Animal Planet: Amazon Odyssey Reviews

Review - http://www.htcvivegamereviews.com/?review=i-need-some-mosquito-spray-into-the-amazon Let's Play Video - http://www.htcvivegamereviews.com/?video=im-on-a-boat-amazon-odyssey-htc-vive-vr C- So I’m a big fan of theBlu. I like nature. I like zoology. I like taxonomy. By reading the description, this game should have had me at hello. The problems with Amazon Odyssey first off is the graphics – It just doesn’t look good. The parachute honestly was a terrible way to start the game. Overlooking the jungle was something akin to minecraft, even with the graphics on high. With experience based games, it has to NOT feel like a video game in my opinion. You have to forget or at least feel immersed enough to forget about the reality around you. When I was in that parachute, the idea already lost me by seeing my surroundings. Landing and being in the jungle, the game looks much better. The animals still look like something out of Zoo Tycoon 2 when zoomed in but hey, I guess that’s something. The information presented from the narrator is definitely educational which is another thing the game has going for it. At a point, I felt detached. When I think of the whale encounter in theBlu compared to seeing the big cats in this game, it’s a “meh” situation. At a point, I just wanted to rush through and get the photos. I love the idea of the game but the graphics and atmosphere just killed it for me. I think the VR system can really bring this type of genre to life but it needs better handling, especially of the graphics. I laughed to myself as the animals triggered themselves back into the jungle when I took pictures as if they could read my mind. For $9.99, it’s tough to recommend at this point. The boat on the river was the highlight of the game and actually felt natural. If that’s something that interests you for <20 minutes, then go for it.

Better than I thought it was going to be interesting, has its problems and I talk about them in Video. Take a trip through the Amazon while drinking beer and laying on the couch in a run-down trailer in the middle of butt fuck anywhere. What's not to like about that, I can see myself in another 10 years going down to the local University giving lectures on all the places I have visited in the world and are an expert on just from my couch. Obviously before being escorted off the campus and arrested for not being employed by any institution and in fact not being employed for the past 30 years. Video review: https://youtu.be/xnMuN8oeXVE

Cute but you seem to spend most of the trip just taking photos for your journal on a boat ride Also my graphics card not flast so not sure how "stunning" it was supose to be, but to me it looked a wee bit lame

Short tour of the jungle, mostly by boat. Game consist of taking pictures of animal life. Graphics and animations are OK, but not good enough for the type of visual experience this is supposed to be. Some lady is constantly chatting and explaining things in the background ruining the immersion further. Constant animal noises are too intense and load (especially in the beginning) making the guiding voice difficult to hear.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX? Amazon Odyssey is an experience where you're equipped with a camera and get to fly over/drive by boat through the Amazon jungle. The idea is to discover animals and take photos of them (they are highlighted when viewed through a "tablet"). VISUALS I was having high hopes for this one given what I've seen in theBlu, but the quality here is nowhere near that. The jungle from above looked like a 1990-er shooter; further down things got better but the visual quality was still way behind similar games and experiences. The animation of the leaves, for example, was very repetitive, and that of the animals were extremely basic. You don't even get to see most animals close up since they are ashore while you are stuck on a boat, and furthermore they slither/walk away once you get closer. SOUND I didn't get to listen properly to the animals sounds since there was a lady constantly chatting away and explaining things which was very distracting. CONTROLS You have a tablet in hand which you use to point at things and take photos. The tablet is held in one hand and the other is used to poke at it. This is not an "immersive" interface but simply exactly like holding a real-life tablet. While it worked fine it was a bit disappointing. Oh, and you can't control either the parachute or the boat direction despite the fact that there are in-game controls for that (handles and a steering wheel). GAMEPLAY This game reminds me of the movie Jurassic Park: Why build an experience ON RAILS through a park with animals when you could also do private tours to see them up close? This experience is exactly that: While VR would offer the option of really getting close to animals end enjoying their presence, you are stuck behind a virtual camera and can only take photos with a bit of zoom? HONESTLY? This experience could have been so much more, but is stuck in the past with non-immersive interface controls and a bad gameplay design. BOTTOM LINE NOPE! Not immersive, not beautiful, and not particularly informative. Skip this.

Well, I like the game. I liked the parachute jump, the boat trip (that part was a bit to long) and the paragliding. But for 9.99 euro overall this game is to short. If interested, here is the gameplay of the full game: https://youtu.be/R_R5A2gJfrg

At a young age, I was fascinated with the idea of exploring the Amazon Rain forest. I vaguely remember playing a few educational games as a child which allowed some exploration of the amazon jungle. However, nothing really satisfied my thirst for real adventure. I saw Amazon Odyssey and thought I'd give it a try, seeing as how it refreshed my intrique for the Amazon. I didn't play the game for that long, as after 30+ years of gaming, I couldn't find it very entertaining or immerse myself in it. The visuals are clunky and outdated, and exploration/interaction within the environment is limited. It is somewhat educational. The game provides very basic VR tourism with sub-par visuals and decent sound effects. Utlimately I would recommend Amazon Odyssey for a younger age group. Had the visuals been more appealing, the exploration and interaction more freeing, and the education aspects less superficial, I would have recommended this game more.

[u] I played this game on the Oculus Rift with Touch controllers. I can confirm this game does NOT work at all unless you do a Windows 7 compatability fix. [/u] If you start the game without the fix, the game won't even load up. Once you do the fix, game works fine with the only issue being some of the button mapping. You have to press down on the joystick and also go down to bring up the tablet. Meanwhile the a,x,b,y, and grip button all go unused. You move by teleporting and thankfully, you can choose the direction you're facing. The trigger button is used to grab items, but it can be a bit sketchy in execution to grab items. I got this game for $1.99 USD on the Steam Winter sale and can say it's a very good bargain at that price. I spent 30 minutes in game just doing the boat ride, although I was doing my best to capture the absolute best photos. The graphics are not the best, but they are not "Minecraft" quality as some apparently nearly blind reviewer claimed. The graphics are average quality for VR at the moment. The good news is that the game runs smoothly for the most part, even on a medium specced VR rig. The controls on the other hand, are not very good. So you'll also have to look past those problems to enjoy this game. This is not theBlu. TheBlue is great, but it's a curated cinematic experience only. Here, you can explore around the world and actually interact with some items. You actually feel like you're on an eco-tour. If you can forgive the graphics, you'll enjoy the experience. If you're expecting theBlu type graphics, then guess what? No game like that exists at this moment in time. So don't review games on Steam because you don't know what you're talking about. It's comparing apples to oranges. The ambient nature sounds are good. I didn't find the female voice annoying, I found her informative. Again, you're on an eco-tour. It makes sense you would have a guide along with you. All for only $1.99. Sale Price Rating 7/10