If you had the money, would you buy an Oculus Quest 2 VR kit? Or do you already have it?

MrRichAllen1976

MrRichAllen1976

Suspended / Banned
Messages
657
Name
Richard Allen
Edit My Images
No
Above.

A couple of years back I was half tempted to buy a second hand PS4, a PS VR headset and copies of Batman VR and Star Trek Bridge Crew, however being on benefits I can't justify spending a potload of money on a console, the VR kit and a mere 2 games I wouldn't use all that much as I'm an Xbox gamer at heart.

Anyway I've seen the Oculus Quest 2 kit in PC World for £300, which doesn't require a console or even a PC to run, are the games any good for it though to make it worth the initial outlay?

I possibly start the new job in 4 weeks pending a clear DBS disclosure, so I could be earning a bit more spending money,

Thoughts?
 
Strongly tempted. If they attached to an Xbox I'd be all over one.

I'd be interested to hear from anybody who has one how much space you need to use one. Do you end up having a dedicated games room?
 
JonathanRyan said:
Strongly tempted. If they attached to an Xbox I'd be all over one.

I'd be interested to hear from anybody who has one how much space you need to use one. Do you end up having a dedicated games room?
Click to expand...
Sadly MS have already announced that they will NOT enter the VR "race", and I can see where they're coming from to be honest, the kit is prohibitively expensive, and literally headache inducing after more than a short time using it, and on the Sony one there's literally 2 games in the whole set I want, Batman VR and Star Trek Bridge Crew.
 
I've not tried any VR yet but the new Sony one for the PS5 might tempt me.
 
On the PC side, an Oculus headset transforms simulators - flight sims / space games (elite dangerous) and racing games immeasurably - provided you're not susceptible to motion sickness.
 
MrRichAllen1976 said:
I played Beat Saber at 3 local and out of Town comic cons last year, I gave up after 5 minutes.
Click to expand...
Why? Did you feel sick or was the game rubbish or was VR just not for you?
 
MrRichAllen1976 said:
The game did suck, I didn't feel poorly though, I just think there's better ways to "Showcase" VR than some crap "Glowsticks" game.
Click to expand...
In hoping Horizon call of the mountain is worth a go. The original is easily one of the best games I've ever played.
 
I have the OQ 2 and it's good for some things but the games that seem to be popular for it are very basic and boring after the first couple of minutes.

I am a glasses wearer and find it difficult to get a good range of focus and the headset pressing down on the specs begins to hurt my nose after a while.
 
I own Oculus Quest 1, I've had it for almost 2 years now, bought soon after 2020 lockdown started, I play singleplayer games.

Standalone, it's okay. Beat Saber and Pistol Whip are good to jump in for a few songs during break when WFH to increase metabolic rate. There are many games on the store and many free games on app lab or sidequest worth trying. As a device, it's a good late-early-adopter device and will be fun for a few months depending on your level of interest in trying innovative but basic games (as opposed to AAA polish and budget).

When connected to PC via wifi, it opens up a whole host of possibilities. PCVR is more mature and with a good PC you can run all the games. I personally find the best ones require the horsepower of a 200+ W graphics card: Half Life Alyx, Lone Echo 1 & 2 (though Echo VR the free multiplayer side is available on Quest), Stormland, Asgard's Wrath, Boneworks, Vertigo.

There are still excellent games on Quest platform: Down the rabbit hole, GORN, blade and sorcery, Moss, Rick and Virtual Virtual reality, A fisherman's tale, Star Wars Vader Immortal. Plus more if you like zombie games (I don't like it in VR). This library is growing as Facebook Meta is actively investing in this area.

JonathanRyan said:
I'd be interested to hear from anybody who has one how much space you need to use one. Do you end up having a dedicated games room?
Click to expand...
This is going to sound annoying, but as much space as you have.......
I can play sitting or standing in my study, which is almost 1m across between desks, running danger of hitting the desk, so I usually only play console controller-based game here. I play in the living room on the rug (to avoid tripping on edge of the rug) this is about 2x2m. When not in winter, I play in the conservatory, which is 3x3m. Late evening in summer (no direct sunlight), I can play in the garden over 4x4m.
All spaces work well, the bigger the space, the less often I have to recenter myself when I see the guardian protective lines.

