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REVIEW: PLAYSTATION VR

14/10/2016

28 Comments

 
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Last night I went to my step-daughter's school for her sixth form information evening. Inevitably, she's worried about getting the grades she needs to do the A Levels she wants, because - y'know - that's what happens. It's important to place enough pressure on children so that they break.

​As we left, I reassured her that I did pretty badly in my O Levels, leaving school with just four measly pass grades, and a U in Geography, because I'd chosen to play video games rather than revise... and yet... and yet, here I am in 2016AD - the owner of an actual virtual reality headset. 

That's literally what I thought, and I wasn't trying to be funny. For all my carping and crowing and moaning and naysaying about VR over the past couple of years, I finally own a proper VR headset, thanks to Sony's almost-affordable new PS4 add-on... And I think I love it. It feels like the future. Like owning a jetpack, or a machine which 3D prints small dogs, or a big, bronze, chair with LEDs in the armrests, or something.
​
However, this isn't a review of the PSVR's games; those are on the way. This is a review of the hardware, of the very idea of PSVR. And despite everything, despite all my resistance to VR, it's a very good idea indeed.

And like many of the best ideas - hen parties, drinking from an un-flushed toilet, licking a football stadium seat for a bet - it also made me feel sick.
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NEED TO KNOW
The first thing you need to know about the PSVR is that it isn't as cheap as Sony wants you to believe. £349 will merely get you a headset.

​You also need the camera, and probably a couple of Move controllers - because only idiots bought those first time around. You're probably looking at another hundred quid at least on top of the initial outlay. Plus games.

Yes, that's still cheaper than Oculus Rift, or Vive - especially when you factor in a meaty PC - but prior to my PlayStation VR turning up yesterday... I spent a lot of the day fretting over the cost. You know: "Because I don't even like VR".

And then it turned up. And now I do like VR - but with a few beefy caveats.

PSVR comes in a really nice box, containing the headset, and about 500 metres of cable. There are a lot of different things you'll need to plug into other different things in order to make PlayStation VR happen. A surprising number of things. THINGS! However, it was remarkably easy to set up. From accidentally ripping the box as I opened it, to having the headset on and being in another place entirely, took about ten minutes, tops.

The headset is light, comfortable, and though the lenses aren't the best - sometimes there's a sort of "dusty" effect, in low-light scenes, and being a fat, sweaty, man, they do tend to mist up for me - it feels like a quality bit of kit.

Nonetheless, any issues I have are really only niggles. Basically, PlayStation VR works. It's more than good enough, and significantly better than I expected it to be. For the games/experiences I've played so far, I've even managed just fine with the Dualshock. I've yet to even plug in my Move controllers.

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WORLDS APART
To date, I've only really played on Sony's VR Worlds - to the PSVR what Wii Sports was to the Wii - but they do the job, as collection of proof-of-concept demos. To a point.

Like most of the demos on Worlds, The Heist is fantastic, but sadly short-lived. It's pure Guy Ritchie - all East End gangster cliches, from torture scenes, to an hysterical shoot-out during which I was repeatedly ducking for cover, to a bonkers motorway chase.

​In fact, it's so good at demonstrating what VR is capable of, that you have to question Sony's wisdom in littering it with real bad swear-me-ups: I wanted the kids to play it, but didn't feel entirely comfortable at the sheer barrage of effing. In that respect, Wii Sports it ain't.

Ocean Descent is sedate - barring a surprise appearance from a shark - but does a fine job of showcasing the awe that VR can inspire. Under the waves, surrounded by submersibles and sea life, I finally understood that, in the right hands, VR is incredible. Thing is, you have to experience it. There's no way to really convey its power in words alone. That might be a problem for the medium going forwards, in terms of it punching through.

Also, my experience became a little more problematic when I played the sci-fi shoot 'em up Scavenger's Odyssey. Something I've learned in my day or so with PlayStation VR is this: so long as the games/experiences are relatively sedate, I'm fine. The second it all gets action-packed, and I'm driving, or moving... I can manage about five minutes before I want to throw up. And it's not just feeling a little nauseous: it's proper back-of-the-throat, I'm going-to-be-sick-any-second, nausea.

Apparently, you can build up a resistance over time - gradually increasing the amount of minutes you spend in the virtual worlds - but at the moment, I'm a long way from being there. 

That simply adds to something I kept thinking while I was playing: this is a theme park in your home.

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GO-TO
It's little wonder that the go-to demo for virtual reality has long been a rollercoaster.

A Theme Park is the best way I can describe the PlayStation VR - and, likely, VR as a whole. I'm still not sure it's ever going to work for full games. At least, not with the current technology.

