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Virtual Archery
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With this product Thumbs Up! has combined old and modern technology into a product that has been released under its Orb Gaming trademark. The product is entitled the Virtual Archer.
Forming the main part of the Virtual Archer product is the collapsible classic bow unit. Rather than the wood of the original hunting and weapon of war, this virtual offering is constructed of lacquered black and grey plastic with a thin draw string to add a touch of physical authenticity to the bow aspect of this technology developed device. In its collapsed state, the bow has a span of 40 cm which then increases to 54 cm when the ends of the bow are swivelled outwards and thus locked into position with the draw string taut and ready for action. A pair of buttons, situated flush to the body of the bow, can be used to release the locked ends when returning the unit to its collapsed state for easier transport.
As mentioned earlier, this bow features modern technology in its functionality and this includes a holder into which you need to park a smartphone. This smartphone holder can house a device whether of the Apple or Android family. Units with a screen size of up to 7 inches can be attached.
The role of the smartphone is to provide a virtual hunting ground for the would-be bow person. This virtual experience comes from the Geekplay Archer which can be downloaded from either the App Store or Play Store. A word of warning, this app does weigh in at a fairly substantial 329MB so you may want to consider some spring cleaning of any junk that might have built up, over time, on your smartphone before starting the download. It might also be beneficial to opt for using WiFi to carry out the transfer of this app.
To give the archer a clearer view of any action displayed on the smartphone’s screen, a locking screen turn key can be used to position the holder at the correct angle and then tightened to lock the screen view in the appropriate position. In order for the bow to communicate with the smartphone delivered environment, it will need a source of power and this is provided by a pair of AAA batteries which you need to provide. The batteries sit in a compartment located on the bow. A small Philips style screwdriver, which can be used to remove the screw holding the battery compartment cover in place, forms part of the package.
Before venturing on a hunting trip or battle to fare the enemy, an archer would pull on the bow string to test it tightness and suitability of purpose. You need to carry out a similar action to create a link between the bow and the Geekplay Archer app as you pull back and hold the draw string. You can then join in the game play provided by the six offerings making up this app as you practice your virtual archery skills by defeating enemies or hunting animals in various situations. You need to concentrate on the aiming and release aspects of the bow as arrows are loaded automatically as require.
As the virtual archer you can tackle games entitled “Storm of Arrows”, “Lost in the Jungle”, “Dragons Defense”, ”Hubter’s Missions”, “The Walkers”, and “Saving the Doggie”. A seventh link was provided to access more games but this just produced an error when I attempted to use it with my Android smartphone. Moving the bow when playing these various games of archery kill action will help line up the arrow to hit its designated target. Virtual Archer is suitable for both indoors and outdoors use, although I am not sure what the neighbours might think of you lining up your weapon. You should get up to 15 hours of action from a set of batteries. The Orb Gaming Virtual Archer is available from Genie Gadgets at a cost of £31.95.
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