Also, a small number of games can make use of all of the spaces. Tea for God, for example, will generate a place space based on the size of your guardian area, and you physically work about. Its minimum size is 2x2m.

MrRichAllen1976 said:
The game did suck, I didn't feel poorly though, I just think there's better ways to "Showcase" VR than some crap "Glowsticks" game.
Click to expand...
It becomes a workout when you turn up difficulty to Hard or Expert. It's a good showcase in the 3D-ness of VR experience, also good introduction to motion controls without making gameplay too complicated.
Better showcase for gameplay would be HL ALyx, Boneworks for FPS. GRON, Blade and sorcery for combat, Moss and Down the rabbit hole for third person puzzle.

But TBH, I'm not sure if VR in its current state is for you if you cannot see what Beat Saber is trying to show. Many games are like that: the game evolve around a few basic concept. As I said, it's still an early adopter technology.
 
wyx087 said:
This is going to sound annoying, but as much space as you have.......
I can play sitting or standing in my study, which is almost 1m across between desks, running danger of hitting the desk, so I usually only play console controller-based game here. I play in the living room on the rug (to avoid tripping on edge of the rug) this is about 2x2m. When not in winter, I play in the conservatory, which is 3x3m. Late evening in summer (no direct sunlight), I can play in the garden over 4x4m.
All spaces work well, the bigger the space, the less often I have to recenter myself when I see the guardian protective lines.
Click to expand...

Thanks - somehow in all the hype I'd missed the bit about Airlink. I have a "study" where my PC is. There's a clear space of about 2 metres square so running on a cable that's about all the space I have. There's a larger room upstairs which may be 3 metres square where I could use standalone games but somehow I'd missed the point that I could wifi stream them from the Games PC.

I'm just getting into Hitman 3 and the idea of that in VR would be incredible.
 
JonathanRyan said:
I'm just getting into Hitman 3 and the idea of that in VR would be incredible.
Click to expand...
Hitman VR is not a good VR title from what I've read/seen. Despite being a AAA title, the VR aspect did not learn any lesson from other existing VR games. The motion controls are janky and many are still button-based actions.

My xbox downloader program is playing up, keeps saying there is an update to Hitman 3 but errors out. So I've not been able to test this myself.


But yes, wirelessly stream PCVR is the best, especially during dusk in the garden ;)
 
I do. No.
 
I have it but don’t use it often. And £300 is the best scenario you will spend because…

1 - I ended up spending £110 on prescription lenses because I find glasses with it not the best experience.

2 - also needed £50 for the elite strap.

3 - then I bought the case for £50…

Ended up spending more on it than my PS5.

And then I play VR boxing and over exerted myself and I think I mildly strained my wrist! Good cardio exercise though.
 
Last edited:
So this website is bad for your bank balance......

I was in town today minding my own business when a grade C Quest 2 leaped out of CeX and forced itself into my bag.

Things I have noticed in the first hour with one:

  1. Wow.
  2. It runs pretty well from a powerbank in my back pocket - can't see me paying their fancy prices for batteries.
  3. The interface is pretty nice
  4. Everything looks pretty cool until you "allow immersive experience". Then it's mind blowing. The closest thing to it was the first time I saw iMax. IMO Oculus is better
  5. I'm not certain how well it gets on with my varifocal contact lenses - possibly mixing 2 kinds of magic doesn't work.
  6. There's no way I'm watching horror on it.
  7. It's very easy to get disoriented - after 40 mins I took it off and realised I was facing 30 degrees away from where I thought
  8. Wow.
I've browsed a couple of reviews for Hitman VR and as @wyx087 says it may not be the best game on it. But it's free on Game Pass so it's downloading now.
 
JonathanRyan said:
So this website is bad for your bank balance......

I was in town today minding my own business when a grade C Quest 2 leaped out of CeX and forced itself into my bag.

