Operation Wolf returnsthis summer to virtual reality platforms for PC and PlayStation VR, and all I can say is, well, it’s about damn time?!
Very few games have the right to be called “arcade legend”, especially among rail shooters, but Taito’s Operation Wolf in fact, it’s an arcade legend. It first hit pizzerias and bowling alleys in 1987, as a light-gun game with a controller Delta Forceclass Uzi mounted on a swivel. The next in-home console adaptations of the wildly popular, Reagan-’80s, kill-’em-all-let-God-sort-’em-out Schwarzenegger’s shooter always seemed to be missing something.
But in a virtual reality setup? OK, now you are talking. Good gravy, VR is constantly mocked for serving up little more than over-dressed rail shooters, so why haven’t we gotten this tweak yet? Operation Wolf returns: first mission returns on July 13 through Steam for PCs with Meta Quest and Pico 4 and for PlayStation VR 2. Virtuallyz Gaming is the developer, Microids the publisher.
The story/campaign section is six levels long (like the original), with a survival/horde mode for those looking for non-stop action. In addition to the fully automatic SMG, players can also switch to a shotgun, a huge-bore sidearm, or a grenade launcher. Sit me down and also order a basket of chili cheese fries and a milkshake, please.
A non-VR adaptation is coming this fall, Microids says, and it will be available for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.