PSVR and Farpoint | First Impressions

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​by ​Gabriella Petty

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​@gabriella_petty

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​Still thinking about purchasing PSVR? I was finally able to get my hands on the headset at Eurogamer’s EGX event a few weeks ago, playing a 13-minute demo of the upcoming FPS title Farpoint, so I thought I’d share a few impressions with you all.

Farpoint, a game I had been following since its announcement back at E3 in June, placed me in a desolate landscape with the sole objective of eliminating an ensuing swarm of spiders.

The funny device you see me holding in the picture below is the PlayStation Aim, which really complements Farpoint, as it will other first-person shooters I'm sure. Shots had a satisfying stability despite reliance on your own intuition and accuracy, and this was largely down to the Aim and its impressive receptiveness. Ammunition was scarce here, and I often found myself running out relatively quickly, so being able to shoot with precision was imperative in these combat situations. 

The platform itself is a perfect way to accelerate your gameplay experience, literally offering your own virtual playground.

Weapon switching is accomplished through tapping the Aim controller behind your shoulder to mimic the action we've all seen on-screen a million times, but there's a simple pleasure in acting it out yourself. 

​At times throughout the demo, I found myself strafing at peculiar angles to often regain a straight path, as trying to combine head and Aim tracking in tandem proved challenging at first. Eventually, this became second nature, despite my panicked bullet-spraying when overrun with hoards of spiders. A cool, calm and collective composure is necessary. 

​​Unfortunately, during this particular demonstration the intrigue that Farpoint built in encouraging me to explore its world was for nought, because I was instead thrust between different locations and my immersion was routinely broken. The game may still in beta, but my general consensus is that Impluse Gear have only scratched the surface with what they want to achieve. 

If you're are a fan of an arcade-y style of game, you may want to keep a close eye on this one. It has the foundations to be a strong anchor for PSVR providing we see something fresh over the coming months; be it new weapon types, explorable terrains, or perhaps new enemy types. At this stage of development, It faces criticism of becoming repetitive too early, and soon the novelty of VR will wear off, and Farpoint will need to offer more incentives to maintain the player's intrigue.

The platform itself is a perfect way to accelerate your gameplay experience, literally offering your own virtual playground. The headset has a solid and substantial design, with an adjustable focus lense and head support for comfort and stability whilst you play. What's reassuring, is that the headset is relatively comfortable to wear and does not restrict your manoeuvrability whilst playing, provided your time spent playing is moderate. 

Although the weight of this headset isn't drastic, I feel it may become uncomfortable if used for longer than an hour or so at a time, but this will vary from player to player, and PlayStation do suggest that this is not intended for long sessions. Headaches are not a good consequence!

In addition, Motion Sickness was a brief side effect I encountered. This lasted only a few minutes just after I'd started playing, but I feel this is something you will need to consider before purchasing, especially if you're particularly susceptible. In light of this, Sony have said that PSVR will run with a 120hz refresh rate which will help, but the more I found myself playing, the more I became accustomed to it.
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There are many advantages to PSVR including its price, accessibility and design. I feel like it will make a solid entry into the PlayStation repertoire, and a fantastic addition to your gaming set-up, but, essentially, it is not a necessity. 

There are many positive advantages to PSVR ​including its price, ​​accessibility and design.

PlayStation have recently announced locations in the UK where you'll be able to try PSVR for yourself before release, so if you're keen, keep an eye on the website for more details regarding these locations soon.

​PSVR is set to release on 13 October this year, whilst Farpoint doesn't yet have a release date. Are you excited about them? Let us know in the comments, on the forum, or via social media.