Six years ago, the social media giant bought VR pioneer Oculus for $ 2 billion. Facebook has been trying to get VR right ever since and is getting close. The new Oculus Quest 2 headset has its flaws, but overall, it’s the most satisfying device of its kind. And the price is right; at $ 300, the Quest 2 costs the same as other popular video game consoles, such as Nintendo Switch or Microsoft Xbox Series S.
Only about a fifth of Americans have ever tried, let alone bought, a VR system. That’s partly because many early versions had to be tethered to an expensive high-performance PC, or at least a Sony PlayStation 4 or 5.
The Quest 2 is a stand-alone system, that is, the headset is the computer. This is made possible by a new computer chip from Qualcomm that has enough firepower for such tasks. Along with the headset, you get a pair of game controllers, one for each hand. When you’re in a game, these controllers look like whatever you want – a fist, a .45 pistol, or a light saber.
Unsurprisingly, you will need to connect the Quest 2 via a Facebook account. It’s probably not a deal breaker. We’re already signed up, aren’t we? Still, it means Facebook has come up with yet another way to track all of your 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 “spray” a boundary on the floor. If you cross these, the game will disappear, replaced with live video of the room, so you don’t trip over the furniture. You can also activate this feature manually by tapping the side of the headset.
The headset uses a motion detector and gyroscope to detect movements of your head and body. Look up and you will see a starry sky, not the ceiling of your living room; look over your shoulder, and a monster will creep up on you.
I have an unusually large head and wear glasses too, so I found the Quest 2 a bit too snug for perfect comfort. Every time I put on the device it took a minute or so, partly because it was clamped to my head with a cheap looking and cheap feeling elastic band. Oculus charges an additional $ 50 for an “elite strap,” a plastic device that attaches to the back of the head and is likely to provide much better support. For $ 130, the elite strap also includes an auxiliary battery to extend playtime to more than the two to three hours you can expect from the Quest’s built-in battery. And for another $ 80, I was able to order a set of prescription snap-on lenses from online eyewear retailer FramesDirect. Then I could play without my glasses.
All in all, the Quest 2 doesn’t fit nearly as well as the Sony PlayStation VR headset, which is the most comfortable I’ve tried. But who wants to be tied to a machine?
There isn’t a huge library of VR games, but I wasn’t bored. Not when I can hang out with my favorite movie villain, in the Star Wars game “Father Immortal”. Basically it’s a series of three mini-games, each priced at $ 10, that recruits you as the Dark Lord’s newest apprentice. There’s plenty of light saber here, but what I really loved was the total immersion in the Star Wars universe of filthy old spaceships, snarling robots, and sprawling alien landscapes.
Or for a great time there is ‘Pistol Whip’, a musical rhythm game that doesn’t look much like ‘Just Dance’ or even the old ‘Guitar Hero’. Only in this game you are armed with a gun, not a Fender Stratocaster. Your goal is to completely defeat John Wick and shoot a series of potential hitmen, while dodging their incoming fire and various obstacles, all to the propelling beat of lounge music. After a few rounds, my desk-bound, locked-up body ached, but I grinned like a trigger-happy fool.
I found myself wishing the family could see what I saw as I waved away. In fact, they kind of can. The Oculus smartphone app – the best way to purchase additional content, by the way – offers a ‘casting’ feature similar to YouTube, allowing you to show a two-dimensional live stream of your gameplay on any phone, computer or smart TV in the network .
For a break from the action, you can shoot some cool VR videos. But it’s like a gaming machine that the Quest 2 really makes a living. For the first time in years, it feels like VR might just be the next big thing.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeTechLab.