Earlier this year at GDC and E3, Crytek showed off two VR demos called Back to Dinosaur Island and Back to Dinosaur Island 2, respectively. Unless you were an attendee of either show, you couldn't experience the demos at home. Now, Crytek has changed that with the release of Back to Dinosaur Island on Steam.
The short technical demo is free and requires the Oculus DK2 headset. Players are then transported to the dinosaur-infested island and placed in the middle of a large nest. Aside from getting up close and personal with a Tyrannosaurus rex, you also interact with a few insects. Even with the limited moving space of the Oculus HMD, you can move a few feet and even headbutt the eggs that surround you.
Its sequel, Back to Dinosaur Island 2, featured more movement in the game as you had to climb a tall cliff face and interact with pterodactyls, but that's not available yet on Steam. Crytek's demos are its first steps into the VR space, and the company is using these small experiences as the foundation for its first VR title called Robinson: The Journey.
When we talked to David Bowman, Crytek's director of production, in July, he mentioned that the company is working with Oculus, HTC and Valve, and Sony for a strong debut when the devices make their way to the public. However, Bowman also stated that he wants the game to come out on as many VR devices as possible. Crytek's graphics power was the envy of the gaming industry for some time, and the company hopes to do the same in the burgeoning virtual reality market.
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Rexly Peñaflorida II is a Contributor at Tom’s Hardware. He writes news on tech and hardware, but mostly focuses on gaming news. As a Chicagoan, he believes that deep dish pizza is real pizza and ketchup should never be on hot dogs. Ever. Also, Portillo’s is amazing.
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