Things I have noticed in the first hour with one:

  1. Wow.
  2. ....
  3. Wow.
I've browsed a couple of reviews for Hitman VR and as @wyx087 says it may not be the best game on it. But it's free on Game Pass so it's downloading now.
Click to expand...
3 words: Half Life Alyx
Followed by: Lone Echo 1 and 2 (or Echo VR for free multiplayer)

Out of interest, how much was it and what was wrong with it to be grade C?
 
wyx087 said:
3 words: Half Life Alyx
Followed by: Lone Echo 1 and 2 (or Echo VR for free multiplayer)

Out of interest, how much was it and what was wrong with it to be grade C?
Click to expand...

>> Half Life Alyx

OK - will do :) Need to get it hooked up to my PC first. For some reason air link doesn't work and I don't have a long USB C

It was £330 for the 256GB version. Not a *huge* saving but I had some store credit from trading stuff in so it made it worth my while. If it hadn't been for the vouchers it wouldn't have been worth it. They also gave me 3 days to try it and return if I wasn't happy. They are actually selling Grade A 128s for £5 more than Amazon.

Elastic straps are a bit dirty and it has an Apple charger instead of the real one. Otherwise as new.
 
Top tip: if you're wondering what motion sickness feels like, head over to gamepass and install Star wars squadrons and then play it on the quest.....

Pretty cool game in small doses.
 
Probably echoing a lot of above...

For £300 it is totally worth it in my opinion, especially if you can grab that £50 voucher deal but I'm not sure if that is still running. There's a lot of crap titles but also some very good ones and despite recent events surrounding Meta I think VR will continue to grow. Most games are pretty cheap as well.

Standalone: The Climb 2 and Thrill of the Fight are my two favourites but there are others such as Gun Raiders which is ok. YouTube VR is pretty cool but content is a little limited at the moment. Elixir is a good game for demonstrating hand tracking without the controllers.

PCVR, well this is where things get interesting as you've got access to a lot more power and storage space:

Half-Life: Alyx has amazing visuals, excellent physics and a good story. It really shows what VR can do and it's the only game where I've actually hit my own wall because I was so removed from reality lol

VTOL VR: Lots of replay value as there are Steam workshop stuff to download. A great flight simulator with a nicely balanced learning curve.

Pavlov: It's more multiplayer and good fun. Brings a whole new experience of First Person Shooters, no more cross hairs with a mouse and pressing "R" to reload. You've got to aim like a real gun and reloading involves pulling the mag out, inserting a new one and cocking the gun etc. You've got to plan a little better! lol


Unlike other VR headsets the Quest 2 is the only standalone one. It's also the only one which can do PCVR without a cable and that makes a big difference as it doesn't take long to get wrapped up in it (unless you mount it from the ceiling (no thanks)). The 128GB version will be more than enough at the moment as standalone titles aren't big and PCVR are stored on the computer.

It has AirLink for cable free PCVR but I've found using Virtual Desktop far better. Coupled with a WiFi6+ 160MHz router and it's lag free and no different from using the cable.

Computer wise, I use a Ryzen 5600X, 32GB DDR4 and a GTX1660 Super with a slight tune and it can run medium to high settings fine including Half-Life: Alyx.

A Halo Head Strap is crucial in my opinion. It means the device isn't pressed against your face so not only is it more comfortable, but no marks on your face. It also allows for a lot more adjustment to fine tune and is especially good for people with glasses. You can pick one up for about £25 I think.

Battery can last up to 2 hours but that's fine because by then my eyes needs a break. At first they got tired fast but you soon get used to it. Regarding motion sickness, I find that going forwards/backwards and strafing using the thumb controller is fine, but it is when you rotate using the controller that it can be disorientating. If you physically rotate with your body then it's far better. You get used to it pretty quickly.

Space wise, you don't need much space and can get away with not much more than your outstretched arms in a circumference because there are thumb controllers you can use for movement. You get the choice between a stationary boundary and mapping out your own space of any size. If you go outside your zone the external cameras will start to show you actual reality. There are experimental features which which gradually fade in items in reality (people, chairs etc) if they enter your zone. It's rather clever! You can probably play almost any game sitting down if you wanted to, although Half-Life: Alyx does have a few places where you have to crouch.

