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Apathy, horror and more – Qazi’s E3 2019 notes

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I’ll be honest: after the last of the main E3 2019 conferences ended, I was struggling to come up with an article for this site that had my collected thoughts, and not just because Sony were absent. I was still hoping for multiplatform game reveals, trailers of indie games I could play on PC and maybe even some mobile titles from Nintendo. However, I think that whilst there were a lot of nice announcements, nothing really jumped out and inspired me to gush for hundreds of words. Instead, here are some more considered E3 2019 notes on the announcements that have intrigued me so far.

E3 2019 notes: Dungeons

E3 2019 notes

Although I don’t own an Xbox One I still tuned into the Microsoft conference, partly because I own a half-decent PC I use for articles here, and partly because I was expecting some trailers for multiplatform games. And in the end they had a few genuinely interesting announcements that ended up in my E3 2019 notes. One of the opening games, Bleeding Edge, was quickly dismissed as being some kind of “heroes” game – Ninja Theory’s take on Overwatch. However, when the words “ONLINE MELEE” accompany more predictable lines such as “COMBAT ACTION” and “4V4” – I get the feeling there will be less shooting and it may be more of a brawler akin to Anarchy Reigns. As a fan of fighting games, I’m keen to see how this develops. Another interesting reveal was the first showing of Battletoads; the new game is still 2D but it adopts a cartoon-style aesthetic whilst seemingly sticking to the original gameplay. I saw a lot of criticism over Battletoads’ presentation, with people claiming that it looked like a “Flash game” – apparently in 2019 we still aren’t able to see through an aesthetic we’re not expecting and talk about the gameplay. At least Minecraft Dungeons impressed by merely making me interested in a Minecraft game – dungeon crawling from a raised perspective always feels more purposeful than building my terrible and confusing cave networks in first-person.

E3 2019 notes: More dungeons

E3 2019 notes

I also belatedly took a look at the main Nintendo conference in the hope of getting more E3 2019 notes from that – I don’t own a Nintendo Switch or 3DS but there’s always the chance that something may persuade me into making a hardware purchase. Contra Rogue Corps initially looked interesting, but I imagine that nostalgic attachment for the Contra games may have influenced me. Take away the Contra name and what you have left might not be so special after all. Something that was special emerged from the latest The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening trailer; “arranging” your own custom dungeon with parts obtained from the main game could end up providing a lot of fun in a series that’s traditionally kept its tools to itself. Also, we got to see a little more of Astral Chain, which seemed to have both the same smooth combat and awfully corny characters we’ve come to expect from Platinum; apparently the studio can only pull a decent cast together when Yoko Taro’s providing the story.

E3 2019 notes: Pause modes

E3 2019 notes

Unusually, it was Square Enix’s show that I had the most interest in this year. Last time around there was the intriguing Babylon’s Fall and news of a Nier Automata release for Xbox One and PC. When preparing my E3 2019 notes I was wondering if we would see more from Platinum’s game or maybe even a new Nier project such as a remake of the 2010 original. None of that happened – instead there was plenty Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts and Marvel. With so little news on Babylon’s Fall since E3 2018 one must wonder what’s going on, but I’ll hold out until the end of the year before judging. At least we had a lot of new FFVII footage to enjoy, with confirmation that battles could be paused and commands issued in a turn-based fashion. I had hoped that this was the case ever since seeing that unused “Command” prompt in early trailers, but many others had less faith than me.

E3 2019 notes: Best Game

E3 2019 notes

There were lots of “interesting” games then, but very little made an impression until I belatedly looked at Digital Devolver’s “Big Fancy Press Conference 2019”. From the adorable Fall Guys to the new expansion for The Messenger, there were plenty of announcements to keep fans of indie games happy. The most interesting thing I saw in any conference was Carrion, a Devolver-published 2D game where you play as “an amorphous creature of unknown origins” and explore what the game’s store page on Steam calls a “reverse horror” experience.

And those are my main highlights from my E3 2019 notes. Carrion is Game of the Show, Babylon’s Fall is either dead or will re-appear later this year, and I was actually intrigued by both a new Zelda and a new Minecraft, which is a surprise. As always, let us know what you thought of E3 2019 in the comments below.

