Six years ago, the social media giant bought Oculus, a pioneer of virtual reality, for $ 2 billion. Facebook has been trying to hit the RV ever since and it’s getting closer. The new Oculus Quest 2 headset has its flaws, but overall it is the most satisfying device of its kind. And the price is right; at $ 300, the Quest 2 costs the same as other hot video game consoles, such as the Nintendo Switch or Microsoft Xbox Series S.
Only about one-fifth of Americans have ever tried an RV system, let alone a purchased one. This is due in part to the fact that many early versions had to be connected to an expensive high-powered PC, or at least a Sony PlayStation 4 or 5.
The Quest 2 is a standalone system, meaning the headphones are the computer. This is possible thanks to a new Qualcomm computer chip that has enough firepower for these tasks. Along with the headphones, you’ll get a pair of game controllers, one for each hand. When you’re inside a game, these controllers look like what you need: a fist, a .45 pistol, or a light saber.
You won’t be surprised to learn that you’ll need to connect Quest 2 via a Facebook account. Probably not a breaker. We’ve already signed up, right? Still, it means Facebook has found another way to control all of its movements, in this case literally.
Quest uses a series of four headset-mounted cameras to scan your surroundings and help you set up a safe play area. With a game controller, you can “spray paint” a floor boundary. If you cross it, the game will disappear, replaced by live video from the room, so you don’t stumble upon the furniture. You can also activate this feature manually by touching the side of the headset.
The headphones use a motion detector and a gyroscope to detect head and body movements. Look up and, you see a sky full of stars, not the ceiling of your living room; look over your shoulder and there is a monster sneaking up on you.
I have an unusually large head and I wear glasses to boot, so I found the Quest 2 a little too comfortable for perfect comfort. Adjusting it took a minute or so each time I put the device on, in part because it was attached to my head with an economical-looking elastic strap and a cheap feel. Oculus charges an additional $ 50 for an “elite strap,” a plastic device that attaches to the back of the head and would likely provide much better support. For $ 130, the Elite Strap also includes an auxiliary battery to extend playing time beyond the two to three hours you can expect from Quest’s built-in battery. And for another $ 80, I could order a set of complementary prescription lenses from the FramesDirect eyewear distributor. Then he could play without his glasses.
Overall, the Quest 2 isn’t as good as the Sony PlayStation VR headphones, the most comfortable I’ve tried. But who wants to be attacked with a machine?
There isn’t a large library of virtual reality games, but I wasn’t bored. Not when I can hang out with my favorite movie villain, in the Star Wars game “Vader Immortal.” It’s actually a series of three mini-games, each priced at $ 10, in which you are recruited as a new apprentice to the Dark Lord. There’s a broad lightsaber here, but what I really loved was the total immersion in the Star Wars universe, crumbling ancient spaceships, steep robots, and vast alien landscapes.
Or to have a good furious time, there’s “Pistol Whip,” a rhythmic musical game that doesn’t look like “Just Dance” or even the old “Guitar Hero”. Only in this game are you armed with a gun, not a Fender Stratocaster. Your goal is to go all over John Wick and shoot down a number of possible assassins as you dodge his incoming fire and dodge various obstacles, all to the propulsive rhythm of the lounge music. After a couple of rounds, my body tied to the desk and closed hurt me, but I was smiling like a happy fool.
I found myself wishing the family could see what I saw when I walked away. In fact, they can. The Oculus smartphone app, for the best way to buy additional content, offers a YouTube-like “casting” feature, so you can show a two-dimensional live playback of your game on any phone, computer, or smartphone. smart TV connected to the network. .
To take a break from the action, you can enhance some great RV videos. But it’s like a gaming machine that Quest 2 really wins. For the first time in years, it looks like virtual reality could be the next big thing.
Hiawatha Bray can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeTechLab.