There are plenty different titles and options when it comes to competitive and sports games for the Oculus Rift, so we’ve gone through just about all of them and we put a list together of the 5 that you need to get your hands on.
When playing video games in VR, especially sports video games, its a whole different beast. You are not just controlling the character anymore, but you actually become the character. So when you think sports video games, you think of football, basketball, soccer, hockey, and many of the extremely popular games like that. But with the headset on, many ideas become sports. We found that the best of the games were the ones the had new ideas and new concepts on how to compete.
#5. Racket: NX
As a lot of VR sports games do, this game has a certain racquetball type of game play and feel to it. The object of the game is to get the ball you hit to roll across the walls and touch as many tiles as possible. There is a certain finesse that is hard to acquire to not bounce that ball off the wall, but instead to roll it. Each tile counts for a predetermined amount of points. This game is a full 360 degree experience.
The sound in this game is certainly one of the biggest parts of a good time and score. Having a surround sound is paramount to knowing where the ball is at all times. It is very to lose the ball in this game and you will need a full sound range to locate the ball again.
There are three different game modes to choose form in Racket: NX. You have the classic solo mode, multiplayer, and an arcade mode. This game does a great job at having a new challenge for every player, and never repeating levels. In solo you take on new time challenges and new scenarios of tiles to break. In multiplayer you go off against another live player, and after a few rounds you total the scores and crown a winner. With arcade there is two sub modes. The zen mode, when the computer is constantly generating new tiles to break. The old school mode is when you try to max out your score with a timer. The best game mode to learn the mechanics and the touch of the game is probably zen mode. No way to die, and no reason to go faster than you are comfortable for.
Something that was frustrating with the 360 degrees of the game is the the cables for the headset were constantly getting tangled and wrapped around while you play. Other than that, this game is near flawless. Good enough to bring it in at number five on our list.
#4. HoloBall
This game is as close as you get to arcade versions of ping pong. This game seems a lot like ping pong, but don’t be so closed minded when playing. Similar to soccer with your hands at the same time somehow too. The object of this game is to hit the ball behind the target into the wall. The fun and challenging part is getting the ball past that stubborn and athletic target. You use both hands as paddles, which is awesome because in all other racket-related sports, you have to choose a hand. You can curve the ball, which will probably be the most important thing to get the ball past the moving target. If you don’t like where you placed the ball on the hit back, you can press a trigger and pull the ball back to you. The target at any time can also pull the ball back in and send it back to you at a much faster speed
The three game modes in this are very similar to the aforementioned game. arcade, multiplayer, and campaign. Arcade boasts three different ways to play. Zen, score attack, and endurance mode. In zen, the target is removed and you can take your time and practice placing shots and hitting different spots on the wall. The score attack is the getting as many points as possible before the target scores three different times on you. That happens by you letting the ball past your hands. Endurance is nearly the same as score attack, but the only difference is the scoring. You keep track of times you hit the wall, not just the points of the total. Campaign is set into easy, medium and hard. I’ve found that medium is the best to play on. Challenging enough, but able to beat levels after some hard work.
Multiplayer is exactly how you’d think it is. It is 1v1 and the opposing player becomes the target, but with two paddles. With all of this said, the game is still very strong because what they were able to do inside of the aesthetics arena. The sounds and music are rhythmic and fun to play with. The colors and the playing arena keep you captivated for hours upon hours.
#3. Echo Arena
Echo Arena is everything you’ve wanted in a virtual reality sports game. They try to sell it as a zero gravity frisbee experience, this game is so much more than that. This game is like handball, soccer, and hockey (sort of) all put into a space center. In this multiplayer game anything goes, and the better you get, the more immersive it is.
Each game is set up in a 5 vs 5 format, unless you’re matching with random people then it is 3 vs 3. The goal is to move the disc up the arena and get it inside the goal as fast as possible. There are many methods to this madness. Some players use the walls to propel themselves forward, some use the boosters on their wrists to finely move throughout space, although that takes some serious practice and touch. Some players will simply launch themselves at other players and fight them until either of them are stunned. Intercepting the disc is also a great way at stopping a teams progress, but definitely takes some skill and precision.
Because this game is a full 360 degree and up and down rotation, this game will require a joystick to move yourself. That is unless you get to 360 sensors, or a three sensor setup to make this game everything it was meant to be.
#2. The Climb
Honestly not a lot of people will be completely overjoyed to see a climbing game making it onto the top five list, and even sneaking its way into the two spot. We get that, we really do. But play the game before you make any harsh of any assumptions.
In this game there are four different places to go get your climb on. The Bay, Alps, Canyon, and North. Each map is filled with exciting and personalized challenges and many different characteristics of the area that are vivid in detail. Using touch controllers for this game, you are always being tossed into situations that make you adapt to the course. This game is easily one of the best graphics on VR up to date, so if you have a high end PC, the graphics will be popping.
With the four different levels, there is also easy, medium, and hard setting to each of them. The game will automatically get harder or easier on its own depending how you play, which is pretty cool so you don’t have to assess yourself and the game will adapt to you and the way you play. Each area will also have checkpoints, and each one has a different reward for you.
Along with all of this climbing fun, we get to see leaderboards and compete for top spots. They keep track of the points you’ve earned and automatically puts you in your respective spots.
Overall this game is a realistic version of rock climbing. You include the rocks and the birds and the boats, this game makes you feel in the wilderness. It is a relaxing way to feel thrill and to compete all at the same time.
#1. Sparc
At this games most boring and bland times, its a whole step above the aforementioned Racket: NX. In this crazy fun game, you’ll need an open space. If you have a low ceiling or a somewhat crammed gaming area, you might end up punching tour surroundings. The best part of this game is the multiplayer. You against someone else trying to get the orbs past them.
Sparc is no doubt a good workout as well. In the arena you lose track of what is really happening in the real world as you put in all of the effort you can to win the game. Many times you will be left breathless after a great back and forth match. At its best, this game is a whole new sport that is nearly impossible to put down. Once you get the hang of it, this game will be at the top of your list.
