If there has been something in Virtual Reality that I have always wanted more of it is player vs player action while each other gives it their best. The ability to look your opponent right in the eyes and having the best player win all while having some fun. So do Developer Resolution Games bring the PvP combat action, the intensity, and the quick thinking that we need in Virtual Reality? Let’s find out with Blaston for the Oculus Quest/Quest 2.
Blaston will have you ducking and dodging within slow-motion bullet-hell from your opponents as you will have to battle in the arena of the FPS PvP combat game where you will need to combine skills, strategy, and speed all while hoping you picked the best loadout for your arsenal. So before you go in thinking this is American Gladiators, you will want to make sure of a few things. So because you will be dodging and ducking, you want to make sure your play space has enough room and might as well make sure it has some extra so you don’t accidentally hit a wall, door, or person (never a good thing). The next thing you will want to do is some basic stretching for all those dodging and ducking movements you will be doing as you don’t want to wake up the next day and feel something you haven’t felt. The next thing you will want to do is go through the tutorial so you can get the basics down.
After you get through training, it’s time to pick your Blaston name. Keep in mind that this is a one and done situation. Once you select the name, that’s it. No changing it. So keep it clean and have some fun when selecting your name as really this community of players that I have come across has been nothing but friendly and that is a really good thing. Now that you had some time to think of your name and hit that green check mark agreeing to the name that you selected and knowing that you cannot change it, it’s time to move on to the Blaston menu. This is the place you will come to read about any news such as winning merchandise, to have a friendly duel where you can create or join a private room (and must have a room code to join), edit your look and your loadout, and then of course duel with other players as well as edit your loadout and shop.
Once you hit Duel, if there is not an opponent right away, you are faced with a bot. This is not a bad thing as it gives you some practice. But when another player is found and ready, you will be notified and then it’s game on. Essentially with you and your opponent are on platforms with space between you, you will need to make sure your loadout of weapons is the best that they can be. The loadout you have selected will appear around you and once the ammo or limit of the weapon runs out, you will need to drop them and get new ones or if you want the cheap 1 point hit, you could always throw your weapons and hope they hit your opponent (which I did win one round with that move and it was pretty awesome). The thing is, the weapons do not automatically appear, but take time to appear which can be a bad thing if you went through your arsenal already and waiting while your opponent has weapons and you are a sitting duck, hence why you will need to duck and dodge the best that you can and another good reason to have a wireless headset such as the Oculus Quest/Quest 2.
Don’t worry if you don’t win every round (which are only two minutes long and the one that wins two rounds wins) as yes, it feels good to win, but even when I didn’t win, I still had a blast. If you have tried everything, maybe switching up your loadout will help. Each loadout only has six weapons. These can range from guns that fire bullets to shields to even weapons that fire big spheres. And during the loadout process, you can test out the weapons, but the question is if the strategy of weapons you selected is enough to win because you do not know what your opponent may have unlocked and added to their loadout and the same goes for them. The more rounds you play and the more you win, you will start to rank up and unlock weapons and skins and also earn money so you can then purchase the weapons to add to your loadout. You can definitely tell when someone who has a higher rank than you and starts shooting a weapon that you have not seen before to give you that moment when you go what the? But it’s something to achieve for.
Let’s look at the graphics as I reviewed this on the Oculus Quest 2 and I all I can say is wow. There is no screen door effect that I could see, the colors really popped, and explosions looked awesome. When hearing the sound from the announcer counting down to saying round over to hearing the weapons firing as the crowd was cheering on felt like I was being cheered on in an actual duel.
If there is anything I would love to see is a variety of arenas to duel in. The one where I battled was very well detailed, but imagine having an outdoor arena or on the moon. Another thing I would love to see is the weapons to generate just a tad faster. There were times I could see the weapon forming and just needed something. I know this is part of the strategy, but it would be nice to have them just a tad quicker.
Blaston gives us that dueling experience without dragging out the rounds as they are quick and they are fun. Every person I went up against has either waved at the beginning or bowed down to the winner and waved goodbye. And it’s that type of respect, mentality, and sportsmanship that the world could use a lot more of wouldn’t you say? And maybe one day we will all get there, but until then we all have to start somewhere.
Blaston is out now for the Oculus Quest/Quest 2 on the Oculus Store and is also coming soon to Steam VR and PlayStation VR. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Blaston, make sure you like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and sign up for any updates here.
To learn more about Resolution Games, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
Also, check out the Blaston interview.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to see what else I can unlock, see who is ready for a duel, and go have some fun.
