Star in your own movie and make a name for yourself in the industry. Be the next big Action Hero.
Being an action star is hard work for anyone who dedicates themselves to the craft. As a stuntman in Action Hero, some might argue the actor has it easier. To work doing stunts, one must remain limber. Experience what it means to work in stunts, bending, ducking, and leaning through multiple scenes. Show people how dedicated you are to physical exercise, and become a stunt performer in Action Hero.
Depending on the director, a movie may call for hundreds of shots utilizing stunt performers. It may even call for dangerous tasks. As the Action Hero, you are front and center, working as the stunt performer, making sure each scene in a movie has ‘the shot.’ Star in multiple high-budget movies by doing stunts and become a legend in the genre. Are you ready to become the next Action Hero?
Take on multiple roles, gaining points and recognition for your work. As the best in the business, it’s up to you to make these films look good. That does not come without its demands. One of the most obvious demands of an Action Hero to come up is to be physically active. No one is a casual stunt performer. Those in the business ensure their bodies are up to the task of stunt work. From developer Fast Travel Games comes a VR FPS Shooter that is sure to get people sweating.
Projectiles from enemies can have their speeds adjusted. By default, all projectiles in Action Hero travel at 100% speed. In the settings menu, one can change it to 90%, 75%, and 50%. Set it to the lowest number, and you’ll feel like a speedster. Completing scenes like this in Action Hero will allow one to take a more relaxed approach to the game overall. But if high-octane stunts are your bag, one can simply leave the settings as they are.
You might also choose to increase the number of bullets one can take. Raise it to at least three, and an individual will have a good chance of progressing. Having a buffer is nice, especially when trying to dodge bullets in slow motion. Enemies in Action Hero can attack from every direction a player can turn. Depending on the situation, it can spell disaster for the entire scene. If one is mindful, however, virtually all projectiles can be deflected in some way.
If the gun being wielded is empty, simply throw it so that it collides with another object in mid-air. Using swords is even cooler when it comes to dealing with bullets. Anything orange can be deflected with another object. Guns can be knocked from an enemy’s hands using a sword. Or, if one wants to add insult to injury, behave like a proper Action Hero and yank it from the enemy’s grasp.
Guns not the desired style of fighting for your Action Hero persona? Balling up fists and serving knuckle sandwiches is also an option. Pressing the second trigger on either Quest controller will form a fist. If a gun runs out of ammo, one can use the unlimited ammo of hands. Attempting to deflect bullets by hand will almost guarantee the player character a swift ending.
It is possible to move about the virtual environment, provided the playing space has room for it. With limited space, it was extremely difficult not to kick something. Punching a wall in your space will occur if one is not careful. You must also be sure to measure their actions as well. Using the right expanse of space in a room, it is possible to make “physical contact” with almost every enemy that descends upon the player.
Each movement the player character makes slowly advances the scene. By default, everything happening moves in slow motion until the player begins to move themselves. It is indeed a weird thing to experience, especially when an unexpected sneezing fit takes over. On the right controller, pressing A will speed the scene up. This allows one to speed through the scene if enemies are taken down quickly. If more time is needed to take in and assess the scene, pressing B will slow things down to a crawl.
The ability to slow things down in Action Hero is a nice touch. If a quick assessment of the area is necessary, all that’s required is to hold down B as one rotates their vision. Enemies will continue to move as slow as molasses while the player gets their bearings. It’s important to note that the game utilizes the Meta Quest’s ability to render a 360-degree environment. Be sure to look in EVERY direction regardless of what stage is being played at the time.
Assessing the situation is important when getting the right shot. Keeping in mind the bright red is the enemy’s ‘target area’, it is possible to decide what happens before others close the gap. When dodging the bullets and landing strikes with things like thrown wrenches or guns, it is hard not to feel like a real-life movie star. This feeling might be reinforced by dodging and leaning away from oncoming vehicles.
The biggest issue in combat for Action Hero has to be the open hands. Contact using open hands is, unfortunately, non-existent. Clenched fists are the only time the hands appear to have collision physics. This is unfortunate, as open-handed strikes would make for comedy gold.
Oddly, it isn’t possible, especially when one knows that a gun can be stolen using an open hand. With so much emphasis on martial arts, it’s a shame that things like a classic karate chop cannot be executed.
Action Hero has a fair amount of variety when it comes to the movie genres. There are scenes in a lost temple, one in a science lab, and others on freeways and sideways in hallways. My favorite, though, is most certainly the stage involving ninjas in a dojo. Stealing a sword from a ninja and slicing through all the ninja stars is a real treat. Even held ninja stars can deflect other stars and slice through bullets.
All enemies in each movie come in swarms. But in the ninja movie, enemies often attack three at a time. Add in projectiles descending from multiple angles, and the scene becomes increasingly complicated. At normal speeds, this is the most difficult and physically demanding movie of the four available. A fair amount of bobbing, weaving, and bending is required.
AI-driven enemies are not the only thing an Action Hero needs to watch out for. One must also keep an eye out for environmental hazards. These hazards come in many forms. Some appear in the form of explosive barrels, while others are shrapnel created by exploding those barrels. Detonating any explosive too close guarantees a swift end to the player. It is important to make a mental note of the speed, proximity of the object, and blast radius of said object.
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that Action Hero requires a lot of physical activity. Many times, one will find the available weapons strewn about the ground. The only way to grab them is to crouch and make a grabbing motion. Movement like this places risks on the scene being ended prematurely, making a limber body almost a necessity.
The sets of movies to choose from are nice. However, the issue arises when one wants to take a break. No checkpoints exist in the game. At no time can a person pause mid-scene, exit the game, and come back to that point. After death, it’s all the way back to the beginning. Completing the scene allows one to move on to the next movie once completed. Even pausing the game and putting the Meta Quest 3 on Sleep Mode won’t bookmark a player’s spot.
Visually, Action Hero is a smooth experience. Enemy characters have simple designs, which is likely what allows focus on enemy numbers. These characters tend to be unique to their respective films, with little exception. The vulnerable points of most enemy characters are thankfully highlighted in red. Having this little detail implemented allows quick decision-making during a particularly difficult scene.
The player’s only visible parts are the hands themselves. Aside from opening and closing fists and holding grenades, swords, and ninja stars, this minor detail can almost be forgotten at times. Simple gloves adorn the hands of virtual Action Hero’s hands.
Sound might be an issue in the game, depending on the person. It is not hard to take notice of projectile weapons being fired. While it can help in some areas, it doesn’t always help when multiple characters are aiming the player’s direction. When enemies advance on the player, there is no sound of their footsteps or their movement. Aside from maybe groaning in pain as they’re taken out, minion-level enemies have little to speak of in regard to sound design.
Additionally, Action Hero settings allow for one to change the sound of the director’s voice. Changing this setting does not seem to affect the title in any noticeable way. Other than choosing who to have yelled at the person playing, it doesn’t feel like there’s really a reason to change it. I feel like this setting could have been omitted from the game. This setting will greatly benefit if changing directors change what movies are available to a player.
Action Hero is a hit or miss, depending on a person’s personality. Numerous sequences seem like they can be pulled out of a movie. However, the lack of checkpoints does not do the title any favors. Knowing that there is a sort of ‘permadeath’ when it comes to failing a scene, it can be frustrating having to start from the beginning.
No one likes being forced to exercise. But if a person wants to play this game and do it with default settings, regularly scheduled cardio is of great importance. Leaving the settings on default is sure to get people sore. If you’re looking for a good challenge and you love to punish yourself while gaming, Action Hero is one way to do that.
Overall, Action Hero delivers an average level of what it advertises as a VR FPS Shooter. But it delivers what one would expect of an arcade shooter. While the ‘movies’ themselves were okay, there are only four movies from Action Hero.
Despite this limiting the replay value in one way, others might try their hands at besting high scores. Each ‘level’ is rated once completed. And depending on the settings, that score will vary. I am unsure that the average Meta Quest 3 player would be invested in the title. But if you’re an active type of person and you like beating your ‘maxes,’ this is certainly a title to check out.
