Good things come to those who wait.
As top hardware developers continue to offer discounts and incremental improvements, the Oculus Rift continues to be the standard in premium virtual reality on the PC. While the controllers and the accurate room-scale help distinguish the VIVE, ease-of-access, intuitive controls and the software behind the Oculus have made it a favorite for PC users.
No matter what camp you fall into, VIVE or Oculus the difference often comes down to the types of VR experiences you’re looking for as we wait for the next generation of headsets.
Oculus Rift Review
The Oculus Rift has become a standard for Virtual Reality on the PC. Setup is relatively simple and painless, and in our opinions, a much more streamlined process compared to the VIVE and related software.
The moment you open the box, Oculus makes it easy for you with a simple but beautifully effective layout for all the components. The Rift headset, Oculus Sensor, the Oculus Touch controllers are all right there, ready to be enjoyed.
You’ll want to be sure you’re using a PC with a dedicated video card powerful enough to keep up with the Rift’s requirements and keep in mind you’ll want to have a couple USB 3.0 ports available to keep everything connected.
The Rift headset itself is relatively light-weight and it is highly adjustable. The padded lining adds some comfort and the audio is pretty solid. In comparison to the VIVE headset, our experience wearing the Rift felt more natural and intuitive. If you think you’ll feel completely free when roaming around in VR landscapes, well hold on there Mister! You’ll still be reminded that you’re tethered to your PC but until there’s an alternative this is as good as it gets.
Two Oculus sensors come packaged with the Rift and these act as your gateway to virtual wonderment. They track the position of the headset and the Touch controllers.
Interaction on a New Level
The Oculus Touch controllers feel nice in your hands and are light and ergonomic. Now if you’ve got big hands, (you know what I mean?), then you may have a little difficulty using the Touch controllers for an extended period of time.
The degree of freedom we felt with the Rift and the heightened level of interactivity delivered by the Touch controllers made use want more. We’ve been looking for a better way to move around and interact with objects, menus and other people in virtual reality and this was it.
Now that we had such a powerful device in our fingertips, what shall we do with it? First up on the list was the critically acclaimed title, Lone Echo from Oculus Studios. This epic Sci-fi game does a superb job of universe building and you can almost reach out and touch the rings of Saturn.
You can always keep your virtual adventures a little more close to home with Google Earth VR. The Touch controllers make moving around the virtual landscapes more intuitive.
Mending Rifts
Did we enjoy it? Damn right we did! Will you enjoy the Oculus Rift? That all depends on how important VR gaming is to you.
With more exciting titles around the corner, you might just want to take a closer look at the Rift. Is The Oculus Rift worth the relatively hefty price tag? You’ll need to weigh your options. Until standalone VR headsets become the standard, the Oculus Rift is the clear winner when it comes to providing a premium virtual experience in VR.
We hope you enjoyed our Oculus Rift review. Please feel free to reach out and keep the conversation going on Twitter @falsedogs
