Ghostbusters Dimension is one of the best VR experiences we've tried (CNET's Open_Tab)

[MUSIC] Hey, now, Scott and I got to do something really awesome this week. Who you gonna call? Who are you going to call? Who are you going to call is what Janine says in the first Ghostbusters. So Yeah. We got to do this amazing VR Ghostbusters Experience. That's the other thing Scott does. What? VR. Yeah, it was a joke, Joe. Like we know who does it in- I wasn't thinking about it. I totally forgot. Yeah, okay great. I have one other role. [LAUGH] Man, golly. Then you can retire me. Interrupting me, geez. Anyway, Madame Tussauds, you know what Madame Tussauds is? If you don't know what Madame Tussauds is. It's this wax museum place, there's a couple of them around the world, there's one in Times Square and Ghostbusters, the new film out later this month, teamed up with this VR company called The Void and The Void put together this. These very elaborate, interactive over-the-top VR experiences. And you and I got to sample it out a few days before it went public. I believe it starts today. It does. It does. So this was amazing because, to me, this was the best VR I'd ever done and I was telling you that and you kind of like.>>I was like, really?>>Yeah, because I'm never optimistic about anything.>>That's true. And Sara our photographer tried it out and she's like really cynical about things like VR and she said, that was pretty cool.>>Yeah, she's like, it's cool.>>Which is like the highest praise you could give.  I liked it a lot. Now I found myself getting a little bit- Sick? No, super critical cuz I just use a lot. Yeah, you have a refined VR palate. Yeah and I think the bloom has worn off as far as the novelty of it. Right. But it is really cool as far as how you feel like you're in another space. You can walk around, I mean anywhere. Regardless of that, the VR they had of me interviewing Ivan Raymond was amazing. It felt like I was actually sitting next to him. He was so real. So realistic. He even said, "hey, Jeff, good to meet you." I couldn't believe it. Anyway, check it out. This is what we did. They put you in this amazing apparatus Dude! The vests we had was forced feedback. Yes. And it was locationally aware. So while you're walking through this open space, this set that they build for the VR experience, you felt feedback. Like if a A ghost or a book at your left shoulder? Guess what. Your left shoulder vibrated. It's like crazy VR laser tag. [CROSSTALK] I really can't say enough amazing stuff about this thing. I think when you really break it down, it was super impressive. So, again, imagine they build an entire sort of fun house. for you to walk through. Yeah The floor shakes, they emulated an elevator. The floor shakes. You could feel the walls in the VR and in real life. And we don't even know what it looked like. Yeah, that's the thing, we had no idea [CROSSTALK] It probably just looked like a bunch of set pieces. Because no one's actually gonna see that. Because they basically overlay the VR over the physical world that they've created inside. So like there's a part where you think you're on a scaffolding. There's a railing, you put your arm out to grab the rail, and you Grab a rail. Like you actually feel it. Of course they shake the crap out of it and you think like you're going to fall off before you start building but man. It lines up really well. It lined up real well. You open doors and you're even able to do that and you Feel that one to one connection. You go in with three people total, so you see the other people in that experience, which is something I'd never done in VR before. No, you can talk to each other, and you sort of do a little bit of communication about the plan. I thought it was so damn cool. So would you go back? I I would do it again, I mean, it's only like seven minutes. You're not- Yeah. [CROSSTALK] And the extra price, it's not cheap, but it's again as a one time experience versus buying the VR gear. Right. And putting in your home, it's probably the right level for people. And it is, it's doing stuff you can't do at home which is wonder through this Huge maze of rooms with a backpack computer that's totally wireless. Wireless, let's not forget about that. What's the age range? What's the age range? Is there a height requirement? Age? 48 inches. Yeah? I asked them about this. Okay, that's smart. So 48 inches, no age range but it's because of the weight of the backpack. And probably for safety too just to make sure you're not gonna Fall over anything. But I think it's actually they do kind of let you feel free to just do whatever you want, technically you could fall over. Yeah, I guess if you wanted to you could climb over that scaffolding I bet that they [INAUDIBLE] And just fall into, where someone is probably there like dude, get back. Right. Just get back into the thing, don't I figured the If you removed your helmet. I am so mad I didn't do that. I am sure I should have done it. I figured it would have been like Eyes Wide Shut. There's just like a circle of people watching you. Yeah, maybe. Silent watchers. They're probably a lot of assistants ready to help because of safety concerns. I would imagine it's just very bright, because of all those little ping pong balls [CROSSTALK] It's a good point. We assume it's dark [CROSSTALK] We have Marcus in the chat. He want to know Immersive VR and not augmented? No, it's completely immersive. You are putting on a headset looking through lenses. Right. You can't see any of the real world. But what they do is they build a set in reality that has the same spacial dimensions of what you're seeing in VR, so like there was one part where like. There was a graded sort of gate. I put my hand on