Time for some console love
In the last installment of “VR Games Any VR Owner Should Have“, we only looked at titles available on the PC but don’t let that discourage you from getting a VR because there is an alternative around for console players right now in the form of the PlayStation VR.
Sadly Xbox currently doesn’t have a VR alternative so if the PlayStation isn’t your console of choice your VR options are very limited. Sony has made great strides with VR technology on the home console front and unlike other nifty bits of tech (cough…PS Vita…cough). Thankfully, Sony has been quite good at supporting the PSVR with new games and even some juicy exclusives to boot so on that note in today’s VR Games Any VR Owner Should Have we will be looking at Blood and Truth and Firewall: Zero Hour for the PSVR.
Blood and Truth:
Have you ever watched an action movie and thought to yourself “I’d love to do that.”? Well, wonder no more because Blood and Truth from SIE London Studio have you covered. Blood and Truth is an on-rails VR shooter similar to the arcade games you see on beach fronts such as House of the Dead and has you playing as Ex SAS soldier Ryan as he returns home from duty to find that his crime boss father has passed away leaving you and the rest of your family in charge of running the family business but all is not well as a patriarch of another crime family by the name of Tony Sharp stages a hostile takeover forcing you and your family into hiding, once you’ve regrouped you and your brother wage a war against Tony to regain your family business and to get revenge on those who forced you out in the first place.
Blood and Truth is the smoothest VR game out there at the moment with the main focus being on story and presentation, this game feels like you’re playing a James Bond movie. One minute you’ll be sliding down rooftops in slow motion blasting the pilot out of a helicopter while in another moment you’ll be climbing through a construction site taking out a local gang of chavs, there’s no way to describe Blood and Truth without using the word ‘awesome’.
Blood and Truth does lack an element of replayability due to there being no multiplayer or branching narrative or anything like that so once you’ve played the main story you’re kinda done. However, there is a challenge mode where you shoot targets and try to beat the high score and some free DLC which includes a rhythm mini-game where you have to shoot the target to the beat of the music. Sure, it’s not story-related content, but there is stuff to do after the main game but nothing to keep you coming back after a while.
If you’re looking for another game for your PSVR library or you wanna know where to start once you’ve taken the dive, then Blood and Truth is quite frankly an essential game to own for PSVR. Even in the world of VR, this game presents an experience like no other. If you’re looking for a more in-depth look at Blood and Truth feel free to check out our review here.
Firewall: Zero Hour
Firewall: Zero Hour from First Contact Entertainment is a rare breed of VR game, it’s a first-person VR shooter with a massive emphasis on online play. The way Zero Hour plays isn’t far from Rainbow Six: Siege just in VR and minus the environmental destruction. So if you’re one of the 55 million people who played Siege in January, you’ll want to give this a go. Zero Hour gives you 12 operators to choose from with each op having a primary skill, for example, Red’s skill is BANG BANG which gives him an additional lethal grenade such as a frag grenade to use against the enemy team with no risk to your teammates because they’re no friendly fire so toss away.
Zero Hour can also be considered quite hardcore, you die from a single headshot and the time to kill is rather low so moving carefully and covering your team’s back is a priority and the PSVR headset has a built-in microphone so no one has an excuse not to communicate. While I am insisting that this is an essential game for the PSVR I will admit that it’s not for everyone. Being killed instantly from what seems like nowhere can be irritating and to get the best experience you ideally need to own the PS Aim controller which is a bit of extra cash. However, trust me when I say that once you have that aim controller in your hand and you’re gunning down fools while watching your corners it is the most satisfying FPS experience on VR out there. I’d like to clarify that you can play Zero Hour with a normal DualShock 4 controller, but the game is still all-around better with the Aim controller.
Zero Hour offers a different kind of FPS experience than you are used to, being able to physically peek around corners and blind fire with your arms is an interesting experience, one that I think is damn good fun once you get the hang of it. There are some downsides to Zero Hour though as there are with any game. Due to Zero Hour being an online title and use of VR isn’t widespread yet, the community is rather small. This can lead to delays in matchmaking that can take a few minutes, and with games being short and quick you may find yourself spending more time waiting for games rather than playing. One final bit of advice, don’t use shotguns. They suck.
Both Blood and Truth and Firewall: Zero Hour are only available via the PlayStation Store, I have provided a link to both. If you wish to pick up the PS aim controller or the PS4 VR I have provided links for both as well but feel free to shop around.
If you’re in the market for more VR games to add to your collection be sure to check out part 1 here.
