Frankly, apart from the Russians and the few countries that follow the Cyrillic alphabet, what are the territories that devote a cult to the games of tanks and chariots? Nobody, or not many people, you will agree. Despite this low commercial potential, the English studio Rebellion (Shellshock, Rogue Trooper, Sniper Elite, in short only bad games) had this charming idea to bring the Battlezone license up to date, which the younger generation probably does not know. Tank game born in arcades in the 80s, the license had the right to a second youth in 1998, when the giant Activision still believed in him. But since then, nothing, the Gobi Desert, until the announcement of this Battlezone VR stalled at the launch of PlayStation VR. For a first virtual reality experience, why not, especially since integrating a futuristic tank can be quite nice. Only here, at 60€ the VR experience, we actually find that the bill is salty. We then hope for a game with impeccable technique and daunting content to dare to display such a price tag, especially against Until Dawn Rush of Blood or Batman Arkham VR sold for less than €20. Utopia my friend! A few hours will be enough to understand that the casing returned more quickly by the hindquarters than we thought.
WORLD OF TANKS
First of all, what you need to know is that Battlezone VR is a game where each level, or rather arena we prefer to use, is procedurally generated. A technical word, scholar limit, which was often used during the promotional campaign of a certain No Man's Sky (a beautiful wet firecracker). Basically, each time you launch the game, the arena in which you will fight will be different, as it is randomly generated according to codes and an algorithm that the computer will have chosen on its own. It's an advantage to give the illusion of never evolving in the same game, but it's also a big disadvantage, that of systematically discovering a new level, without ever having its bearings. Because in Battlezone VR, you will take part in clashes between tanks of different colors. The blues are you and your team, the good guys, while the reds are the enemy, the bad guys. The clearly identifiable thing so that the youngster does not get lost, huh? Initially, you will have the choice between two different tanks. A light one with a very fast movement speed, but with a lower strike force, and another tank, more massive (and therefore slower), but able to destroy enemies more effectively. It's up to you to make your choice according to your combat affinities.
No mission objective, enemies that are not very varied, levels that may be created procedurally but which are similar to each other, we go around the game very quickly.
Playable both offline and online, Battlezone VR reveals its full potential as soon as you enter the servers, in the company of friends connected at the same time as you. Moreover, for a game sold at a high price from the launch, we were very surprised by the people we were able to meet online between 23 p.m. and 2 a.m. Like what… Online, we therefore evolve in teams of four, having to eliminate all the enemies who stand in front of us. Enemy tanks, turrets, flying drones, the opponent is effectively limited to this ultra-limited bestiary. So certainly, their number varies according to the levels and their power increases over the games, but damn it, the game shows its limits after about ten games. No mission objective, enemies that are not very varied, levels that may be created in a procedural way but which resemble each other, we go around the game very quickly. There is certainly a little RPG side to be gleaned from the money to improve his war machine, but again, the possibilities are limited to a few weapons and protective additions. As for cosmetic customization, you can put it in deep. A very vulgar way to let you know of our dissatisfaction, especially when we offer a game at 60€.
STOP YOUR TANK GASPARD
It is all the more regrettable that the VR immersion is rather successful and really gives the feeling of evolving in a huge machine. But very quickly, you will be faced with two major problems. The maneuverability to start, since you will have to manage the movement of the tank with the left stick, the aim of your weapon with the right stick and the pilot's view with the helmet. It's anything but smooth and fluid, which has the adverse effect of causing feelings of nausea fairly quickly. This is the second major problem. As much when playing offline, it is possible to minimize movements too quickly, as much when playing with other players where the clashes suddenly become more speedy, more frenetic, motion sickness comes to an end very quickly. So much so that after 30 minutes of connected play, it took us almost 2 hours to recover. So you have been warned.
