And now for some of those impressions I promised.
I set up and tested my PSVR rig tonight. The general set up process was a few more cables than I would have liked, but was otherwise fine, and reasonably straight forward. Activating and operating the PSVR was rather simple, no real issues or complaints there.
On the game front, I've only yet tried the copy of Drive Club VR that I got last week. It worked fairly well. I did notice that the graphics were a bit grainier than I would have preferred, but that is likely due to the display resolution of the headset. I had heard that would likely be a noticeable issue before I acquired it, so it didn't come as a surprise. The motion tracking was solid and smooth. Turning my head to look at the world around me gave me a nice view, with no real lag to speak of. Overall, a pretty good driving simulator experience, and quite a bit more engaging than that kind of game usually is for me. I'm hoping they have a VR mode for the next Gran Turismo title.
I did a bit more practice with the 3D Blu-Ray film experience. Once again, the lower resolution was a noticeable issue. You won't be getting the same crisp visuals for the screen that you would from a static full-1080p display. But that was where the drawbacks ended. The 3D effect was pronounced, and rock-solid. While my eyes constantly struggle to focus with conventional 3D glasses, they had no problems at all with the PSVR display. The 3D was never out of sync or unsteady, most likely due to the different images being displayed separately to each eye. The virtual "movie-screen" is also large enough to take up the majority of your vision, giving you ample space to appreciate the visuals of the film. It's like being in a large theatre in the seventh row from the front, right in the middle.
Another pleasant bonus was the brightness of the visuals. With conventional 3D display tech, the glasses you have to wear frequently dull the image, often darkening it. This can make things difficult to see, especially in night scenes, or scenes with a lot of darkness. The PSVR did not suffer from this in the slightest. I used Pacific Rim as my primary source material, as it was shot from the beginning in 3D. Several scenes that take place predominantly in darkness were very clear and bright. You could make out all of the 3D effects and tell what was going on just fine, despite the numerous shadows on screen.
For anyone comfortable with more standardized 3D display technology, the drop in resolution for the PSVR might make it a lesser experience. For me, I am seriously considering watching all my 3D films going forward with the headset. While the slightly lower resolution display is unfortunate, the numerous benefits make it well worth it. The greatly enhanced 3D stability, reduction to eye-strain, and brighter image outweigh almost any other disadvantage. If Sony ever releases an upgraded PSVR with higher resolution displays, I would be willing to consider picking one up expressly for viewing 3D movies.
I definitely need to earn my "legs" though - I can usually last for 45mins or so before I need to take a break. I haven't tried EVE Valkyrie yet, but Scavenger’s Odyssey on VR Worlds makes me queasy with all the movement after a bit, so I'm giving myself time lol
