Space Pirate Trainer (PS VR) & PSVR System

[Retro STrife]

I took advantage of the PS VR deal over Black Friday weekend, and picked up the $200 bundle with Astro Bot and Moss. I also bought 2 Move controllers separately. And I bought the Aim controller, bundled with Firewall Zero Hour. I bought a few other games as well (Farpoint, VR Worlds), and have a few more downloaded to my PS4 already. I've tried out Astro Bot for a few levels -- pretty good platformer so far that makes good use of VR, without overusing it. Looking forward to trying Firewall too, but haven't gotten there.

Anyway, the real reason I started this topic was to praise Space Pirate Trainer, which is a download-only game that anyone with VR should consider owning. I first played Space Pirate Trainer a couple years ago when I got to demo it on the HTC Vive. It's been out on the Vive and Oculus for 2 years - but it just came out on PS VR this week and I made sure to get it right away. Space Pirate Trainer is a wave-based shooter in a futuristic space setting. You are in FPS view, in a stationary spot, and you use the 2 Move controllers as dual-wielded laser pistols (or one as a shield), while shooting at waves of space robots that fly around and shoot back at you. You can also dodge their bullets by physically ducking and moving out of the way. It's like taking the old school sensibilities of an '80s shooter, and setting it in modern day VR.

Space Pirate Trainer isn't deep and it won't hold your attention for hours on end.. but what it does is important: it's the ultimate pick-up-and-play VR game, it makes you feel like a total badass while gunning down enemies, and it is the best VR game to showoff and instantly convince a friend (in 2 minutes or less) of what VR is and what potential it has. I recommend it for anyone with VR. Here's a link to a review and video:

https://www.destructoid.com/space-pirat ... 3282.phtml

HTC-VR-Space-Pirate-Trainer.jpg (85.98 KiB) Viewed 1448 times

[Retro STrife]

Btw, I also recommend looking into Virry Safari: Wild Encounters for very young kids that can't really use VR, or showing off VR to adults with no interest in games. It's a nature demo, where you get up close and personal with African animals in their natural state. Be warned -- this is not a game at all, and the videos are not in 3D. However, the VR headset does allow you to look around your environment and feel close to the animals, which I imagine would be cool to young kids. And it does so without risking as much motion sickness or eye strain as a usual VR game. It was on sale in the PS Store for $2-- totally worth it at that price, but maybe not worth it at the full price of $10.

[Retro STrife]

My non-gamer wife tried out the VR this weekend. She played Virry Safari, Space Pirate Trainer, and The Playroom VR. (By the way, if you have PS VR, be sure to download The Playroom VR. It's a free collection of mini-games that can be played in multiplayer [i.e., one person uses the headset, and 1 to 4 other players can play without VR]. It's a good family-oriented multiplayer game; with co-op and competitive modes; definitely worth trying.)

Anyway, she thought Virry Safari was a total waste of time, so I guess I take back that recommendation. It's probably only good with very young kids. We had fun with Playroom VR. But by far her favorite was Space Pirate Trainer. With that, I gotta stand by my claim that it's the best game for introducing people to VR.

[Retro STrife]

I hate to bump an old topic like this, but I gotta rave about Space Pirate Trainer again for anyone getting a VR system this year. I busted out Space Pirate Trainer this past weekend to introduce my 9 year old niece to VR, and this game is really the gift that keeps on giving. She had a blast and said that it was her favorite game she tried on PSVR.

If you own a VR system, should you get this game? I look at it like this: Are you introducing a 25 year old hardcore gamer to VR? Introducing your 50 year old non-gamer mother-in-law to VR? Introducing your 8 year old son to VR? Introducing yourself to VR? The recommendation is always the same -- Space Pirate Trainer. It works perfectly for everybody - it's like the "Wii Sports" of VR. It's not an A+ game.. it's not a classic.. it won't keep you coming back over and over... BUT, it is just that perfect game for your first 30 minute session of VR and the perfect quickplay arcade game for future sessions.

[Retro STrife]

On top of raving about Space Pirate Trainer, here's a few thoughts on others PSVR games I've played since my older 2018 posts:

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission - Cute, fun, unique platform game that makes good use of VR. I'm not that big a fan of 3D platformers, so I didn't love this as much as critics did, but I still think it's one of the better PSVR games.

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood - This is a light gun game based on the Until Dawn series. It's "on rails" because you are riding in a mine cart the entire time, as you ride through spooky areas (carnival, hotel, hospital, etc.) shooting enemies. The mine cart also adds a roller-coaster aspect to the VR too. I had fun with this one in short spurts.

Farpoint - A generic FPS game, which I playing with the special Aim gun controller. I got severe motion sickness playing this game within the first 10 minutes, so I had to quit. Just walking around got me sick. From the little I saw, I can't recommend it. Looks like a terrible FPS hoping to profit from the fact that it was the first full FPS game on the PSVR.

Firewall Zero Hour - This is an online competitive tactical FPS game. I can see the potential, but unfortunately I get motion sickness while playing it. I also had trouble getting the Aim controller to aim well with it. As a result, I only played it once for like 20 minutes. Maybe these problems are just me, because I haven't heard a single bad review about this game from critics or gamers. Everyone seems to love it.

Anyone have any PSVR games they've been playing, or any recommendations?