So this past weekend I finally got to try out the Oculus Rift at Best Buy. Had to fly across country to do it ... Okay, no, not really. ;-)
I had a vacation planned with my family back in Washington State and I've been wanting to check out the Rift, but the only place here in Michigan was way too long a drive for me to justify just for that. However, the Best Buy near the airport in Washington had the Rift, so I made an appointment there for the demo, figuring I could try to hit it while out on vacation. It worked out and I was suitably impressed, though a little bummed at how short the demo was.
I actually got there early and the guy was surprised because he thought he didn't have anyone scheduled for the first time slot. After double checking and getting set up, it got underway. I liked the leaning in to the toy city and over the edge parts of the demo the most, I think; next came the game. I chose The Climb and ended up falling off the cliff at one point because I was told to use the "jump button," which hadn't been shown to me; I was trying to figure it out and my stamina gave out and the poor character fell screaming to his (presumed) death. Got one more go at navigating past that point, then the demo timed out.
Now I've tried every major offering out there: the Vive, the Rift and the Playstation VR (which I tried again right after the Rift, as I discovered they had it there that day also). Of the three, I like the Vive best for the room scale and controllers, but the Rift impressed me the most with the headset. Much lighter and less bulky than the Vive's and much clearer lenses as well. I believe they're both fresnel lenses, but I couldn't see any of the rings in the Rift. In the Vive, I could--not to a distracting level, but I could. The other thing that I loved about the Rift is personal to me and maybe others who also wear a BAHA (bone-anchored hearing aid). The Vive and the PS VR were not very adjustable to work around my Oticon Ponto, while the Rift was. That alone is a huge point in its favor, as I plan to get the upgrade to my device soon which will allow me to use it as a regular headphone as well as a hearing aid.
Of course, all this shopping and testing is moot if I'm not able to get the graphics card upgrade I need ...
07-20-2016 08:00 PM