It might be best reserved for experiences - like you get in a theme park. And that's fine, really. I mean, I love theme parks, and the irony about VR - for all its sensory deprivation - is that I want other people to try it. It has that same "You've got to give this a go" quality, which gets me evangelising about the best theme park rides (if you ever dare risk getting me started on them, I swear I won't shut-up for hours - I probably watch more YouTube videos of people visiting Universal Studios and Disney than I do regular TV).  

In that respect, in terms of games, it reminds me of the first Christmas I spent with the Nintendo Wii, the whole family gathered around the telly, taking it in turns to play Wii Sports. At its best, PlayStation VR really transported me beyond real life, and that's something I don't want to experience alone. I wish there was a way to hook up a second headset.

I mean, there's a protracted dialogue scene early in The Heist, where a gangster boss monologed at me. After a couple of minutes, my brain genuinely thought I was sat at a pub table. After playing with a cigar and a lighter, just enjoying picking them up and holding them to my face while he blathered on... I tried resting my arm on the table - forgetting entirely that it wasn't really there. When I finally removed the headset, there was a real moment of bewilderment. 

So, for me... the jury remains out, to a degree, and is going to depend on whether I can get over the whole sickness thing. I've got a bunch of proper games to review, and I'll let you know how I get on.

But know ye this: VR really does feel like we've been flung suddenly into the future. And as the most affordable option on the market, if you can justify the initial splurge, I doubt you'll be disappointed by PlayStation VR - just have a bucket nearby.

FROM THE ARCHIVE:
IMMERSE VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET REVIEW
​
TOP 20 VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES
​
18 REASONS WHY THE PLAYSTATION VR IS THE MOST EXCITING VIRTUAL REALITY OPTION!
28 Comments
Darren link
14/10/2016 12:05:47 pm

It's the vomiting that scares me most...

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Mr Biffo
14/10/2016 12:09:14 pm

Yeah... I mean, I want to be playing on it RIGHT NOW, but I still feel queasy from my last go...

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Spleen
14/10/2016 12:21:40 pm

I got it yesterday too and it's brilliant, the future is here.
Luckily enough I've had absolutely no motion sickness yet, tried all the demos and Driveclub.

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MrPSB
14/10/2016 12:25:22 pm

The coolest moments in VR I've had is reaching for something that isn't really there like a table and you go "ah ha ha!" at yourself and also kind of marvel that they fooled you good.

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MrPSB
14/10/2016 12:25:59 pm

The second coolest moment was when I drew a giant neon pink spunking cock in Google Tilt Brush

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Andy link
14/10/2016 12:31:04 pm

It's such a shame that some people suffer with motion sickness, fortunately I don't appear to be one of them, and neither were my kids, on the subject of VR experiences for kids, try The Playroom VR it's as good as Wii Sports for selling the VR Experience as anything and very family friendly.

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Mr Biffo
14/10/2016 02:01:09 pm

Just spent an hour playing on it. Incredible.

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CM Punk
14/10/2016 07:00:55 pm

The sickness depends very much on the genre.

A first person shooter or walking simulator where you control movement with a pad will almost certainly make you sick. I can't think of anyone I've heard of who doesn't get sick from that. Perhaps the 0.1% who get selected for astronaut and fighter pilot training can handle it!

A game where you are in a vehicle tends to be pretty safe but still a sizeable minority get ill with the likelihood increasing with time played. I'm fortunately immune to sickness in these.

Any game where your body isn't moving around in the game world but is stuck in one spot is very good.

The safest are those where you are physically walking around your play area and that area is accurately depicted in the game world (Oculus touch, Vive Roomscale). Very unlikely to ever feel sick doing that.

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MarcusJ
14/10/2016 12:47:28 pm

I'm glad it's not just me. After fifteen minutes or so of the shop assistant section of Job Simulator, I idly went to lean on the counter. Oh ho! It wasn't really there.
Later, when I was pretending to be Batman, I fought the urge to lean on an imaginary freezer while I listened to a tape recording.

So basically, VR has taught me I'm a slouching lazy bones.

- And it is very much like a theme park in your own home. You're absolutely right.

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Voodoo76
14/10/2016 01:35:00 pm

Oh bollocks Biffster I was really hoping you didn't like it then I wouldn't want one, but now you do my kids won't have much to open this Christmas!

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Mr Biffo
14/10/2016 02:17:26 pm

Sorreeeeee.

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Neil Kirby
14/10/2016 02:00:47 pm

I remember reading all your past mickey-takes of VR, and thinking 'that's probably just because he hasn't actually tried one yet'. I was the same until I tried my mate's Oculus a year or so ago. I promptly lost my shit and thought it was the future, and I've been looking forward to getting my own ever since.

Of course, now it's finally here I'm still too bloody poor to lay out the cash for it (despite it's almost-affordable price tag).

Glad to see you've come around though!

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Mr Biffo
14/10/2016 02:18:11 pm

I'd tried Oculus, but not anything which I found justified VR. Sony's done a great job of selling me on it.

