It feels good on your face! [#acpodcast]

Daniel Bader, Jerry Hildenbrand, Russell Holly, and Andrew Martonik convene for a detailed breakdown of all the announcements from Google’s Pixel hardware event this week.

They get the bezel bashing out of the way quickly before moving on to Google’s Home Mini and Home Max, followed by a look at the Pixelbook. Besides Jerry, who is the target audience for Chrome OS on such a high end piece of hardware? Are the specs simply overkill for what can be accomplished on the device? It’s a computer that’s far more capable than your might think.

The second half of the episode is devoted to Pixel 2 as the crew discuss the specs, colors, and features of each model. The camera is a major change from the original Pixel. It bucks the recent trend of dual cameras by offering a single rear facing camera. They also talk about the Pixel Buds and their potential usefulness for translation.

Show Notes and Links:

• Google Home Mini
• Google Home Max
• Google Pixelbook
• Google Pixel 2: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 preview: Act two is great
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google doubles down on the single camera
• The Pixel 2 ships with an eSIM for Fi
• Pixel Buds
• Google Clips

Podcast MP3 URL: http://traffic.libsyn.com/androidcentral/androidcentral355.mp3

Action Launcher gains Pixel 2-style search bar with latest update

The latest Action Launcher update brings the Pixel 2’s newly designed Google Search bar to any of your devices.

Chris Lacey’s Action Launcher received a massive update this summer that made the already great Android launcher better than ever with a ton of new Android O-themed features. Just a couple days after Google’s unveiling of the Pixel 2, Action Launcher has already been updated to bring one of the phone’s most noticeable software changes to your device right now.

With this year’s Pixel phones, Google decided to move the search bar to the bottom of the home screen below the dock. The idea here is that this makes accessing search easier than having to stretch your finger all the way to the top of the screen, and it’s a subtle change that actually makes a lot of sense. With the new v29.0 update for Action Launcher, you can get that Pixel 2-style search bar without having to hand over $650 or more for Google’s new hardware.

Once you’ve got the new v29.0 update, go to Settings -> Quickbar -> Style. From here, you can select “Search box (dock)” to get the Pixel 2-style search bar right on your home screen.

Since this is the Quickbar after all, you can do much more than change its position. All of the same Quickbar controls are here, including the ability to round the corners of the bar, customize its color, and even add/remove shortcuts for apps and settings. Also new with the v29.0 update, you can now swap out the full “Google” logo in favor of a much simpler “G” design.

Action Launcher and Nova Launcher take different approaches to Adaptive Icons

‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ public betas are available this weekend

Whether it’s the cinematic campaign, the much-improved space combat or simply being able to pilot ships as the franchise’s favorite muppet wizard, there’s a lot to look forward to when Star Wars Battlefront II hits store shelves on November 17th. Lucky for everyone, beta versions of the game are available to play on PC, PS4 and Xbox One this weekend, starting today.

The #StarWarsBattlefrontII Beta is available for all players!https://t.co/XgGf34Klyc pic.twitter.com/iCyIqt3nQj

— Electronic Arts (@EA) October 6, 2017

Okay, technically some folks got early access on October 4th, but the beta is now open to all players. Players can jump into several modes, including multi-stage Galactic Assault, player-vs-AI in Arcade, ship combat in Starfighter Assault and small team fights in 8-vs-8 Strikes. The beta is open until October 9th at 4PM UTC.

Source: EA Games, PlayStation Blog, Xbox Wire

Audi’s flagship A8 has an overwhelming amount of tech

The 2019 Audi A8 is one of the most, if not the most technically advanced cars in the world, so when the company offered a test drive, how could we resist? While we didn’t get to see the vaunted Level 3 self-driving, there were still a lot of cutting-edge features on display. If anything, the sheer quantity of technology was a little disconcerting when we drove the A8 through the hills of Valencia, Spain.

