BYTE: Virtual Reality Arcade Shooter Review

Virtual reality was one of those high brow concepts that seemed poised to take over the world in the 1990s. But aside from a few expensive arcade pods and Hollywood CGI snore-fest The Lawnmower Man, it ultimately came to nothing.

Nonetheless, the concept of patching into a totally immersive world remains the holy grail of gaming and therefore titles such as BYTE – which seek to emulate the trippy VR experience – nip at that long lost appeal.

Although the storyline involves a Matrix-style plot to subvert the minds of the world using computers, its closest gameplay inspiration is trance-like shooter Rez. BYTE owes a considerable debt to that game, with some of the enemy designs lifted almost wholesale from Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s cult classic.

You control a small crystal-like craft through a malevolent computer network in an effort to shut it down and prevent the undoing of mankind. You're funnelled down a tube in what is essentially an on-rails shooter; it's possible to avoid enemy fire and hug the edges of the course, but ultimately you're going only where led.

Rather than moving your ship directly, you instead control crosshairs, the position of which affect your ship's position. Passing this reticle over enemies triggers a lock and any shots fired automatically head towards your target.

Opponents appear in set waves, making BYTE feel much like an old skool shooter. Successfully taking down these units often yields power-up items, such as protective shields, smart bombs and health top-ups. Being quick with your trigger finger also rewards you with combo score bonuses.

Every now and then you encounter large, end-of-level boss units. These put up more resistance than your usual mid-level grunts and have attack patterns which must be figured out in order to achieve victory.

BYTE certainly tries hard to replicate the experience of Rez; the visuals are strikingly similar, and the thumping, trace-like soundtrack is sure to evoke feelings of déjà vu with hardcore fans.

Connectivity with OpenFeint is a welcome touch and the ability to unlock achievements will maintain interest, but the game’s biggest failing is its repetitive nature.

The inventive visuals and toe-tapping sounds only take the experience so far and once you’ve spent a few hours blowing up hordes of seemingly never-ending enemies, the appeal wane.

It’s a criticism which could quite rightly be laid at the door of many similar shooters, but with BYTE the lack of variety seems especially noticeable. While the presentation cannot be faulted, the game simply doesn’t offer up enough diversity to make it a classic download.