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Chris Wyatt
14/10/2016 02:02:43 pm

The vomiting will work quite nicely for pregnancy simulator, which is one of the launch titles I believe.

VR will open an interesting new avenue for thieves: make friends with your neighbur online; wait for them to log in to their online account, then while they're senses are preoccupied, break into their house and nick all their stuff! Of course you wouldn't actually be able to nick their headset, which might be the most expensive thing they own. A chink in what's otherwise a grand scheme.

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CdrJameson
14/10/2016 02:11:27 pm

Can I suggest nose gaskets?

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Antony Adler
14/10/2016 02:45:16 pm

Great article Mr B! Due to some lucky circumstances, I've owned all 3 of the current headsets. Sold the rift a month ago and vive going on ebay shortly. Love the psvr, mine arrived yesterday. It's much more refined. A couple of tips if I may? If you start getting nausea, take it off straight away. It'll only get worse, never better. Also try and move your head or body slightly if there's a moment where the action picks up, it helps trick your brain and stop the confusion. Finally, you WILL get your vr legs takes a week or three but it does come. Psvr is fat from guaranteed to succeed and if it doesn't, the vr train will probably derail for a number of years, so people who do appreciate it need to shout about it, we're still very much early adopter stage.

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RichardM
14/10/2016 03:40:38 pm

Intrigued by VR but not ready to make the plunge yet. Jerry Holkins at Penny Arcade has a slightly fawning web series where he interviews VR developers, which provides some interesting insight into the lengths devs have to go to to minimise motion sickness. Seems any games that involve standing still are fine, but any disparity between the acceleration your eyes perceive and that actually detected by your inner ear leads to this: vomitus. I imagine it'll improve as developers get more experienced / they start selling VR compatible cochlear implants.

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FancyPants
14/10/2016 04:48:59 pm

I get nauseous playing more or less every first person game on the PS4. Spent a grand and a half on a PC (thinking frame rate was the issue). Same sht happens. I have a feeling VR isn't for me.

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CM Punk
14/10/2016 06:51:36 pm

Sorry to hear that. It's almost certainly the Field of View causing your sickness FancyPants.

It is very low on console to help reduce GPU load.

Unfortunately many PC games (cross platform first person primarily) default to the same low FOV as console. The sickness can actually be worse than on console as you sit closer to the screen.

The trick is to set the FOV to 100 if there is an option or set it as high as you can before you find the graphics look too distorted.

If not you can Google how to edit a config file and set it manually. Sometimes you have to download third party patches but I just refuse to play those games.

That fixed it for me. Hope that helps you. It actually makes games easier to play too as you aren't running around with blinkers on but instead have far better peripheral vision.

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Spiney O'Sullivan
14/10/2016 06:03:07 pm

Pfft, you can get disoriented, throw up, and stumble around desperately for balance for a mere fraction of that price. A bucket of gin is all you need.

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Craigg
14/10/2016 06:59:29 pm

Had no intention of buying this until I read Argos had stock, then I bought it. Every single fast moving game makes me want to puke but I still love it.

Does feel like it needs a PS pro to give it a wee boost though

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FatDave
14/10/2016 09:32:50 pm

Now I want one!

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Damon link
15/10/2016 04:06:48 am

You know, Biffo, in America if our children have no said a few F's as well as a shit and damn by first grade we need to have a serious talk with their teacher and send them to a swearing specialist so that they are't falling behind their peers. Nothing worse than being on the playground in 5th grade and only swearing at a 3rd grade level. All the kids will laugh at them.

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Superbeast 37
15/10/2016 11:31:11 am

Sounds like the classic VR honeymoon period. Been there myself.

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spunky birthday
15/10/2016 08:49:55 pm

Never mind all this nonsense. Surely the question on everyone's lips is: when will Craig Charles get his own BBC2 show with the Sony VR?

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Keith
15/10/2016 09:48:08 pm

Sounds like it's good enough to buy. Which, even if it's still not perfect probably means it's a good idea to get it if we want even better VR in the future.

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Retro Resolution link
18/10/2016 12:09:50 am

I'm sad to say that I'll likely be left behind by the inevitable (if gradual) move into VR, due to a combination of Bad Things:

1. Natural tendency towards motion sickness, even in non-vr games (e.g 60fps first person shooters, if I'm tired). Even felt this watching a YouTube video of the RE7 kitchen demo
2. wearing glasses - a major hassle with VR googles (even with over-ear headphones actually)
3. Multiple prominent eye-floaters. Brightly lit scenes are often unbearable.
4. 3D cinema (combination of glasses-over-glasses, and motion sickness)

Luckily retro is my main gaming passion, so there's plenty of non VR for me to enjoy.

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Retro resolution link
18/10/2016 12:11:14 am

* goggles, not googles. Damn auto 'correct'

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