There’s so much tech on the A8, it’s hard to know where to start. Three screens cover the dashboard: one for the instrument cluster in front of the driver, a touchscreen for the Audi MMI infotainment system at center and another touchscreen for climate control that also acts as a writing pad for your finger. Oh, and there’s a heads-up display (HUD), of course.

Around the vehicle are a dazzling number of sensors, including long-range radar, four mid-range radars, 360-degree cameras, up to 12 ultrasound cameras and, for the first time in a production car, LIDAR. That’s a lot of input data, all of it crunched by a central “zFAS” driver assistance controller. There’s also an NVIDIA K1 processing unit to handle the infotainment chores.

All together, this gives you an insane 40 or so driver assist options, including an all-new “adaptive cruise assist,” which Audi calls “a progression from the adaptive cruise control of the previous model.” Specifically, it incorporates the Level 3 traffic jam pilot, a construction zone assist and other features. It keeps the A8 within a desired speed range and separated from traffic, while applying steering torque to keep you in the lane.

Another new feature is the “crossing assist,” which brakes automatically if a vehicle passes dangerously in front. The tech also allows you to use the detachable “Audi Tablet” to self-park in tight spaces, and it can do automatic parallel parking when you’re inside the vehicle.

The adaptive cruise assist worked as advertised, decelerating and keeping me back from vehicles in the slow lane on the freeway, then speeding up and safely following vehicles when I changed to a passing lane. I took my hands slightly off the wheel on a corner, and the A8 generally followed it perfectly in the middle of the lane. My only complaint was that it was hard to tell if the system was engaged, as there is a lot of info on the screens.

Audi demonstrated the angled self-parking using the tablet and parallel parking with a driver at the wheel. The parallel parking system didn’t work well for part of the test — the A8 seemed to get too close to a column and stopped. To be fair, this is a pre-production car, and Audi said it would have the bugs worked out before it goes on sale. Still, it was a disquieting illustration of the A8’s complexity.

Steve Dent, Engadget

Select models pack an all-new “Audi AI active suspension,” an electronic chassis powered by a 48-volt system. That gives you dynamic all-wheel steering and a fully active electromechanical suspension that can do some interesting tricks.

For instance, the front camera can scan the road ahead and, when it detects a bump, pre-lift the body to better soak it up. Furthermore, if the 360-degree cameras detect an impending side impact, the suspension lifts the body by up to 80mm (3.1 inches) within a half second to better absorb the blow. That can reduce injuries by up to 50 percent, Audi says.

Audi demonstrated both of those tricks on its “parkour” course. First it showed how the AI electromechanical suspension lifts the car to help absorb particularly rough bumps. From within the car, a drastic speed bump that was fairly rough with the system turned off was much milder with it engaged. But the lift before impact was particularly impressive. Engineers essentially rammed a heavy box into a plexiglass shield placed in front of the A8, fooling the sensors into believing it was an oncoming car. Sure enough, the A8 rapidly lifted, as shown in the video above.

Finally, Audi demoed a system meant to prevent accidents when you exit the car. If it detects, say, a bicycle passing from the rear of the car (a hapless Audi employee drove a bike for the demo), it will temporarily block the electronic door release. During the demo, while I filmed from the front passenger seat, the journalist at the rear was unable to open his door just before the bicycle passed. From the front, however, the Audi engineer in the driver seat was able to open his door, as the bike had just cleared it. So, it’s a very finely tuned system.

The Audi A8 will come with a wide choice of engine options, including a 3.0-liter V6 with 340 horsepower, a 4.0-liter, 460-horsepower V8 and finally, the rather crazy 586-horsepower W12 (yes, that’s a “W,” because there are four banks of three cylinders). The latter engine, on top of producing crazy power, lets you switch off cylinders in mid-drive to increase gas mileage.

Eventually, you’ll see a plug-in hybrid with a 3.0-liter engine and 31-mile all-electric range. I tested the 340-horsepower V6, which had all the power I needed for passing and for climbing a twisty mountain road.