The new SF 30th lobbies are the best bit of the collection’s update

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It’s fair to say that the SF 30th lobbies turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments when I first tried Capcom’s most recent collection of fightjng games. You can talk about how the product is just a lazy collection of roms with a few token extras, how the museum could have had more content, how the display filters seem limited, and so on… but online play has the potential to inject new life into those old classics. That potential, however, was not shown in the initial release – attempting to set up SF 30th lobbies on launch day only resulted in a bizarre situation where the game would never register your opponent readying up at the lobby – and when your opponent had the same issue on their end, it led to some amusing exchanges. Happily, a patch was released this week that addressed the SF 30th lobbies (as well as fixing sound issues in the SFIII games, adding a connection-based matchmaking filter and banning Akuma from ranked Super Turbo games), and I was able to play a few games of Street Fighter II recently.

(Note: as I was joining a friend’s lobby I didn’t check to see if the previous issues with filtering by game were resolved, but the next day I tested some filtered searches myself and they still seem as bizarre as before, with search results ignoring the deselections you make – once again, if you only tick Super Turbo in the filter, you’ll see lobbies that only host Super Turbo, lobbies that host ST and Hyper Fighting, lobbies with all four games available, etc. So this is still a curious oversight.)

SF 30th lobbies – the stutter

SF 30th lobbies
Embarrassingly, the biggest issue I faced during my matches was probably a result of my own connection – I noticed a few momentary split-second pauses in a few matches as the netcode and my own connection tried their best to keep up with the action. These micro-pauses weren’t really an issue with a game as slow as Street Fighter II, but I think they may have had a worse impact if we were playing Street Fighter Alpha 3 or Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Like I said, I’m willing to take part of the blame here as I don’t know how much other network activity might have been going on at the time, but in casual friendly games where I don’t care about frame-perfect actions I think that these momentary stutters can be overlooked a little.

SF 30th lobbies – the spectators

SF 30th lobbies
When not in the middle of a match, waiting players can pass time in one of two ways. If they hit the Spectate button before the next match is underway, they can spectate the next match in the way we’ve become used to in SFIV, SFV and SFIII 3rd Strike Online Edition. If they don’t push the button, the lobby’s player list updates to show not only the active combatants, but also a crude graphical representation of their lifebars, a basic indication of round wins and the characters selected by the players. It’s a cute way to keep the spectating player engaged in the lobby activity even if they missed the button prompt, but it probably would have been better to assume players would want to spectate, and instead offer a button press if players want those basic lifebar and round win indicators. (As an aside, I didn’t look into voice chat that much, but I would assume it’s perfectly fine to use something like PSN’s Party feature – making sure that you have a headset that slots into your fighting game controller or a USB port, of course!)

SF 30th lobbies – getting there

SF 30th lobbies
Like a lot of aspects of the collection, online play doesn’t feel revelatory but at the same time you can still play it without wishing you were in the middle of another Fighter with seemingly solid netcode. Online play in this game is neither flawless nor a disaster, but it is “good enough” and perhaps makes up for the lack of substance elsewhere in the collection. I still have to give the other online-enabled games more lobby time, but if you’re keen on killing a few hours with online friends, SF 30th lobbies might tick that box for you.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is available now for PS4, Switch, Xbox One and PC.

Samurai, gods, big rosters – notes from my E3 2018

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Stepping out into the mid-June sunshine, away from the hype and noise that follows any series of E3 press conferences, I couldn’t deny that some of that hype may be rubbing off on me. Before we even get to my E3 2018, let’s remember that we’re already in the middle of what people are claiming to be a new golden era of gaming – one where modern classics are being released with uncommon frequency. Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Nier: Automata, Persona 5, Cuphead, Sonic Mania, Celeste – the list just keeps going, and it looks like the list will grow even more if my E3 2018 was anything to go by. Rather than one platform holder emerging as a clear winner or loser (and let’s not pretend that there haven’t been clear winners and losers in the past), my E3 2018 had Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo revealing exciting and interesting new games.

