Weekends are meant for fun. Family or friendly get-togethers are important for rejuvenating your mind. Video game giants know this for a fact. See pretty much any commercial for a Nintendo product and you're bound to see either a family sitting in their living room, playing a party game, or some millennial-looking types breaking out a Nintendo Switch at a rooftop bar.
I was recently at a housewarming party for a couple dear friends. Among sausages, hamburgers (which, unfortunately, came frozen and prepackaged) and lots and lots of beer, a friend had brought over his PlayStation 4 and opened up Beat Saber. This is not something I've ever played before. For its PSVR release, the game uses a large, adjustable helmet, and the two wands for PlayStation Move. The gameplay works a lot like Guitar Hero, except players utilize their own movements to hit the titular beats.
My friend's copy of the game had the two OST (original soundtracks), a set of "Extra" songs, and two packs of contemporary, more radio-friendly music. Unlike Guitar Hero, this game doesn't seem to have a whole lot of popular tracks, not even my favorite duo Daft Punk (heck, the first time I ever went to a dance club they only played remixed top 40).
We all played a track titled Epic (the posted video is of a different song), a four-minute electro-pop ballad that is great for newcomers. It's count is equally spaced, sometimes going on regular four-beat, and occasionally speeding up.
To complete the levels, the players must hit the beats in the direction indicated on their blocks: left, right, up, down, etc. The more you higher you score. You get the idea. My friends love this game, but I never had the chance to try it out before Saturday night. I was surprised that I had a good time. I didn't have much confidence in VR before tonight. I'd always viewed it as a bit of a gimmick. Not enough to really get off the ground. But I think my opinion has changed. I have heard that the VR treatment of Resident Evil 7 is beyond compare, and provided we have more games like that on the way, I see it more as an innovation.
