Fruit Ninja VR (2016) is a quintessential game for novice VR players thanks to its simple and clear-cut task: slice up flying fruit in VR using your own two hands and rack up the points. Now developer Halfbrick Studios has released Fruit Ninja VR 2 on Steam Early Access, bringing plenty more juicy challenges to PC VR headsets.
Update (December 3rd, 2021): Fruit Ninja VR 2 has entered Early Access on Steam, bringing with it a host of single-player content including 25 archery levels, 18 blade levels, global leaderboards, minigames across the game’s fully traversable world, and eight bows and blades to collect.
The studio says Early Access will help them test new features before releasing the full version, which we imagine will launch on other major VR headsets such as Quest 2 and PSVR.
Throughout Early Access, the steam aims to add multiplayer content, a social hub, new levels, more difficulty adjustments, and additional collectible weapons and minigames. You can find Fruit Ninja VR 2 over at Steam, priced at $20.
The original article announcing Fruit Ninja VR 2 follows below:
Original Article (July 7th, 2021): Halfbrick says Fruit Ninja VR 2 takes the classic arcade VR experience and adds in “gorgeous areas to explore, never before seen fruit-slicing techniques, and juicy new ways to interact with the environment and other ninjas around the globe!”
On its Steam listing, the game promises 25 levels, leaderboards, a social hub and multiplayer modes. It’s slated to release in “late 2021.”
The studio hasn’t said as much, although it’s very likely a Quest version is also in the works. Playtesters on the game’s Discord server (invite link) have reported that it appears the bow’s draw distance has been created in such a way to also accommodate Oculus headsets. Both Quest and Rift S feature inside-out positional tracking, which can have difficulties tracking Touch controllers when placed too close to the head-mounted optical sensors, or outside of the headset’s tracking volume, like brining an arrow behind your ear.
The original Fruit Ninja VR launched on the Quest platform back in 2019, so it’s clear the studio is no stranger to slimming down the game to fit the standalone headset. We haven’t heard anything about a Quest release date as such though, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled in the meantime.
Miles, Gwen, and a new face swing into the multiverse
It’s been a big couple of months for Spider-Man and multiverses. Dr. Strange introduced Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to countless other realities in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and now the animated multiverses are back with the first trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 aka Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which Sony released out of Brazil’s CCXP on Saturday night. And that wasn’t the only reveal: At the panel, the movie was released as Part One — meaning there’s a whole other movie in the works to follow it up.
The teaser footage for the movie finds Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) in college, and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) jumping from her reality to meet him. Together they travel to an entirely new world, and a new art style for the movie. There’s no look at whether Spider-Verse 2 reassembles Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson), but we do get a look at a new face: Spider-Man 2099 (who after being teased in the Into the Spider-Verse post-credits scene will be played by Oscar Isaac).
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part One is written by Phil Lord, Chrs Miller, and Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings). The movie will be directed by Joaquim Dos Santos (Legend of Korra), Justin K. Thompson (a production designer on the original movie), and Kemp Powers (Soul). Meanwhile, Lord and Miller will also be back to executive produce just like the first movie.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Part One will be released on Oct. 7, 2022.
Propagation VR (2020), the short VR survival horror game launched on PC VR headsets last year, is getting a sequel called Propagation: Paradise Hotel.
During Upload VR’s showcase, developer WanadevStudio unveiled the upcoming sequel, which promises to be an “intense VR survival horror adventure with thrilling storytelling, in which you will explore dark environments, make terrifying encounters and get your adrenaline pumping.”
WanadevStudio says the sequel will be a single-player adventure taking place in the Propagation universe, which will serve up a story that focuses on exploration, stealth, and action. And plenty of zombies and mutants.
Propagation VR launched for free on Steam back in September 2020, garnering it an ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ user rating on the platform for its visceral zombie-shooting experience.
Wanadev estimates a late 2022 release on SteamVR headsets for Paradise Hotel. The studio hasn’t mentioned whether the game is coming to other platforms besides SteamVR, however it has done so with its previous title Ragnarock(2021), a Viking-themed rhythm game launched for both SteamVR and Oculus Quest.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s final multiplayer season is coming to a close and its latest patch will pave the way for Call of Duty: Vanguard to take over. Vanguard’s first season will begin on Dec. 8, but a new patch is coming a little earlier on Dec. 6. The new patch will include upgrades to the Prestige system, including new levels, and challenges for the .410 Ironhide and the Grav assault rifle, Treyarch announced on Friday.
The biggest change in this patch is that all Military Ranks and Prestige Levels will now be synchronized with Call of Duty: Vanguard. Previously, your rank across every game (except Vanguard) was the same as your rank in Black Ops Cold War. After the update your rank in Warzone, Black Ops Cold War, and Modern Warfare will be synced with your Call of Duty: Vanguard rank and progress you earn in any game will work toward that rank.