Microsoft favourites from my E3 2018

my E3 2018

The biggest reveal of Microsoft’s show was undoubtedly Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. A new IP from revered developer From Software, it promises polished third-person action with a samurai flavour. The trailer was only about two or three minutes long but showed the mechanical arm first seen in the “Shadows Die Twice” trailer, and its owner – a character who can go toe-to-toe with swordsmen, use said arm in a grappling-hook fashion to ascend to higher positions or cross chasms, and supposedly rise to his feet after being “killed”, which seems appropriate given the subtitle. Elsewhere, it was revealed that the once PS4 and PC exclusive Nier Automata would receive an Xbox port with the release of Nier Automata: Become as Gods Edition (perhaps to make up for Scalebound’s demise), so hopefully more people can enjoy the weird and wonderful combination of slick Platinum gameplay and distinct Nier quirkiness. Also of note was the first true reveal of Cyberpunk 2077 and news that Devil May Cry would be getting a new numbered sequel, but the lack of substantial gameplay footage for either game suggests that these are very early announcements.

Sony familiarity in my E3 2018

my E3 2018

By comparison, many people criticised the lack of new reveals in Sony’s conference; there were many games we already knew about from previous shows (such as Spider-Man, The Last of Us Part 2 and Death Stranding), and with the remake of Final Fantasy VII still early in development, there was little hope of seeing anything new from that game. Despite this, we did get confirmation of an exciting new PSVR title with From Software’s Deracine, reaffirmation that Mizuguchi’s The Tetris Effect still looks superb, and more gorgeous footage of Sucker Punch‘s Ghost of Tsushima. (As an aside, it seems that samurai games were the general theme of this year’s E3, with Tsushima, Sekiro and a trailer of Nioh 2 all making appearances somewhere amongst the conferences.) Another notable surprise was Remedy’s Control, a game that seems to combine shifting geometry with conventional gunplay and creative mind control mechanics. It was a fun looking title, even if it did make me wish for a sequel to Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy…

Nintendo’s contribution to my E3 2018

my E3 2018

As is to be expected these days, Nintendo combined the bizarre with the exciting, from making me question the need for a Pokéball peripheral used in conjuction with Pokémon Go (which will transfer Pokémon data from the mobile game to a new console game) when you already have wireless communication technology in your primary gaming devices… to the surprise reveal of Daemon X Machina, an exciting action game from Marvelous Entertainment that boasts bright and colourful visuals and shows off the kind of gameplay that brings to mind games such as Omega Boost and Transformers Devastation. Elsewhere in the show, the unveiling of a new Mario Party was hardly a massive surprise – at the same time, the immediacy and social nature of the series is an obvious fit for the Switch hardware – and the new Super Smash Bros seemed hell-bent on including every character from previous games in its roster, to the delight of series fans. It was also revealed that these characters will all be tweaked slightly, hopefully resulting in a balanced game and some exciting re-learning of old favourites.

The highlight of my E3 2018

my E3 2018

All of the three main shows succeeded in giving fans something to look forward to, but the reveal that interested me the most was Babylon’s Fall. This was one of the new announcements from a very short Square Enix showcase scheduled separately from the three main conferences – a new IP being developed by Platinum Games, Babylon’s Fall only revealed a glimpse of CG at the end of its trailer, but was introduced with text-heavy stills that promised a tale of clashing ideologies, of gods striking down against mankind, and of huge armoured characters and electric (or perhaps arcane) powers. It was perhaps the only trailer I went through frame by frame as I tried to make sense of what I was seeing, and it’s definitely something I intend to keep an eye on between now and its 2019 release.

Obviously, I saw some criticism levelled at the three main conferences as people collected their own thoughts on discussion boards and in social media – people claimed that Sony’s show repeated the same announcements as last year and didn’t have enough new reveals, or that Nintendo’s show needed to give fans more details about known games in development (precious little was seen of Metroid Prime 4, Yoshi, or Starfox Grand Prix)… Microsoft’s show was perhaps the most refreshing, but I noticed people claiming that their conference pushed 4K and the Xbox One X a little too much for owners of older Xbox models. Despite all of this, I’m remaining optimistic about the future of all three platform holders – there’s something for everyone to look forward to in the near future, and the absence of any big new hardware reveals (certain optimistic individuals expected the unveiling of a PlayStation 5 before the show commenced) suggests that the current generation still has some life left in it for the time being. As ever, let us know if there were any reveals that stood out for you in the comments below.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection review

