A couple of years ago, I played around with VR with the Oculus Rift headset. Being a VR neophyte at the time I was blown away by the experience and had a lot of fun with it. However, the need for it to be cable attached to my “gaming PC” in the basement eventually led to its disuse and I dumped it on Craigslist to a father looking for a cool gift for his son. Fast forward a few years and I decided to take the plunge into the metaverse again with the Meta Quest 2.
The graphics are about what I remembered, and in fact if you compare the specs between the older Rift and the Quest 2 there isn’t a lot improvement. What sets the experience apart though is the game changer if not having to be cable tethered to the PC! It allows use of the headset anywhere, including for instance on a plane or just hanging out in the living room.
The games and other entertainment available to download onto the Quest 2 is definitely limited, but certainly adequate and growing. Additionally, the Q2 has the ability to use the full Meta and Steam VR libraries using a wifi Airlink back to my gaming system. Using my mesh TP-Link Deco system, it works like a charm pretty much anywhere in my home providing amazing freedom.
So far, the only two downsides are that the battery life and comfort for extended sessions, e.g., watching a std length movie isn’t there yet. However, I think both issues can be solve with mods, so stay tuned.
