Post by ebandriel on Oct 15, 2016 11:36:59 GMT
Right so i have had this device since Thursday and to be quite honest I'm impressed. that being said its not without its faults so we shall proceed with the review.
Graphics
OK lets be honest here if you wanted fully realistic graphics you will have to wait for at least a few more years. however its very hard to see the individual pixels due to the full RGB nature of the screen unlike the VIVE and RIFT which employ a pentile arrangement which reveals more of a screen door effect. even though the screen seems low rez on still pictures once your in a game you cant notice it. Dummed down graphics on games your used to might be more noticeable I'm thinking of drive club here... however the ps4 pro may alleviate some of these issues we will have to wait till release date to see. I couldn't detect any noticeable frame rate drops in any of the games i played so that on a whole was a good thing.
Sound.
the 3d sound technology used is to my opinion very good it does rely on the headphone jack on the cable remote and this may be a possible weak point later depending how many people use the headset and bring there own headphones. speaking of headphones my turtle beach ones did fit over the headset but i quickly learned the error of my ways as i quickly became very hot. probably due to my face being covered by the visor and wearing headphones like earmuffs. however the included headphones proved to be more than adequate.
Tracking.
On the system i have and it appears to be many others have a slight fault on the tracking with it drifting slightly to the left. now this is fixable in seconds by pressing the options button it is still a petty annoyance in a system that does very well with what i consider old technology. on inspection this appears to be some sort of programmatic error and as the headset unit has its own firmware update system via PSN i would expect it to be patched up sooner rather than later.
Games.
This is currently rather a mixed bag, there are some wonderful games out there. Eve: Valkyrie, Rush Of Blood, Rigs, Thumper and even had lots of fun on Tumble. Drive club is currently getting slated for its graphical downgrade which is understandable. Job Simulator is one the kids want and after the demo where the couldn't stop laughing its on next months buy list. The demo disk is a good way to go forward in fact. I'm yet to try Bound and i haven't got tomb raider.. which is by all accounts merely a tagged on experience. all in all a good bag but there are some and I'm looking at things like Scavengers Odyssey, The Assembly and Here They Lie that take allot more getting used to because they can use standard controller movement which can confuse the brain and flip the stomach. not that they are not good involving experiences they need the player to be more used to the feeling of disassociation that you get from your body when your playing these games.
Imersion.
this is where it becomes a bit objective. "I FEEL" that any if not all of the above points can be safely disregarded as soon as you allow yourself to be fully immersed in a game. I'm actually with Colin Moriarty when he says that it is a religious experience its a new way to play games that we have been waiting for since we first picked up a controller. the feeling of speed and movement is immense and while the graphical fidelity may be lacking, making something with this level of performance at this price point today would be called a masterstroke on Sonys part. they have successfully made a mainstream VR product at a price point below the opposition and hardware with approximately a quarter of the power and made it good.
Conclusion.
Now this is tricky if you love the whole idea of VR can cope with minor graphical downgrades and have no problem feeling sick.... you honestly couldn't find a better experience for the price point, Sony have managed to get AAA developers on board to back this product and back it big, and while it may be said that allot of the starter stuff that is out now could be considered tech demos and that's OK. The developers are finding what works and what doesn't, what makes you lose your previous meal or not and even how long play sessions can be what you can get used to and how we as gamers adapt to the new technology. while i haven't played all the games over the past few days i have been using the children as guinea pigs in fact i had to stop the youngest yesterday after he snuck on for a mammoth 3 hour play session... so i now have a good idea of when to take it easy and when to take breaks moving the headset forward between matches in rigs or eve for instance alleviates allot of problems as i found out playing EVE: Valkyrie with BadMonkeyEdd last night you will stop feeling sick ginger most definitely helps but watch your dosage.
However if your easily sick with a fragile constitution please please try before you buy. and even then small doses build up your VR legs and you should be OK.
So it comes down to would i recommend this and the answer has to be a big yes. but please go in with your eyes open, the graphics wont be as good as your 4k TV the motion tracking wont be pin point perfect but the worlds you will visit and the sights you will see will take your breath away.