I hummed and hawed for a long time before getting one as I was worried it would be a novelty. But at £300 it's a no brainer and I doubt such a loss-leader type thing will happen again. There is the slight element of it being not quite as quick as jumping on the PC and firing up a game and there is obviously a bit of physical effort with playing games, but the immersive experience is worth the extra effort. PCVR is definitely recommended to get the most out of it.
 
Last edited:
JonathanRyan said:
Top tip: if you're wondering what motion sickness feels like, head over to gamepass and install Star wars squadrons and then play it on the quest.....

Pretty cool game in small doses.
Click to expand...
MS Flight Simulator with slower more controlled turning might be better.

Tie fighter with the enclosed cockpit could also be easier on the stomach. It takes getting used to and do it in slow doses.


Excellent post gman
 
I forgot to mention that if you don't have a killer pc capable of playing vr games, I believe that there are now remote servers which will host the game and you can stream it. I've not looked into it but I would imagine it will need a pretty fast Internet connection.
 
gman said:
I forgot to mention that if you don't have a killer pc capable of playing vr games, I believe that there are now remote servers which will host the game and you can stream it. I've not looked into it but I would imagine it will need a pretty fast Internet connection.
Click to expand...
I have my fingers crossed the new Sony VR is as good as previews suggest.
 
So after a few days with a Quest 2, I feel qualified to add my own review:

TL;DR: if you can afford it, buy one. They are almost certainly *far* better than you think. If you can't afford it, don't. The sticker price is your initial "investment". Don't buy stuff you can't afford if you don't need it - nobody needs one of these :)

As a device, it's a good late-early-adopter device and will be fun for a few months depending on your level of interest in trying innovative but basic games (as opposed to AAA polish and budget).
Click to expand...
(@wyx087 )

I think that's a really good summary of where things are. The experience is amazing, the stand alone games are.....getting there. I've tried a bunch of demos and they range from flash games in a browser level up to totally immersive Star Wars experience with some major limitations. But you aren't going to get a AAA game yet because (1) the hardware isn't powerful enough and (2) not enough people have them to make it worth the money - AAA games are seriously expensive to make.

PCVR is amazing. It's a much more mature market due to the Rift and computing power is essentially limitless. Hitman in VR is not great due to the control system but blending into a crowd and sneaking up behind somebody to garotte them is all kinds of cool. SW Squadrons is incredible. I'm waiting until I'm more comfortable with the kit for Half Life Alyx.

The big issue is that nobody seems to have nailed movement yet - walking doesn't really work and pushing the stick around makes a lot of people ill. The teleporting idea gets old quickly. So for an excellent game you need one where you don't actually move which is why flight sims and driving games are perfect. I think there should be room for a truly excellent sword combat game but for most people it will get boring to stand in one place and fight off tougher and tougher opponents.

However, I *think* it is relatively easy to port games to VR - it seems that you take a game that is already built with (say) Unreal Engine and plug in Unreal 3d. It's probably a bit harder but with the right game that will work well. The best thing I've played so far is Superhot. I'm really good at Superhot - played it obsessively for a couple of extended periods. VR makes it (1) much harder at first and (2) mind blowing. The first time you dodge a punch while grabbing a gun with your left hand and backfisting a red guy with your right you'll be sold.

But mostly......Meta want to sell me a "collaborative experience" while gathering data / selling it. There are lots of apps for meeting up and watching movies where you an throw popcorn at each other, lots that promise me loads of content and then have 2 or 3 great movies and nothing else (hello, Amazon Prime Video....). There are also a lot of ways to spend money - I stopped playing Vader Immortal because I didn't want to blow through 8 quid in an hour. It's awfully good but I'd rather savour it for my money.

It's great but the next version (coming in a year or so maybe) will be very interesting. Probably in a good way but I can see why people are worried about Meta owning it.

at £300 it's a no brainer and I doubt such a loss-leader type thing will happen again. There is the slight element of it being not quite as quick as jumping on the PC and firing up a game and there is obviously a bit of physical effort with playing games, but the immersive experience is worth the extra effort
Click to expand...
(@gman )

100% agree with that.
 
