PlayStation VR Starter Pack

I’d been considering getting this for some time, and finally took the plunge as a xmas present to myself when the starter pack came in at £299. First off, I want to be clear, this is FOR ME absolutely worth the money. I’ll write this review with as much detail as possible, to hopefully help others decide if it’s worth it for them, as it is a lot of money.What I really wanted this for first off was Rez Infinite (more on that below), and then I heard about the upcoming VR patch for Wipeout Omega and was sold. Everything else – and there’s quite a bit of that – is a bonus.So first off, what’s in it? The starter pack comes with everything you need to get going. Set up is simple enough, though there are a lot of wires, and tucking them all in nicely out of the way requires a bit of space around your PS4.The headset is easy to put on and surprisingly comfy. The unit is supported on the forehead by the headband and a decent padded bit, and the visor section is adjustable to and away from your face. It has a cable that connects to the PS4 USB port, this is long so doesn’t really get in the way. What does bug me a bit is that the plug for the headphones is right next to the cable, so the two wires do have a habit of tangling up. They should be on opposite sides (or even better it could have Bluetooth connection for headphones). Of course, you don’t need to use headphone, though the 3D sound really adds to the immersion (I don’t have decent surround sound).The headset has a power button, volume controls for the headphones, and even a mic, however the commands for the PS4 are limited so I’ve not found much use for this.The unit calibrates itself as soon as you turn it on, and you can recentre it by holding the options button on the DS4 controller. Whilst at the home screen (or any non-VR screen) the display is like a cinema screen inside the visor. When you go into the VR though, that is unbelievable! It really is utterly immersive. I first played the free VR Playroom, which is a very ‘Nintendo’ esque affair, but really does show off the VR. It isn’t simply a first person 360 degree view, it is fully 3D, feeling as though you are in the game and can reach out and touch everything. When you move forward, you get a sense of movement. When you move fast you get the sense of speed, and when you slow to a stop you get that lurching feeling. It’s incredible. Added to that the 3D sound, which adjusts with your head movements, and you have complete immersion.There is a slight sort of ‘binocular’ effect for some reason. It’s pretty unobtrusive, and only really noticeable during bright game environments, but worth mentioning for thoroughness.Head movement is tracked perfectly, and turning around for the first time to see a bunch of robots behind me waving was brilliant. I then moved onto VR worlds, which is hit and miss in quality of content, but has some real gems. The Shark Attack experience is terrifying; even sat on my couch saying ‘it’s not real’ didn’t stop the fear as a great white ripped the front off the shark cage. It’s not the most terrifying thing though, that at the moment goes to the IT experience on Littlstar. I haven’t yet got the nerve to buy Resident Evil 7…On then to Rez. And that is phenomenal. I’ve loved that game for years, and this is what it was meant for. Flying through the levels, the sense of speed and pure exhilaration is unsurpassed. It is perfect. And the new Area X where you can free fly is just the icing on the cake.Graphics wise, no it’s not up there with high end, or even normal, performance. I’m playing on a base PS4, I imagine a Pro will add a bit more, but it still mostly won’t be as clear as on the tv. But it’s a sacrifice worth making, and it’s very variable. Rez, for example, is easily as good as the tv. VR playroom is about Wii quality, and VR worlds is hit and miss. I’ve also got Batman VR, which is mostly brilliant (if short), and standing on the rooftops of Gotham is superb - the nature of how the Arkham games look naturally ‘camouflages’ the lower graphics quality. The more ‘real’ stuff, eg Littlstar, is clearly still in its infancy; some of the experiences are better than others. The IT one, as I said, is fantastic (again, the graphics are camouflaged by it being mostly dark or in close quarters), whereas there’s a wingsuit jump experience which could be awesome but it’s just too much for the visuals to really perform. These experiences are streamed as well, so your internet connection may impact on that. I have a 50mbs connection, which seems to be fine, but I still don’t think the world is quite set up to deliver these yet (a quick Google search confirms the issues involved).There is then the issue of motion sickness. For me, this is really dependant on the day. Don’t play it with a hangover, for a start! And at first you might want to play in short blasts. After a couple of weeks, I seem to be able to cope with longer stretches, though I couldn’t sit for more than an hour without a short break.I don’t have the move controllers, cos I’m not paying 80 quid for them (I’m hoping a mate is willing to sell me his PS3 ones, as they are the same) but for some things eg Batman, they would really add to it. For now, the controller does fine.Finally, you can play 3D movies through it (you don’t need a 3D tv), I downloaded a 3D file to try this, and it’s good; the screen inside changes to an IMAX shape, and the 3D works fine.So in summary, the PSVR is a fantastic piece of kit, with some truly amazing gaming experiences to be had. And the future holds even more potential. This has all the joy of buying a new console, as well as all the anticipation of what’s to come. This is the direction I want gaming to go, and it’s thrilling.

If you've never experience VR, then you are in for a treat! Although the psvr2 has been out for a while and is more expensive and superior, this is still a fantastic item if youre on a budget.

OK, bought this along with a PS4 Pro (White Edition) the other day from Amazon and I must say I'm impressed.Now, some will say the other well known two contenders are better, well, yes if you want to spend TWICE as much money or even more, however, this device has almost NO Screen Door Effect which is those little pixels or dots that you can see and that make a hell of a difference. Setting all this up is a doodle, the instructions are very easy to follow that a 12 year old could easily do it, this is my first Playstation. Tale a few minutes to get use to putting the headset on and learning to adjust it but no probs there either and it's true, just leave your glasses on, I certainly had no problem with glasses and my are on the large size. Text is also very easy to read. Frame rate is excellent.The first game I bought was DOOM, c'mon, fa an old dude like my who remembers playing DOOM way back in the 90s on an old PC 386SX I just had to and I can say watching YouTube videos of this game on VR does not do it justice, you just have to get that PSVR on and play the game, I was blown away. How can ya go back to flat gaming after playing on VR !? However, if you play a non-vr game then just pop on the headset and you play on a massive monitor/screen, this really brings some of those older games back to life. I decided to be a Plus member a £4.99 a month, lots of benefits plus you get 2 free games a months as well as other benefits, thats quite a saving over the year and will do me fine thank you very much.Now to a con point. This is not really meant for Content Viewing but still even here if you can find some good VR Vids that have been downscaled to the PSVR resolution then viewing experience is great. This is mainly Gaming Device and at that it performs admirable in my honest opinion though you can stream 4K content on your TV if you have a capable TV, I don't. Ignore anything you've heard about resolution for in gaming I promise you'll be happy with this e.g. DOOOOOOM !!!Last Thoughts. You have to experience a game in this to really get it, the immersion is fantastic and I couldn't be happier and the next item on my list is the Farpoint Bundle with the Aim Controller.

Wow! I am seriously impressed. The PSVR offers such an amazing, transformative experience. Just firing up the included VR worlds lobby was absolutely incredible and hilarious for the family as I shrieked in amazement. I’d read other reviews downplaying the visual quality and the quality of the graphics, so I think my expectations were set a little low. However, I was blown away by the detail and the incredible feeling of emersion and certainly don’t feel as though the graphics are anything other than excellent. The kids were so excited to try it, lapping up the 3D world and my wife, not usually a gamer, was equally impressed, screaming at the sudden appearance of a submersible from nowhere. Set up was straightforward and it worked first time running it through a Yamaha 5.1 amp. Highly recommended without any reservations, brilliant fun!