It’s free if you own the base game
The idea of a VR dogfighting game set in theStar Warsuniverse pretty much sells itself.
The newRogue One VR Missionfor PlayStation VR, playable as a free download withinStar Wars Battlefront(you’ll need to own a copy of the base game but not any of the expansions or season pass), isn’t that, exactly. Rather, it’s a 20-minute experience, a taste of what’s hopefully yet to come with a bigger team and budget if there’s any good left in this world. But man, what a proof-of-concept it is!
I had a smile on my face from the opening menu screen all the way to the post-mission jump home.
It’ll take a while to get situated, especially if you don’t haveBattlefrontand its many updates installed already, but that one-time setup is worth putting up with even if you only end up playing this once.
Aside from a brief introductory area that lets you teleport around to inspect your X-wing before boarding, the entire missionis set in space. You’ll join up with a squad as a rookie pilot (complete with lighthearted banter) and fly your way through an asteroid field, blasting away at pesky little rocks and dodging larger hunks of death. From there, the objective becomes an escort mission with a nod to theRogue Onemovie, and you’ll run up against a bunch of TIE fighters until a Star Destroyer eventually shows up to melt your shields. Lock onto the weak points, fire away, and we’re done here.
None of that summary will sound terribly special if you’ve played any of the great oldStar Warsflight sims, but in practice, it’s cool.Reallycool. That’s due in large part to the immersive nature of VR. The movement and aiming feel solid, and the sights and sounds borrowed fromBattlefrontmake for a convincing, smile-inducing experience. There are some limitations to the flying — you can’t, for instance, do a barrel roll — but I didn’t mind. And, better yet, I didn’t get disoriented at all (which is something I’ve struggled with before inEVE: Valkyrie). I also appreciate that you can tinker with the individual buttons inside your cockpit. Most of them are just visual flourishes, but there are a few fun surprises.
[This impressions piece is based on a retail build of the game downloaded for free off the PlayStation Network.]