To navigate, you can put the system into “intelligent search” mode and then just start writing the name of a destination with your finger (voice and other navigation options are also available). The system was very good at picking up my scrawls, and after I entered the first few characters, it brought up a list that I could scroll through. When you first touch either of the two center screens, you get a haptic pulse as confirmation, along with an audible click.

The navigation system was impressively easy to follow, showing up on the instrument display in a large or small size, the central display and the HUD when needed, making it nearly impossible for me to get lost. (I tried, believe me.) Once during the demo, however, it went dead and refused to reboot until we called Audi and figured it out. Again, such bugs aren’t surprising for a pre-production car and will be fixed, engineers promised.

So what’s it like to drive the Audi A8 while using all this tech? In a word, overwhelming. Prior to each trip, I had an Audi engineer leaning into the car, carefully explaining all the features. As I mentioned, I was often unsure which cruise control or active drive mode was engaged, as there is a lot of info on those screens. With more time on the car, I’m sure I’d get used to it, but I found it slightly distracting.

I love technology, so it pains me to say that the Audi A8 almost has too much of it. The active driving assist, AI electromechanical suspension and self-parking features rely on brand-new and complex systems that are, by their nature, prone to bugs and breakdowns. At times, it also felt overly gadgety, with a few too many potential driving distractions.

The driving experience was lovely — it’s a beautifully quiet, stable and luxurious car with nearly flat handling and tons of power, even on the “low-end” 340-horsepower version. And Audi did stellar work with the redesign, giving it more personality and nicely remaking the last model’s boxy front end.

Audi didn’t show off the Level 3 “traffic jam pilot” in Valencia, and that feature is perhaps the best example of how Audi is really pushing it far on the tech. It’s essentially a more advanced version of the adaptive cruise assist that works at speeds from zero to 37 mph, letting you do other things like watch a movie, though you need to be ready to grab back control. Given all the infotainment options on hand, that feature could become popular in traffic jam-prone areas.

However, you must stay in one lane, and it requires clear markings and a center barrier separating you from oncoming traffic. Even if all of those conditions are met, Audi notes that it requires “both clarity regarding the legal parameters for each country and specific adaptation and testing of the system.” In other words, Audi has no control over when it will be legally allowed to activate the system, but it could be quite a while after you buy the A8.

Despite my caution, you have to give Audi credit for trying all this stuff. The 2019 A8’s tech is bound to trickle down to other Audi models and inspire rivals to do the same to compete. Introducing so many new things is pretty risky, though, so I hope both Audi — and its well-heeled drivers — can handle the challenge. It comes to Europe by the end of the year starting at €90,600, or around $103,000. As mentioned, it arrives to the US by summer of 2018, but exact US pricing isn’t yet available.

Navajo Nation may undo genetic research ban in hopes of better care

The Navajo Nation banned genetic studies in 2002 due to concerns over how its members’ genetic material would be used, but, as Nature News reports, the Navajo are considering a reversal of that policy. An oncology center is set to open next year on Navajo lands and the tribe’s research-ethics board is looking into allowing some genetic research to take place at the facility.

“As Native Americans, we have a problem with trust because we have been violated so much,” David Begay, a researcher at the University of New Mexico and a member of the Navajo Nation’s human-research review board told Nature News. “In the past, our data have been misused.” But it’s the potential for improved disease diagnosis and treatment development that has many Navajo backing the lift of the ban, and having their own oncology center means genetic material could remain under Navajo care.

The research-ethics board is working alongside Navajo leaders and officials to develop a new policy and they’ve held public hearings to get a sense of what tribe members think. The proposal is expected to include research regulations, limitations on who can have access to any genetic material and an oversight framework. The board hopes to have a draft proposal prepared by the end of the month.

