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Arizona Sunshine
Developed and Published by Vertigo Games.
Released on 6 December 2016.
Available on Playstation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

As someone with a great deal of faith in VR, I like to keep in touch with the latest VR games, specifically for the PSVR. When I came across Arizona Sunshine in the PS market, I was intrigued in what appeared to be a rather fleshed out game, but also confused as to why it had such a mixed review. It took me around 6 hours to discover why.

Arizona Sunshine presents itself as a world of arid skies, sandy canyons, and undead dudes. It didn’t immediately translate what kind of game it would be. I was unsure if I should prepare myself for fast paced action or a looming feeling of horror. I was surprised to realize it was more story driven than either of the previous expectations;. You play as a nameless man, a lone wanderer in the middle of zombie-ridden Arizona. His background isn’t actually revealed, leaving the unanswered question of how he got where he was, or how he is as diversely skilled as he is.. The man cracks the occasional joke towards the nearby undead, giving gameplay a less serious tone during slower moments of gameplay. When met with more serious moments, like car alarms attracting a horde, the man’s tone became more concerned and even scared. The dynamic levels of emotion made the man increasingly relatable at the game went on. The game features an approximately 4-hour campaign, one that’s fully voice acted, as well as a wave-based horde mode. Both of these modes can be played cooperatively. It even supported the uncommon PlayStation Aim controller, a rifle-shaped controller designed specifically for the PSVR. I was excited for just such a game; there needs to be more full and fleshed out titles for VR like these. Yet when I checked reviews online, they bounced wildly between flawless praise and pitchforks. The negative reviews centered around the claims that tracking issues made the game unenjoyable. For those with a limited budget, Arizona Sunshine may be asking a lot. It sits at $40–above the market average for VR titles. While this left me with some unease, what is reward without risk? So, I decided to see for myself.

I played it on PSVR and opted for the Aim Controller, which allowed me greater movement control while adding to the immersion of the game. I favor two-handed weapons anyway. The game compensates for this by changing what weapons you come across through the story from one-handed pistols to two-handed rifles, all of which felt satisfying to use. Controller vibrations from firing paired with the squishy pop of heads exploding made me feel lethal, while killing a zombie in one shot made me feel like a calm and composed marksman. This was a stark contrast to when I would lose my cool further on, when I was overrun by a large number of zombies and shooting wildly in fear. The 3 weapon variations (semi-auto rifle, shotgun, and automatic rifle) suited my needs in any situation. Since the later weapons were direct upgrades from what you had, there was no concern about choosing what weapons to keep or swap out.  The controls were clean and easy, It allowed me to move and interact with the world around me while still be able to aim my rifle quickly and accurately at my intended target. All the rifles I came across had a holographic sight for more accurate aiming, and it felt extremely natural with the PS Aim Controller. I was popping off headshots faster than I could ever hope to when using a traditional controller.

Then, I found a sniper rifle. It was equipped with a long range scope and positioned in an ideal location for picking off the zombies in the distance. Here I had my greatest revelation: I would raise the scope to my face, closing one eye to see better, and I had a hard time keeping on target. It made sense; they were really far away, so the smallest twitch would translate to a much larger stagger in my sights. While most shooters simulate this concept by having the reticle sway, it was nothing like how this felt. For the first time in in my videogame life, I felt that the difficulty aiming was my own, a result of my own unsteady hands. It’s never felt so genuine to aim down a scope.

As I progressed further into the game and was able to feel out the controls as well as the environment, the features that make this game so great began to come to light. Being able to walk along the sandy pathways surrounded by canyon walls and under the bright sun felt incredibly natural in VR. The level design was fluid; it guided me as I progressed without needing to tell me where to go. I never was lost and I never was unsure what I was supposed to be doing. The world built here was one of the most immersive places I have experienced in a VR game.

The zombies were an excellent example of what zombies were meant to be. While one lazy bumbling undead was hardly a threat, it was far more dangerous when a large collection of them began to hone in on your location with the specific intent of making you their lunch. They were smart enough to be able to find and approach me, while not being so clever as to do anything more than that. It wasn’t hard to be able to predict their behavior, nor should it be. The perfect accent to this environment was the protagonist. The voiced main character had a humor to him that was entertaining without being overbearing; after all, the world doesn’t need another Duke Nukem. His occasional humored remarks helped ease the tensions of being stuck in a dusty, embittered zombiescape. As you progressed through the campaign and your situation became more serious, it felt like he was treating it accordingly. Everything wasn’t a joke to him, so he treated every situation with the level of emotional maturity that any normal person would. The relatability of the man allowed me to feel how he felt so that even though the game is played alone, you don’t always feel alone.

By this point, I had entirely forgotten about all the reviews criticizing the poor tracking. I was having a blast. After completing the campaign, I tried out the Horde mode. It took getting used to being restricted to a small area, instead of my usual zippy moving tactic, I acclimated quickly. By completing the campaign, I had also unlocked an Apocalypse mode. In this mode, all you have is a large caliber pistol, and a single zombie strike kills you. This is when I decided to use the handheld Move controller instead. Using a two-handed rifle to aim a pistol felt weird. This is where I discovered the issue.

The motion controls with the Move Controller were as you expected, point and teleport. While I don’t prefer this, I understand the limitations of the move controls and a first-person interface. But the aim made the fluidity fall apart. Far too frequently, my weapon did not stay aligned with my controller, tilting too far left, or moving when I held still. This made it substantially harder to aim for the head of zombies at much closer ranges than before. I decided to switch to the standard PS4 controller, the DualShock 4. While the motions felt better with the joysticks, the aiming was even worse. The tilting issue was twice as bad, and the weapon would NEVER stay still, no matter how focused my hands were. Both the Move Controllers and the DualShock 4 were nothing short of frustrating to deal with. It was a struggle to accurately shoot a zombie standing directly in front of me. I hadn’t made it halfway through the first area of the game before being overcome with exasperation and quitting the game entirely. This made the game feel unplayable.

To play Arizona Sunshine with anything other than the Aim Controller was uncomfortable, disjointed, and an overall bad time. I was heartbroken. How could a game I enjoyed so much just the day before feel so awful to play? By this point, it made complete sense why half of the people who played it hated it, and the other  loved it. The PC didn’t have a unified rifle controller for VR to use, and even among PlayStation fans, the PS Aim controller was uncommon. While this game was one of the best VR games I’ve played, only with this particular controller– one that a majority of its users don’t own.

If you own a PSVR as well as the Aim Controller, then I recommend this game. Otherwise, I would not. One single issue, while major, is solely responsible for taking Arizona Sunshine from amazing to impossible to play. Perhaps these issues will be resolved and patched in at some future point. How it is now, it needs work.