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Never underestimate the strength of “convenience” as a selling point. A new compilation of games from your favourite series has been released – that’s great! Oh, but what about when you move on to the new generation of hardware, or when more games from the series have been released? You’d better make sure that you pick up the next compilation as well. And so it goes on. I’m bringing this up because when I saw the amount of games listed as part of the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection, I felt relieved that I didn’t have to dust off my Xbox 360 to play 3rd Strike or the SFII series – similarly, I thought it would be nice not to be left digging out the PS2 every time I wanted to play the SF Alpha games on the Anthology. And sure, there’s nothing on this collection that you couldn’t emulate on PC, but even that would involve BIOS hunting, controller configuration, hooking the PC up to the TV and more bits and pieces that feel… well, inconvenient. Let’s take a closer look at those listed games – the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection has the original Street Fighter (itself something that I haven’t seen since maybe the Capcom Classics compilations on PSP), all major SFII games (with the exception of the Switch-exclusive Ultra SFII), all three SF Alpha games and all three SFIII games. It’s the most generous and convenient collection of Street Fighter games I’ve seen in a while, and you can play it on the same system you use for SFIV and SFV matches. Well, if you own a PS4 or PC.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection – curious lobbies

Street Fighter 30th

Unfortunately, some people may be disappointed if the best thing to say about the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is “well, all of the games are there”. Training modes are stuck in the past as you practice against a dummy – there are no trial modes or combo examples that help you learn. Online lobbies are a welcome feature, but searching is unusual – first, you toggle the games you wish to find lobbies for, and then it shows results based on those toggles. You’d think this would be useful if you’re never going to play Alpha 3, but instead the results ignore the games you’ve deselected. If you just want to play 3rd Strike, you’ll see results for purely 3S lobbies, but also lobbies for combinations of games that include 3S. I’m not too bothered because most of my online play will probably come from invites to private lobbies from friends, but it’s still peculiar.

There’s also a Museum segment with a series timeline and zoomable art, character details (including bio details and a neat sprite viewer), a “Making of SF” segment and – my favourite inclusion – a Music menu with playlists from all twelve games. There are even shuffle and repeat modes for when I want to listen to Jazzy NYC all day. The repeat function won’t go as far as making clean loops from the songs, but it’s a fun distraction.

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection – memory lane

Street Fighter 30th

As for the games themselves? They mostly play how you remember – SF1 is still a nightmare to control, Alpha is all about daft custom combos and neglected ISMs, and 3rd Strike isn’t the labour of love that Iron Galaxy released last gen, but it’s still lots of fun. The online play seems smooth enough – I’ve had hardly any issues jumping around with my SFII Honda, getting guard crushed in Alpha or dashing through opponents with my Ibuki in 3S. After a win or loss there’s the option to rematch, but again, there aren’t the bells and whistles seen in 3rd Strike Online Edition such as visible ping or disconnect rates. Of greater concern is the weird nature of joining friends’ games – right now people are running into situations where both players will try to ready up for a match, but they can only toggle what looks like the ready status of the opponent, and even if both players try this it still looks like only one player is ready. Cue a lot of “why haven’t you hit the button” confusion until both players realise that the game can’t communicate the ready status correctly. Hopefully this gets fixed soon.

For the time being – especially in terms of local play, where a lot of my time will disappear – I’m satisfied with the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. Again – it’s hard to think of another Street Fighter collection that’s this generous in terms of games offered, and whilst more could have been done in terms of training/challenges, better lobby filters, more display options (there are screen size and filter toggles but they seem more like a token gesture) or even dipswitches (something I appreciated in 3S: Online Edition)… if you just want to play the games without swapping consoles or configuring emulators, it might be worth a look.

Street Fighter 30th

Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection is available now for PS4, Switch, Xbox One and PC. The official website can be found here.

Capcom announces a new SFAC for consoles and Steam

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Just as I was about to tune out for the night, I recently heard news on Twitter that there would be a brand new Street Fighter Anniversary Collection on the way. This new SFAC seems like one of the most well-rounded packages yet, although of course as the news has only just emerged we may need to wait and find out what kind of other details will be made available. The announcement of the new SFAC comes more than a decade after the release of Street Fighter Anniversary Collection for the original Xbox – a collection which contained Hyper Street Fighter II, Street FIghter III: 3rd Strike, online play and the (censored) Street Fighter II animated movie.

