Playstation VR Worlds review: Failing to be this generation's Wii Sports
£24.00 - 13 October - Sony
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Your support makes all the difference.When the Nintendo Wii was released, the console came packed with the quintessential mini-game collection, Wii Sports. There was also Wii Play, bought by almost everyone thanks to the included motion controller, allowing for a fantastic multiplayer experience while showcasing everything the Wii could do.
PlayStation VR Worlds is no doubt attempting a similar thing; a collection of five mini-games attempting to demonstrate the device’s full capabilities.
Ocean Descent, for instance, reveals the headsets ability to submerge the user (quite literally) into a game, taking the player down into the depths of the ocean. There’s little interactivity - it’s merely a brief film to watch - acting as something for your friends to experience rather than a proper game.
By far the package’s best inclusion is London Heist, a half hour Guy Ritchie-esque gangster experience that pits you as an East-End gunman. Using the PlayStation Move controllers allows for added interactivity, allowing the player to hold various items, immersing you completely. (Of course, you don’t need the Move Controllers but they take the experience to the next level.)
Of the other three mediocre games, Luge is perhaps the better, seeing the player strapped onto a skateboard, racing down a hill attempting to avoid traffic (although, most of the traffic you can speed through). It’s a buggy racer that gets tired relatively quickly, as does your neck - the skateboard’s direction is controlled by moving your head.
Then there’s Curveball - a 360 degree Pong game where you bounce a ball back and forth with five computer controlled opponents, each with their own ability. There’s not a whole lot of skill involved, easily beatable, and with little replay value. Finally, Scavenger's Odyssey is a space explorer where you control a robot walker bouncing from floating rock to floating rock. The game marks one of the only launch games to cause me to feel nauseous, something that also happened in RIGS (a far superior game). Once over the motion sickness, there’s little substance other than looking at enemies and pulling the trigger.
While PlayStation VR Worlds offers various ways of playing with the PSVR’s capabilities, there’s little to thoroughly enjoy here. There’s added replay value in trophies and targets to accomplish, but with so little really enjoyable substance, this will be the game everyone plays once and puts away until a non-VR playing friend comes round. Saying that, London Heist is rather brilliant, but is only 30-minutes long.
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