If I were to say I liked the original Playstation game Wipeout, it would be disingenuous. I adored it! Back when ‘next gen’ consoles really delivered genuinely groundbreaking home gaming experiences, Wipeout lead the charge of 3D gaming that managed to make gaming cool. Its cutting edge visuals, thumping soundtrack and seriously challenging gameplay delivered a zero g racing rush that for me was only bettered with the advent of it’s PS3 offspring Wipeout HD.
‘Radial-G: Racing Revolved’ fuses some of the look and feel and breakneck thrills of Wipeout with the vertigo inducing cylindrical raceways of F-Zero GX and it does all that with ground up support for virtual reality, and more specifically the Oculus Rift VR headset. The game hurls you along the track at speed while you negotiate coloured gates which offer boost or brake, depending on the colour and your skill. It’s a great experience and you can try it for your self as the team recently made the demo available on Oculus Share.
Now, the Brighton (UK) based Tammeka Games are taking their game to Kickstarter with a target goal of £50,000 and are offering some interesting pledge tiers for those keen on getting their hands on the title early. Standard tiers are onhand, early bird access to the forthcoming multiplayer demo and access to a digital download of the 1st release, expected to include 3 worlds with 3 tracks each. Push the boat out further however and you could grab a custom 3D printed Altergaze unit, Dinner with the developers or a customized Oculus Rift DK2. For a breakdown of the rewards associated with the tiers, Tanmeka have provided this handy matrix on the right (click for larger view).
Radial-G represents the new wave of independently developed games which are embracing virtual reality, slick visuals and polished gameplay and one of the best sensations of speed anywhere inside an VR Headset right now. If you’re even a passing fan of either Wipeout or FZero, you owe it to yourself to at least check out the demo.
Once again, the Kickstarter page is here and you can also support Tammeka in their Steam Greenlight campaign here.