A new SFAC – lots of games

new SFAC

This new SFAC sounds almost too good to be true – the trailer posted by the official Street Fighter Twitter account reveals that the new SFAC will feature twelve games. These are: Street Fighter, Street Fighter II, Street Fighter II CE, Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II, Super SF2 Turbo, Street Fighter Alphas 1 to 3, and the three Street Fighter III games. Also, there will be various galleries with art and music… however, most notably, there will be online play for a select few titles, with Street Fighter II Hyper Fighting, Super Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and SFIII: Third Strike supporting ranked and casual play, lobbies and leaderboards.

A new SFAC – will it meet expectations?

new SFAC

It all sounds remarkably generous – I would have been happy enough with a current-gen port of Street Fighter III: Third Strike – Online Edition, but this is so much more. I have to wonder if the netcode used will be good enough, and if the price is right. That said, for the amount of content promised in the package I’d expect them to charge accordingly. In the meantime, I may have to reconsider shelving Street Fighter; I expected one of the many other new fighters in 2018 to vie for my attention, but the new SFAC could keep fighting fans occupied for weeks if not months.

The Street Fighter Anniversary Collection will be released on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam in May 2018.

My highlights from the E3 2017 conferences

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As I write this, the last of the E3 2017 conferences has come to a close and – if you are to believe more cynical types – games journalists everywhere are scrambling to draft their hot takes, expand their wordcounts and plug whatever rubbish they were talked into endorsing via promises of promotional swag. Naturally the likes of Disposable Media are in a different scenario, since we’re a general entertainment website that features content from people who just talk about the things they like to talk about, but it would be remiss not to give the show some coverage. Despite the extent of my eighth-gen hardware being limited to a PS4, Vita and half-decent PC, I made time for each of the main shows – happily, it was worth it, as pretty much everyone presenting the E3 2017 conferences had games worth talking about.

E3 2017 conferences: new hardware and anime “FighterZ”

Let’s focus on the big three for now; there were other E3 2017 conferences but I’d like to cover their games individually as more news surfaces. Microsoft was the first to show their hand in perhaps the most conveniently timed show for people in the BST zone. As expected, they opened the show with news of the Xbox One X and proceeded to show off incredibly pretty Forza Motorsport 7 footage; it’s an obvious candidate for showcasing the graphical fidelity of new hardware, and the large fanbase will ensure it enjoys success on the system. Amongst the more predictable reveals – a new Assassin’s Creed, the aforementioned Forza segment – was news that the terribly-named PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was coming to Xbox, and no annual conference would be complete without the obligatory Minecraft segment. More promising trailers included Dragonball FighterZ (a 1v1 fighter based on an anime I barely follow, but the presentation and gameplay look superb), a new Life Is Strange game and the gorgeous Anthem, so there was a lot to get excited about. (Of course, a number of the games shown off will be multiformat, so it was worth tuning in to the show even if you don’t own an Xbox One.)

E3 2017 conferences: PSVR support and updated classics

Sony’s was the second of the E3 2017 conferences and, as is tradition, it went live during the small hours for UK gamers. Catching up with the conference revealed a mixture of familiar names (Days Gone, God of War), bizarre trailers (FFXV: Monster of the Deep) and some more daring ventures – a number of PSVR titles were there to reassure people that Sony weren’t about to let the headset follow the Vita into obscurity, and a PSVR update to Skyrim could be a huge hit depending on controller requirements and performance on various PS4 models. Another bold gamble came in the form of a new Monster Hunter – it seemed somewhat more simple and bombastic than the handheld titles, and observers have accused it of being a dumbing-down, but I’m curious to see if the new direction pays off. (On a personal note, I was happy to see a new FFXII: TZA trailer after my recent revisiting of the original, and news that Undertale is coming to PS4 may finally prompt me to try out the game.)

E3 2017 conferences: working titles and series extensions

The last of the E3 2017 conferences I watched was Nintendo’s, and whilst Microsoft was busy showing off a new hardware platform, the Kyoto giant was tasked with building the library of the console it released this March. Happily, they’re never shy of falling back on familiar names, and fans welcomed news of more Mario, more Zelda, and more Metroid. As a fan of the side-scrolling platformers I was particularly fond of the trailers for the currently-unnamed Yoshi and Kirby games (unless they really will be called “Yoshi” and “Kirby” as per the trailer outros.) However, with so much to play on my existing gaming hardware I’m still in no hurry to pick up a Switch.

