Think about the future for a moment. No, I am not talking about 5-10 years from now, I am talking about centuries. How do you imagine the world will be then? Would the world be full of machines and humans be the ones who are the minorities? How about a place that is unlivable and maybe humanity is somewhere else? In fact, is it possible that there would even be a world then or at least what we think of it in the sense of the word? All these are really good questions that when you think about it, would make some pretty good experiences in Virtual Reality. So does Developer XREAL GAMES shows us what the future could possibly hold? Let’s find out with A-Tech Cybernetic for the PlayStation VR.
In A-Tech Cybernetic it’s the 23rd Century. A corporation by the name of, you guessed it, A-Tech Cybernetic has decided that the best thing for the future is to manufacture biologically enhanced bodies that through science, can house consciousness. So it will be your job to try and figure out what’s going on and hopefully try and put an end to it all. So when you wake up on this space station of an asteroid, there is a lot of confusing things going as you wake up in a body and a voice starts talking and questioning why you’re inside their body.
So before you jump into the action, I would suggest doing the training mission. This will allow you to get used to things such as using weapons, hosting, and reloading weapons, movement, and action. And if you haven’t guessed by now, you will need both Move controllers. If you feel comfortable with how well you did with your training and you feel good so far, it is time to get in the action.
When the action starts to get going, you may not want to just rush through as there are parts of the story entries found about this space station. One of the things I did really like is how eerie the atmosphere felt. As you move around, seeing dead bodies with blood on the floor and walls, you get the sense that something tragic really happened and it made me feel that I wanted to find out everything I could. So I did try to find every entry that was left laying around. As you are searching, there are parts where you can just hear the breathing as you know something is behind one of the doors. So be cautious with your strategy as you never know what type of enemies will appear and how they will move or fight back.
There was something that seemed a little off about the enemies and that’s when you hit them. Usually, when hitting an enemy, their body may still be present and laying lifeless and showing the satisfaction of your fighting, but the enemies simply act more like they are computer images and just dematerialize. Sometimes I would hit an enemy and the would go down to get back up only for me to hit them again and then they would disappear. But here in A-Tech Cybernetic, the only dead bodies are ones that were already dead to begin with that you really didn’t have any part of.
There were also some level design issues I ran into. At one point there is a boulder that is coming behind you and I would go near a wall to keep moving only to be stuck or watch some enemies almost like they were stuck when trying to move around. This part I didn’t mind so much as I was able to take them out more easily, but trying to escape a boulder and trying to get to safety only to keep dying was somewhat frustrating.
Once you completed the single-player story or you just want a break, you can enter Swarm Mode that allows waves of enemies and you just trying to survive. When you add in tougher enemies as you move along with essentially four different entry points for them to come after you, things can get a little hectic. Luckily, there are weapons that you can be used that once you grab one, you will have to wait for that weapon to be replenished so you can use it again. So make sure you move around and make your shots count.
There are some things I enjoyed and somethings I wished could be added. For one, the enemies. Sometimes enemies would just appear or you would hear something behind you and there would be no enemies or turn around and enemies would appear with no sense that they were there. I loved hearing the sounds of the possible enemies that could be around any corner as it added to the horror aspect of it all, I just wish the enemies wouldn’t just materialize as the only result of you beating them. Second, I hope there is an update soon that addresses the invisible walls or like in my experience, where I could not move when that boulder was coming or if I could it was too late. I did finally make it, but it was after many attempts. I also enjoyed the sci-fi story aspect of the story and being able to find the different entries just added to the atmosphere and being able to move objects with my mind did keep me going. I liked how there was not a shortness of finding ammo or health randomly around or from the enemies you defeated and some of the weapons such as the bow and arrow and the fire weapon were probably my favorite weapons to use in the game. Another thing I wish was added was leaderboards in Swarm Mode. This mode is just begging for it and it was kind of sad that no leaderboard from global to local is missing. The last thing that I would love to see added is the ability to add support for the Aim controller. Yes, having a weapon in each hand is nice and all, but A-Tech Cybernetic would benefit from additional support for the Aim controller and even the 3DRudder controller.
A-Tech Cybernetic is out now for the PlayStation VR and is also available on Steam. A review code was provided.
To learn more about XREAL GAMES, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to go and enjoy the atmosphere.
