VIRTUAL-REALITY APPS & EXPERIENCES
[ GOOGLE DAYDREAM ] Fantastic Beasts Google Daydream Free | vr.google.com
Google’s Daydream VR headset launch coincided with the arrival of JK Rowling’s new Harry Potter spinoff. The Fantastic Beasts VR tie-in is exclusive to this headset — and it’s totally free to download and surprisingly fun to explore... even if you’re not a hardcore ‘Pothead’. One of the highlights of the Daydream View headset (see page 14) is its included Bluetooth controller, a device that lends itself so perfectly to a Fantastic Beasts game, in that it doubles nicely as an in-game wand (and serendipitously, even outside of this title, Google still likes to refer to this controller as a wand, too).
[ OCULUS RIFT, HTC VIVE ] ABE VR Free | www.hammerheadvr.com/abe
For almost as long as digital computers have been around, mankind has been plagued by the thought of unintentionally giving birth to a malignant AI, but experiencing this kind of unnerving narrative whilst in VR is an experience that is particularly frightening... but also, well, kind of awesome. As the first VR game to garner an M15+ rating in the UK, the frightening ABE VR experience is also one of the first indications that virtual-reality content is beginning to mature (with the obvious exception of Rule 34-related VR). [Ed’s note: Rule 34 states that if a thing exists, there is probably a porn version of it.]
[ STEAM VR ] Google Earth VR Free | vr.google.com/earth
Despite launching on the Steam VR platform, which is compatible with both HTC’s Vive and the Oculus Rift, Google Earth VR was restricted to the Vive when it launched in mid November. Yet, in less than a week, a Reddit user by the name of Shockfire7 had created a FakeVive hack that’ll also allow Oculus owners to fly through the first-person imagery of our planet, as well. With highlights that include the Colosseum, the Matterhorn in Switzerland and the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Florence, this free VR app is definitely worth exploring.
[ HTC VIVE ] Westworld VR www.hbo.com/westworld
An official release date (or platform for that matter) was yet to be announced at the time of writing, but based on how much we love the show and how well the world lends itself to VR, we think this will be one VR app worth strapping on a headset for. The life-sized interactive narrative reportedly has crucial decisions that affect the plot and outcome of the story, and in building this experience, HBO’s VR-development team were reportedly able to work on the Westworld set under the guidance of the show’s director, Michelle MacLaren.
[ OCULUS RIFT ] BlazeRush $14.99 | blazerush.com
This third-person, miniature Mad Max- style RC car game has been available on the Oculus Rift since headset pre-orders started shipping to Australia. Despite already being one of the standout VR titles, BlazeRush has recently added an arena and a football to create a separate ‘gridiron’ add-on (dubbed BlazeBowl) that mimics the astoundingly-successful soccer-meets-driving game Rocket League. As avid fans of both, we’re excited to give BlazeBowl a go (it’s available on PS4 as well, though strangely not PSVR yet) but if it’s anywhere near as good as Rocket League, it could be the best thing we’ve seen hit VR.
[ OCULUS RIFT ] V - Universal VR Dashboard Free (Beta) | www.hellov.io
The immersive environment of VR is excellent for games, but the encompassing attributes that make it appealing can quickly turn to a sense of smothering if you want to do more basic tasks — like say, listen to music, browse the web or be notified by and respond to an email or message. Simply double-tap the headset and a movable, resizable tile-board menu will appear that allows you to quickly open a range of applications including Slack, YouTube, Spotify and Messenger.