Look, I’ll be honest: I know next to nothing about cricket. I know that you need to hit a ball with a bat and then run somewhere, and then this happens over and over for the rest of the day, for what seems like months, until I guess a team wins or the heat death of the universe arrives.
Which is why I don’t really know what’s happening in this trailer for Shane Warne: King of Spin, a virtual reality cricket game which seems to be all about how good Shane Warne is at cricket. Unlike traditional sports games that feature the likenesses of sports dudes, King of Spin doesn’t actually let you play as Shane Warne. Instead, you have to face off against Shane Warne in a one-on-one endurance gauntlet of whatever actually happens in cricket.
Shane Warne is adamant that you won’t beat him. You can’t. He is, apparently, the King of Spin. The developer says you must stand and “face deliveries from Shane Warne”, but I misheard that as “face deliverance from Shane Warne” and I kind of like my version better. Because, unlike actual cricket (aka Australia’s Baseball) there’s the prospect of it actually coming to an end.
Shane Warne: King of Spin will be available sometime this year for the HTC Vive. It also has an iOS and Android version available, though the only VR version currently appears to be for the Vive, thanks to its motion controls. It’s currently available on Steam Early Access for US$29.99.
