Virtual Reality gaming is coming! As we get close rand closer to the Oculus Rift being widely available many gaming companies have started developing or converting existing gaming titles to work on a VR platform. Gaming is set to become a much more immersive experience in the near future.
From the consumer Oculus Rift and new Oculus Touch controllers to introducing a partnership with Microsoft, the future looks bright for the VR viewer. Let’s take a look at the top 5 most anticipated VR games of 2016.
Eve Valkyrie (CCP Games)
The Eve Valkyrie game has been touted as – “The closest thing you will get to being a real spaceship fighter pilot.”
Just the tagline itself gets me way too excited. Designed by Icelandic game developer CCP games, Eve Valkyrie is a classic Star Wars-style space shooter. This game puts you in the virtual cockpit of a spaceship and throws you into a world of space dogfights. It is loosely based on the style of the classic X-Wing shooter with some elements of CCP Games’ 2003 title Eve Online. The sheer possibility of this game, not to mention the VR fun, will definitaly make this a big seller!
Euro Truck Simulator 2 (SCS Software)
VR games might be able to take you to distant galaxies and back but there is nothing wrong with living out your dreams here on Earth. Euro Truck Simulator 2 is a genuinely, and unironically a brilliant game. The premise might be very simple, and I dare say boring, but the gaming world has gone crazy for this lifelike simulator. Introduce VR capabilities and you will soon be king of the road.
The sweet spot for VR seems to be games where you’re stuck in one place; a cockpit, or in this case, a truck cabin. It helps that the interiors of the game’s fleet of licensed heavy goods vehicles are so insanely detailed. You might think driving down a straight, featureless French motorway is a gross misuse of the technology, but this is one of the most immersive Rift games yet.
Chronos (Gunfire Games)
Let’s step into the world of RPGs. The specific story setup of Chronos is quite interesting. The hero of the story is working to free his homeland from the curse of a dragon, using a labyrinth that opens only once a year. The catch is that every failure of the hero in the labyrinth means he must wait a year before trying again.
As you play through the game your character physically ages and the gameplay changes as a result of his age. Thus how you navigate through the game depends on which stage of life your character is in. The younger your character, the quicker and more agile he moves and as he gets older he relies more on wisdom (and magic). Whilst this mechanism plays out in the background you explore old ruins, vast caverns and ancient tombs. Just how we like it!
Edge of Nowhere (Insomniac Games)
According to Insomniac CEO Ted Price, Edge of Nowhere was designed only with VR in mind, creating a gaming experience unlike any other title. The premise of the action/adventure game is to travel to the frozen Arctic and search for a missing expedition.
Mr Price was very ambiguous in his details, saying, “You are surrounded on all sides by the unexpected” and “Nothing is as it seems.” The CEO also conceded that he went from a skeptic to a true believer in VR technology. The ideas around this games looks amazing and it will be a very engaging title. We will have to wait for E3 to get a bit more information.
AirMech VR (Carbon)
This existing and popular fast-paced real-time-strategy (RTS) game is being revamped to utilize all of the amazing benefits the Oculus Rift will bring. AirMech is inspired by the now classic real time strategy game Herzog Zwei, which allows the gamer to hover above an ongoing battle or jump down and join the fight themselves.
The game allows you to adapt and change to different strategies as you see fit, and holds a strong 9 out of 10 stars rating on Steam. As with any simulator type game I think high-paced RTS on Oculus Rift is sure to be exhilarating.
Are you going to get an Oculus Rift when it is avaialbe in SA? Let us know in the comments section below.
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