have a unique mechanic that may redefine how you look at the genre, then I’d say it’s best to move along and maybe give us VR fans a break from the waves.  I was optimistic that Time Carnage would be a pinnacle in the genre as the devs put a lot of content in here from multiple game types to make for a somewhat whacky shooter.  Unfortunately, I expect this to get lost in the seemingly endless amounts of wave shooters that we already have and are yet to receive.

    It’s hard to see, but I’m shooting at a zombie.

    It’s move controllers only and a dual wielding affair here with (sort of) unlimited ammo.  The gunplay is very stock and is serviceable but doesn’t do a whole lot to separate itself from other games of this type.  What does make Time Carnage different is the way your guns are reloaded.  In front of you are 4 pedestals, which you can fill with whatever gun you want from the list of arms you have unlocked through playing the game.  You tap the Move button while your hand is near the gun you want to grab and press the trigger to fire.  When you are out of ammo or want to reload, just tap the Move button again and the gun gets placed back on the pedestal and begins to reload.  Each gun type has different stats, carrying capacity and reload rates and though it took me a little while to get used this mechanic, the more I played, the more it grew on me.  As you progress you also unlock abilities that can assist you in your play.

    As I said, there is a fair bit of content to get through, the campaign takes place over 4 stages with 4 levels each, each containing 10 waves so for those that hate math, it’s 160 waves of action.  Additionally, there is a challenge mode, which sets up specific scenarios for you to test your skills in.  Maybe only headshots will refill your ammo you will only face one type of enemy or only be given a select loadout.  It’s a welcome addition that forces you to exit your comfort zone as far as loadouts go and provided some fun moments.  Also available is arcade mode which feels almost identical to the campaign mission and just allows you to use those unlocked abilities as you play through missions you have already put behind you.

    The larger monsters don’t really offer up that much more challenge

    On paper, this all sounds good, but in practice Time Carnage feels like a mix of every other wave shooter you have ever played before.  Initial waves start off very easy and slowly ramp up in difficulty.  Some stages feature explosive barrels that can aid you if you are feeling overwhelmed and as the action takes place only 180 degrees in front of you, it’s pretty easy to not be surprised by the incoming hordes, though every now and then , one may slip past your sights and start chipping at the shields protecting you and your little time-traveling platform.  No matter what gun you pick, even 2-handed rifles, they are carried on 1 hand making many guns feel the exact same meaning all your really have to decide is which gun has the fire rate and damage that you like the most.  There are 25 guns available and include a bunch of machine guns, pistols shotguns, rifles and a few other more unique options.

    You can hear these Triceratops coming from a mile away

    I found the stages looked alright, though there are a fair bit of jaggies present on many of the backgrounds.  Enemy models look okay from far away, but up close don’t hold up that well.   Almost every enemy type has 1 model, so you will be killing the same zombie, raptor, killer robot or skeleton again and again.  Lot’s of clipping occurs as enemies walk through plants and other pieces of the environments.  Larger enemies show up as you progress through each stage but barely take more effort to dispatch than the rest of the lemmings headed your way.  Some stages look clear, but others are very dark or washed out giving an odd disparity between levels.  There is a cool slow-motion mechanic at work that lets you catch a breath as you still move at the same speed but when enemies are hit, in or out of slow-mo, their ragdoll physics take over and many just go sailing back as if they were hit by a semi truck.  What’s jarring is that in slow-mo the enemies get super jerky, as if they only contain a few preset animations that become glaringly awful and look laughably bad.  Overall, Time Carnage doesn’t look awful, but outside of the ‘tunnel’ loading screen and the light bending sphere that brings and removes you from a stage, there is almost nothing here that you haven’t seen before in a VR wave shooter.

    On the audio side, this is pretty much on par with the visuals.  Some intense music accompanies each level and each enemy has a different sounding footstep that gives away when they are coming, should you be facing the wrong direction.  Many of the ‘footstep’ sounds are really loud and don’t change in volume whether that creature is very far away or right next to you.  Add in that the some of your enemies will make footsteps sounds long before they appear making for some odd moments in the game where you are just waiting for them to rear their ugly heads so you can take them out quickly.

    Like many wave shooters released recently, this one suffers from a lack of any real innovation.  It’s sweet that the enemy types here have so much genre variety, but they all basically play the same and the story linking these stages together is next to non-existent.  The reloading mechanic is sort of new, though we have seen similar reloading systems in both Shooty Fruity and Sneaky Bears.  Monsters follow pre-set paths with next to no AI and while you can choose 4 different guns in your loadout, I found that just choosing 4 of the same gun made for the easiest loadout and many earlier weapons just become useless as you unlock more powerful variants.  The additional challenge modes add some depth to this shooter, but most of the game is so repetitive that only after a few waves, I was just bored from the monotony.

    What would I pay? Time Carnage is loaded with content but is so mundane as to make most of that content feel redundant.  It’s not broken by any stretch, and for those who are looking forward to another wave shooter $20 isn’t nuts.  For anyone else who is just tired of this genre, Time Carnage isn’t going remedy that feeling.  $10 is as much as I’d pay for this.

    Wales Interactive provided The VR Grid with a review code for this title and, regardless of this review, we thank them for that!

