Oculus Rift Hawken Demo Hands-on

The last time I saw the Oculus Rift, it was just hand-made prototype, wrapped in electrical tape and running Epic Citadel at CES 2013. But this week at GDC, Oculus is showing off the new Rift development kit — factory-made units with larger displays and other improvements to latency and performance. What's more, they're showing off the system with new games, including Hawken and Team Fortress 2.

While Epic Citadel was a demonstration of the Rift's impact on environmental immersion, Hawken showcased how the VR headset could be used in combat. In my brief experience piloting a Hawken mech, the Oculus team emphasized how the Rift's perspective control could allow users to visually identify when the weapons wielded by the machine's arms were reloaded and ready to fire. To enhance the experience, the HUD was removed, but I can see how combining visual references and on-screen data could be combined for a more satisfying and realistic experience.

As for the Rift itself, Oculus has made some clear enhancements over the last couple of months. The unit is lighter and the company has implemented a larger display to remove some of the edges that were previously visible when using the device. Now, the screen completely envelops the user. Oculus has also eliminated a lot of the motion blur and reduced the delay between movements and the corresponding on-screen image. Still, there remains some distortion and the dev unit's limited resolution is readily apparent.

But it's important to remember that the Rift still has a long way to go. The Oculus team remains committed to perfecting the system and building a substantial library of supported titles before introducing a retail variant of the Rift. Its emphasis on developer adoption and content is a refreshing change of pace and a perspective that could ultimately prove to be instrumental to its success.

Scott Lowe is IGN's resident tech expert and Executive Editor of IGN Tech. You can follow him on Twitter at @ScottLowe and on MyIGN at Scott-IGN.

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