The iconic franchise is using VR to bring us the future of amusement park rides.
Imagine you’re strapped into one of those really cool sudden-drop amusement park rides most fun centers have. Now add a helicopter, machine guns, enormous man-eating spiders tearing their way through a destroyed city and you have Six Flags coolest new attraction.
Open now for a limited time at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, Drop Of Doom VR combines the world’s fastest and tallest drop ride with virtual reality to deliver an amusement park experience you’ll never forget.
After strapping on a Samsung Gear VR headset and buckling into their seats, riders are transported to a crumbling city under siege by hordes of giant mutant spiders. Using the Gear VR touchpad on the side of the headset, players are able to shoot down the invading arachnids from the gunner seat of a helicopter as they climb 41 stories and then rocket back to the ground at speeds near 90 mph.
This isn’t the first time Six Flags has experimented with combining virtual reality with its rides. Last summer the park unveigled a different VR amusement ride in the form of SUPERMAN The Ride. The virtual reality coaster also used Oculus-powered Gear VR headsets which were synced to the action of the coaster. Riders then team up with the son of Krypton himself to help save Metropolis from everyone’s favorite cue ball villain, Lex Luthor. Perhaps even cooler are the several Six Flags locations offering attendees a chance to experience the world’s first mixed reality roller coaster.
Galactic Attack puts riders in the cockpit of a high-tech spaceships and tasks them with defending the Earth from an alien invasion. Ascending up the initial lift of the ride is entirely augmented reality, displaying a futuristic heads up display featuring crucial data for your upcoming battle including weapon systems, time-codes and a countdown clock. Once the clock strikes zero, you’re transported into space via full virtual reality. Riders must then use the Gear VR trackpad to shoot down incoming drones controlled with low-latency head tracking. You’re even offered three different options towards the conclusion of the ride which result in three very different endings.
Hopefully this Six Flags virtual reality initiative continues to infect the entirety of its park until we have a dedicated virtual reality theme park. After all, wireless VR and adrenaline-pumping thrill rides are a match made in heaven, something I hope other popular parks begin to realize. I don’t know about you, but I for one wouldn’t mind a virtual reality Jurassic Park ride. You hearing me, Universal Studios?? You have a goldmine in your hands!
