It’s not every day that you receive the opportunity to work as a covert agent. But that’s exactly what you’ll get during Dreamscape’s latest immersive experience, MIB: First Assignment, during a 20-minute excursion.
Men in Black fans may channel Agent K and Agent D and go on a journey to save the earth in the latest location-based, free-roaming adventure from the virtual reality business, which has a branch in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. You don’t get to defend cute interplanetary creatures, the Zarthanians, from their alien nemeses, the frightening Octopodes, but you do get to save cute intergalactic creatures, the Zarthanians, from their extraterrestrial nemeses, the fearsome Octopodes.
It’s a tall order to match the previous two adventures, but MIB: First Assignment delivers an entirely new interactive experience in a futuristic setting, complete with a train ride and free-flying on hover bikes over cities and galaxies before returning the lovable, glob-like alien Zarthanians to safety.
The full experience takes around 35 minutes from start to end, including putting on the trackers on your hands and feet and strapping on the VR backpack and headgear. You get to choose your gaming avatars, and once you put on the headsets, you can see yourself and your fellow agents (up to six people in a batch) in avatar form.
You stand and walk on a platform that moves to simulate the feelings of the vehicle or travel you are on during the encounter. It has bars on all sides to grab on to if the motion becomes too much for you, as well as to keep you from walking away during the trip, as I nearly did but was shoved back in.
The rest of the game sees you flying through progressively bizarre universes and settings (keep an eye out for the bulldog floating in space) while escaping the wicked, tentacled Octopoid assault. Unlike typical video games, there is no skill or maneuver required here; all you have to do is dress up, walk on, and have fun, but it will push you beyond your comfort zone.