In short, it’s a good time to be a fan of games. Everyone had plenty of trailers to show (and the ratio of trailers to preamble was most welcome) and I know I have a few more upcoming games on my radar now. As always, if you have any thoughts on the E3 2017 conferences that you’d like to share, leave a comment below.

Rez Infinite Review (PS4, tested with PSVR)

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Rez has done it again then. It seems that with every iteration of the synesthetic on-rails shooter I change my stance and tell people that, no, this is the definitive version of the game; the one that surpasses all others. The Dreamcast game was an intriguing early attempt marred by framerate issues; these were less noticeable in the PS2 game but everything still looked a little too fuzzy for anyone to think that it was flawless. The release of Rez HD on seventh-generation machines cleaned up the crisp laser lines and kept everything super-smooth, but you still got the feeling that you were looking at a recollection of someone else’s journey through an abstract and fascinating landscape. Rez Infinite? It’s something else entirely. No longer do you feel like you’re gazing into an incredible wireframe environment from the outside; you’re finally a part of the game’s world, and the effect is astonishing.

Rez Infinite – familiarity and depthrezinfinite1

The skeleton of the game is still familiar to Rez veterans; you must lock on to and shoot down targets, collecting overdrives and progress nodes that act as smart bombs and health respectively. Each area is broken into ten layer levels, and at the end of the tenth layer level is a boss. Your journey through an area ends when you’ve either beaten the area boss or taken too many hits. However, in the confines of the PSVR helmet you are fully enveloped in the gameworld, and the sense of depth breathes new life into classic scenes. Reach the pre-boss sequence in Area 3 and those bouncing cubes and rippling shockwaves evoke an intensity that was only hinted at in previous iterations of the game. Meanwhile, the infamous “running man” boss of Area 4 is a rollercoaster ride through twisting tunnels, staged as an exhilarating chase against a boss that now seems to tower above your viewpoint at times. Make no mistake, if you’re a fan of Rez and buy into the idea of surrendering your senses to the game’s world, Infinite accomplishes that sensation better than anything before.

Rez Infinite – the party pieceRez Infinite

And then there’s Area X. A new area exclusive to Infinite, this is almost worth the entrance fee alone. Picking up where Child of Eden left off, this is a world inhabited not by Tron machines and vector shapes, but by particles, glass and organic life. The rails pull you forward but your view wraps around a 360 degree sphere, and subtle indicators on the reticule guide you towards where you should be focusing. The world itself is always glistening with particles and crisp bright lines, whilst the wraparound view and manual acceleration helps to make it feel like a genuine journey rather than a rollercoaster ride. It’s a spectacular feat of development and production, and it makes you feel like this is what Vibes, Rez and Child of Eden were always working towards.

Rez Infinite – a PSVR essentialRez Infinite

If you buy into VR for realism rather than abstraction, or if rail shooters leave you cold, Rez Infinite might not be the game for you. However, as someone who has seen this game develop and improve through several iterations, this feels like the vision for the game that Mizuguchi always had but could never fully realise. It’s hard to imagine where you could go from here; the transition from being a spectator of the world to becoming a VR-enabled inhabitant seemed like the next logical step, and Area X completes the experience and leaves you breathless. I still have a lot of other PSVR games to try in the future, so it’s too soon to say whether or not Rez Infinite is the pick of the bunch, but it sets a strong challenge for any self-proclaimed “killer apps” and is well worth experiencing.

PlayStation VR is available now for £349.99. All PSVR games require the PSVR hardware and a PlayStation Camera. Some games may need PS3 Move Controllers, but Rez Infinite was played on a DualShock 4 Controller.

My introduction to Playstation VR

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If you told an infant-sized Qazimod that he’d go from playing Contra – sorry, Gryzor – on Commodore 64 to having fully-fledged virtual reality in the house, he’d think that you were a liar or a magician. Here we are though, with a new headset ushering in an age of virtual reality for PS4 owners. My introduction to Playstation VR began around midday on October 13th, and the first thing that struck me was just how much stuff there was in the box. You have a headset you put on your head, a box that connects the headset’s two cables to a breakout box, HDMI cables that go from the PS4 to the breakout box and from the breakout box to the TV, a power supply unit connected with two more cables (to the mains plug and breakout box respectively), a USB cable connecting the breakout box to the PS4…and after the PSVR is connected you still have to plug the PlayStation Camera and DualShock 4 in somewhere.

