The first episode of Vader Immortal (see
Issue 193, p74) was an entertaining – if
slight – slice of Star Wars fun. Episode II
is simultaneously more entertaining and
also slighter. The story is even shorter
than the first episode’s fleeting length,
offering only half an hour of VR fun.
However, it’s a much pacier episode than
the first, with less downtime and more
action sequences. Meanwhile, the game’s
second iteration goes a long way to make
up for the story’s (literal) shortcomings.
Episode II picks up directly where Episode
I left off, with our fledgling Jedi firmly in the
clutches of Darth Vader, trapped inside his
castle on the planet Mustafar. Having only
just discovered you’re capable of wieldingthe Force, the Dark Lord of the Sith offers
a deal. He’ll help you learn the ways of the
Force in exchange for your help in finding
the Bright Star, a powerful artefact Vader
plans to use to bring Padme back to life.
As such, you get a lesson in Force use
from the galaxy’s sternest teacher, with
Vader teaching you how to pick up and
throw objects using the Force by chucking
rocks at your head. Force-throw is the main
new feature of Episode II and it’s a satisfying
one. Objects are levitated by squeezing the
grip triggers of the touch controller, and can
be drawn quickly into your grasp by pulling
back your arm. You then simply throw the
object as you would in real life, propelling
it at lethal speeds across the room.
Vader’s lesson plan is quickly cut
short, however, when a four-armed
rancor (a quad-cor?) attacks, separating
Vader from his new protégé. From
this point, you proceed to explore the
underbelly of Vader’s castle, an ancient
temple guarded by robotic Sentinels.
The remainder of the episode switches
between being attacked by these Sentinels
and being harassed by the rancor.
Both problems are primarily resolved
using your new Force-throw ability.
It’s undeniably a fun ability, especially
when you use both hands to pick up one
of the droids, then slam it into anotherCHECK
GAMES / VIRTUAL REALITY
Rick Lane gets ready
for hand tracking and
takes a lesson from
Darth Vader in our
monthly VR roundup
Oculus’announcementthattheQuest
willsupport hand tracking raises some
interesting notions about how far such
technology could be taken; namely, how
much of the body can inside-out cameras
reasonably track? Touch controllers
already simulate the functions of the hand
well enough; tracking technology simply
makes games that don’t require buttons
more convenient to play.
But what if VR headsets could expand
that technology to also track your feet?
Imagine a martial arts game where it’s
possible not only to punch your virtual
opponents, but kick them as well? Such
technology would also make certain
sports games such as football much
more viable.
It even has ramifications for more
fundamental elements in all VR games.
Instead of scrolling forwards using
thumbsticks or teleporting between
locations, you could simply run on the
spot. In addition, head-to-foot tracking
would mean no longer needing to
calibrate the floor height each time you
play, or having to adjust a single headset
for individuals of different heights. Either
way, hand tracking alone is a fascinating
development. Seeing a road to hapticless
VR only a few years after VR arrived in the
first place is quite an achievement.OPINION
BEYOND HAND
TRACKING
STAR WARS: VADER IMMORTAL
EPISODEII/£7.99 inc VAT
REVIEW
DEVELOPER ILMxLAB/ PUBLISHER Oculus