Multiplayer games in virtual reality may not necessarily have a long shelf life right now. While there are vibrant multiplayer communities for some games, the majority of players simply gives up after a month or less. Whether or not Front Defense: Heroes will be among the successful titles, remains to be seen. It is the “online version” of the Front Defense single player game released earlier this year. The game is available for HTC at a price of $5.99.
Front Defense: Heroes Feels Genuine When it Works
While we genuine love Front Defense, we were not too certain about the online counterpart of this game at first. More specifically, it often feels clunky to play online in VR, and this particular game proves to be no different whatsoever. There is a very annoying reloading mechanic, which is considered to be game breaking for most players. It is still an Early Access title, though, and further improvements can be expected in the coming weeks and months. It is good to see the developers aim for a realistic experience, but this isn’t necessarily the most fun solution for players.
Moving around in Front Defense: Heroes isn’t done through teleportation either. Instead, you rely on V-Move, which is a pretty intriguing type of locomotion. Your VR character is in front of you at all times, but you will only appear in place once the character stops moving. It works somewhat, but in this game, it may either help you or simply ruin your experience. It takes a lot of practice to get right, but it does work like a charm when you get the hang of it. Moreover, the game is definitely optimized for room scale playing, which may be a hindrance for some players.
Thankfully, the matchmaking itself seems to work just fine. The server location depends on the region with the most active players. It seems to work well and keeps lag to a minimum, assuming you have an Ethernet connection to your computer. It is evident the games themselves are still marred by the V-Move issues and the reloading mechanic, though, but that is something early players of this game will have to deal with, unfortunately. It may be best to wait for a proper release if this is something you aren’t willing to deal with.
All things considered, Front Defense: Heroes has a lot of potential. It is still very rough around the edges right now, albeit it is more than playable. Some users may get frustrated over the current issues to be found, though, but those will eventually be addressed. For now, it is best to either be very patient or wait until the necessary changes have been implemented. It is on sale on Steam now, though, which makes it more than worthwhile to pick up regardless.
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