NeoMetallix > 04-05-2019, 07:37 AM
Quote:“We’re not making a rail-shooter. We’re not making an amusement park game. We’re not making a short demo or an experimental Iron Man ‘experience,’” game developer Ryan Payton told me last week in New York City after I had finished a demo of his studio’s forthcoming game, Iron Man VR.
“We’re making a full game with a deep sandbox, with a deep story with plenty of great missions and great cinematics.”
It was comfortable to play and didn’t make me feel nauseous throughout the 20-minute demo. It allows for smooth rotational movement, which can trigger nausea in some players, but also allows for more stuttered, segmented turning movements, which tend to stave off motion sickness. The biggest hitch was the wire connecting the headset to the console sometimes getting in the way. The controls felt fine and the Move controllers kept up with what I was doing.
Quote:Thankfully they absolutely nailed the sensation of flight. As someone that doesn’t get motion sick it’s hard to tell if it will be comfortable for everyone, but the HUD and clever UI effects should help battle that vertigo feeling. Luckily for me, I went full-speed at all times and felt amazing. You position your hands much like Iron Man would then pull the PS Move controller triggers, meaning the thrusters come out of your palm, not where you point your fist. While flying this means you rest your arms at your side, hands near your waist, and twist your wrists to steer while flying. It looks ridiculous, but feels amazing.
The most impressive thing about flying and shooting for me, someone that uses all major headsets equally, is that the team at Camouflaj actually figured out a way to make PSVR 360-capable without losing tracking on the controllers. Normally you can’t turn around in PSVR because the single camera can’t see your controllers anymore. But what they’ve done here is estimated your hand position for shooting or flying and then using the accelerometer in the controller they can still track rotation. Then as soon as it’s back in view it resumes tracking. The end result is that as you’re turning or spinning to aim you don’t actually notice the split second of lost tracking like you do in other games — no controller drift or floating away or disappearing.
Quote:
- Flying feels more natural than I expected. It’s simple: You hold the Trigger button on both PlayStation Move controllers and position them opposite to the direction you want to fly. I picked up on it almost instantly.
- A quick double-tap of the Trigger button prompts a high-speed “dash” that boosts your flying speed considerably – helpful, say, for dodging incoming enemy fire.
- Shooting Iron Man’s iconic Repulsors is similarly intuitive. Simply aim one or both PS Move controllers and press the Move button with your wrists pointing upward. With a little practice, you’ll be flying and shooting like Iron Man.
- If you need some extra practice, there’s a well-thought-out tutorial set outside Tony Stark’s Malibu Mansion that shows you the ropes: hovering, flying, Repulsor blasts, and more. VR pros are free to skip it, though.
- Though I didn’t get a chance to try it, the final version of the game is said to allow players to customize Iron Man’s suit and upgrade its abilities in Tony Stark’s garage.
Quote:I was told that the game would be an 8-10 hour experience.
It feels like an actual game, built for VR, rather than a tech demo. It looks fantastic and most importantly, I felt absolutely no motion sickness which was surprising to me considering it probably involves more fast-paced movement than any game that I’ve ever played.
There could be a risk of repetitiveness, but so far, so good. I really liked what I saw, and I’m not the biggest Marvel fan, but nobody can deny the feeling of becoming Iron Man and being a complete badass in the sky.