Until recently, my only experience with VR was a one-minute demo about nine years ago. With an Oculus Rift strapped to my face, a catapult hurled me over a low-lying city. It disturbed me painfully and I felt my legs loosen a little. I swore off VR for a long time after that unpleasant experience.
Fast forward to 2024 and I was finally ready to try again. It seemed irresistible. But I felt like I needed to get my beach legs under me before tackling something as immersive and ambitious as a compilation. Horizon: Mountain Range.
As it happens, the day my PS VR2 unit arrived also marked the debut of the VR version of one of my favorite games of the past few years, Trombone Champ.
The original game is almost like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, except instead of using a plastic simulation of the musical instrument to play the notes as they appear on the screen, you move the joystick or mouse and press a button to “toot.” At this time, in , you hold the virtual instrument in your mouth with one hand while using the other to slide on the right (or very wrong) notes, imitating a real trombone.
Unfortunately, I had trouble setting up my PS VR2. The right controller was working fine for my PS5 menus and such, but the button presses weren’t working in game and I couldn’t hold the virtual trombone slide. I found a solution on Reddit, where users mentioned the same problem with new controllers, which in some cases seems to be due to garbage. In my case, I was able to fix the problem by unsyncing the controllers and re-registering them only with the PS5 when I’m in the middle of a game.
Obviously, the first thing I have to do is to Trombone note: Not clear the tutorial was more or less a derivative of the main Super Mario. Bros the subject matter. From there, I dove straight into the campaign.
The aptly named Flat2VR (who made a well-regarded VR mod Half-Life 2) adapted Trombone Champ for VR. It has done an excellent job of bringing the Holy Wow Studios game to a new format with a new look and feel. Rather than trying to follow the notes of a song on a 2D chart, you’ll need to stay on your toes as they fly at you from both sides. However, after a few songs, I changed the setting to one side to make it easier to focus.
He also performs these songs (mostly non-official) on stage in front of an audience of Nintendo Mii-style characters. I was trying my best to play these songs correctly to get a good score, so I took out the crowd a lot of the time to concentrate.
That changed when I tried a ska song that I don’t remember hearing before. I didn’t know where it was going and I struggled to keep up with great difficulty. The crowd wasn’t having it. Unlike Guitar Hero and Rock Band, there is no failure mode here if you miss several notes in a row. The song goes on, no matter how badly you messed up. That way, the audience was yelling at me non-stop and I couldn’t get them back on board.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been on stage in a band or doing theater (yup, I was one of those kids), but I’ve never had a reaction like that. It cut strangely into my soul, yet I was blown away at the same time. Sorry to disappoint my haters. I tried to flip them with my floating hands, but to no avail. I resorted to pointing my thumbs in a “yeah, this guy” motion, something I wouldn’t have tried in non-VR.
Trombone note: Not clear it’s a lot of fun and easily one of the most fun games of 2024. Astro Bot again Another Crab Gemtwo of my favorite games of the year, both kept a smile on my face the entire time – but Trombone note: Not clear he always scolded me. I don’t think I could have picked a better introduction to VR.
There’s more to it, including a free-to-play mode that unlocks all the songs (DLC tracks are apparently on the way). I enjoyed destroying – I mean, customizing – my spray painted trombone again. I’m sure Glenn Miller would have loved that.
Maybe I’ll get better Trombone note: Not clear over time. If not, I don’t care. Being bad at this game makes it more fun. The game is best if you play with a familiar song. You know how it should sound, so the taunting is very funny.
Although there are challenges that reward you for doing well, it’s like a game looking for to suckle you. The strongest chords cannot be nailed, perhaps even by real trombone players, as they would not have the same strength as having the instrument in their hands.
The PS VR2 PC adapter has been out of stock for a while in Canada. But if I get one I will pick up the PC version again Trombone note: Not clear there because modders are already adding custom songs to the game.
It’s one song that modders are definitely adding to Trombone Champ was the game’s most upbeat track: Dragonforce’s “Through The Fire and Flames.” In the original game, it’s so hard that there’s even an “autotoot” tool that plays notes automatically. So I have no doubt that trying to play for myself in VR is going to be a lot of fun and a lot of fun.
Trombone note: Not clear is out now on PS VR2, Meta Quest and Steam VR
Source link