it, and it felt like a gate. It felt like a fence. They really did a great job. There's one scene where Slimer passes through you, like the ghost. And they like missed you. You, right? You got a little wet. [CROSSTALK] So good. Like a smell, sometimes, like a bit of 4D theater. It was so good! Like those 4D cinema experiences. And exactly. They call it hyperreality, or mixed reality. Yeah, that's called marketing. Yeah, it's marketing. It is VR and if you know about the HTC Vive Basically, yeah. It's kind of like what HD Vibe does with the boundaries of a room, but you say it's much more advanced in the sense that they map. I mean, they're building this to a specific set. So they build out all the physical details that they want so you can feel like you're touching more. Plus, they have, like you said, all that other sensory stuff. But then it is full VR. Right. It's full VR, and that's the thing. And that's why [CROSSTALK] You're not looking outside. Right. And that's where I think VR kinda works great right now. Yeah. Like, do this, like build these things at theme parks, wherever they are. Build it, make it this, because the VR, the experience relies just as much on the physical space as it does the VR. Definitely. If there wasn't a vibrating floor, if there wasn't wind to make you think you're on top of a building, it would fall flat. This adds something that you just aren't gonna get at home. Right. They realize the more senses you can throw at you to create that illusion. And it's not about the graphics even. The graphics I feel like in a way are stepped down. Yeah, they weren't the best. Right, they weren't like, if you tried [UNKNOWN] you might have actually seen something with a little bit better graphics but they're still good. But it's not like, yeah you feel like you're more in a game but it's everything else to secrate that sense of reality where you go wow, and then you take it off. To have like all the senses, like touch, smell, feel and that kind of ->> Yeah I feel like the smell was probably unintentional but that worked. There was a toasted marshmallow smell at the end. It wasn't real! I wasn't joking when I said it smelled like toasted marshmallow. You did that on purpose? Yes! I didn't ask them. You sell what you want to sell. [LAUGH] [CROSSTALK] Because usually you were hungry. [CROSSTALK] But when I was fighting the stay puff marshmallow man, I could give it away. It felt weird, wasn't it great how you shot him in the hand and his hand got burnt. It wasn't all canned stuff where like [CROSSTALK] like this is loading because it's supposed to. Like in the first scene you're in the little room in an apartment, and you just tear the whole place It's crap, like you just use your [INAUDIBLE]. And all this stuff is on the floor, and I'm like, that was supposed to just do that, and then I shot the stuff on the floor and it popped. It popped. And I was like, this is a game, this is like the physics of a video game. Absolutely, yeah, it's a real-life mini-game. And man, the elevators scared me though. It wasn't too scary, but that one moment in the elevator. Yeah, this like, girl passes in. A girl ghost. She comes in and what does she say? I'm cold. Or something like that. I really want to cover my eves even though there were no. I would just close my eyes like it's gonna be dead. There's no good thing that happens with girl ghost getting on elevator. It;s never good. It never ends well. Going to scare you. It reminds me of terror of terror. For sure. I had a little bit of terror of terror feeling. When i went of on that balcony, Really felt like, yeah I felt scared and I turned around and saw that my other ghostbusters buddies stayed behind. They were all like back in the I'm not going out there in the room of the hotel watching me to see what would happen as if I would die, die in VR. You did a great job,so you got to give props to to the void they did a really good job on that. I may have sounded like a little bit Critical when I wrote it just because I felt like I was expecting, I heard so much about the void and I thought, it is redefining what I thought about VR. Not entirely but it is really well done. Yeah. For sure. All right let's move things along. Joe I've got a VR question. Sure. They want to know from Scott, Which do you already think is better? I believe this is the Vive verses the Occulus. That's a good question. Okay. Sell this right now. I think the Vive is the best hardware going right now for a number of reasons. I think that the visual quality in the headset looks a little bit better. The controllers, the room element, and there are more games right now that you can get On Steam. I think Oculus Touch is gonna catch up to that quite a bit. I like Oculus' compact feeling, though, and the design of just the package, I think, is a little more consumer-friendly. I still feel like, though, for the average person, you're probably better off just getting something super cheap like a Gear VR. Totally. And waiting. I mean, PlaystationVR is pretty cool I want to see more about that. I feel like that's a good price for the system. That's definitely the most accessible. Especially if you have a PS4. You already have the hardware so you don't have to worry about buying a new system. Right, because I'm not like a PC gamer so it would be like investing [UNKNOWN] on the PC, and you know the stuff is going to get better in like, a year. Totally. And the games are going to keep being better. The headsets won't suck as much wearing. That's the thing. Yeah, so how many times are you going to buy a new headset? We're not there yet, but we're on the road. For a pair of glasses and earphones. Earbuds. That's it, right? I'd say like the best Vive. [MUSIC]