As we wandered around the vast grounds of Microsoft's hilariously named “booth” at this year's Gamescom, there were plenty of sights to see. size A Space Marine towers over a crowd of reporters next to a giant flag-covered faux stone hut where half an hour of screenings of Obsidian's upcoming RPG took place ConfessedThere's a theater-sized shrine depicting Indy punching a Nazi in the nose. Indian Jones and the Great Circleand terrifying neon Xbox-themed counters. But I saw the strangest thing among all of them: a large area with several people sitting on what looked like giant motorcycles, wearing VR helmets, all laughing or staring wide-eyed in horror.
It turns out this is something Blizzard encourages World of WarcraftThe new expansion of The War Within UsThe game, which will be released on August 27, will be widely known Wowit wasn't being shown on monitors for people to experience a portion of, but instead being presented as a bunch of rideable VR experiences. Of course There was no VR version WowSo what was it? Of course I went in. There wasn't even a line.
It was bloody brilliant. Escape From Dalaran was the craziest waste of money I've ever experienced promoting a game that everyone already knew. An unfortunate trip to Poland Call of Duty II. I can't understand how it would cost to present something that doesn't fully represent gaming to potential attendees of a gaming conference in Cologne, Germany. But I digress.
To begin, I climbed up the massive contraption — perhaps one of twenty in the cordoned-off section of Hall 7 — and nervously wondered where I should put my hands. In front of me was a sleek, padded pile of padding with low metal bars on either side. It felt silly to hold on to something so low, as if I were about to bow my head and walk through a wall. I put on my VR hat, and the extremely cute and slightly bewildered employee had me wear a headset without me even realizing it. After an oddly long loading screen, I sat down behind someone Wow's dragon-like mounts.
The next few minutes were spent in non-stop exhilaration as I dashed, climbed, weaved, and dived through an epic battle taking place across Azeroth as buildings collapsed around me, until in despair my friend and I found ourselves jumping through a portal and into it. The War Within Us's Nerubian Empire. And it got even crazier.
At this point, the world's inhabitants were not at all pleased with our arrival, and an entirely improbable number of enemies rose to attack. We were devastated, and my horse was suddenly torn from me, leaving me to fall alone. However, a very irritable woman with magic balls floating above her shoulders trapped me in a bubble and told me very harshly how disappointed she was. And then it was over.
On top of all this, he filmed me from outside and then created a mixed media video of the event so the world could enjoy my wobbly belly fluttering through my T-shirt in the intense wind.
What this description fails to convey is how violently I was thrown by the whole thing, at one point tipping so sideways that I was holding on with my hands and thighs. And those falls—oh my God, I know 90 percent of this was a trick of the mind, the gentle incline of the ride exaggerated by VR’s all-sensory nature, but they were glorious. And I say all this as a VR skeptic who rarely has any interest in the face-melting format.
But… what did it do? Not only did this thing hurl me around like a prancing horse, it also blew air into my face and around me, doing glides and slides perfectly timed to match the sensation of running forward, It must be an experience like seeing Hurricanes In 4DXBut this whole series was definitely built just for that experience, There isn't even a Blizzcon this year.! It's not like it was made for this and we got a sneak preview! In fact, the game is coming out on August 27th, less than a week after all of this, which makes it immediately redundant.
I had so much fun. I'm so glad someone decided to spend it. absolute millions of them, just to have me and the Gamescom visitors embark on such a ridiculous, exorbitant, and completely disconnected journey, just to remind them that the world's most famous game still exists. “This must have cost a fortune!” I said to the assistant as I landed. “That's crazy!” he replied.
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