Stevivor's Reviews
All up, the disc is forgettable and not worth your time, unless you’re keen to have a showreel of VR’s greatest hits for visitors. Move on to Until Dawn: Rush of Blood or Batman: Arkham VR instead.
The decision to only release MWR with purchases of the upcoming Infinite Warfare and the apparent intent on never making it available as a stand alone game appears to be a desperate cash grab. This sales model either assumes that every COD 4 fan has been a dedicated franchise devotee for the past nine years which is most certainly not the case, or it hopes that hardcore COD 4 fans will be willing to shell out just to play the remastered version of their favourite game. But let’s face it: nobody in their right mind would spend $129 AUD on a nine year old game with improved visuals… would they?
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a great little title that makes great use of virtual reality. It’s not as terrifying as you’ve been lead to believe, especially against the likes of Resident Evil 7. This is one to grab if you’re a fan of the franchise, or if you’re open to a jump scare here and there.
Dragon Quest Builders does and exceptional job of implementing a proven formula from a game that sold so well Microsoft decided to buy it, but it doesn’t stop there. DQB improves on that formula and give players a more well rounded, fuller experience. Its a guided experience but its this structure that makes the game both addictive and rewarding.
WRC 6 is akin to having a model girlfriend with a great personality, except whenever you ask to hang out she wears clothes that haven’t been in fashion since the 80s. There’s fun to be had, but the presentation is just lacking. Sadly, in 2016 a racing title needs more than just good graphics and good sounds. Whether it’s a greater rally experience or just an overall racing game, sadly there exists better built alternatives elsewhere.
Mafia III is consistently inconsistent. An engrossing and mature narrative told between repetitive and boring missions, satisfying gun play against moronic AI enemies all taking place in a beautifully designed city that's ruined with shitty lighting effects.
RIGS: Mechanised Combat League is a good start for PS VR, but it’s clear there’s a long way to go. Offline balancing, virtual reality image shift fixes and a rejig of pre- and post-match presentations should be high on Guerrilla Cambridge’s post-launch support list. Even then, it’s a fun little sports game that provides something other than horror or walking simulators for PlayStation VR. It’s worth checking out if you’re into sports or competitive shooters.
With a range of brain-taxing puzzles, it’s hard to go wrong with Tumble VR.
Battlefield 1 is the definitive Battlefield game not only of this generation, but this decade. By focusing on moments and emotional realism, rather than a continuous campaign, it’s crafted the best single-player experience of any Battlefield game, and backs it up with stellar multiplayer. Operations is the best addition in years, and the returning favourites suit the World War I theme to a tee. Now, I’m off to attempt to land a plane on the airship and take it down from the inside. That’s possible, right?
100ft Robot Golf is a good laugh and a solid game. If an anime spoof is up your alley you owe it to yourself to check this one out, as does anybody looking for a good multiplayer bash for nights when mates are around having a few beers. The golf may be simple but there is fun to be had, just don’t expect much staying power for solo sessions.
Race mode also has been slightly reworked, feeling more responsive. Some real fun can be had, with up to four players competing online in head-to-head races. It channels a decent Mario Kart vibe.
At the end of the day, Job Simulator has been one of the best and most lasting experiences with the PSVR so far for me, alongside Batman: Arkham VR. The amount of fun you can have in each job really helps to extend the gameplay without feeling like it’s been padded out. There’s plenty of weird little interactions and easter eggs to be found — try photocopying your face in the office — so be prepared to have a good laugh at your own expense.
If motion controls worked I could mildly recommend Ace Banana for those who want their archery fix or just enjoy a decent arcade game. It is moderately priced for a VR game and for the brief moments it works properly it is immersive. With no way to guarantee you won’t have motion control issues (looking online I am hardly alone in my complaints here) I can only recommend Ace Banana if you desperately need a fix of mediocre motion controlled VR.
Other puzzles involve you weighing your mirages and their resistance to a certain element, or are tied to the dungeon’s interior, such as using the glaciers in a snowy mountain terrain to skate through a room with an ice floor. Each area in the over thirty-hour narrative is colourful and dungeons are well-structured. World design also continues the game’s nostalgic theme by basing some of its towns on iconic locations from mainline games, albeit renaming them but keeping a majority of their details.
When Dead By Daylight was first launched, it was a flawed but fun game that needed a bit more work to tighten things up. Since its release, Behaviour Interactive has spent the last few months doing just that; it’s in a really good place right now. It has a healthy, active community where the player base can also go and interact with the developers on a weekly basis. All in all, Dead By Daylight is an amazing survival horror experience and my favourite indie game so far this year; you’ll sure as hell see this one on my list of top 5 games of 2016.
At its best, Titanfall 2 is the same nail-bitting mayhem that made the original such an invigorating start to this console generation. The contrasting combat between titan and pilot intertwines seamlessly, with both having a greater arsenal at their disposal. Attrition is given a run for its money by Bounty Hunt as the obvious mainstay, while Amped Hardpoint is a clever tweak to a game mode you’ve played a thousand times.
Overall Headmaster is a solid experience for testing out the PS VR’s functionality but at its core, the mechanic isn’t sustainable. The game even warns you not to play for too long to avoid any strain, and the frustration of not-quite-perfect tracking can leave mission failures feeling imposed rather than earned. The story threading through the game is entertaining and did make me chuckle a few times, but I’m not sure it’s enough to keep me invested. It’s a unique use of the hardware to be sure, but it might not quite be there yet.
What follows next is lacklustre. Predictable jump scares, ringing telephones, spooky notes, guys in animal masks humping things and malfunctioning flashlights litter the landscape, and with each new instance, you’re left less and less impressed. Take your pick; this could be a result of mickey mouse writing or because you’re more concerned with how much game you can take before you need a sick break.
I had some fun with Pixel Gear but it is hard to recommend. There is about two hours worth of content here and before I’d even finished the first level on normal difficulty my mind was wandering. Higher difficulties are more engaging but this is a shallow, simple shooting gallery you would expect from a motion control minigame collection, adding a VR layer to expand it to 180 degree action isn’t enough and even if you are engaged there is no way to compete against yourself, let alone the world. Thoroughly mediocre.
I don’t factor cost into my review scores but Superhypercube is such an egregious example of VR price inflation that it had to be mentioned. If money is no object (or this review has become outdated and the game is now available for $20), don’t hesitate to grab Superhypercube, it is one of the best games available for PS VR today and I anticipate for some time to come.