Today we drove all the way from Coquitlam to Aldergrove, just to play virtual reality VR. This would be with the Meta Quest 3, and despite having the technology at home.
Although as a former avid gamer, doing so took me back to late night gaming at Internet cafes. You can play at home and connect online with friends, but in person and together in a room has an added level of fun.
But first getting there, the location is a little hard to find. There is little to no signage post, and the ones that they do have are literally little. Small pieces of paper and arrows, you need to know where to go to get there. From the exterior it looks suspect and there is no reassurance that it isn’t just an abandoned warehouse in an industrial area.
Once inside the ambience change. The main foyer is kept dark with glowing lights to best capture the energy of the high tech adventure ahead. They have a few genres and types of games to choose from. This includes both teamwork or versus challenges in either a room style or first person shooter. We had a choice between blasting zombies or aliens, so opted on the latter. You also get to choose the difficulty level based on your experience and expertise. We were cocky enough to go for hard, only to have to have the setting lowered to easy for us to advance.
Before game time you have to watch a safety video on how to play. This included rules like not lying on the ground and staying within the barriers that the game sets, to avoid walking into walls, in real life.
When time you are ushered into the actual play room. It is decorated with futuristic grids and lines. They could have honestly left the room empty and plain, because what you will be seeing is within the goggles. However, I thought the current look added to the experience and your perceived value of it.
Based on equipment and game space you can have up to 14 players in one match up. This would be divided into two groups of 7, split between two floors to ensure ample space for everyone to move.
The game master gears you up, securing the eye piece to your head, and the straps of the controls to your hands by the wrists.
In our case and for our game there was another quick tutorial, where we got to practice shooting, healing one another, and moving in the space, live.
As for the game itself we are given 45 minutes of play time, but honestly it goes by so fast, especially if you finish the mission quickly like we did with our group of five. Like all other video games you get an introduction, where you are given a mission. The host or narrator walks you through the scenario explaining goals. The things you need to complete and the enemies you need to destroy before being able to move to the next area or level. Not to ruin it for those who have never played, but our game included small tasks and big bosses. And if we had trouble proceeding through the challenge our game master would step in, or we could call him to help.
In the end we enjoyed our time and hand fun playing as a team. This one is fun for all ages and I can see myself spending the entire day here. For those wanting just that, or to come to celebrate an occasion, they have two party rooms with options for an adult version with drinks and/or birthday parties with tables for pizza and cake.
Another World VR (Virtual Reality)
3078 275 St, Aldergrove, BC V4W 3L4
(778) 743-8552
anotherworldbc.ca
