In the modder's pursuit to make great games even better, the Oculus Rift device has been an incredible resource. This virtual reality headset has improved immersion in new and old games alike. With official support by Valve, implementation by many PC indie developers, and modders adding functionality to existing games, the device's potential is astounding. Today, by way of Kotaku, we're looking at an Oculus mod that brings virtual reality to one of Nintendo's greatest games: Metroid Prime.
Modder Chadtronic has added Oculus Rift support to Retro Studio's first Metroid Prime game by using the Dolphin Emulator, TriDef 3D, and XPadder. The mod puts his POV into that of the intergalactic bounty hunter, Samus Aran.
The mod isn't perfect, as Chadtronic reports that the emulator may crash. Also, based on what we see in the demonstration video, head movement allows Chadtronic to see outside the bounds of Samus' HUD and visor. Regardless of a few technical gaffs, which are to be expected when modding a game (which is also running through an emulator), this is fairly impressive. The only missed opportunity here is that he's not playing the Wii version of the game, which allows full independent movement of Samus' arm cannon.
Chadtronic's YouTube channel has him playing a variety of Oculus Rift modded games, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart (no doubt nauseating), and a first person version of the original 8-bit The Legend of Zelda.
The Oculus Rift is quite the device. The other day we reported that Oculus, the company, is hoping to sell the consumer version for $300, a relatively tame price considering all that the device will be capable of. If you'd like to pick one up now, do so quickly as the current developer kit supply is running low. As for the consumer version, we still have no release date on that.
