Google has finally unveiled a way for us to travel the world through the use of Google Earth in VR. With this powerful application we can scroll through the world and see the greatest wonders on this planet. And it is now available on the HTC Vive through the Steam Store.
You’ll have the options of walking through the streets in cities such as Hong Kong, Paris, Barcelona and many more which provides you a way to visit cities you’ve never been to. You won’t be seeing a virtual world but rather the physical world in real 3D.
Google Earth VR will also provide you a way to fly. That right, you get to fly over cities and mountains seeing the great outdoors from a bird-eyes perspective. We just hope you aren’t too scared of heights because you do get that exhilarating feeling. What we found to be the most incredible thing about this application in VR is that you get to see how “un-round” the earth really is. You’ll see how formations have determined where civilizations are built and how people utilize the landscapes to their benefits.
You can simply browse the areas if you aren’t up to flying or walking. You can be placed in a fixed motion to take it all in. You’ll definitely be able to catch the littlest of details that you may have never seen about a certain area or city through this perspective.
The movements are crisp and it really does feel comfortable in motion. While it lacks the environmental sound, Google Earth VR is the perfect way to take a virtual tour of our planet. Oh, and this experience is free so we hope you enjoy it as much as I did!