The virtual reality movement is one that's seeing quite a bit of growth, even if much of that growth hasn't exactly hit store shelves as yet. But one that's moving along pretty well is Samsung's Gear VR device; while the device hasn't been formally released yet, nor is there any kind of expected date for launch, it already seems to have a game ready to go and specifically designed for it: “Romans 360.”
“Romans 360” is, at last report, an adaptation of “Romans From Mars,” which was also designed by the company behind “Romans 360,” Side-Kick Games. “Romans 360” has the kind of gameplay that makes it about perfect for virtual reality; a simple interface involving the player located directly behind a turret which said player turned and fired, repeatedly, into an oncoming horde of Martians lead by the god of war himself. And no, not Kratos.
Originally, “Romans From Mars” got its start on tablets and smartphones, like so many other games before it. But with a little retooling, it was ready for the Samsung Gear VR, which by some reports works by inserting a smartphone into a commercial-grade framework, much in the same way Google Cardboard did, only without the cardboard.
But what this really raises more than anything else is one critical point: VR isn't just about the hardware, it has to be just as much about the games. Granted, we're already doing pretty well in terms of first person shooter titles that should translate reasonably well into a VR experience. The perspective is right, the angles present and everything that a character might look at is in place and can be accessed with current controllers. But we need more than first person shooters to really make VR take off. We need immersive adventure games like “Skyrim” and the like; we've already seen the kind of impact that “Skyrim” has in the VR sense, and that could be downright impressive when it makes the jump to VR.
This is all still very much early days stuff. We could see just about anything over the course of the next several months, including not much more about VR at all. But with so many so eager to get hands on this new technology, it's likely that no one's going to leave the market alone a minute longer than absolutely necessary. There's too much at stake here to not pursue the market diligently, so while there may be a wait, it's only a matter of time now before fully-featured VR in our homes is a reality at last. Companies like Side-Kick, meanwhile, will be leading the way.
