Taken for a Quickie | EVE: Gunjack

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EVE: Gunjack is little brother to EVE: Valkyrie, foregoing multiplayer dogfights in favour of stationary shooting galleries. Join us in taking the PlayStation VR launch game for a quickie and we’ll see if the trade-off was worthwhile.

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by Sam
​Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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​Developer: CCP Games
Publisher: CCP Games
Platforms:​ PS4 (PSVR), PC (Oculus, Vive), Mobile
(Gear VR)
Players: 1

Didn't this launch last year for Samsung Gear VR?

It did. Gunjack is a mobile port, but not the wank kind, it looks and runs equivalent to other PSVR launch titles for the most part.

So what’s it all about?

You’re minding your own business, illegally mining valuable resources in outer space, when some inconsiderate space pirates decide they want in on the action. The crew aren't best pleased, naturally, so you man an external turret in order to defend what’s definitely, totally, rightfully yours.

​Typical space pirates! I’ll bet blasting them is satisfying, right?

Very much so. The head tracked aiming is beautifully smooth, letting you comfortably whip your gaze around to destroy their varied ranks. When things start to get a little too hectic, devastating power-ups can be deployed to regain the upper hand.

​There aren’t any side effects to all that head movement?

Not in our experience, no. Gunjack is a great tool to help new virtual reality users get accustomed to aiming with their line of sight, before graduating to EVE: Valkyrie and other games that combine the mechanic with simultaneous movement.

Does it actually benefit from being in VR?

Yeah, it does. There’s a tremendous sense of scale as you look to either of your sides and realise you’re a tiny part of a machine that’s larger in scale than you can comprehend. The novelty of head tracked aiming is also a large contributor to the game’s fun factor.

Good to know. Being a stationary shooter, does it get repetitive quickly?

It doesn’t really last long enough to get repetitive; there are twenty standard and two bonus stages that’ll take around two to three hours to finish. We did them all in one sitting and easily got the three available stars on each of them, leaving any additional playtime reliant on your individual interest in high score and achievement hunting.

Would you recommend a purchase?

Gunjack is a pretty good time while it lasts, and doesn’t take itself too seriously, so with an asking price of just £8 it’s definitely worth a look if it sounds like your bag.

... Speaking of sound, whilst it’s far from damning, it’s worth noting that the audio cut out a couple of times during our playthrough. Simply re-launching the game fixed the issue.