2MD: VR Football may be the closest a video game has come to making you feel like you’re actually on the gridiron. Whether you’re an avid football fan or just looking for an interesting VR experience on Sony’s platform, there is plenty to be excited about here.
The game starts you out in a locker room, like any football game would, and goes over the basics of what you can expect to do throughout your time with the game. If you have a habit of skipping tutorials we recommend seeing this one through and so does developer, Truant Pixel. The tutorial won’t take up much of your time, but it will help you nail down the basics before you start your career as a quarterback.
In the locker room you are tasked with creating new plays on the white board, plays that you will then try out on the field in a game setting. You can also choose which team you’ll play for and tweak your uniform a bit before heading out onto the field. It’s time to physically put on your helmet and head on out there.
Once you finally get on the field is where the game shines. First things first though, and we’ll get this out of the way early, while this is the most realistic feeling football game you may have played to date, the art design and character models are not. The characters on your team and your opponents resemble practice sleighs and dummies rather than actual people. While this may turn off some people DO NOT let this be the reason that you sleep on this game. In a short period of time you’ll forget that the players aren’t more lifelike and you’ll be gun-slinging 80 yard touchdowns to your Wide Receivers in no time. What it lacks in character models, the game makes up for with gameplay.
Throwing a complete pass to a WR has never felt so good. For all of the limitations the PlayStation Move controllers have, developers have really been stepping up their game to give players a more immersive experience. You hike the ball by pressing the T button on the controller and, as your teammates run their routes, you sit in the pocket or move around in a scramble waiting for the perfect time to throw the ball. Throwing feels so good because you actually make a throwing motion in order to do so. After a few snaps you’ll be in character getting down under center and throwing game winning passes as a packed stadium full of fans roar approvingly.
You’re tasked with winning a seven round tournament where each round gives you two minutes to win the game in order to advance. There will definitely be some heartbreaking moments as you’re trying to line up for one more play as time expires, while at other times you’ll lead your team to victory by scoring a touchdown as time expires. Both instances are completely thrilling and win or lose you’ll be excited to get back in there and play the next game.
At the end of each tournament you have the chance to hoist your trophy while your teammates and fans cheer. You can even take the trophy and throw it down to your team so they can share in on the celebration. Maybe they just watch it fall on the ground, but I like to imagine they are passing it along like the Super Bowl trophy.
Recommendation: 2MD: VR Football is an incredibly realistic football experience and any fan of football games should definitely give it a shot. While the game stands on its own merit, it’s hard to not be excited about the potential of football games in VR down the road. There is no reason a series like Madden can’t add a VR component to their game in upcoming iterations. While that idea would excite anyone the reality is that 2MD: VR Football is here now and plays great. You’ll feel like your on the field playing your favorite sport in the most realistic way a video game has allowed you to do so.
*2MD: VR Football was provided to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
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