Source: Nature News

‘Eve Online’ is going mobile next year with ‘Project Aurora’

Popular space MMO Eve Online has been doing pretty well lately, bringing a massive map, galactic trade economies and the vastness of space to players over its 14-year history. It’s made several moves to keep folks interested in its PC-based game title, too. Developer CCP Games, has made Eve Online free to download and play while also allowing players to participate in finding exoplanets in real life. Now the team is partnering with mobile game developer PlayRaven to bring Eve Online-style multiplayer action to mobile devices. Dubbed “Project Aurora,” the upcoming title for iOS and Android is set to launch later in 2018.

This isn’t the first time Eve Online has been represented in other titles, like Dust 514 and Valkyrie, but it is the first foray into a mobile presence. Project Aurora will be set in the same universe as Eve Online, but will not be integrated with the MMO, PlayRaven confirmed to Engadget.

“We’re all long-time fans of CCP and EVE Online, so we’re immensely proud and honored to be working with such a legendary developer and beloved franchise. It’s really a dream come true to have the opportunity to create a new EVE experience on mobile,” said Lasse Seppänen, co-founder and CEO at PlayRaven in a statement.

Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games, is also excited at the prospect. “For years and years we have wanted to bring the EVE Universe to mobile devices in a way that is tailored to the platform and EVE fans. We wanted to find a partner who is passionate about EVE, has a track record of producing high quality and deep mobile games and is capable of creating completely new experiences on mobile,” he said in the same statement. “PlayRaven fit the bill perfectly.”

TouchArcade iOS Gaming Roundup: Thomas Was Alone, Stranger Things, Goat Simulator, and More

I’m writing this from EVE Vegas, and while they haven’t announced anything just yet, it does seem odd that the guys behind EVE Online would want someone from an iPhone games site to be in the audience, eh? Anyway, on with some of the bigger stories from this week in the world of iOS gaming.

This week was welcomed by two absolutely legendary 32-bit games getting updated to support iOS 11. Thomas Was Alone and Hoplite are now both 64-bit. Thomas Was Alone is near the top of my personal list of best games I’ve ever played. It’s a multi-character puzzler platformer with a fully narrated story and a soundtrack I’ll still listen to on Spotify at random. It’s a game I wish I could delete from my brain to experience fresh all over again. Take a look at our review.

Hoplite, on the other hand, is a hex grid turn-based strategy game that has you playing as a Spartan soldier trying to retrieve the Fleece of Yendor from the 16th floor of a dungeon filled with all sorts of obstacles. It’s totally random, and features nearly infinite replayability. We reviewed it all the way back in 2014.

A Stranger Things game launched this week. It’s a completely free promotional game that’s a lightweight RPG of sorts that is jam-packed with fan service. If you are a completionist, you can try and collect all the Eggos and Gnomes and complete the VHS library. And if you manage to collect everything, you might even get to unlock secret characters or never-before-seen footage of the upcoming Season 2.

Got to spend quality time with the second best gamer at our company @minliangtan today. Exciting times ahead! pic.twitter.com/f6OvNKrN6L

— Tom Moss (@rebelleader) October 4, 2017

Razer CEO Min-Liang Tan was spotted on Twitter this week with what many are thinking is the rumored Razer gaming smartphone. We’re super curious to see what if any kind of dent Razer can make in the mobile space with a gaming-specific smartphone. That particular sector of the cell phone industry seems really odd, and littered with the corpses of other companies (including giants like Sony) that tried to make gaming smartphones. Razer has been on a bit of a tear when it comes to releasing real cool PC hardware, so who knows.

All of the Goat Simulator games are on sale for a buck. These games are beyond absurd, and (as the title hints) have you playing as a goat wrecking all sorts of things. If you’ve never played one, it’s probably best to start off with the classic Goat Simulator then hop into some of the ridiculous sequels/spinoffs available. If you have kids, chances are you already own at least one of these games.

