Virtual reality adventure with a huge helping of cuteness.

Polyarc has released a double pack of the original and award winning Moss VR, coupled with the second story Moss: Book II. 

In the first Moss game you play as Quill. A small mouse that is very aware of you, the player. Things start out as you flip through an old story book and then find yourself transported to the world that’s within the pages.

An evil snake has taken over the kingdom, Quill’s Uncle was taken prisoner. You guide Quill on her adventure and through the narrative to eventually rescue her Uncle and bring down the nefarious snake.

Moss: Book II sees things kick off from the end of the first game. You are once again the reader, guiding Quill on another adventure. But this time round you can help out a bit more.

Making full use of the PlayStation VR2’s Sense gesture and adaptive controllers and the haptic feedback, you will feel everything that Quill feels within the world of Moss.

Environmental objects and melee combat reflect real world physics and anything of interest in the game will glow when you look at it.

Moss: Book II makes use of the PlayStation VR2’s eye tracking and of course the high rendered graphics.

While the world of Moss: Book II will look familiar, it is popping with a visual feast of details and colour and a lot more interactive for you, the player.

Both games are visually stunning and of course fully immersive in a real time virtual reality environment.

Moss and Moss: Book II is a title for everyone. Family friendly yet loaded with gameplay and story elements for the more serious PlayStation VR2 gamers.

The post Moss & Moss: Book II (PS VR2) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

I would play a hundred games like Moss.

A delightful and gorgeous fairy tale for the modern era, I was transported instantly back to my childhood when I was obsessed by the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. Sitting on top of a solid story is the most innovative, thoughtful use of controls in virtual reality I’ve yet experienced, and as a first effort from developer Polyarc it’s a remarkable effort that doesn’t just tease, but fulfils the promise of VR gaming.

The story is a classic fairytale adventure. Quill, a little mouse finds a mysterious gem at the base of a tree and sets off a grand narrative, a tale that we only get a small taste of here. Off to save her elderly uncle, Quill must leave the safety of the clearing, discover and confront the true dangers of the greater world.

Rather than just an aesthetic choice, Moss leans into Quill’s mouseiness. Getting a real sense of scale of game objects and environments is one of the key benefits of playing in VR, and Moss features incredible use of scale. Everything feels like it was made for and by a real civilisation of mice, and to us comparatively huge players, everything seems like little, adorable dioramas. Quill and you, the “Reader” get to actively participate in passing through and solving the puzzles of each scene / diorama.

While Moss does feature combat, it is much more a puzzle platformer than action game.

And you are a real character in the game, helping Quill get through by pulling objects into the right position, igniting fires in lamps, while also healing her if she gets damaged. It’s a really clever system that makes great use of the Sixaxis motion control functions of the Dualshock 4. It never feels gimmicky and I was always excited to see how I could help my little mouse friend. There’s also a small number of collectibles hidden around the game world designed to extend your platforming skills. Some collectibles will require you to move your head and body around to look behind pillars, doors and boxes to discover them, which never ceased to be delightful.

The clever uses of the Dualshock 4 go beyond gameplay too. You can use the controller to interact with Quill herself, even giving her high fives. Its intimate, and by the end of my time in this world I would have done anything to keep my new mouse-friend safe.

The game is beautiful, and ran very well on my PS4 Pro. Tracking was accurate and the game world was lovingly rendered. While developer Polyarc is new, it is a team of experienced developers, and here in Moss it shows. It’s a polished experience without the niggles of not only many VR games, but many games in general.

Moss is a must play for PSVR owners. It’s perhaps the best non-racing or flying VR title I’ve ever played, and it’s just a shame more people don’t own virtual reality headsets to experience this amazing game. And game is one of the key words. Moss isn’t a fancy tech demo, or limited “experience.” It’s a game that feels like a normal, buy-it-on-the-shelf video game.

My only real complaint is that there isn’t more Moss to play.

The game is relatively short, and is explicitly the first of at least two in a series. Now that the tech, story and characters are all developed, I hope to see either an expansion or sequel coming sooner rather than later. But a strong foundation has been laid for further adventures in this universe.

Is Moss a killer app for VR?

Well, I think the elusive grasping for one game that will suddenly make VR mainstream is like the search for the Great American Novel. In my opinion it won’t be one game, but a slow accumulation of many games that cover a large range of genres. Driveclub VR and GT Sport cover the racing genre, Starblood Arena covers the six-axis shooter, Farpoint covers FPS games, and now Moss is a solid candidate to cover the action genre.

Together, the case for VR is strong, and its future, seemingly, assured.

The post Moss (PlayStation 4) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

StG is in L. A. and the PlayStation E3 2017 Media Showcase has just come to a close at The Shrine Auditorium in central Los Angeles, bringing with it all manner of gaming news. As expected, PlayStation put on a show for it’s fans at E3 2017 to showcase up and coming titles with extended features streamed for us, the attending audience and the rest of the PlayStation gamers around the world.

We saw spectacular new trailers for the likes of God of War, Days Gone, Spider-Man, Call of Duty WWII, Destiny 2 and Detroit: Become Human; alongside a host of new game reveals, including Shadow of the Colossus for PS4, new PlayStation VR horror The Inpatient, the new PlayLink range, and Monster Hunter: World from Capcom. And that’s to name but a few.

PlayStation E3 Conference 2017

PlayLink, what is that I hear you ponder.

Combining your smartphone or tablet device, TV and PS4 console, with a collection of brand new games that take advantage of the smartphone or tablet device’s touchscreen and camera capabilities.Exclusive to PlayStation 4, PlayLink titles are designed to be played in a group setting, allowing for a truly fun and dynamic experience. The collection of PlayLink games vary from gritty crime thrillers to quick-fire quizzes. If you have a smartphone or tablet, and your PS4 hooked up to a TV, you’re already set.

PlayLink games turn your smartphone or tablet into a versatile controller – you can swipe, pinch, drag, tilt, rotate or even snap selfies and draw crafty doodles, depending on the game. No matter which title you choose from our PlayLink collection, it’s guaranteed to be a slick pick-up-and-play experience.

PlayStation PlayLink

PlayStation also informed the cheering crowds of it’s Sales lead milestone – having cumulatively sold through more than 60.40M PlayStation 4 units to consumers worldwide as of June 11th, 2017.

Then it was on to the really good stuff – games.

We were introduced to Moss.

A PSVR exclusive where you are both guiding the hero Quill with the gamepad and at the same time reaching in and interacting with the environment directly.

Moss tells the tale of the first adventure of an unlikely hero named Quill—a small mouse from a remote forest settlement who is fated to be the key in a much larger story. One day while exploring the woods she finds a mysterious stone and an ancient magic is awakened, linking you together in an extraordinary alliance.

In gameplay, her skills are complementary to yours. You’ll guide her actions through familiar action-adventure controls, while also directly manipulating the field of play as your own character. Mutual communication and shared victories will only strengthen your connection to each other and further your joint resolve.

It’s very cute and a definite play for any PSVR fan.

Moss – PSVR

God of War was astounding and looking signature to it’s very lengthy legend. Details revealed were that  this new God of War title will differ from previous editions in the series.

Having been built from the ground up this title featuring a vastly different looking Kratos will be Single Player only (at this stage) a step away from the inclusion of multiplayer as introduced in God of War Ascension.

God of War will be more like an RPG where players will craft an earn knowledge points to better skill and equip themselves. Furthermore having always been a third person actioner, there is a camera adjustment, where the play view will above the right shoulder – as is now common place (and better in my opinion) in similar games.

The Rage ability that we are familair with will have a make-over with Spartan Rage, a timed ability. We can expect Kratos to own our PS4’s once again in 2018.

God of War – PlayStation 4

At last years E3 PlayStation debuted their upcoming open-world action title Days Gone By, where you play as Deacon, set in set in the beautiful high desert of the Pacific Northwest two years after a pandemic has transformed the world. This year the title was touched upon again with some crisp looking new demo footage.

Days Gone By is shaping up to be a title worth waiting for.

We also meet Marcus from Detroit: Become Human.

Detroit: Become Human is Quantic Dream’s next title, for both PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro. It is a neo-noir existential thriller, set in a near future, where androids look, speak, and move like human beings, and operate in society at every level from manufacturers to teachers. It is not long before a more human element starts to come effect for the Androids and they begin to desire freedom…

Markus (played by Jesse Williams) is an android who escaped his master and joined a small group of deviants hiding underground in Detroit.

The new scene we witnessed at E3 this year, Markus executes a covert operation during a cold Detroit night, with the aim of freeing androids that are for sale in a store. If he succeeds, Markus will have the opportunity to send a strong message to humans.

Detroit: Beyond Human – Markus

And not forgetting the simulator / petrol-head PlayStation fans, the mighty Gran Turismo was also featured, with Tokyo Expressway and Nürburgring circuits highlighted in new gameplay footage shown and we learned of the inclusion of the Bathurst track.

Gran Turismo Sport (GT Sport) releases this coming Autumn, exclusively on PlayStation 4.

Of course the new Uncharted: Lost Legacy which is just around the corner premiered. we learned more about the set pieces, the puzzles, cinematic storytelling, and exotic locales and a more indepth telling of the  completely new story with Chloe Frazer at the helm.

Cloe is on the hunt for the legendary golden Tusk of Ganesh forged by the ancient Hoysala Empire, and to find it, she enlists the help of Nadine Ross. However, if there’s anything we know about Chloe and Nadine, it’s that they both keep things close to the vest. Over the course of the story, we’ll explore Chloe and Nadine’s struggle to trust one another.

Uncharted: Lost Legacy releases worldwide, exclusively for PlayStation 4 on the 23rd of August, 2017.

Shadow of the Colossus – PlayStation 4 Remaster

This generation of gaming has seen alot of remasters, we and the rest of the audience were both surprised and elated at the reveal of the re-worked Shadow of the Colussus. A groundbreaking game that originally released on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005.

Being fully re-rendered Shadow of the Colossus is a definite welcome to the PlayStation 4 library and is essentially a game that works and is ideal for the console.

In other bits that were covered, the mighty Farpoint is getting some DLC called the Cryo Pack, a new PSVR co-op title called Bravo Team, an intriguing horror title for PSVR; The Inpatient, Knack gets a sequel and Monster Hunter is making a welcome return to PlayStation with Monster Hunter: World.

Then there was the Spiderman Demo.

Spiderman – PlayStation 4

Based on the Marvel franchise this new Spiderman title mixes up the familiar with the unexpected.

Avoiding a retelling of his origin story the new Spider-Man features a 23-year-old Peter Parker who has become a masterful Spider-Man. While he may be more experienced, Peter and Spider-Man’s worlds continue to collide as he tries to juggle them.

PlayStation showed off a real-time gameplay demo where Spider-Man has arrived at a construction site owned by Wilson Fisk (a.k.a. the Kingpin). Fisk’s men are under assault by a gang known as the Inner Demons, and Spider-Man has to stop the bloodshed. In the process, he learns that Martin Li, one of the city’s most prominent philanthropists, secretly leads the Inner Demons via his alter-ego, Mr. Negative.

Martin Li runs the F.E.A.S.T. shelters all across town which only further complicates things for Peter Parker’s personal life, as his beloved Aunt May works at F.E.A.S.T.

It was fast paced, smooth and enough superhero eyecandy to satiate even the hardest of critics. The demo displayed the mechanics of gameplay. Spider-Man’s more powerful improvisational and acrobatic combat style with honed skills making him stronger and more confident in combat. Dodging, using webs, and aerial combat are all second nature.

We saw usage of Web Trip Wire and impact webs. Spiderman on PlayStation 4 will introduce many new gadgets and devices that can be used as during the course of the game.

In all the PlayStation Conference was a spectacular moment for gaming as a whole. With PlayStation having the inclusion of Virtual Reality (VR) via the PSVR it was pleasing to see this medium continually evolve and grow with new titles pushing the capabilities.

At the conclusion of the two hour Conference gamers and media alike were left with a sense of impatient-ness – wanting to play and own all of what we just witnessed.

The year ahead for PlayStation and PlayStation 4 / PSVR owners is an exciting one indeed.

The post STG @ E3 2017 PlayStation Presentation appeared first on Shane the Gamer.