"South Park" once had an episode titled "Informative Murder Porn," where Randy and Sharon entered the world of "Minecraft" to reinvigorate their sex lives after Investigative Discovery and other "murder porn" channels were removed from their cable provider's lineup. Now, gamers will be to do something similar - sans the sex life bit - as "Minecraft" is finally getting the VR treatment.
Coming to the Samsung Gear VR, "Minecraft: Gear VR Edition" is very much like "Minecraft: Pocket Edition." It offers everything one might expect of the VR port, meaning that it comes with Creative and Survival modes, skins and, most importantly, multiplayer.
The core difference between the two is that with the VR treatment, "Minecraft: Gear VR Edition" offers players a chance to fully immerse themselves in "Minecraft's" world thanks to two viewing modes: a theater view in a virtual room and a first-person view, which offers players a closer look at their creations.
"'Minecraft' is a game that you can both figuratively and literally lose yourself in. In fact, my strongest memories of being inside VR are from the time I've spent exploring Minecraft on Gear VR," Oculus CTO John Carmack said.
Fortunately for players, while the VR port will offer a new way to experience "Minecraft," it won't create a segregated experience in exchange, as "Minecraft: Gear VR Edition" supports cross-platform play with the "Pocket" version as well as the "Windows 10 Edition."
Surprisingly, for a chance to play the massively popular game, which has been used for things such as recreation and testing AI, the chance to play it VR-style is remarkably cheap at first glance. The game itself costs $6.99 on the Oculus Store, while the Samsung Gear VR costs $99.
However, there are only two caveats. First, since its for the Samsung Gear VR, fans will need to have a compatible mobile device such as the Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge plus, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 edge or the Galaxy Note 5. Furthermore, the game requires a gamepad, and The Oculus Team recommends the SteelSeries Stratus XL, which will cost you $59.99.
The accumulated price might be somewhat high, but the chance to finally play "Minecraft" in VR is certainly worth it if you have the means. In a similar vein, this is simply the first foray that the game will make into virtual reality. Developer Mojang says "Minecraft" for the Oculus Rift is still in development, so that's something else fans have to look forward to.
Check out "Minecraft: Gear VR Edition" below:
