New BBC VR film flies you to Berlin at the height of the Second World War

A powerful new virtual reality film launches this week from the BBC, in which viewers join the RAF on a bombing run during the Berlin Blitz.

1943 Berlin Blitz launches this Thursday on the Oculus and Steam stores. Viewers are put in the footsteps of BBC war reporter, Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, and sound recordist, Reg Pidsley, as they document their flight on a terrifying mission over Berlin.

Taken from the BBC Archive, Wynford’s commentary was one of the most ambitious and dangerous reports made during World War Two giving crucial insight into the war to those listening at home. The original radio broadcast went out over the airwaves on 4 September 1943, just a few hours after the plane landed safely back at RAF Langar in Nottinghamshire.

Viewers will experience the jeopardy and the excitement of the bombing raid, as VR transports them into the belly of Lancaster bomber ‘F for Freddie’. As the plane flies high over Berlin while anti-aircraft shells burst all around, the sense of danger is palpable, and justified - just four months after this flight F for Freddie was shot down over Stettin.

The Lancaster was the most successful heavy bomber employed by the RAF in World War Two and, along with the Spitfire, became something of a British icon in the wake of the war. More than 7,000 of the planes were built, flying upwards of 150,000 sorties.

Created by BBC Northern Ireland and Immersive VR Education, in partnership with BBC VR Hub; 1943 Berlin Blitz marks the 100th anniversary of the RAF and the brave, bold and groundbreaking journalism the BBC is built on. Wynford Vaughan-Thomas’s original radio programme is available to listen in full from Radio 4 Extra on BBC iPlayer Radio.

Peter Rippon, editor of BBC Archive, says: “We have been overwhelmed by the response to Berlin Blitz so far. People are finding it profoundly moving. The authenticity of the audio and the nobility of the characters involved, combined with virtual reality means audiences can now relive with past with an intensity not previously possible.”

Zillah Watson, head of BBC VR Hub, says: “This film is a wonderful example of how virtual reality can bring the BBC’s archive to life in a way we’ve never really seen before. VR adds a vivid, tangible dimension to an exceptional and extraordinary piece of journalism, and brings the past and future together beautifully - using a 75-year-old broadcast to demonstrate the very best of what this new form of storytelling has to offer.”

The new experience is available from Thursday on the Oculus and Steam stores for Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive headsets. It will also soon be available to watch in 360 on Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream. Additionally, Imperial War Museums will be showing the film at its Duxford and North museums over the coming months on selected dates.

REVIEW: Elea - For Xbox & Steam

Review by Jon Donnis
Elea is an episodic first-person Sci-Fi adventure, you play as a space scientist, In 2073, Earth and all humans on it were struck by a childhood disease that causes uncontrollable rage and Elea’s husband Ethan joined an expedition to colonize a habitable exoplanet, to save humanity from extinction.

The ship he was on, Pilgrimage, went radio silent shortly after it reached planet Solace.

13 years later, Elea joins a mission on the RSS Recovery to investigate the fate of the expedition.

I have to admit the start of the game is a bit confusing, and you will find yourself getting disorientated quite often, but that is part of the experience. This first episode of Elea finds you mainly looking around the spaceship you are on, and the graphics are outstanding, and you do feel quite immersed, although the puzzles you have to solve are pretty basic, and there are a lot of bugs in the game, which are being fixed with each update.

The game suffers from a slow start, and there is a tedious nature to some of the puzzles and you find yourself wondering around aimlessly quite a lot until you figure things out.

The game does pick up though, and towards the end of the episode there is a feeling of urgency in one of the chases you do, even if you die for stupid reasons.

I am interested to see what further episodes bring, but I am not sure if Episode 1 is enough to hook people into buying Episode 2 when it is released. A slow start and some tedious early game play plagues a very promising game.

I would give Elea a fair 6 out of 10.

About the Game
Elea is a first-person storytelling experience that revolves around space scientist River-Elea. It’s the year 2073 and mankind is living in revolutionary times. Space colonization is making rapid progress and humans have built thriving colonies on Mars and the moons Titan, Ganymede and Europa. Alien life forms have finally been discovered and the awakening of a sentient AI enables spaceships to travel at lightning speed. In the midst of these developments, humanity faces extinction due to a neural mutation, turning all earth-born children into violent psychopaths.

Against this tumultuous futuristic backdrop, the story of Elea takes form. It all starts in a secluded house on the shores of Mexico, where Elea awakens. She’s pregnant with her second son, has just moved in with her husband and first son, and is preparing for a new life. In reality however, Elea is not in her home but in a recovery room somewhere, years later, revisiting her memories in some sort of simulation. As the memory trip progresses, the house and its surroundings start to change and deteriorate, as time passes and grief descends on a home that was once full of love and expectations.

Visit the Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/812020/on
Visit the Microsoft Store: https://bit.ly/2LVpp9Y

WWE 2K19: Hell in a Cell Gameplay

WWE 2K19 is an upcoming professional wrestling video game being developed in a collaboration between Yuke's and Visual Concepts, and to be published by 2K Sports. It is scheduled to be released worldwide on October 9, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Wikipedia
Initial release date: October 5, 2018

Check out gameplay from refreshed Hell in a Cell mode in WWE 2K19.

Buy from Amazon by clicking here

14 Minutes of Devil May Cry 5 Dante Gameplay

Watch Dante take on a load of nasties and face a new boss in this brand new gameplay.

The story takes place several years after the events of Devil May Cry 4 and is set after the events of Devil May Cry 2. Nero had set up his own demon hunting agency based out of a van adorned with a neon "Devil May Cry" sign Dante gave him with support by his engineer Nico, who built him a robotic prosthetic arm called the "Devil Breaker" after his original Devil Bringer arm was taken by a mysterious hooded individual.

Arriving to a city plagued by demons, Nero crosses paths with Dante who took a job with Trish and Lady to exterminate the demons spilling into their world. They are both joined by Dante's mysterious client "V".

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REVIEW: Rigid Force Alpha

Review by Jon Donnis
I grew up playing arcade shooters like R-Type, in fact I spent a small fortune at the local arcade on that very game. So when I first heard about Rigid Force Alpha I was excited but also cautious.

With this being a PC / Steam game and this being a very much arcade/console type of game there will always be control issues, for example playing this using your keyboard is a big no no. And after a bit of teething trouble I managed to get my generic PS3 controller working, and boy does it make a big difference.

This is everything you love about side scrolling shoot 'em ups. But in glorious 2018 graphics, and an incredible soundtrack too.

You shoot the bad guys, wave after wave, you collect power ups, change weapons, collect orbs which allow you even bigger power weapons. And with various difficulty settings, this is perfect for newbies as well as seasoned shoot em up gamers like myself.

A really fun game, that I can really recommend. 9/10

More about the game:
Rigid Force Alpha breathes new life into the classic side-scrolling shooter genre with its lovingly hand-crafted 3D models, stunning environments, detailed effects and an electrifying Synthwave soundtrack.

Arm your fighter with numerous upgradeable weapon systems and supplemental Force Shards! Collect Energy Orbs to fill up your energy supply and eventually unleash an extremely powerful blast against your foes!

Rigid Force Alpha is available from Steam here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/724390/Rigid_Force_Alpha