Eve: Valkyrie - Hands on with the Virtual Reality Dogfighter

CCP Games built its reputation on its expansive, sandbox game Eve Online, the massively multiplayer online game which allows the players to create their own narrative.

While it now has over 500,000 subscribers the complexity and sheer amount of time you need to invest in the game means it has limited appeal.

Therefore CCP is looking to use the rich New Eden world to create new gaming experiences. The first was Dust 514, a PlayStation 3 first person shooter based in New Eden, but the second is altogether more ambitious.

Eve: Valkyrie is a virtual reality dogfighter which sees you man a spaceship in the Eve universe. It is currently being developed for both the Oculus Rift and Sony's Project Morpheus virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 4.

Latest Build

At Eve FanFest 2014 in Reykjavik, CCP has been showcasing the latest build of Eve:Valkyrie on both Oculus and Morpheus, with the Oculus version running on the Unreal 4 engine for the fist time.

The move to the Unreal 4 engine - from the Unity engine the game was built on - is simply about making it more compatible with more platforms according to one developer I spoke to, rather than any graphical boost.

I haven't tried any previous build so can't say what improvements have been made, but the experience of playing it was one of best gaming experiences I've ever had.

You play the game from the point of view of a pilot of a team of space fighters called the Valkyrie, taking on AI enemies in and around the huge spaceships of the Eve universe.

While this is nothing new, the ability to look to your left or right simply by turning your head is, and it is revolutionary. Being able to lock onto your enemy simply by looking at them is a simple but brilliant addition.

CCP Games have also added the voice talent of Battlestar Galatica set Katee Sackoff who acts as your squadron commander and is constantly giving you updates on the situation. The company is also building a large amount of back story for the game, to help give it a place within the multilayer Eve universe.

Controls

You control the ship's movement and firing of weapons using the same controllers you would on the PlayStation or a PC, and as long as you have memorised the controls, not being able to actually see your hands is no hindrance.

The graphics in the game are nothing special and the low resolution screen on the headsets mean that at this point, boosting them too much is not going to have that much of a benefit. The game does however feel practically finished and will only need a few tweaks to be ready for whenever Facebook and Sony launch their respective headsets.

One of the major criticism of the early Oculus games has been players experiencing motion sickness. However the latest development kit has helped lessen that significantly and no matter how many barrel rolls and loops I tried on Eve: Valkyrie I never felt ill or dizzy.

The four minute demo which is on display at FanFest 2014 gives you a glimpse into the future of virtual reality.

There is a lot of potential here for creating a game which can leverage both the immersive world of Eve Online and the power of VR headsets like the Oculus and Project Morpheus.

If this is the future of gaming, then it is a bright and exciting future.