PS VR (PS4)
By: Sony
IF THE none-more-90s horror flop Lawnmower Man taught us anything, it was that virtual reality was the future. But apart from a few cumbersome missteps, the technology was never embraced by the mainstream, making PlayStation VR the first fully fledged mass-market way to escape the faded surroundings of your grief hole and truly live it up in another world.
Yes, virtual reality is on the shelves for the great unwashed – food in pellet form and robot wives must be just around the corner.
Looking like an austerity Daft Punk, the eyes have it with a headset that’s light and comfortable, and your maiden voyage will make your jaw drop. The initial sense of immersion is incredible, while the packed-in demo disc (again, how 90s?) offers a decent spread of experiences for your sh**s and goggles.
Sure, the resolution takes a hit through the headset, but this is more than compensated for with the 'virtual' bit. The trick is to make players more than passive participants, and while many are like the early days of the Wii – simple crowd pleasers that show what the tech can do, be it stacking blocks, heading balls towards a goal or enjoying an underwater dip – more successful are on-rails horror efforts, a genre perfect for the immersive 'boo' experience.
Most involving are sci-fi shooters where players, strapped into virtual rigs, blast opponents in arenas or on distant worlds. Better still, you can often choose a female character and gaze down upon your magnificent virtual chest. What an age to be alive!
Sony promise VR support for mainstream franchises (kicked off by Driveclub, though its vague, fuzzy visuals are like driving without your prescription specs) and the coming months will bring VR support for big-hitters like Resident Evil 7. Only then will we (literally) see if the tech can offer a substantial alternative to the gogglebox.
While touted as bringing virtual reality to the masses, though, PS VR is hardly lowest-common-denominator at 350 quid (and you can add over 100 more sheets for the required PS4 camera and a Move motion controller). It’ll also upset your feng shui with an embarrassment of required plumbing. The resulting unholy tangle of leads looks like you're breeding adders on the Axminster.
Of course, like most mediums, it needs the oily embrace of the porn industry before becoming fully accepted by the mainstream. When we can enter a universe full of endless horny opportunity, VR will become as ubiquitous as the toaster.
As a viable virtual reality for the masses, however, PS VR does the job. It’s user-friendly, works unbelievably well and the sense of escape to an alternative world is incredible – and as a man just married, that couldn't come soon enough.
