Apollo 11 VR Experience

One small step for Aussie Gamers Express, one giant leap for VR.

One of the questions that has been thrown around lately in regards to the PSVR and VR in general is “Do you think VR is just a gimmick or something that will last more than a fad.” While I am no Nostradamus, personally I hope VR finds its own place in today’s as well as tomorrow’s technological world, and whilst still very much in its infancy, my hopes for the hardware and technology are that it continues to receive support, both from manufacturers and developers to no doubt improve the brand and product.
To date there has only been a small handful of games that have totally blown me away, whilst a lot of titles have been cool and fun, their lasting appeal fades quickly after a couple of playthroughs or some that just don’t last long enough.
Then there have been the VR experiences, not so much as a video game, but a living immersed documentary, or movie tie in. Some have been good, some which feature Matt Damon were just utterly disappointing.

Last month the Apollo 11 VR Experience was released on the PSVR, and from the opening scene to the end credits any idea that VR is a gimmick slowly faded away. Originally released as a demo for the Oculus Rift at launch, The Apollo 11 VR Experience is developed and produced by Immersive Education and Unity and the title was originally funded through a Kickstarter campaign.
Some events in history stand tall above all of the rest, and the Apollo 11 VR Experience follows Mankind’s first adventure off planet Earth, which is still one of the greatest human achievements of all time. The VR Experience, is a great joy flight to the Moon, showcasing some of the tasks in which Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins went through in their adventure to become the first men on the moon.

As with all great adventures, Apollo 11 VR begins in 1961, which sees you sitting in a 1960’s living room watching President John F Kennedy’s famous Rice Stadium speech, which launched the whole mission of man’s attempt to land on the Moon.

Without going into too many spoilers, the whole experience follows the Apollo 11 mission from launch to Moon Landing and at times hands over the controls to you (if you wish to get involved). This is an experience which immerses the player into the environments that the Astronauts worked in and the difficulty in manoeuvring a spacecraft.
As mentioned above the title was developed by Immersive Education, and as their name suggests this title is as much an educational voyage as it is a VR Experience. From the words of the astronauts themselves explaining details of the mission, through to the experiments that were completed on the lunar surface, it all comes together brilliantly to form a great VR Experience.

There is also a nice surprise and moment on the Moon, as the developer has left a 2001 Monolith in which everyone who donated to their Kickstarter campaign has their name on the giant black statue.

The Apollo 11 VR Experience restores the faith for VR. This is more than a piece of gaming hardware, but rather one that has so many different uses other than gaming. This title is educational, historical as well as adding gaming elements along the way, and if more titles like this become available, then we as humans today will hopefully be able to walk in the shoes of those achieved greatness in the past.

RoyBoy
Aussie Gamers Express
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