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Hands-On With Eve: Valkyrie's Warzone Expansion Shows Promise
Eve: Valkyrie was an early VR title that highlighted the immersive possibilities of the fledgling technology, but fell short at launch. Looking around your ship's cockpit in VR was a treat, and it made the ship-to-ship battles feel more exciting. Unfortunately, that excitement didn't last, as we pointed out in our review. Much has changed since then, including the introduction of cross-platform play between the PC and PlayStation 4 versions of the game and a handful of other updates.
That path continues in late September with the release of the new Warzone expansion, which will open up the game to players who either haven't yet invested in a VR headset or simply aren't interested in the technology. We got to check out the new content at Gamescom, and it looks like CCP Games is overhauling the game in some interesting ways.
First, a number of the game's ships have been scuttled. Shrinking the selection may sound like a complete negative, but CCP Games says they looked at the roster of existing ships and realized that they weren't specialized enough. Now that there are 13, the studio is confident that each one is specialized enough so that every type of player finds something in the hangar to fit their playstyle – whether they gravitate toward pew-pew lasers, support ships with repair beams, or heavies that are essentially floating tanks.
I went with a floating-tank style ship, knowing that what I'd lose in maneuverability I'd at least make up for in armor. At least, that was my hope. I blasted out of my base and the screen filled with activity. Enemy ships flitted past, moving in and out of sight behind asteroids. This is where Warzone's biggest tweak comes in, in case you didn't already pick up on it. Unlike the original release, which required an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or PlayStation VR headset, I was playing the PC demo on a traditional display.
The game looked better from a screen-resolution standpoint, even if I wasn't able to look around in the cockpit and see my avatars legs. Considering that this is a multiplayer-focused game, opening up the game to a much larger player base is only going to make it easier to find matches. And while it's not a major deal, the CCP Games rep showed me how players will be able to seamlessly switch between VR and regular screens without having to restart the game – great for when you need to give your eyeballs a rest but you're not quite ready to call it a night.
I also got to see a few of the game's new customization options. As players gain XP through combat, they increase their level. With each level increase, players will also earn a reward capsule. These capsules contain a variety of randomized cosmetic items, such as ship skins, costume elements, decals, and currency. Like a lot of games with random loot draws, that earned currency can be saved to purchase specific items, if you have your eye on something in particular.
Ship skins span a variety of options, too, including tastefully cool selections and a few that I would classify as hilariously garish. Once you're in the cockpit, however, you don't need to look at the outside of your ship. That's only partially true. High-end legendary skins will change the interior of your vessel, too, making them the ultimate personalization option.
Finally, the biggest change I saw with Warzone was how progression was handled on a per-ship basis. Players can choose their own upgrade paths for their ships, opting to prioritize firepower over movement, armor over speed, or any number of other options.
The improvements do look solid overall, but the biggest takeaway I saw was the obvious shift away from making it a VR-exclusive experience. I've been interested in playing more of the game since I first demoed it before the PSVR was released, but current VR tech doesn't particularly excite me. Like I said, you lose some immersion by not being able to scope out your ship's interior by looking around with your head, but if the tradeoff is that people are actually going to be able to play the game at all, that's a concession that's worth making.
The Warzone expansion is coming September 26 on PlayStation 4 and PC. It's a free upgrade to existing Eve: Valkyrie owners, and new players will be able to jump into the action for $29.99.
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