Like clockwork, Blizzard is expected to reveal a new expansion this week at Blizzcon on November 3rd — Specifically at 1:45 PM PDT. Nothing has leaked yet, so it’s a complete mystery which direction they’re going to go next. Blizzard has done a fabulous job at evolving the game of Hearthstone with new cards, so we’re expecting some big things with the next expansion.

The roundup is a little shorter than usual this week, but I’m super slammed with EVE Vegas! For all the other iOS news, reviews, and other happenings of the week please head over to TouchArcade.

Tag: TouchArcade gaming roundup
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iCloud Infrastructure Executive Departs Apple

Eric Billingsley, director of internet services operations at Apple, is leaving the company, reports CNBC.

Billingsley is responsible for running data center infrastructure and some internet services, including the operating infrastructure for iCloud services like iCloud Drive.

His current responsibilities are being handed over to senior engineering director Patrick Gates, who already oversees infrastructure for other services like Siri. Gates has been with Apple since 2005 and will shortly take over for Billingsley.

Prior to joining Apple in October of 2013, Billingsley served as a director of engineering at Google. Before that, he was a technical fellow at eBay. It’s not clear where he will be going after leaving Apple.

According to CNBC, data infrastructure has been an issue at Apple and Gates has been “righting the ship.” Apple has been shifting more services to Gates’ group’s infrastructure as Billingsley’s relies on external cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

His departure comes following a major AWS outage in February that impacted services like Apple Music and iTunes, and CBNC speculates that his exit could mean Apple plans to rely more on its own infrastructure rather than third-party cloud services.

Both Billingsley and Gates report to engineering vice president Patrice Gautier, who reports to iTunes chief Eddy Cue.

Tag: iCloud
Discuss this article in our forums

Ghostface’s cryptocurrency demands bulletproof wallets

At this point it’s kind of surprising that Wu-Tang Clan hadn’t gotten into the cryptocurrency game. After all, even Burger King is doing it and Wu-Tang Financial was all about diversifying your investments. Ghostface Killah has picked up the baton, though, announcing Cream Capital will be seeking a $30 million initial coin offering (ICO) for his branded bitcoins.

From CNBC: Cream Capital will be selling off “Cream Dividend” tokens in November; these can be exchanged for ether, the value tokens of the Ethereum blockhain.

As a means of reassurance, the ICO will be protected by a digital coin standard. Coins will be usable via a debit card and the outfit apparently has ATMs setup in North Carolina. It’s a bit south of Shaolin, but hey, who are we to judge. Oh, and as you might expect, the name stands for “crypto rules everything around me.” Naturally. If you’re intrigued and want to learn more, that’s why this white paper (PDF) exists.

Via: CNBC

Source: Cream Capital (PDF)

These are the 20 best HTC Vive games available today

The HTC Vive is an exciting piece of technology, offering an immersive virtual reality experience,  This wave of consumer-grade VR is still in its early stages, and many developers are still trying to figure out the best way to craft compelling games. Still, there are already more than a few gems on the platform, and the best HTC Vive games show off some of the exciting new possibilities for gameplay that VR brings to the table.

Superhot VR ($25)

Superhot VR turns an already innovative and exciting shooter puzzler into an even more memorable experience on the Vive. The stop time mechanic transitions from any movement to the player’s hands wielding the Vive controllers. Thanks to the precise tracking system offered by the Vive, fluid, precise movements can be made with little frustration. The goal of Superhot VR is the same as the original — work your way through white rooms by dismembering foes with calculated movements. Superhot VR gets your adrenaline pumping and truly showcases how immersive VR can be. For that, it’s arguably the best experience available on Vive.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Adr1ft ($20)

If you watched Gravity and thought, “Gosh, I love to see how terrified I would get if I were stranded alone in space,” Adr1ft gives you the chance to find out. At the start of the game, you wake up completely alone in the vast silence of space. Remnants of your destroyed space station float around you, but you don’t really understand the significance of that event because you have no memory. Even worse, your oxygen suit is gradually failing, constantly threatening death by suffocation in the void among the nameless stars. The main draw of Adr1ft ends up being its stunning visuals. You truly will feel as if you are there. Throughout the roughly four hour experience, you will mostly be gazing at the environments while slowing trying to save yourself. Admittedly, the controls can be rough, but as a visual display, Adr1ft is certainly worth checking out.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Rez Infinite ($25)

