Valve released an update for its well-received collection of HTC Vive mini-games known as The Lab. The update enables new game modes for The Lab‘s three chief experiences: Longbow, Xortex, and Slingshot. In addition, it enables subtitles and text localization.
Longbow
Longbow, as you might imagine, is an archery experience that tasks you with striking down a slew of targets by using the medieval instrument of war. Following the update, Longbow includes an unlimited game mode wherein you’ll be faced by unceasing hordes of foes that grow consistently in size and ferocity following each completed wave.
A new scoring system is also being added for this mode that rewards you for, “slaying enemies, nailing headshots, popping balloons, and more.”
Xortex
The update to Xortex is similar to Lonbow’s. You can now play the arcade-style shooter in a new “Xortex Unlimited” mode. With this new mode, you’ll find yourself in the middle of “progressively more frantic action as you maneuver your drone to collect power-ups, increasing your score multiplier while gunning down enemies.”
Xortex Infinite also trades the typical laser weapon found in the game with a devastating new bomb power-up. But be careful, the bomb may take out all of the enemies near you, but it also wipes out your score multiplier.
Slingshot
Slingshot is mostly receiving “new core calibration career opportunities,” as well as “bigger, better barrel explosions,” and finally a “host” of scoring adjustments to help keep the leaderboards fair and balanced.
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The Lab is an HTC Vive virtual reality experience created by Valve – the studio behind mega-hits such as Half Life, and Left 4 Dead, Portal. The latter title serves as the major inspiration behind The Lab. It is not a VR version of Portal by any means, but it does take place primarily in that game’s fictional Aperture Labs.
It is currently available to download for free via Valve’s Steam software distribution platform.
