Iron Man Not Only Saves The World, But Maybe VR Too

The first thing is to go to the practice area to try out the basic controls. It's about flying, shooting and boxing obstacles out of the way. I move by placing my arms close to my body and turning my hands backward, much like the movement Tony Stark makes in the Iron Man films.

Although I, as an Iron Man, have a good pace and I was not spared on dizzying obstacles, the entire experience never makes me queasy - even though I get sick very quickly with other VR experiences. That surprises me positively - I had already prepared for a nausea after playing.

You can get a first impression of Marvel's Iron Man VR here:

Marvel's Iron Man VR - announcement trailer

As soon as I master the controls sufficiently, the demo lets me dive into the story. I find myself in Tony Stark's private jet, together with the KI FRIDAY, which also supports me technically in my Iron Man suit, and Pepper Potts. Apparently the story is based on the past Iron Man films, Pepper Potts has just been given the leadership of Stark Industries. However, the VR experience should not be related to the Avenger films.

Suddenly I am attacked by the mysterious opponent Ghost, who hacked my systems and at the same time put drones on my plane. These tear a huge hole in the jet and I am forced to go overboard to get the systems up and running and ward off the nasty attackers. In addition to shooting and flying, other mechanics come into play here.

When gripping becomes the greatest challenge

First of all, I have to reach for objects and push and pull them back into the correct position. So far, I have managed very well with the control system, but this task is very difficult for me. Because the tracking of the Move controllers is unfortunately not quite as precise and, above all, only works within a small radius around you, my arms always glitch past the target.

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In addition, Marvel's Iron Man VR is a 360-degree experience, but the PSVR still doesn't get along without cables. Unfortunately, because I am completely immersed in virtual reality and lose all sense of space and time in the real world, I realize too late that I have spun a few times too much on its own axis. Quite unnoticed I had wrapped the PSVR around my legs several times. Thank goodness I only made a slight step forward. Otherwise, I might have plunged into the television in front of me with my glasses - how embarrassing!

With a few turns in the opposite direction, I unravel again. Unfortunately, this pulls me briefly out of the otherwise immersive Iron Man experience, and it also slips me further out of the tracking circle. Fortunately, the game shows that you are no longer trackable at all - then you have to take a few steps back or to the side and you can continue playing as normal.

Marvel's Iron Man VR could save virtual reality

Iron Man VR is actually the first game in which I can fully enjoy virtual reality. Although I'm moving and not jumping from point to point like with so many other VR experiences, I don't feel bad. I get a varied gameplay and can even follow a story. Whether it is good or not, we will probably only find out at the release, the game should appear this year. And for a certain time I can even fully immerse myself in the virtual space and completely forget about my own reality - an amazingly pleasant feeling!

• Order Marvel's Iron Man VR from Amazon.
• You don't have a PlayStation VR yet? The PSVR Mega Pack is available from Amazon for 274.90 euros.

But even the successful Marvel's Iron Man has to struggle with some VR teething problems: my arms glitch through the virtual world, although in reality I keep them completely still. And the cable of the PSVR headset becomes a dangerous trip hazard if you immerse yourself too much in the experience and no longer pay attention to your real environment.

Still, Marvel's Iron Man VR could be the first game that really pays to buy a VR headset. So far, the technology is still in the niche, hardly any players have their own glasses at home. Who knows: maybe Iron Man can change that. This would make the game the lifesaver that VR has been looking for so long - so Iron Man not only saves lives, but maybe also virtual reality!