A remake of the 2001 cult classic Rez, Rez Infinite is a pitch-perfect VR adaptation that makes us feel as if Rez was always meant for VR. Rez Infinite is still the on-rails shooter that takes players through a hazard-filled computer network, but the chaos that comes from all directions, the enemies that you must aim and shoot at, pop when in VR. There’s also something about the way the shifting environments — the lines, polygons, and bright flourishes — that comes alive when strapped into a headset. Combine the fast and enticing gameplay with the rhythmic soundtrack, and it’s easy to get fully immersed on HTC Vive. Rez has aged remarkably well, but Rez Infinite in VR is the best way to play the iconic game.

Buy it now from:

Steam

The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed ($20)

One of, if not the most, impressive narratives available on HTC Vive, The Gallery – Episode 1: Call of the Starseed puts you in the shoes of Alex, a young man or woman (you can pick) in search of what happened to his sister on a remote island. It’s a slow-moving adventure divided up with interesting puzzles and cassette tapes that are narrated with full, well-done voice acting. In a way, it’s Gone Home for VR, but it also riffs off of ’80s fantasy films. There are elements of horror, the supernatural, and it’s full of surprises. Part one of the episodic adventure starts off strong and carries on in superb fashion until the credits roll. With beautiful visuals, writing, and acting, Call of the Starseed is a presentational delight.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Raw Data ($30)

One of the best action games available in VR, Raw Data transports you to the future to take down an evil corporation. Eden Corporation has control of the world but as an operative from the underground hacking group SyndiK8, you go straight into the walls of the corporation to decimate the operation from within, siphoning as much data as possible. The sci-fi setting is wonderfully realized, and the action-oriented gameplay puts you in total control of a wide range of weapons and nanotech powers. Raw Data is a challenging game that rewards players who take advantage of their entire arsenal of abilities. You can play solo or with a friend to uncover the true motives of Eden.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Eagle Flight ($40)

Showing off VR’s explorative strengths, Eagle Flight sees you control an eagle over the streets of Paris. Humans have been extinct for 50 years, so now animals have dominion over everything. Eagle Flight gives you a breathtaking vantage point over historic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower. The action comes in when you swoop down to fight off other animals from honing in on your territory. The aerial dogfights are exciting, but perhaps most interesting when enjoyed via the game’s competitive multiplayer mode. Part of the appeal of VR is having experiences that you could otherwise never have, and Ubisoft’s Eagle Flight does just that.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Rec Room

A social VR experience, Rec Room is a sort of VR social space that gives players the ability to hang out and play colorful mini-games with other players. Controlling an avatar, you can play basketball, soccer, paintball, disc golf, charades, and more, and all of it is played with room-scale VR that really immerses you in the action. Rec Room is one of the more relaxed experiences available on the HTC Vive, and since it’s in early access, more mini-games are expected to be added over time. As it stands, Rec Room is free to download and play, making it a no-brainer for HTC Vive owners.

Download it now from:

Steam

Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter ($30)

Expanding on the surprise success of Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, The First Encounter delivers a faithful remaster of the 2009 HD remake of the original entry in the series. Supporting both full locomotion and teleportation movement, The First Encounter lets you enjoy the fast-paced experience however you see fit. The 15 campaign levels are even more fun than in the original thanks to the immersion of VR. You can also play cooperatively or in an arena-style competitive mode online. There is also a horde mode that lets you link up with up to 15 other players to battle through waves of enemies. Featuring full trackpad controls on Vive, Serious Sam VR: The First Encounter successfully replicates controller play while giving you increased precision.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives ($30)

