Virtual Reality, what is it? Imagine being a co-driver in a van with an accomplice who talks hysterically flat British to you. Together you fled from men on motorcycles with automatic pistols. They are faster than you and open fire. Then you realize that this is your world for now. A world in which pistols are up for grabs in the glove compartment, which you pick up with your “hands” and then shoot around you.
This is one of the gaming experiences I had with Playstation VR. In this review I describe my experience with this Virtual Reality gadget from Sony Playstation. But perhaps taking a step back, virtual reality is a computer generated or cinematographic (film) environment that can lead to a deeper game or film experience.
ALL PLAYSTATION VR BOXES WITH THE PLAYSTATION CAMERA, PLAYSTATION VR HEADSET, MOVE CONTROLLERS AND HEADPHONES
“Really enough to forget the living room”
I tested four games on the PlaystationVR together with a friend. What struck us was that we reacted differently to the games. For example, he got nauseous while playing Rush of Blood, a game that puts you on a slow roller coaster and has to blast zombies. That while I didn’t suffer much from nausea.
Quality of the VR games
The quality of the games reminds me of games like you played on the Playstation 3. The experiences are mostly short and instead of a big machine that vibrates and moves to make it more realistic, you can look around you 360 degrees. That adds a lot, because I regularly reacted physically to what was happening in the virtual world. The two Move controllers (or a single PS4 controller) are your hands, pistols or, for example, the steering wheel. With a normal Playstation 4 controller, on the other hand, you will quickly run into problems. Shooting is more difficult and very important: you don’t have the idea that you see your hands in Virtual Reality, which makes the experience less realistic. Despite the graphics performance that is lower than what I’m used to from my Playstation 4 and Game PC, felt the games really enough at first to forget the living room for a while. For an impression of Rush of Blood you can watch the video below:
Installing the Playstation VR
Installing the headset is easy. You do have to endure some extra cables. The headset is connected to a processor unit, a small box that contains the HDMI cable from the PS4. You can see the image on your television screen and at the same time on the built-in display in the VR headset.
THIS IS ME WHILE GAMING, WITH DOG NAMED BOSS
So others can watch what you see in the headset.
You also need a Playstation Camera that monitors your movements and position. The headset is connected via a VR connection cable. After you start the glasses, new software is downloaded and installed, after which the Playstation 4 (or 4 Pro) has to restart. Downloading and installing the software took quite a while in our case (more than 30 minutes). After adjusting the glasses and installation, you are ready to admire new worlds in VR.
Gaming in Virtual Reality
PRINT SCREEN OF ‘THE DEEP’, ONE OF THE PLAYSTATION VR WORLDS EXPERIENCES
There are not many Virtual Reality games for Playstation VR yet. Some games are recommended on the Playstation Store such as Valkyrie, Batman and Tomb Raider. The games I tried were not all equally good and fun to play. I personally found the graphics of Battlezone very disappointing (read: Retro) and the instructions on how to operate my vehicle and thus defeat my enemies were unclear. So I drove around recklessly in a tank, not knowing exactly what my Move controller was for.
This showed that not all game developers are aware of the importance of clear instructions, so that you as a VR Gamer intuitively feel how the game works. One game that convinced me that Virtual Reality games have a future is Valkyrie. Flying around and flipping over with a spaceship in several levels, without getting sick, provided a good hour of gaming fun. The combination of good sound in the headphones, cool panoramic views and not having to move your body back and forth, made it a cool experience that I would like to experience again. Valkyrie was also the longest gaming experience I played on PlaystationVR. The gameplay is simple, there are multiple levels and it offers enough quality to spend several hours in it (if you like these kinds of games like me). A general “VR problem” is that in the long run it is quite intensive to look closely at a screen for a long time and that it gets warm on your head.
On the other hand, the design of the headset has been cleverly made, making it a lot less warm than, for example, the Oculus or HTC Vive. The other games I played are mostly short and fairly static experiences. That will probably change, because games like Resident Evil 7, Star Wars battlefront and Gran Turismo Sport 2017 are already scheduled for launch. The other games I played are mostly short and fairly static experiences. That will probably change, because games like Resident Evil 7, Star Wars battlefront and Gran Turismo Sport 2017 are already scheduled for launch. The other games I played are mostly short and fairly static experiences. That will probably change, because games like Resident Evil 7, Star Wars battlefront and Gran Turismo Sport 2017 are already scheduled for launch.
PRINT SCREEN OF THE LONDON HEIST VIRTUAL REALITY GAME, AS DESCRIBED IN THE BLOG’S INTRODUCTION
I think the range of Playstation VR is still too limited for those who want to play for hours in VR. What I expect from Virtual Reality for gamers The question that mainly occupied me during testing was whether Playstation VR has a good chance of being bought by many gamers. With the current limited content, I don’t expect this chance to be great. Who knows, the Playstation 4 Pro and the collection of games that will soon be available with Playstation VR may change that. Personally, I think Virtual Reality is very cool and then an investment of … is worth it to experience game content in a new way. That certainly won’t apply to everyone.
Comfortable design
It can’t really be compared with a GearVR, Oculus or HTC Vive, for example because the Playstation VR is the first VR headset that is connected to an existing game console and because of the very different design. An important criterion for me is the comfort of the Virtual Reality headset. With the design of the headset weighing 610 grams, Playstation has undoubtedly succeeded in offering pleasant comfort.
THE PLAYSTATION VR HEADSET WITH PLAYSTATION CAMERA AND MOVE CONTROLLERS
It is a matter of adjusting the headset as well and then it fits like a glove. Unlike the headsets that sit on your forehead like a kind of diving mask from, for example, the HTC Vive, Oculus and Samsung, the weight of the Playstation VR headset mainly rests on the back of your head. This ensures that you sweat much less quickly and the weight is better distributed. Those are big pluses if you want to experience longer VR experiences.
Conclusion
Playstation VR offers enough fun for an evening or three, but after that there is still relatively little to experience. Buying the Playstation VR therefore seems to be an investment in the future. Because cool games will undoubtedly come. On the other hand, you also need a Playstation Camera and preferably Move Controllers and good headphones. The Playstation 4 Pro should also deliver better performance. In that case, the total costs quickly add up. Due to the price and quality compared to other VR Headsets, the Playstation VR scores 3 stars in my opinion.
Buy Playstation VR
If you want to buy the Playstation VR, you pay for the headset between 388 and 399 Euros.
The Playstation camera costs 59 Euro and the Move controllers 79 Euro. In total you have lost approximately 526 Euros for the complete set. The Playstation VR glasses are for sale at MediaMarkt, Bol.com and CoolBlue, among others.