  • Crisis on the Planet of the Apes

    Crisis on the Planet of the Apes

    Developer / Publisher – Imaginati / FoxNext VR Studio
    Price – US $14.99 / EU €14.99 / UK £11.99 / AU $19.95
    Release Date – April 3rd, 2018
    Control Method – 2 x Move Controllers
    Play Type – Roomscale
    Pro Enhanced – Yes
    Digital Only – Yes
    Reviewed on – PS4 Pro

    Crisis on the Planet of the Apes has everything going against it.  It’s a VR movie tie-in, which are typically less then stellar and it’s published by the same team that made the Martian Experience, one of the most lacking VR experiences on the market to date.  Add in the fact that the movie this is based on came out quite some time ago and I couldn’t help but keep my expectations so low as to be off of any measurable scale.  With all of that against it, Crisis somehow managed to rise above that very rocky foundation and pulls off being a decent, albeit flawed VR experience!

    If movies have taught me anything, it’s that experimentation on monkeys always leads to the apocalypse…ALWAYS!

    With 2 Move controllers, controls and movement are handled in a relatively unique way.  What you are doing at any given moment in the game is context sensitive, meaning that certain controls are only available at certain moments in the game.  No matter what the game is asking of you, every action involves a way-point in one of 2 forms.  Walking for instance requires you to look ahead at your next nav point and select the white outline of the monkey.  Once activated, you then move your arms in an up and down motion (ala Sprint Vector) to walk to that spot.  As an ape, you are also required to climb, which utilizes a mechanic very similar to the rock climb stage in Carnival Games, though I would say this is much more refined.  You grab handholds, which may be pipes or bricks and move your arms as if you were climbing in real life.  Once you lock a hand in place, it’s very easy to reach and swing to your next point.  The last movement option is jumping, where you pump both hands down in one quick motion to leap to the next designated spot.  Like I said, every action is a done by waypoint so depending on what the game wants of from you, you will only be able to perform that task at that time.

    The white outline indicates your next move

    The last mechanic here is the combat, or specifically the cover-based shooting very akin to the recently underwhelming Bravo Team.  It’s absolutely mind boggling that a budget movie tie-in shows how to make a waypoint system of combat work in VR, yet it does. Locations offering cover show up as a red outlined ape and indicate that if you aren’t already being shot at, you will be soon.  After picking up a gun, you store it on you back by bringing the gun over your shoulder and releasing the Move button.  When you need it, simply bring your hand to your shoulder and when you you feel the vibration, click the move button to grab the gun.  Ammo is not infinite, but clips are scattered at almost every point of cover and can be picked up and placed into the gun to replenish you spent ammo.  There are only 2 guns in the game, a rifle and shotgun, and I much preferred the former as it was way more accurate and easier to dispatch the human scum out to kill you.  A nice little cover mechanic is the ability to grab the edge of your cover, allowing you to pull yourself up and duck back behind cover as if you were doing it with your own hands and is a great way to add some immersion to the stock shooting available.

    Right away I was impressed by the visuals.  Most of the game takes place in compound of sorts and is comprised of grey buildings in a night time setting.  It’s not the most attractive of games, but the visual fidelity in both the ape and human models had me immediately immersed in the game.  The entirety of the game is pretty dark but so many of the environments are fully realized that even though I was on a linear path, it looked like every corner was ready for exploring.  Your virtual hands are much larger and apish than you may be used to, but also contain a decent amount of forearm, which I loved as games utilizing hands without forearms is pet peeve of mine.

    Upon your journey you’ll encounter humans, who are mostly less than friendly to your kind, and apes who use both sign language and broken English to communicate what they want from you.  Most of the narrative occurs through radio transmissions and loud speaker communication from the humans and basically establishes that they aren’t happy with your kind and are out to finish you apes off.  The audio is very cinematic and high quality with music that matched the action perfectly.

    After a tutorial which explains all of the movement mechanics, you then start the game as an ape already under the “care” of militant humans.  From here you make your daring escape and play through a few “stealth” missions which involve you climbing and scaling a few different areas of the base.  There is no real danger in these parts, other than falling and having the stage reset to the last checkpoint.  Once the combat portions of the game show up, you just dispatch your foes, an easy task on normal difficulty, and proceed to the next area up until the conclusion of the game, mixing in the movement elements along the way.  The shooting mechanics are bare bones as you only fire from the hip (like they do in the move series) and enemies only move to specific locations, coming up from cover like whack-a moles ready to be taken out.

    You can’t take too much damage so you best get behind cover

    The entirety of the game takes place over 6 stages of differing length, but in all honesty the look and story in the game make each stage next to indistinguishable from the others, minus the final boss.  Crisis took me around 2 hours on normal difficulty and offers little reason to return unless you’d like to try your hand at harder (or easier) difficulty.  It’s not the most stellar game, but the intuitive movement mechanics, specifically the climbing, had me enjoying my time in this apocalyptic world and though the combat is a little lacklustre, as far as VR tie-ins go, this was an enjoyable game that surprised me with its polish and presentation.

    What would I pay?  I paid around $10 for this and am happy with that price.  The regular $15 for this isn’t crazy, but given the lack of replayability and basic gunplay, if you are interested in this, grab it while its on sale.