Life is rather boring in 2050. Every job has replaced humans with robots, and now you’re feeling a bit underwhelmed. To keep yourself busy, you strap on a VR headset and see what it was like to work menial jobs. In Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives, you can work as a convenience store clerk, a mechanic, a chef, and an office worker. As mundane as that may sound, it turns out that everyday tasks are much more enthralling in VR. It helps that Job Simulator has quirky humor, but for the most part, the experience excels because almost everything you see is a point of interaction. Simply picking up, moving, and throwing things in VR is a joy.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Arizona Sunshine ($40)

According to your radio, there are survivors of the zombie apocalypse other than yourself, and it’s your job to go on the grueling journey through the southwestern heat to reach humanity. Yes, Arizona Sunshine is yet another game filled with flesh-devouring zombies, but it’s in VR. Getting chased by the undead feels a lot less blasé when you feel like you’re there. Exploring the game’s vast, barren world, a pack of zombies is never far behind. Arizona Sunshine‘s campaign is playable solo and cooperatively. When you’re done, there is a proper horde mode to get at with up to four players.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Star Trek: Bridge Crew ($50)

The closest you will come to living out your dreams on the Enterprise, Star Trek: Bridge Crew does an exceedingly good job at capturing the essence of a Star Trek space battle in VR. You explore the stars and universe with a team of four aboard your spaceship. One pilots the ship, another serves as an engineer while another makes tactical choices. The fourth teammate serves as the captain, looking over all of the work at a global level. As a team-oriented experience, Bridge Crew is at its absolute best when you have three friends to play with. If you’re remotely interested in Star Trek and have friends to play with, you shouldn’t miss it.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Thumper ($20)

Part of what makes virtual reality so exciting is its ability to dominate the player’s senses in a way screens and monitors simply cannot. No game better exemplifies this than Thumper, a so-called “rhythm violence” game that puts players in control of a metallic beetle, which races along a psychedelic highway to confront and defeat gigantic monsters. Players then use simple, intuitive commands to avoid obstacles along the track, lean into turns, and hop over rails.

The hazards are synced with the game’s soundtrack and consist of militant drums and ominous soundscapes. Even with the distance granted by a monitor, Thumper feels oppressive, but in virtual reality, it truly becomes a grinding descent into hell. While the game’s various environments look great in VR, the boss fights are truly awe-inspiring. Massive, cosmic horrors are rarely as menacing as they are in VR.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Space Pirate Trainer ($15)

Shooting galleries are already too common on the Vive. The controllers lend themselves to the act of pointing and pulling a trigger, and such games allow players to move very little and still engage with obstacles. Space Pirate Trainer stands out from the crowd, however, thanks to its tight controls and gorgeous presentation, which gives players an experience straight out of an ‘80s sci-fi film.

The game takes place largely on an isolated platform. Players hold the Vive controllers in their hands, each one acting as an in-game gun. These guns can be set to perform a variety of actions, allowing you to fire in bursts or using powerful charged shots. Increasingly difficult waves of robotic enemies will attack you, and as they do, you must shoot them down while dodging their attacks. This simple gameplay is surprisingly fun, however, as it gets you moving and multitasking. There are few VR experiences more thrilling than twirling around incoming lasers and firing back, guns akimbo.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Virtual reality headsets seem like an isolating experience at first, and though it is possible to mirror the visuals to a screen for the sake of people around you, there is no way to convey the same experience you’re having. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is a unique multiplayer experience that offers a way for people not wearing the headset to participate. The game tasks the player wearing the headset with disarming a bomb, with input from other players. The problem? Only the player wearing the headset can see the bomb. In order to disarm it, the main player must describe the various modules on the bomb, while the other players consult a lengthy manual that offers instructions on what to do.

