Virtual Reality

 So recently, because my dad likes buying ALL the gadgets, we got both the HTC Vive and, just a day or two ago, the Oculus Rift. Both are extremely fun, although in my opinion the Vive is better now, as it stands.

The Vive right now has two things that make it much better than the Rift;

1. Hand controllers. I know that Oculus has prototypes and developer models out right now, but the fact that the consumer version of the Vive has it and the Oculus doesn't makes the Vive a whole lot better. There are just so many more things you can do with hand controllers than you can with your standard Xbox controller. Additionally, the camera on the front of the Vive allows the hand controllers to be tracked extremely accurately and portrayed in VR, so even if hand controllers do come out for the Oculus they might not be as good.

2. Good support for room-scale VR. Currently, Oculus only officially supports standing or sitting experiences, with relatively little moving. Comparatively, the Vive has a large space, allowing for so many more things to be done with it. While the Oculus may be able to support moving around, and some could say the blue fence around you in the Vive takes you out of the immersion, banging your knee on a table breaks you out of immersion a lot more.

Anyway, with that said, let's more on to some of my favorite games.

Job Simulator: If you wanted to show someone what you could do with VR, the Lab (Valve's official VR tutorial/training ground) or Job Simulator are probably the best choices. There are multiple "jobs" that you can perform in the game, from office worker to restaurant chef to auto mechanic. You are given tasks to accomplish, but players also have the option to just do whatever they want. Everything that could be done in real life can be done in this game; almost any interaction between two things in an area is possible. It's just a great game for messing around.

Windlands: Those afraid of heights, beware. While Mirror's Edge and such are great parkour games, Windlands takes moving around to the next level. In Windlands, you are given two grappling hooks, with the ability to attach to any type of tree or bush. With this power, you are placed into a world of islands, grappling from one to another and exploring unknown places. There isn't really a plot, just a world to explore and challenges to give yourself. It's a great game for calming down and just enjoying yourself- Unless you're afraid of heights (I've actually forgotten I was in VR multiple times and lost my balance in real life as I missed a grapple and started falling.)

Budget Cuts: While, unlike the others, this is only a demo for a game, it is easily my favorite out of the three. It is a stealth game set in an office building, where you are charged with sneaking through the building, crouching through vents and avoiding (or killing) sentry robots. This game is probably one of the better ones at making you feel "really there"- You feel a sense of panic whenever an alarm goes off, and when you have to crouch down when going into ventilation shafts you really feel like you're in there. Something that makes it really fun is how getting around and item manipulation are handled- You have essentially a teleporter that shows you a place before you go through, which allows you to survey the area before you go in. Additionally, the item handling is incredibly fun- Your main weapon for the whole game is throwing knives, which if you want to take out a sentry robot you have to throw very accurately. It's a great game, and I can't wait to see the full thing.

These are the main games that I've played, although there are a few others (such as Space Pirate Trainer.) While there aren't a huge selection now, getting to see the number of awesome games grow will be exciting.