During our coverage of PAX Prime 2015, we started as we usually do at the Playstation booth to see all the latest from Sony. While we will be going over the hands-on with Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, Drawn To Death, Teraway, and Kill Strain later, the focus on this article is the amazing Project Morpheus.
After being fitted with the system, I tried the game Headmaster which was described to me as a Soccer game. I loved the crisp clarity of the images and unlike another system I had tried two years prior at C.E.S. and a year ago at San Diego Comic Con this one did not have the nausea inducing vertigo or disorientation that can be all too common with the technology.
The field was lit by spotlights and oddly enough had barbed wire fences in the background. My mission was to head but Soccer balls into the goal and at various targets at they arose.
The trick was that the balls came at me from different angles including from an elevated crane and at times a large ball would be fired at me for good measure. You really get a workout from the system and you will see the video online soon of me making the best of it.
It was a trick to get the angle and trajectory right as well as the correct amount of force to use, especially when you had balloons and explosive targets arise later on, and oh yeah, a spaceship as well.
The scoreboard was realistic and if I looked up and around, I could see the venue in amazing detail and clarity.
Next up was London Heist which started with me sitting in a chair and holding a pair of Move controllers. I was in a warehouse garage and when I looked to my left and right it was a very detailed environment. A look behind me showed a pile of tires which made for a highly-immersive experience.
In front of me was a heavy with a blow torch who was ready to have a “conversation” with me which was thankfully cut short with a phone call.
From there we recapped a heist which had me exploring a desk to get a key and a diamond which in turn triggered an attack by guards.
Using the Move controls I was able to locate a gun and clips in the desk, and ducking down allowed me to take cover. The gun fight in V.R. was great as I ducked, fired, reloaded, and eventually dispatched the enemies.
We had staff play some of the other games which will be detailed later, but the real joy was aside from the great graphics and deeply detailed level of play was simply how much fun it was. Sony has entered the brave new frontier of V.R. in a big way and based on my experiences with the system, the future is now and I cannot wait for more time with the amazing Project Morpheus.
