Virtual Reality is the next big thing in gaming. There is no denying that and whether you want it to happen or not, eventually everyone will have a VR headset. For those who have obtained an Occulus or an HTC Vive already, or to those who have pre-ordered PS VR, you probably don’t have any regrets. However, the games that have been announced for VR prior to E3 could be described as ‘lackluster’. Whether you would like to admit it or not, the games currently being rolled out for the VR headsets are pretty laughable. This, like it has for me, may have caused some panic amongst VR headset owners. Well, fear no more as E3 has once again solved all of our gaming problems and answered our prayers with a strong lineup of VR titles.
Fallout 4 for HTC Vive
WOW. That is the only word I could muster when Bethesda announced a full port of Fallout 4 to the HTC Vive. Can you imagine running up to a Death Claw in person and shooting it with a mini nuke? Perhaps you would like to visit Diamond City with Dog Meat, well now you can. This is the biggest of the VR announcements and anybody with an HTC Vive headset would be insane for not buying Fallout 4 VR. There is, however, a wait as Bethesda announced that this port would be released ‘sometime in the next 12 months’. Still, this is easily the biggest game announced for any VR headset and this provides an already impressive amount of buzz for the HTC Vive.
Sony PS VR
The Vive may have had the biggest single game announced for the headset, but the PS VR had the most solid line-up announced. Resident Evil 7 has been announced as a PS VR game and it is just that, a game and not just an experience like so many other titles. After games such as Allison Road and Silent Hills were canceled, Capcom clearly wanted to give a gift to gamers and decided to make RE7 compatible for VR. To have a game as concrete as Resident Evil 7 announced for the Sony headset helps calm the nerves of soon-to-be PS VR owners (including myself) because the games that were previously announced were not exactly notable.
Also adding to the excitement is my personal favorite, Batman Arkham VR. What a surprise it was to hear Mark Hamill’s voice over a teaser for the new Batman Virtual Reality experience. Rocksteady has said before that the Arkham series has ended but it seems they wanted to give Batfans one last gift in the form of Batman Arkham VR. Not much is known about this experience but it is believed that you will don the cape and cowl of Batman and solve mysteries and crimes like the crime scene investigation in past Arkham games. You will also likely be able to traverse Wayne manor as Bruce Wayne. Now you can truly be the Batman in your own home, life is good.
The Future is Bright
A plethora of other games have been announced including the interesting FPS Farpoint for PS VR, and the Star Wars Battlefront VR X-wing mission — which happens to be free for those who own Star Wars Battlefront for PS4. Before E3, virtual reality was just a cool idea that didn’t seem to know what to do with itself. Now, there are games that owners of headsets can actually be excited about. The hype for VR has now transformed into anticipation over the span of 3 days. The future of VR is looking brighter than ever.
