Oculus just launched Mission ISS, a space simulator which puts players in the boots of an ISS astronaut.
Have you ever dreamed of becoming an astronaut and working on board the International Space Station? Regrettably, most of us won’t be able to experience what it’s like to float around in zero gravity or what Earth looks like from space. Becoming an astronaut takes years of hard training and, even then, the chances of being selected for a space mission are quite slim. But what if we told you that you could experience life aboard the ISS without actually having to undergo all that rigorous training?
Since the concept of virtual reality was introduced, more and more software developers have tried to create fascinating and never before seen environments and characters. However sensational the idea of playing games in VR may be, the harsh truth it that not everyone affords to buy one. But VR companies are working on that.
Meanwhile, Facebook’s Oculus, the company which spearheads the VR revolution, has just announced that a new VR experience is now available. After a long and fruitful collaboration with various international space agencies such as NASA, ESA, CSA, and CNES, Oculus managed to put together a great VR application which puts the players in the boots of a wannabe astronaut, who just boarded the ISS.
Naturally, Oculus’s latest simulator will have a couple of limitation, but all in all, we have to admit that the attention to detail is overwhelming. Although we can’t experience things like floating and working in Zero-G, the game will allow us to experience other aspects of living on board the International Station.
For example, players are able to explore, interact with various objects, complete minor and mission-critical tasks, help other astronauts complete their experiments, docking various space vehicles, and, of course, taking a couple of laps around the block (spacewalking).
Now let’s go for a quick round of that lovely game called good news/bad news. So, the good news is that Mission ISS, the game developed by Oculus, is free and can be downloaded directly from the company’s official website. The bad news is that you will need to purchase the Oculus Touch controllers in order to play.
Another piece of good news is that the developers managed to reconstruct the life of astronauts serving aboard the ISS in minute details minus dunking the player in a deep pool to experience the effects of zero gravity. The bad news is that you will need a top-notch PC in order to play the game.
Ryan Harris
