Oculus has released a trailer showing the 30+ games that will be available at launch for the Rift.  Some of them look a bit questionable (for example, what does VR add to a pinball game?), but the overall lineup looks surprisingly tight.




-b0b
(...is all about that space shooter goodness!)

You'll have to let me know how the headset feels.  I want to get one, but I'm worried they won't work well with my glasses.

For those of you that follow Final Fantasy, Square just announced a feature-length movie set in the Final Fantasy XV universe:



They're also producing a four-part anime series.  The first part is available free on YouTube:




-b0b
(...loves him some FF.)

Apparently, it is time for another Civ game.  Here's a teaser trailer for Civ VI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeMkgoH2iHQ



-b0b
(...hasn't even played Civ V yet.)

Great googly moogly, it's (almost) happening!  It's almost a month late at this point, but hey, better late than never!




-b0b
(...weeeeee!)

I received my Rift CV1 yesterday and had a chance to put it to the test for a few hours last night.  It is definitely a first generation device and there are a few bugs to be worked out, but I enjoyed myself immensely.  I'm stealing this picture from a review because I'm too lazy to take my own.



The packaging was incredibly well done.  I'm pretty sure you could drop the box off a two story building and the Rift wouldn't get so much as a scratch.  The presentation is also top notch, with integrated cable management and an excellent layout. 

The Rift CV1 hardware is also a substantial improvement over the DK1 and DK2.  The headset is very lightweight and comfortable to wear for extended periods.  Best of all, I didn't get hot and sweaty wearing it the way I did with Briney's DK2.  In my opinion, the biggest downside to the Rift is the lack of peripheral vision.  You get used to it quickly, but the first few minutes felt like I was wearing blinders.

The Oculus application/store is pretty janky and needs a lot of work.  The desktop application is missing a lot of basic functionality like game ratings and genre sorting/filtering, and the VR version is even worse.  The games only have a handful of crappy low-res screenshots and, for some reason that I can't fathom, you can't even watch a trailer or other video content.  It seems fairly obvious Oculus threw the storefront together as an afterthought.

Games and experiences are all over the map.  So far, I've only played one of the games that came with the Rift (Eve: Valkyrie) and a handful of free "experiences" that run the gamut.

Lucky's Tale - This is a colorful platformer that was free with the Rift.  It looks like a lot of fun, but it won't detect the XBox One controller that came with the Rift.  The controller works fine for other games and the Oculus VR store and management interface.  Insta-FAIL!  I'll probably screw around with this later, but lots of other people are reporting the same problem.  Video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbhFj34g0Cs

Eve: Valkyrie - This is a first-person space combat action sim that also came free with the Rift.  So far, this has been the clear winner out of everything I dabbled with last night.  I sunk a solid two hours into the game and I'm dying to get back to it tonight.  It is fast-paced and you really need to keep your head on a swivel to survive.  If you don't keep an eye on the space above, below, and behind you, you're going to get whacked.  Trailer here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TmMIGOevis

I bought a couple more games today that I'll try out tonight.  AirMech: Command is a MOBA/RTS title where you control a number of flying mechs in combat.  I've played a different version of the game called AirMech and enjoyed it, so I figured this was a no-brainer.  The VR version turns AirMech into a nifty tabletop that seems like it will be pretty cool.  Check it out:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOjgmyVesgM

I'm also itching to try out the tower defense game Defense Grid 2.  I've played the original Defense Grid and picked up DG2 during a Steam sale, but haven't tried it yet.  The developers recently added a VR mode that allows you to move around the battlefield and see it in 360 degrees.  Video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYVI74Ocjtg


-b0b
(...and no motion sickness, yay!)

The_Fat_Man wrote on May 27^th, 2016 at 7:43pm:


I really, really, really want to be hyped about that game.  It looks beautiful, the gameplay seems interesting, and the concept is really cool.  That said, I've yet to play a game that made heavy use of procedural generation that wasn't incredibly boring and repetitive.

I wish the No Man's Sky team the very best of luck, but they've got one hell of a hurdle to overcome.


-b0b
(...will definitely buy it if it isn't awful.)

12 is the only Final Fantasy I never beat.  So i'm pretty excited for this release.  It will be a brand new game for me!