ROM: Extraction Reviews

Rom: Extraction is already my favorite VR game. It has that "Just one more try" pull of the great arcade shooters and looks phenomenal to boot. Having arms rendered in game has been a very noticeable and welcomed addition to the amount of immersion I've felt while playing. The social screen has been a blast as onlookers cheer on and warn of incoming threats. All around one of the most immersive and fun games I've played in the Vive. Update 3/5/17: The new level and weapon are great! The recent update even made it run way better for me too! There are now more options to control the sounds in game, the new menu area looks great and is laid out much better. Great update!!!

The game is fun and has some cool mechanics but it's only two levels at the moment. Definitely would not pay $20 for it in its current state, wait for a sale. Worth it for under $5.

One enviroment, lots of robots. Like the good old arcade shooters. PRO: + nice physics + bullet time + arcade feeling CONTRA: - lack of content (weapons, enemies, enviroments) - price to value (discount purchase should be considered) - lack of movement options

This was a good game when it came out, but it hasn't been updates for three quarters of a year now and it's starting to fall behind other wave-shooter offerings. It's at -90% sale right now, for 2 dollars it's definitely a fun experience. For 10 or anything more, i don't think I can recommend it.

At first it was good, it was made by people with experience but then nothing happened we got one extra dlc map and that's it. The game has supposedly been abandoned. Shame it could have been something.

This game is abandonware, it hasn't had an update since April 2017. It still only has two levels, two guns and one enemy type, and you can finish the whole thing in less than 20 minutes. Its also horribly optimized, I spent more time tweaking the graphics settings than I did actually playing.

Ok, I've played 45 minutes of this game. And while it looks great, and has some nice music, it's not really grabbing me in the same way that some other wave VR shooters have (Space pirate trainer). The principle is to throw orbs with one hand, then shoot them with a gun in the other, to make them explode like grenades. You also have bullet time, which slows everything down, making it easier to shoot your orbs. There are power-ups you can shoot which then change your orbs behaviour. There are two levels here, but the game play is well nigh identical for both of them. Throw orbs at robots, slow time, and shoot the orbs, boom. Here is my first problem with the game. It requires you to throw orbs in VR, and they really don't often fly where you expect them to go. So you can throw a lot of orbs trying to get them to go into upper storey alcoves, where they really really don't want to go. Not only that, you really have to throw them with your off hand, since you'll be shooting them with your main hand. So what the game is asking you to do is, throw accurately with your off hand, then shoot the orbs. Which is tricky, and can be frustrating. Plus using the Touch controller, it doesn't really feel like throwing a ball, possibly because you aren't, and also, because you can't really judge the weight like you could with a real ball. With the vive wands, I imagine it's not a lot better. Which brings me on to the second problem with the game. You try and play this as a skill game, throwing and shooting orbs, and you will get a score of around 200,000. You can try harder, throwing, slowing time down, and shooting orbs. Several times. You'll consistently score around 200,000 before the time runs out and the level ends. OK. But, you can also play, just spamming orbs in all directions, not bothering to slow or shoot them. Just randomly throwing them everywhere... without skill. You will score around 300,000. Which is a lot more, right? So where is the reward in playing skillfully? So the whole point of the game, and it's a score attack game, goes out the window. You'd be better off, if you could do away with the gun, and just throw orbs with both hands. In fact, if this was a water bomb filled with paint game, it might be a better, more fun game. It might even make more sence, since robots and paint wouldn't mix well. (Albeit ruining the future cyber punk aesthetic, for something more colourfully Nintendo-esqe! But then think how cool that neon paint effect in Tron Legacy was? It could work!) Then there is the power-ups. You can't use them when you want, they are always the next orb you throw, so you might pick up a useful power-up, but have noone useful to throw it at. They also have some nice effects, like creating a trip wire, but the game is so frenetic, and with them being the next orb, you won't easily be able to make tactical use of them, and you'll probably just throw the orb at a nearby robot anyway, in the hope that it goes somewhere near them and does some damage. Then there's the nominal, running out of health thing, because you are being shot at. Which is pointless, because, there's no point ducking for cover when there are so many robots in different directions, you are against the clock, and you have to see to throw orbs, and then shoot the orbs. Plus you never seem to be able to die on normal mode anyway, even when your health is apparently "critically low". Then there is the bouncing of the orbs. When they bounce, they just accelerate away, in a ridiculous anti-physics way. So off the wall, bounce trick shots are impossible, because the orbs, post-bounce move too quickly to shoot, even in bullet time. So, is it a great game? Not really, not yet anyway. Will I be playing it as adictively as that other wave shooter? Nope. But, as a bit of high energy work out, and a bit of a change from space pirate trainer, it might be worth £3.74 of your money while it's on sale.

Rom Extraction is too short (half a hour) and too simplistic to be priced at $19.99. It isn't very replayable, and some of the gameplay elements feel too basic. If you get this, you should get it at $5 or less, and you're really only getting it for the eye candy. It's a semi-decent VR wave shooter experience that doesn't require much roomscale space, but it's priced too high and is too short to be a recommendation.

3.0 out of 10 Visually stunning, great sound and great gunplay, but short, very short. When I mean short you can complete the 2 levels combined in less than 15 minutes. Yes that's the entire game, 15 minutes. The levels are the first sections of the first chapter, the game is following some kind of story. That's not described but you can tell there's meant to be a plot. The amount of content in this game, regardless of the polished quality is no more than a demo. This game is incomplete and should not be purchased until the developer makes this into a complete game. Go ahead, pay £14.99 for a demo, it's your money. I feel cheated and so will you when you reflect on how little there is. You can argue there's replay value in those 2 short levels, sure, but that will wear thin quickly. My advice, add to your wishlist and keep an eye out for new content. If it's on sale then it's your shout whether to take a gamble. Just remember this game was released over 6 months ago. Does that give you confidence, 6 months development time post-launch for a 15 minute game?

Unfortunately this is my first "not recommended" review. This "game" is awesome, very well polished and fun. However, it is a single mission and in my 17 minutes of play I managed to complete 3 separate playthroughs. This is more of a tech demo than a stand alone game. In under 20 minutes I've done it all, simply not enough content to warrant the price tag ($1 a minute in my case). I have refunded for now but once this title has more content it will certainly warrant a purchase.