2K Announces Carnival Games VR

2K are jumping on the VR-bandwagon with the release of Carnival Games VR. Already released on HTC Vive and Playstation VR, Carnival Games VR  will be coming to Oculus Rift on December 6.

“2K is proud to make our debut in the exciting world of VR with an accessible and lighthearted entertainment experience,” said Sarah Anderson, SVP of Marketing at 2K. “Carnival Games VR’s stylised interactive environments and mini-games make it the perfect way to enjoy virtual reality with family and friends .”

The premise is pretty self explanatory; you walk around a carnival with different games that you can try out. There are twelve games in total, which are:

Alley Ball: Nine balls, get as many as you can into the holes at the end of the alley.

Ring Toss: Five rings, get them on pegs to earn points.

Golden Arm: Knock over the golden milk jugs with a baseball.

Down The Stretch: A race that involves getting balls into holes at the end of a ramp.

Pop Darts: Pop as many balloons as you can with six darts.

Shooting Gallery: Shooting time trail.

Climbing Wall: Reach the treasure as fast as you can by climbing the wall.

Shark Tank: Throw a ball at a moving target to dunk patrons.

Funnel Cake Stacker: How many funnel cakes can you catch on a tray?

Haunted House: On-rails haunted house shooter.

Fast Pitch: Hardcore game of catch.

Swish: Dunk as many baskets as you can under time pressure.

You earn tickets which can buy you some virtual prizes too! these are held in your Play Room, and can be used to unlock achievements. There are even leaderboards, making you able to challenge your friends and compete for the top score online.

Of course, some of you will find this title uncannily familiar to Carnival Games that was released on the Wii, 3DS and other platforms back in 2008. Now brought to VR, it’s hard to say if there is much of a fan base for this port, or, if like Wii Play on the Wii console, this is just an opportunity to provide  a  bunch of mini-games to show off what the peripheral can do. Although unlike Wii Play, it doesn’t come free with the hardware.

Personally I don’t think many people are going to pay for what is in essence a bunch of mini-games, especially when they could use that money to invest in Eve: Valkyrie, or other upcoming triple-A VR releases. I could be wrong though; with VR still finding it’s feet in the gaming market, the availability of non-horror, multiplayer-VR content could be just what people are looking for. But for the price, are you willing to throw the first ball?