The patch will also add the Lifetime Prestige display to Black Ops Cold War and Warzone where you can display how many times you’ve Prestiged in both of those games and Vanguard.
This new patch will also add unlock challenges for the .410 Ironhide shotgun and the Grav assault rifle in both multiplayer and zombies. Completing their respective challenges will unlock the weapons. The patch’s other small weapon change is a slight balance nerf to the Marshal’s damage by reducing its damage range and increasing its damage drop-off.
All of these changes are part of Call of Duty’s Dec. 6 patch — which is when the patch’s zombie mode changes will take effect, but the rest of the changes won’t go live until the new season starts on Dec. 8. This patch is from Treyarch, the developer of Black Ops Cold War, but it’s also possible that Vanguarddeveloper Sledgehammer could also release a large patch next week, mostly designed to balance that game as it heads into its first real season.
For a closer look at everything that’s changing in this latest patch for Black Ops Cold War you can check out Treyarch’s patch notes.
With a growing number of affordable next-gen PC-compatible headsets like Quest 2 and HP Reverb G2, there’s more reason than ever to finally jump into VR. For the gamers out there who are beginning to consider purchasing a PC VR headset, one major question marks the starting point on their journey to a decision: can my PC handle it? Here’s how to find out.
Updated – December 3rd, 2021
VR gaming is much more resource intensive than monitor gaming. In short, that’s because the render resolution is much higher than the 1080p displays used by most PC users today. Not to mention, VR games must also be rendered in 3D and anywhere from 72 to 144 FPS depending on the headset.
Before we dive in, you’ll want to know a few things about your computer. First and foremost, PC VR headsets are not supported by MacOS. Next up, you’ll need to know your PC’s specs. Expand the section below if you don’t already know where to find that info.
To determine if your PC can handle VR, there’s four core things you’ll need to know:
Video Card
CPU
RAM
Video Output
GPU
Press the Start button and type ‘device manager’, select it from the list
In Device Manager, expand Display Adapters, your video card is listed beneath
CPU & RAM
Press the Start button and type ‘about your PC’, select it from the list
In the About window, scroll down to find ‘Processor’ (also known as CPU) and ‘Installed RAM’
Video Output
For this you’ll need to look at the back of your computer and see which ports are available on the back, specifically on your GPU (which is usually lower):
Image courtesy Alienware
The ports can look very similar, so look closely at the shapes of each. Remember that you will need a free port to plug your headset into.
Image courtesy Alienware
Many headset makers provide what they call a ‘recommended’ hardware configuration for virtual reality gaming. This gives VR developers a baseline hardware target so that they can ensure the consistent FPS requirement is met. If your hardware does not meet the recommended specification, you risk dropping under framerate which can result in a choppy and potentially uncomfortable VR experience.
The recommended specs provided by each company are relatively similar but there are some key differences worth looking at in detail:
Meta
Image courtesy Oculus
Oculus Rift S Recommended VR Specifications:
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
Video Output: DisplayPort
USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
OS: Windows 10
Oculus Rift CV1 Recommended VR Specifications:
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port
OS: Windows 10 (Windows 7/8.1 no longer recommended)
Battlefield 2042 players, many of them already annoyed by the direction and current state of Electronic Arts and DICE’s new game, seemed none too happy to see Santa Claus — or rather a Santa-themed skin — show up among the shooter’s upcoming holiday-themed cosmetics on Thursday. The skin is for Battlefield 2042’s Russian fighter, Boris Guskovsky, it’s called Father Christmas, and for some Battlefield players, it’s simply too silly for the game’s grim military near-future sci-fi setting.
“I knew clown show skins like these were coming,” one player said on the game’s subreddit. “But DICE wasted no time and added them in the very first update. Incredible.” Another popular reaction comes from a similarly annoyed Battlefield fan, who said, “This shit is straight outta the Warzone store,” referring to the cosmetics-heavy Call of Duty competition.
The Father Christmas skin appears to have leaked out a bit earlier than DICE planned, and without much context. Other skins, including holiday-themed wraps for a tank and helicopter, were also discovered (and quickly panned) by players.
Players’ response to Father Christmas and other holiday-themed cosmetics in Battlefield 2042 forced DICE to respond through its Direct Communication Twitter account. Developers attempted to explain the thoughts behind developing those skins and to assure players the studio is working to address the community’s larger concerns.
“Development for Live Service requires us to work months in advance, and enables us to have options when we reach key moments in our first year,” DICE said. “Today, we have other priorities, and so whilst we have the skins, we presently have no plans to utilize all of them this Holiday.
“We also create unique cosmetics for single time use in special Battlefield Portal modes to further enhance the fantasy in special events. Throughout our live service, you may occasionally encounter these mode locked cosmetics, which don’t impact the rest of the game.”
DICE said that creating those special modes provides the team with “exciting new opportunities that let us explore with more creative freedom than before,” adding, “Having you all along for the journey is something we don’t take for granted, and we’ll be grateful to hear your experience with those modes.”
