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Oculus Rift Review

The Oculus Rift was the first high-spec virtual reality headset. I still remember when I first tried the DK2 (developer’s kit version of the Rift), I was so blown away by the visuals and sound immersion. This was my introduction to VR, and I could not have asked for a better VR headset to welcome me! This was only the DK2 version too, when the CV1 released it made the aspect of owning a Rift so much more. Issues had been fixed, software patched and more games were being released.

Then came the Touch controllers… These are still, in my eyes, the best controllers that have been developed for virtual reality. The slick feel and touch (no pun intended) of them made me fall in love with VR, and I feel with any other controller the feeling of immersion and presence really wouldn’t have been there. The Vive wands came out later and took many ideas and designs from the Touch, although not easily apparent!

 

Oculus also have their own software which is used to launch VR games as well as setup and update your Oculus Rift headset, Touch controllers and sensors. The software runs really well too, back in the earlier days it had a ton of bugs but over time the vast majority of them have been patched. Oculus have continually developed the software to make it easier to setup and install your Rift, as well as manage your installed VR games. For example, you can now easily move game installations over to another drive or location from within the Oculus client.

oculusdashboard

The specifications for the Rift were no joke either, at the time of it’s release it was easily the most powerful VR headset.

Oculus Rift Specifications:

2160×1200 (1080×1200 per eye)

456ppi

Pentile AMOLED

Variable 58-71mm

Hybrid Fresnel lenses

Non-room scale by default
6DoF external Constellation camera
360-degree IR LED head tracking

Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Magnetometer

3D Audio Headphones
Headphone Jack

HDMI 1.3

USB 3.0 (4-meter headset), USB 2.0

Oculus Touch 180 Degree Front-Facing Tracking

March 28, 2016 (CV1)

Summary

The good news if you’re reading this review now is, since the Rift has been out for almost 3 years there is a huge selection of great VR games! You will have no shortage of VR games to play on this headset. Some of the best VR games ever made such as Beat Saber and Lone Echo can be experienced wonderfully on the Oculus Rift, as they were developed to be. Although it is gaining it’s age, the Oculus Rift is without a doubt still a fine piece of VR hardware, and will satisfy even the experienced VR gamers for years to come.

The Oculus Rift can often be found for $300 and under now, though it can be difficult to find one since Oculus has started shifting all production to the newer Rift S.