Let’s face it, whether you like the idea that the Oculus Rift is now owned by mega corporate monster Facebook or you hate that the company head-haunchos sold out for billions of dollars, there are some very talented people working on games for the VR tech; and they are developing incredible experiences.
Enter Enemy Starfighter
During my time at the Indie Megabooth at this year’s Pax East, I got some hands-on time with Marauder Interactive’s new game Enemy Starfighter. This VR title, led by former Bungie gameplay designer Mike Tipul, is a stunning game that lets you experience the thrills of a starfighter pilot while enveloped in fully realized 3D space.
I put on the Oculus Rift headset and was instantly transported to the black void of the final frontier, looking at a group of enemy space ships from my cockpit. As I looked around, I saw the chassis of my ship, friendly units following me in formation, and my torso with my hand clutching the flight stick.
Being able to see my body when I looked down and not just empty space is something that a lot of devs working with VR seem to forget. It is this attention to detail that I appreciate in Enemy Starfighter and was apparent from the moment I pressed start on the controller.
Soon after learning the button configuration, I was immediately warped to the nearest enemy ship so that I could engage in epic space combat. Shooting, dodging, and barrel rolling were all very intuitive and it didn’t take me long to get my bearings and blast some rebel scum. *Editor’s note: I don’t actually know if they were rebels or not, I just wanted a Star Wars reference.
The action is intense with multiple enemies firing at once. The cool thing about Enemy Starfighter is that since it is built around the Oculus, all I had to do is look in the direction of the blast (indicated by a red arrow) and adjust accordingly. I still had a radar display to look at just in case I got disoriented, but frankly, it was just too much fun trying to physically look at where the enemy was located. Not using the radar was probably a bad idea since I ended up dying a horrible, fiery death.
The gameplay reminds me of the highly anticipated Eve: Valkyrie. While I only got to try out an early build at Pax, Enemy Starfighter has the potential to become serious competition for the current frontrunner. It certainly makes me feel like a real starfighter pilot and that is definitely a feeling I want again. The dev team is making a great game and I look forward to playing more of it.
Look for an early access build to be released to the public later this year!
Click here for more information about Marauder Interactive.