Graphics
OK lets be honest here if you wanted fully realistic graphics you will have to wait for at least a few more years. however its very hard to see the individual pixels due to the full RGB nature of the screen unlike the VIVE and RIFT which employ a pentile arrangement which reveals more of a screen door effect. even though the screen seems low rez on still pictures once your in a game you cant notice it. Dummed down graphics on games your used to might be more noticeable I'm thinking of drive club here... however the ps4 pro may alleviate some of these issues we will have to wait till release date to see. I couldn't detect any noticeable frame rate drops in any of the games i played so that on a whole was a good thing.
Sound.
the 3d sound technology used is to my opinion very good it does rely on the headphone jack on the cable remote and this may be a possible weak point later depending how many people use the headset and bring there own headphones. speaking of headphones my turtle beach ones did fit over the headset but i quickly learned the error of my ways as i quickly became very hot. probably due to my face being covered by the visor and wearing headphones like earmuffs. however the included headphones proved to be more than adequate.
Tracking.
On the system i have and it appears to be many others have a slight fault on the tracking with it drifting slightly to the left. now this is fixable in seconds by pressing the options button it is still a petty annoyance in a system that does very well with what i consider old technology. on inspection this appears to be some sort of programmatic error and as the headset unit has its own firmware update system via PSN i would expect it to be patched up sooner rather than later.
Games.
This is currently rather a mixed bag, there are some wonderful games out there. Eve: Valkyrie, Rush Of Blood, Rigs, Thumper and even had lots of fun on Tumble. Drive club is currently getting slated for its graphical downgrade which is understandable. Job Simulator is one the kids want and after the demo where the couldn't stop laughing its on next months buy list. The demo disk is a good way to go forward in fact. I'm yet to try Bound and i haven't got tomb raider.. which is by all accounts merely a tagged on experience. all in all a good bag but there are some and I'm looking at things like Scavengers Odyssey, The Assembly and Here They Lie that take allot more getting used to because they can use standard controller movement which can confuse the brain and flip the stomach. not that they are not good involving experiences they need the player to be more used to the feeling of disassociation that you get from your body when your playing these games.
Imersion.
this is where it becomes a bit objective. "I FEEL" that any if not all of the above points can be safely disregarded as soon as you allow yourself to be fully immersed in a game. I'm actually with Colin Moriarty when he says that it is a religious experience its a new way to play games that we have been waiting for since we first picked up a controller. the feeling of speed and movement is immense and while the graphical fidelity may be lacking, making something with this level of performance at this price point today would be called a masterstroke on Sonys part. they have successfully made a mainstream VR product at a price point below the opposition and hardware with approximately a quarter of the power and made it good.
Conclusion.
Now this is tricky if you love the whole idea of VR can cope with minor graphical downgrades and have no problem feeling sick.... you honestly couldn't find a better experience for the price point, Sony have managed to get AAA developers on board to back this product and back it big, and while it may be said that allot of the starter stuff that is out now could be considered tech demos and that's OK. The developers are finding what works and what doesn't, what makes you lose your previous meal or not and even how long play sessions can be what you can get used to and how we as gamers adapt to the new technology. while i haven't played all the games over the past few days i have been using the children as guinea pigs in fact i had to stop the youngest yesterday after he snuck on for a mammoth 3 hour play session... so i now have a good idea of when to take it easy and when to take breaks moving the headset forward between matches in rigs or eve for instance alleviates allot of problems as i found out playing EVE: Valkyrie with BadMonkeyEdd last night you will stop feeling sick ginger most definitely helps but watch your dosage.
However if your easily sick with a fragile constitution please please try before you buy. and even then small doses build up your VR legs and you should be OK.
So it comes down to would i recommend this and the answer has to be a big yes. but please go in with your eyes open, the graphics wont be as good as your 4k TV the motion tracking wont be pin point perfect but the worlds you will visit and the sights you will see will take your breath away.