Fans of FOX’s 24 are getting a healthy helping of new this year, with a new series and a new protagonist. For Gear VR owners, there’s a new way to watch it, too.
FOX partnered with Samsung to launch what has to be one of the biggest and most lavishly produced 360 videos yet seen on the latter’s Samsung VR service this week. The Raid, as the clip is called, is not a 360 spin-off of a martial arts movie, but instead a six-minute prequel to the upcoming 24: Legacy, a reboot for the franchise set to premiere on Feb. 5th.
Instead of Kiefer Sutherland’s iconic portrayal as Jack Bauer, the series stars Corey Hawkins as an ex-Army Ranger named Eric Carter that finds himself hunted in a revenge plot after he and his squad carry out an assassination mission on a terrorist leader. Set nine months before the first episode, the 360-degree video shows that mission in action.
It starts off as a fairly intense covert mission, with Rangers silently weaving through a Middle Eastern town. Things quickly descend into videogame-style madness, though, as the crew are spotted and come under heavy fire. The action here is some of the most aggressive, bloody and explosive yet seen in a 360 video, with sparks of yellow bullets ripping past the viewer’s eyes and loud bursts of fire constantly turning your head from one way to the other.
Plot isn’t a huge focus here, though the raid itself plays a major part of the overall story for this season. Much of the piece comes and goes without character interaction, though that isn’t necessarily a problem. The Raid is chock full of explosions and gun fights, making it a thoroughly entertaining action-fest that sticks true to the series’ roots.
The experience is also available to view on Samsung VR’s site to view outside of a headset, if you don’t have a Gear VR.