My introduction to Playstation VR – the headset and cables My introduction to Playstation VR

Before my introduction to PlayStation VR, I was worried that my play space would be too small and that the distance from the PlayStation Camera and the headset would be too short for games to work effectively. However, the peripheral distance isn’t why you’ll need floor space; the mass of cables and boxes is a greater concern. At least when you have the headset on you don’t need to see the cables, but trying to tidy things away after each session could take some time to perfect. Additionally, the headset itself is comfortable and not too heavy. Beyond the visor, rubbery flaps shield your peripheral vision from the outside world, and padding on the top and at the back ensure that it feels good to wear. The plastic around the side looks thin and is a little flexible, but it’s not like the plastic is going to break easily. The mess of cables is a bit worrying but it’s not something you’ll ever see that often.

My introduction to Playstation VR – setting up My intro to Playstation VR

The included Quick Start guide has big clear diagrams and simple instructions so that you can get things up and running in no time, and once it’s all ready and calibrated you have an interesting virtual view of the PS4 dashboard. Looking at the tweets I was making during the release day hype, there was about an hour between receiving the package and getting my first look at the virtual dashboard, so the setup isn’t too painful (that said, making floor space beforehand helped.) Some important things to note in order to get comfortable – the button on the back of the headband helps you find the right fit for your head. Also, if you want to readjust your head and then refocus the view, you can hold the Options button on the joypad and this will be done. (I’m ashamed to admit that it took me a moment to get used to that, and I spent a while trying to navigate menus with my head permanently looking to one side.)

My introduction to Playstation VR – viewing and motion

My introduction to Playstation VR

The view inside the headset has a slightly fuzzy resolution but it does the job for what I’ve played. I had never tried modern VR – Oculus, Vive, Gear – before, and the best way I can think of to describe the VR view of the static, flat dashboard is that it was a little like seeing slides in a Viewmaster, with the image suspended in black space. Meanwhile, games such as Tumble VR amply demonstrate the 3D depth effect; as you bring blocks closer to you it feels less like looking at a screen and more like peering into a small room. It’s an impressive effect, and the simple concept of Tumble – use Move to pick up blocks and build a tower – make it a gentle introduction to PSVR.

Another thing worth noting is that I’m new to PSVR and VR generally – I’ve never used Rift, Vive, Gear et al, and I don’t remember trying that many older attempts at VR either. My introduction to PlayStation VR was one where I had no previous VR experience – a big gamble, but so far I haven’t really experienced motion sickness or other dizziness; the most discomfort came from me not centring the view properly or adjusting the headband enough. Admittedly, I’ve only tried a couple of games, so my experience may change with other titles, but my eyes and brain adjusted quickly and easily.

My introduction to Playstation VR – the games

My introduction to Playstation VR

Of those two games, Tumble VR was a perfect introduction to virtual reality – a traditional puzzle experience that takes place in a virtual space. Using Move to pick up and stack blocks isn’t something that really utilises VR in a special way, but it demonstrates how immersive the experience is. If you’re new to VR and want something simple to get started on, or if you ever wanted to feel like an observer in a pipe-filled chamber manipulating a floating controller, it’s worth a look.

Next up, I looked at Rez Infinite. For all intents and purposes it’s Rez with VR-based freelook and aiming, although direct DS4 control can be used as well. Like Tumble, it succeeds in dropping you into some abstract, otherworldly environment, and even though it’s one you’ve been through before on PS2, Dreamcast and 360, Rez Infinite instantly feels more immersive. For a game that is credited for its wireframe looks and energetic sounds, a PSVR headset and some good headphones make you feel like you’re playing Rez how Mizuguchi would have always wanted if the tech was available.

My introduction to Playstation VR – virtual reality for everyone?

My introduction to Playstation VR

If this hardware represents virtual reality for the mass market, my introduction to Playstation VR made a strong first impression. I had previously been criticised in online communities for buying into massmarket hype and ignoring other PSVR reviewers who had reported feelings of nausea, but the results on launch day have been pleasant and exciting. It’s too early to say if the technology will take off – certainly the announcement of PS4 Pro will help to facilitate development of further VR titles – but right now it succeeds in delivering VR experiences to those who can’t stretch to the requirements of Oculus or Vive.

PlayStation VR is available now for £349.99. All games require Playstation Camera and some may need PS3 Move Controllers.

