To compare Spider-Man VR to Attack on Titan VR wouldn’t be fair. Both came out about the same time last month, but neither are fully complete.
I suspect not every fan of Hajime Isayama‘s best-known series will rush to play Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable (AoTVR). Developer UNIVRSE provided an early access version early last year, and it was playable. However, bugs made some aspects difficult. Last month, version 1.0 was made public on various platforms, including the Meta 2, which I played on.
One good thing about this virtual reality game is that nobody needs prior knowledge about the anime/manga to enjoy. The introduction brings gamers up to speed. I wanted a first-person perspective of being eaten! There are some scary moments put into getting picked up by one! Unfortunately, this experience doesn’t get that visceral because that would require a personal computer system to render all the graphic detail.
Just how many “levels” exist in the cyberverse depends on who you ask, and who is your maker? Thankfully the theology doesn’t bog this sci fi whodunit down, and you’ll have to wonder too!
Playing nationwide at select theatres in Canada Please check local listings
Adam Stern, in his debut as a filmmaker, knows just how many Levels of existence there are in this multiverse. Whether that hides in the code or is answered in plain sight, that will depend on how folks will want to interpret the material offered in his movie. He not only penned the screenplay but also directed this rather smart and selective sci-fi thriller about Joe (Peter Mooney) wanting to find out who murdered Ash (Cara Gee), the love of his life, in cold blood. That’s because nothing is truly real. There are faces he recognizes during his investigation, and he doesn’t know why.
In a tale that’s inspired from movies like TRON, Inception, Free Guy and The Matrix (the special effects mostly), what’s presented focuses on an element of spirituality that’s always fascinated me–what if it’s all a simulation? But there’s also another question: who would want to kill this woman? As our hero learns there’s a secret cabal who created a virtual reality that is really indistinguishable from our own, there’s a concern: how can we escape from it? Is what’s imagined in one simulation better than another? The answer is simple: don’t get too emotionally attached.
Sometimes, what happens in virtual reality can escape and be your worse nightmare! In Quadrant, the complexities of interfacing the wrong person to a fake world gets deftly examined.
I love the fact that Charles Band is tackling modern age concerns with movies like Aimee: The Visitor (movie review) and now Quadrant. The former concerned rogue artificial intelligence in search of romance and the latest, just whether virtual reality is a good place to go for therapy! But what if what one dreads, would they embrace their problem, so the issue becomes part of them? That’s where this story concept succeeds because the terror is presented in the best way this filmmaker can imagine. And as for Erin (Shannon Barnes), she better be careful in what she wants to reap after signing that waiver to be involved in this study.
Scientists Harry (Rickard Claeson) and Meg (Emma Reinagel) crafted a VR helmet with a few added interfaces so other bodily functions can be monitored and, if chemical stimulation is required, also pumped in too! It’s a type of neural study I am even game to try, but after seeing this film, I say not!
Erin is their tool to study how how helpful this technolgoy can be. But little do they know her obsession with Jack the Ripper is more twisted than they realise. She can’t distinguish between the two realities. In order to save her, these scientists must enlist the assistance of Robert (Christian Carrigan). He’s another person they’re studying, and when he has feelings for Erin, they hope he can provide something more real to fixate on instead of the Reaper.
But pretty soon, as with any Full Moon film, everything has to burst at the seams, and chaos erupts. Shannon Barnes is great at being Jekyll and Hyde, and had this tale not affirm the killer is Jack, I’d swear this tale is designed to honour Robert Louis Stevenson‘s work! Although the scientists don’t have the same panache as this star, they have their place as Data (from Star Trek) in those holosuite episodes where he is Sherlock Holmes, and Moriarty is given life!
To note, Quadrant marks this studio’s 400th release and is the first under the Pulp Noir label. It’s better than the recently reviewed Private Eye movie starring comedian Matt Rife in the sense we have existential dread as a theme from start to end. With this film, it’s perfect in its execution where even I wonder if therapy in the virtual realm is needed. Some phobias are best left alone, and others, I’m sure other methods to get over trauma exist!
To 3D or not to 3D is the question some viewers may have now that pandemic concerns have abaded. But does anyone want it?
Subscribers to Variety Magazine and fans of the 3D film medium will no doubt want to read Carolyn Giardina’s report where the “Summer Movie Season [will be] Testing 3D Cinema’s Recoverability.” But as for whether that’s happening everywhere, I’ve noticed that my local movie theatre chain is close to abandoning the format unless it’s a blockbuster. As far as advance ticket sales are indicating what’s available, I’m not seeing any listings.
The only film listed is The Garfield Movie, and it’s a product not worth paying more for. If this activity is indeed happening, I imagine that they are only occurring at major metropolises where numbers matter instead of small towns. Whether fans of this medium want it back, the next few months will be telling. Ever since Covid-19 struck, the fear of getting the virus any which way depends on how much of a germ phobia one has. I firmly believe this fad is just that; and it’s finished running its course.
The ability to really immerse players in a proper fantasy world of fighting hordes of invaders in Ironstrike VR can be fun.
Ironstrike VR certainly delivers a fun mediaeval combat experience as a four player co-op roguelike adventure on the Meta Quest. It’s about what groups can do as they face off against AI opponents in a simply rendered open world environment where the elements meet. While photo-realism isn’t the goal in the design of these realms, what’s presented so far hints at the possibilities should developer E McNeill want to re-skin this game in a dungeon crawl environment.
For now, it’s limited to some stunning dawn and dusk renders, and as for the swing and parry system, I feel more work is needed. One should be able to move the body instead of shaking a joystick to dodge blows. I found that standing still to smack down enemies is an issue. I should be able to move the body around, and on the Quest 2, some of it tracked. While the authentic combat experience isn’t always there, I love the concept, and was fighting my foes in waves. The number of opponents faced steadily grows as you progress through the game. At the time of writing, I’ve encountered as many as three at one time. There may be more, but I haven’t gotten there yet!
What’s recreated in Paranormal Hunter is very much in line with many cinematic haunted house stories, and as for mirroring what real life investigations are like, it’s nothing like.
EALoGAMES multiplayer videogame Paranormal Hunter has the potential to be good, but without a team to help you investigate, tackling the tougher missions on your own is tough! It’s similar to Phasmophobia, which is more popular and a better polished game. While that can be engaged solo, this take is designed to have at least three people willing to dive into eerie locations! Fainting upon encountering the supernatural is common. That’s quite different from what those of the television paranormal reality trade typically encounter. As most people know, most of these docudramas are created for entertainment purposes only!
What’s revealed in these missions will certainly test many an avatar’s sanity, and perhaps the player’s too. Although the game takes a cue from H.P. Lovecraft, with a digital metre to show where the mental resilience is at, to emerge with that state intact is super rare. Although what’s this early access release looks almost ready to be unleashed, it really needs two things to be fixed. Continue reading “In EALoGAMES’ Paranormal Hunter, You’re Sadly Alone, And That’s Not Good”
I suspect not every fan of Hajime Isayama‘s best-known series will rush to play Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable (AoTVR). Developer UNIVRSE provided an early access version early last year, and it was playable. However, bugs made some aspects difficult. Last month, version 1.0 was made public on various platforms, including the Meta 2, which I played on.
Playing nationwide at select theatres in Canada
Coming to
Subscribers to Variety Magazine and fans of the 3D film medium will no doubt want to read Carolyn Giardina’s report where the 
Ironstrike VR certainly delivers a fun mediaeval combat experience as a four player co-op roguelike adventure on the 
EALoGAMES