HTC Vive
Available from April 5 (but already pre-ordered into oblivion) the Vive is the VR headset made by HTC in collaboration with Valve, the software developers behind the Steam digital distribution service.
Vive Headset
The system is priced a fairly solid $799 ($899 in US dollars for Australia, currently around AU$1185, and £689 in the UK) but unlike the PlayStation VR, the sticker price includes the controllers and eveything you need to play.
Vive Controller
Much has been made about the controllers and how intuitive they are.
Vive Controller
Which, honestly, is surprising when you see how completely weird they look.
Interactive experiences
A lot of the demos have been more of the "interactive experience" variety leading people to ask...
Game time?
..."Where are the games?"
The Lab
That's why Valve has used the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco to show off The Lab on the Vive.
Mini-games
It's a suite of 12 mini-games all connected by a central hub.
That Portal Style
As you might expect from something called The Lab from Valve, there are shades of the Portal series.
Not only the Lab
Of course, Valve wants to be the hub for a lot of VR experiences and the Vive wants to offer its users more than just Valve-made games.
In control
The games are designed to show off the Vive system, especially its controllers.
Bows and arrows
That means games like Longbow which has you battling two-dimensional paper warriors storming your castle with your trusty bow and arrows. Using the controllers you nock arrows, aim, draw and fire.
Vive competitiors
Vive needs to prove it's worth the extra $100 than the Oculus Rift.
And fun
More importantly, it needs to be something fun to use, that won't just end up on a dusty shelf in 6 months time.