Yes. These non-free VR "experience" games are very expensive. The Vader Immortal is a good example, it's £7.99 for 1-2 hours of experience. The gameplay and feel of the game does feel like AAA polish, but it's too expensive. Although having played it, the last one of the 3 is best value, you get all the powers and use lightsabre. The Oculus store discount is far cry from Steam sale.

There's many free App Labs and sidequest content worth checking out. For better locomotion, try Tea for God.

PCVR is better value for the games, perhaps why Meta is keen to discontinue Rift platform and get all their first-party games onto Quest platform.
HLAlyx for example, I've spent probably 10 hours in the main game, 20 hours for 2 playthrough. But Steam tells me I've spent almost 50 hours in the game because of many wonderful mods available. Similar for Boneworks, Blade and Sorcery, Beat Saber.
 
I looked at these in the past but IIRC they needed a Facebook account. Is this still the case?
 
omens said:
Thanks. I won’t bother until they lift this restriction.
Click to expand...

I mean, you don't have to use your *real* Facebook account.......

A week on and here's an update. Two things I have found that work outstandingly well

1. Mindfulness / meditation. I've tried this a couple of times and it never stuck. On day 3 with the Quest I realised I'd done the Tripp demo about 5 times because I loved it. £3.99 and a week later, I'm using it twice a day and looking forward to it. Serious opinion: if you think mindfulness would help you, it may actually be worth the entire cost of the kit for this app. I know people who have paid more for "retreats" that stuck with them until they got in the car to come home.

2. Exercise apps. Yeah I thought they were basically waving your arms around and thinking you were working out. Yesterday I played a couple of rounds of Thrill of the Fight and then put FitXR free trial on for a 24 minute "beginners'" boxing workout. After half an hour or so I was drenched in sweat and longing for the timer to reach zero. Today I ache not because of the 3 hours martial arts class I did but because of trying to punch those bubbles.....

Things that don't (for me) work

The whole social experience thing. If I want to watch a recorded Foo Fighters gig I want to grab some snacks, settle down and watch it. I don't want to hang around in a lobby for ages dreading some other avatar is going to <shudder> talk to me then find it's the wrong lobby and Meta can't support 60,000 people all logging in at once (what? did you expect them to be a tech company??). And Contractors may be "exactly like Call of Duty" (spoiler: it isn't) but by that you seem to mean "exactly like the worst bits of COD" - toxic kids ganging up on newbies to end their game real quick and then offer advice on life choices.
 
Yeah, due to low cost of entry and the feeling of being in the game, the multiplayer is filled with teenagers harassing people. The worst parts of multiplayer in one place. If this is what Meta trying to sell as Metaverse, it's never going to work.

So I play exclusively single player and PCVR via AirLink vast majority of the time.

It is indeed a workout. I tend to do a few songs on Beat Saber, followed by Pistol Whip for some leg/core workout by dodging bullets........when I want to fill my watch's exercise meters.
 
upload_2022-2-26_17-53-3.jpeg
 
Just a heads up that the Steam sale is on right now and it includes a little VR game you may have heard of called Half Life Alyx. £23.24 until 7th July.
 
JonathanRyan said:
Just a heads up that the Steam sale is on right now and it includes a little VR game you may have heard of called Half Life Alyx. £23.24 until 7th July.
Click to expand...

Awesome game, and also a large amount of player created content as well.
 
Why don't I listen....?

I've had the Quest for 4 months now. I use it most days for meditation. I have a very small number of Quest games (Superhot, a nice 3 d puzzle, one of the Vaders) but also a sub to Viveport so I get to play most of the PCVR games. They are all fun but all a bit samey (slow zombies, shoot, shoot, reload, zombies OR beautiful puzzles that get so wrapped up in their own mechanics that when you get over the beauty of them the puzzles lose interest).

Eventually I listened to advice and bought a half price copy of Half Life: Alyx. If I were the VR games industry, I'd be embarrassed than in the 2 years since its launch, they haven't created anything half as good as this. It's what VR gaming should be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top