DOOM, Resident Evil, Farpoint, Star Wars, Batman: How E3 2016 Made Me a Believer in VR

E3 2016 was probably the year of one of two things for most attendees: surprise game trailers, or VR. There were some great surprises, even some that didn't leak at all, but to me, Virtual Reality's true dawning is upon us, and it is extremely exciting.

I don't have a VR set yet. As a primarily console gamer with a now mid-end PC (it was high end when I built it, but haven't upgraded the graphics card, for example, in about 3.5 years now), investing in the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive just hasn't been feasible. There also doesn't seem to be a "killer app" for those yet, with most of the demos I've seen being "proof of concept" or tech demos. If I'm going to invest in VR, it needs to be for true gaming experiences that are unique to the medium, and with the PlayStation VR just a few months from store shelves and homes, it seems like we're finally getting to that point. While some of the games featured at this year's show, like Star Wars: Battlefront VR Missions and Bethesda's line-up were only trailers or tech demos, it still felt like a giant leap in the direction of true VR gaming.

My first VR experience of E3 2016 was with Bethesda, playing DOOM VR. With developers Mark Diaz and Shale Williams laughing at my side as I laughed and shouted in amazement, spinning, moving my head around an unnatural amount, and shooting demons in Hell, it was at once a solitary experience and a group activity. What they'd made felt undeniably like DOOM, and was truly enhanced by the virtual reality extension. I was transported to Hell, looking around at the fire and brimstone, and as enemies encircled me, I actually aimed down the sights and took them out one by one. Throwing grenades with a flick of the left arm was fun, too, and it all made me feel like I was truly living inside the game's world. (No directly announced release date or platform, though I played on the Vive)

Batman: Arkham VR I've already written at length on, but as the first full-fledged game I played in VR this week, it was an incredible and game-changing experience. The biggest thing here was that the use of VR wasn't gimmicky in any way, or used just for some little gameplay tricks. Instead, the VR was used to help build the emotional connection between the player and the characters, both that the player controls and interacts with. Absolutely fascinating, out on PlayStation VR in October.

Switching gears, survival horror seems like a perfect genre for VR, and Resident Evil VII certainly showed that potential. It also demonstrated the potential for a problem with VR - playing the game sitting in a chair, while your character is actively walking around, may be an issue. It induced nausea in several journalists who played, and was something I certainly had to be aware of, making sure I was turning very slowly with the thumbstick, and keeping my head straight while doing it. Still, despite that slight issue, the gameplay was terrifyingly terrific. It is easy to see how, with a slight adjustment or two, this could be one of the best games of 2017, and horror fans who've ever wanted to live in their own movie can do it here. Scream-inducing jump scares weren't half as bad as the heart-thumping tension.

Finally, I tried Farpoint, another PSVR exclusive that takes you into a first-person shooter and exploration game on a faraway, uncharted alien planet. No illness problems here, as you stand while playing (Did during DOOM and Batman demos as well, notably), and your thumbstick is used for forward, backward, and left and right strafing movements. To turn your body? You turn your body, literally, in real life. The only awkward moment came when I found myself actually taking steps, both in place and slight forward, and the developer had to help me back into place. That does speak to the realism, and how absolutely into it I was; I can't wait for the PlayStation Treadmill in 2020 to really complete the experience. The game gave me fairly generic alien spider-monsters of various sizes to shoot, but things like weapon switching (just put your hand up to your shoulder, as if you're grabbing the next gun off your back), powerful upgrades, and tons of space on the planet to explore all made it a none-the-less unique experience. Farpoint should be a must-own when it hits the PSVR alongside the PSVR Aim controller soon.

These were only a fraction of the Virtual Reality experiences on the showfloor at E3 2016, but they were enough to do what nothing else really had before: make me truly excited for the VR experience. The full tracking games (stand up, your body and head control your angles) are definitely the better experiences, and hopefully will become the standard as developers continue to learn about them. Still, since my last brush with VR about a year ago, it seems things have come a very long way, and this once slightly-goofy futuristic tech is now something at the top of my wishlist.