Monday, May 22, 2017

Delving Back Into the Virtual World

It's been a good three months since I've had my PSVR on my head, since I beat Resident EVII.  I have been itching for another good PSVR game to come along, and I recently heard of a game that might fit the bill: Farpoint.  It's a sci-fi first-person shooter.  I quickly learned that it came packaged with a new controller called Aim, a weird looking gun controller that had all the buttons of a dual shock on it.  I was a bit skeptical of the game, so I decided to wait on reviews.  They started coming in, and for the most part, the game itself is decent, but the experience is amazing.  Because of that, I decided to get it, but then I couldn't find it anywhere.  Everyone was sold out online and no stores within 50 miles of me had it.  I lucked out and tried BestBuy.com the very next day, and they had them in stock again, so I ordered one and it came today.

I played the game for a few hours and what do I think?  Pretty much what the reviews have said.  The game does absolutely fuck all to advance the FPS genre forward.  You only have two guns: a rifle and a shotgun.  They both have unlimited ammo, but they also have secondary firing modes that do have limited ammo.  The rifle has a laser guided rocket launch and the shotgun has a grenade launcher.  The enemies also are uninspired.  Little jumping spiders, bigger ones that spit acid, even bigger ones that hock green balls at you and even bigger ones that have thick armor.

But again, as the reviews say, the experience is amazing.  This is the closest to an FPS in PSVR that I've experienced so far, and it's all thanks in part to the Aim controller.  The game does not support the Move controllers (although it does support the Dual Shock, but I heard you're actually at a major disadvantage playing that way) and I can see why.  The game just wouldn't feel the same with them.  Holding the Aim controller in your hands and seeing a rifle or shotgun in the game feels real; you're instantly connected to your weapon.

Even though the game's combat isn't really anything special, again, it's being in virtual reality and having this Aim controller that makes it seem real.  Changing between rifle and shotgun by flicking the controller up past your shoulder feels natural.  The rifle's holographic aiming sight is a cool little trick, and the shotgun feels pretty punchy thanks to the entire frame of the Aim controller rattling around in your hand.

The planet's environment hasn't really impressed me much so far.  Yes, it's meant to be a barren desolate wasteland, so there's rocks and dust and rocks and more dust, but Robinson: The Journey outclassed this title in terms of extraterrestrial landscapes.  What I'm liking a lot right now is the mystery of who you're trying to find.  You were sucked into a wormhole, split up from two space scientists who entered before you.  They're trying to find you, and you're trying to find them, but there's a twist that I won't spoil for you.  Let's just say it was a 'whoa' moment.

I also know that I don't have much time left with the game.  I've heard initial playthroughs are around five hours and I've played it for at least two and a half.  I'm hoping for a bit more enemy variety before the game's end, and I am exited to experience more of the story.  What I really am wishing for, though, is that Sony continues to support this Aim controller.  It really is a nice feeling and functioning controller, and PSVR needs to have an epic FPS to go with it.  Farpoint is bit far away from being that title, but it will tide me over for now.

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