There have been many upon many Star Wars games that have been brought to the public and have been lauded one moment only to be derided and cast aside as quaint and amusing in the next when technology continues to storm ahead. But as Oculus and many other sites are already starting to push and promote, Vader Immortal is among the few that could possibly push the envelope when it comes to changing the way VR games are seen. When you watch the trailer it might seem as though it’s another first-person game that offers you a select number of choices that are placed in the programming to lead you down one path or another. That’s pretty much what it looks like to be honest. But as a player and as someone who might have played Knights of the Old Republic or a similar game you might appreciate the fact that the choices you make will determine the kind of character you turn out to be and whether or not you’ll end up helping to save the galaxy or destroy it.
Ethan Anderton of Film goes on to explain how this story will take place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, a period of time in which a lot could possibly happen and has since the stories that have come out of this time period seem to keep on coming. The character is recruited by Vader for a mission that seems to be centered on obtaining something that might make the Sith lord immortal, hence the title, but will also raise very big moral quandaries for the character playing the game. In other words, will you act on your own best interests and oppose the dark lord, or will you obey Vader and take the safer route of obeisance? It’s the kind of game, as it sounds, that will question a person’s moral judgment no matter how much fun it might be and will show a person’s character even if it’s in jest. It does sound like a lot of other games that people have come up with throughout the years and some might even go so far as to say that they don’t want lessons on morality in their video games, they just want to play. But in the Star Wars sage there’s always bound to be some hint of morality since this is one of the driving principles behind the story.
What’s so great about this game though as revealed by Donovan Erskine from Shack News is that unlike a lot of other games the player is actually getting hands on training when it comes to certain skills that are used throughout the VR experience. Lightsaber training for instance is an actual lesson that takes place in this game and is as precise and detailed as you might hope since simply putting your saber up to block in a lazy fashion is a good way to get a blaster bolt or an energy saber to the face. In other words, the game designers have gone all out on this particular title and have spared nothing when it comes to realism. The idea of creating a game that actually penalizes the character in the VR world for trying to adhere to the lazy and half-baked ideas that were popular in other games at the time they were released is some kind of wonderful that many Star Wars fans can fully appreciate.
One might question the story a bit but then when you think about it in the scope of time between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope there are close to two decades in which the Empire had to build itself up, Vader had to come to terms with his place at the emperor’s side, and a number of things could have happened to shape the universe. The story actually fits nicely within that time frame since it would appear that throughout those many years that Vader did a great number of things, most of them atrocious, in the search for power and the pursuit of any and every way he could find to subvert his master. The funny thing is that as we’ve learned in the past, Palpatine was aware of many such attempts and allowed them to continue as he knew in some cases that Vader would fail and would always come back much like a well-heeled dog. Stories such as this are exciting since it gives the illusion that Vader was his own man throughout the entire time and sought to do something that would solidify his own power base and therefore insure that his legacy would be the one that would continue on.
In terms of keeping with the Sith philosophy that states one will always have power and one will always crave it this game has to be considered one of the best to come along in a while.
Follow Us