Sony reveals new PlayStation hardware

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New PlayStation hardware was revealed by Sony at last night’s PlayStation Meeting 2016, and will be available later this year. The suggested retail prices have been confirmed at £259 for the PlayStation 4 Slim model and £349 for the PlayStation 4 Pro model. Whilst the Slim model isn’t that far removed from the PS4 you may currently own, it will be quieter, lighter and more efficient. This, along with the new look and attractive price point, makes it a tempting prospect for anyone who hasn’t made a decision about gaming in the current generation.

New PlayStation hardware – 4K and HDR for Pro owners New Playstation hardware

With the PlayStation 4 Pro, Sony is offering a model with an improved CPU and GPU, one that will allow you to play in 4K and offer HDR visuals. The impact of the latter point was diminished somewhat with news that the original PS4 would become HDR-capable with a downloadable update, but it will be interesting to see how the new processing power is used. Curiously, the Pro console won’t be able to play 4K Blu-Rays, which seems like a strange omission – whether they allow for this in some kind of future firmware update remains to be seen.

New PlayStation hardware – how Pro will complement VR

One point of concern for a number of gamers was whether or not they could still enjoy PlayStation VR on the regular PS4 when a Pro model exists, and here Mark Cerny stated that PSVR owners who have a PS4 Pro can enjoy “richer” special effects, “crisper” scenes and higher frame rates. The latter point sent alarm bells ringing for a number of people who intend to enjoy PSVR on an original PS4 (as someone who’s preordered the headset myself it was a bit concerning), but we can’t forget that Sony had previously told developers that PSVR games which didn’t hit a 60FPS minimum were likely to be rejected. This suggests that PS4 Pro will offer higher framerates for PSVR, but that the framerates on both consoles will be stable.

New PlayStation hardware

New PlayStation hardware – worth going Pro?

Both pieces of new PlayStation hardware are priced quite attractively, and it will be interesting to see how they measure up compared to Project Scorpio and the Xbox One S, but it’s clear that fans of both consoles will have some interesting new purchasing decisions to make. Many have said that the new graphics technology will only appeal to a small audience until there are more televisions that fully take advantage of 4K and HDR technology, and so unless you’re part of that small audience it’s better to wait. There may be a time when 4K and HDR-enabled displays become as affordable as regular HDTVs are today, but if you’re not in the market for that kind of tech, there’s still plenty to enjoy on current hardware.

New PlayStation hardware

Read more at the Europe PS Blog

Garou – Mark of the Wolves coming to PS4 and PS Vita

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“Certainly they existed; those devs blinded by ambition… those ports consumed with vengeance. But here, they do not exist. Only winners (Mark of the Wolves fans and Fatal Fury fans in general) and losers (gamers without supporting consoles) here. For here, the mighty SNK rule.”

garou

Earlier this week it was revealed that SNK would be working with Code Mystics to bring the classic Garou: Mark of the Wolves to PS4 and PS Vita. Part of the Fatal Fury family, Garou: Mark of the Wolves was released in 1999 on the Neo Geo arcade hardware, later making its way to sixth-gen home consoles and eventually Xbox Live Arcade. Boasting strict inputs (compared to modern Street Fighter games, at least) and interesting gameplay mechanics such as Just Defend (like SFIII’s parry, you get benefits for defending at the last moment – unlike SFIII, however, you can push back to do this) and T.O.P mode (this activates within a player-defined portion of the lifebar and offers benefits such as enhanced damage and quicker meter gain), Garou: Mark of the Wolves is much less immediate than the likes of Street Fighter V, but still boasts rewarding gameplay, great 2D presentation and fun characters.

garou2

In my ongoing mission to recollect all of the MAME classics I used to enjoy years ago, Garou: Mark of the Wolves is one of the most played games in my current collection, and whilst I’m not skilled enough to trouble online opponents (as I type I already have bad flashbacks of netplay sessions on MAME and Kawaks that went awry) I can still appreciate the game on a more general level. According to the PS Blog update, this new release will come with a gallery mode, sound test and netcode from the previously-released Last Blade 2. More than anything, I’m happy that this is coming to Vita as well – I’ve often told people that the handheld seems like it would be a great home for 2D beat ’em ups, and having Garou: Mark of the Wolves on a handheld would offer a great way to while away those long train journeys.

A release date had not yet been confirmed in the PS Blog update

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