Strap on your flight gloves and step into the cockpit, it is time to fly a spaceship. Ever since I heard about the Oculus Rift, I thought it would be perfect to experience the world of space combat. Apparently the people at CCP seemed to have the same idea, and spent some of their spare time to create a virtual reality space combat game.
The first thing I must preface is that this may never become a retail product. It is made to demonstrate tech and does so beautifully. That being said, it would be a crime to not see this in as many consumer hands as possible. It does a fantastic job of thrusting you into the world of a space fighter and selling people on the concept of the Oculus Rift. Turning your head to see all the instruments and the curvature of your ship, even looking down to see your own legs. It felt immersive and brought back the feeling of wonder I had when I first experienced video gaming.
The demo has the players go into a space battle, the Oculus allows the player to control the reticule with the movement of their heads, the locking and shooting is handled with the aid of a 360 controller hooked up to the computer. The demo was sadly short so it is hard to say how it would work in long term gameplay, but I am pleased to say in a limited controlled setting it showed of the Oculus Rift and sold it as a needed piece of tech. If you were a fan of games like X-Wing, Tie-Fighter, or Freespace, then you will feel at home with EVR. The only downside to the demo was the feeling of motion sickness that was experienced once the Oculus headset was taken off. It was not major but if you are susceptible to this, you should take care when testing out the Oculus System.
EVR made an impact, and despite all the big titles that were seen this year, it was the one that was most discussed after the show. It is a great use of the tech but it also it nice to see CCP trying a genre that fits well with their overall work and is due for a revival. With the Oculus the demo was simply amazing and I am looking forward to the day I get to fight my friends in VR space battles.
