Players take aim while playing the VR game "Hologate" at Uptown Alley. (Photo by Mac Konrad)
For Uptown Alley, the installation of "Simurai" by Hologate literally a game changer. The Midlothian bowling alley is one of the first facilities in Virginia to be equipped with arcade-style virtual reality (VR) games. After a year of planning and preparing, Uptown Alley unveiled the game last week. So, does it live up to the hype? Let’s get our headsets on and take a look.
HARDWARE: Perhaps the most jarring part of the "Simurai" experience is the physical hardware required to play. Uptown Alley carved out a small section of its building to create a VR gaming space with wires and headsets hanging off the ceiling as well as stands for hanging the controllers and quartered sections for each player to move about. Putting on the VR headset and getting the controller takes less than a minute, and the transition into the virtual world is seamless.
VISUALS: The graphics in "Simurai" are leaps and bounds ahead of most arcade games. From the second you put on the VR headset, you are sent to a different reality where your only job is to shoot back as robots take aim at you. The gray, moody surroundings of the game make all of the colorful enemies stand out. Robots, spiders, drones and dragons all make appearances throughout the game’s five-minute runtime, each creature more visually impressive than the last.
GAMEPLAY: "Simurai" is fairly similar to many other arcade games. Players are given a gun/controller and required to point and shoot at enemies on screen. Sound familiar? Not so fast. In "Simurai," the screen surrounds you and enemies can come at you from all directions.
VERDICT: While the technology can be intimidating at first, "Simurai" is an engaging, loaded experience. Even the stiffest of gamers will find themselves ducking lasers and dodging claws after a few minutes of playing.
