Friday, October 22, 2021

Video Game Review: Lightsaber Dojo!

Today, at Dave and Busters, I was able to play a new game at the arcades, Lightsaber Dojo!   It is a port of an early part of the VR Oculus Quest game, Vader Immortal (2019).  The game is is from ILMxLAB and written by David S. Goyer, the screenwriter for Batman Begins (2005) and the Foundation series.  The black, curved cabinet with red lights is over six feet tall.  It does not have any kind of title on the cabinet so only when I saw a kid playing it, did I notice that it was for Star Wars.  Mybe you can port in other Oculus Games, if so then Oculus Quest should be the title.  There is a short walk up that has retractable belt stanchions around the game area.  Before the large screen, you swipe your game card, and the VR headset lowers to about kid height.  On the right are some sanitary wipes, so you can clean the headset and controllers after the last user.  Then, deposit them to the rubbish bin to the left.  This is a nice touch since I don’t think there is anything similar at other games. 


You adjust the headset, you don’t need to rush, the game only starts when you activate the controller button.  There are two controllers on cables on either side of the headset, a controller with a top and lower button.  Once you are ready, you aim the beam from the controller and you select your lightsaber; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Kylo Ren are some of the selections.  Then you select the level you want to play.  Then,  you see through the headset three pedestals, press the overhead button and you use the Force to draw the lightsaber to you.  Then, you use the lower button to activate the lightsaber.  The practice sequence is detailed so give your lightsaber a try first.  You can Force throw your lightsaber at a target, face the stormtrooper or remote, and then press the top button and motion like you are throwing to long distance saber the target!  Also, I wanted to focus on using only one controller, so the cable on the other controller got in the way.  I guess you can use a controller to use the Force and the other the lightsaber.



This sequence takes place on Mustafar in the Oculus Quest game.  The first part is seeing a remote, there is a warning as it is about to blast you, of course you need to deflect the bolt back at it.  There are two remotes that fly around you.  It took some much time to get used to the lightsaber that I didn’t use the saber toss.  Plus, the opponents appear so fast, I think I destroyed two remotes and a stormtrooper on the second try.  Next, stormtroopers appear at the level above you.  Next there are droids to take on, which are easy to destroy when they get closer, and don’t blast you.  Stormtroopers also take cover at the pillars on your level, they take cover if you don’t deflect the bolts back at them.  Finally, Darth Vader (Scott Lawrence) appears in front of you, about a meter away.  While stormtroopers and remotes blast at you, Vader breaks apart pieces of the pillars to Force Throw at you, kinda easy to destroy if you are not distracted.  I didn’t have a chance to see if I can use the Force to counter Vader with the rubble.  I didn’t get a chance to duel with him.  The action of playing at that point was like a short jog.  Lightsaber Dojo is a fun Star Wars experience!


Four Lightsabers out of Five!     


#LightsaberDojo, #VaderImmortal, #ILMxLAB, #OculusQuest, #ScottLawrence 

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