News: Battlefield AR Game 'Recoil' Takes Tag to a Whole New Level

The new battlefield AR game announced by Skyrocket Toys today is similar to the childhood game "Tag", except the stakes are much, much higher.

Skyrocket Toys are known for selling drones and other gadgets that have previously utilized AR/VR. This includes products such as Mebo and Sky Viper.

The game takes a page out of Pokémon Go in that it uses GPS systems and AR to put players into a projected battlefield. However, the phones are hooked up to actual toy guns to give players a more realistic experience.

The game works by creating a private 500-foot-radius WiFi network for players, up to 16 people can join the network. The special GPS-enabled routed comes with the game when bought in stores. It tracks every action on the field, breaks down mission objectives, and tracks how injured you are based on where you were shot. If you do get tagged by a shot, and are killed, you have to go to a designated "jail" area until someone on your team can revive you. And don't get any ideas about cheating, the Recoil WiFi Game Hub will know if you leave.

Recoil also comes with two sorts of guns, the RK-45 Spitfire and the SR-12 Rogue. Each gun has a unique amount of damage, range, and ammo. The guns have motion sensors and include real kick back action to make it feel more realistic. This is where the phones are docked in order for players to look through and watch what happens after they shoot.

Guns aren't the only weapons users are able to wield, however, there is also a Frag Grenade. Once the grenade is thrown players can look at their phones and watch as augmented explosions occur.

Recoil also features 3D positional audio. When a user's headphone is plugged into their phone, they are immersed in audio specifically created for the game. Through here, users can here grenade explosions, air strikes, and gunshots while not having any sounds projected outside of the headphone speakers. The 3D positional audio also has a live voice chat option to keep in contact with other players as you're running around the field.

The AR app has numerous battle modes from players to choose from as well. The app acts as a mini map to track player movement, it also can be used to order air strikes and keep track of health/ammo.

Recoil isn't the first augmented reality game that has tried to grab some of the Pokémon Go fame. Other games like Night Terrors the Brooklyn Boulders Rock Climbing game, and Underverse have tried and generally failed to meet the success level of Pokémon Go. Still, Recoil seems like it's promising in that it combines real life elements, AR, and the classic "run around and chase people" premise that will attract many Call of Duty fans (or fans of Tag).

The full Recoil package will start at $130 and go on sale on August 15 at Walmart, Amazon, Target, Toys R Us, and GameSpot.

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