The result is tense, and often frantic experience as players shout at each other as the clock ticks down. The modules that can appear on the bomb appoint players with various tasks, such as translating morse code or playing memory games, and communication is vital; it can also break down quickly. The asymmetric gameplay of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is great fun, and provides a much-needed template for socially-oriented VR games.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Fantastic Contraption ($30)

The Vive’s motion controls and use of actual, physical space opens up some exciting possibilities for games that really let you get your hands dirty, and Fantastic Contraption is a perfect example. Based on a flash game from 2008 of the same name, Fantastic Contraption tasks you with using simple components, such as wheels and rods, to construct devices that move a goal object through the level and into the goal area. It’s conceptually reminiscent of the old Incredible Machine series, but with simpler components and a greater focus on physics.

Unlike its predecessor where you simply used the mouse to connect parts and construct 2D contraptions, now you manipulate components directly with your hands in full 3D. The concept translates beautifully into the new medium, and getting down on your hands and knees to tinker with your contraption is gratifyingly immersive.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Hover Junkers ($35)

While many of the titles currently available seem more like proofs of concept than anything else, Hover Junkers is a fully-realized and exciting multiplayer experience that has us hooked. It solves the problem of moving in a limited space by turning your small play area into the deck of a hover ship that you use to fly around the battlefield, collect junk, and trade blasts with your opponents. Collected junk can be used to bolster your defenses, creating walls for you to crouch behind. Shooting and reloading are handled with naturalistic gestures.

Piloting around, ducking behind cover, and popping up to shoot at your enemies is as natural and immersive as any first person shooter we’ve ever played, so Hover Junkers serves as a fantastic ambassador for the genre.

Buy it now from:

Steam

Elite: Dangerous ($30)

Space dogfighting from a cockpit perspective is one of the most immediately obvious ideas when you consider VR gaming, and Elite: Dangerous delivers on that promise handily. A starfighter’s cockpit is a great way to justify a seated VR experience. Frontier has been working on porting the game to VR ever since the Oculus DK1, and that level of iteration shows in the final product’s polish. Elite has a first-mover’s advantage of being one of the Vive’s launch titles longest in development, with a successful, multi-platform release already under its belt, so this open-world space game will be a natural starting point for gamers who want a polished, proven experience.

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Accounting

Is virtual reality a good medium for comedy? Accounting, a short adventure game written by Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland, makes a strong case for it. Navigating through many colorful, deranged layers of reality, players can grab and move objects in the world, and, for the most part, the only thing they have to do is fiddle with their surroundings. While the mechanics may not be memorable, the writing certainly is. Populated by bizarre characters who speak in rambling, absurd dialogue, that might feel familiar to Rick and Morty fans. Fans of the show, or animated comedy in general, will undoubtedly love this short, but memorable VR vignette.

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Tilt Brush ($30)

Tilt Brush isn’t a game, per se, but it’s easily one of the most engrossing and medium-specific applications currently available for the Vive. This Google-owned app utilizes the two motion controllers as a brush and palette, allowing you to paint in 3D space. The palette in your off hand lets you select brushes and colors, manage system settings, and apply a number of tools like a straight edge or a mirroring axis. Your dominant hand holds the brush, which can quickly change the scale on the fly with the touchpad. In addition to standard options such as oil paint, marker, or dry brush, the palette also includes effects brushes like smoke, fire, and stars to help bring your creations to life.

Tilt Brush doesn’t quite have all of the tools yet that you might need in order to make it a professional workhorse (like the ability to create standard, geometric forms), but it’s nevertheless a fantastic and intuitive way to quickly sketch out ideas in 3D. Unlike many of the game’s released so far that simply port existing genres into VR without fundamentally altering the gameplay, VR painting/sculpting is a categorically different experience and has the potential to become an enormously important sector of the industry.

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Audioshield ($20)

Do you miss the nostalgic days of Guitar Hero and Rock Band? Audioshield, from Seattle-based independent developer Dylan Fitterer, brings rhythm-based music gaming back into the picture with an enrapturing — though simple — VR experience. The Vive’s wireless handheld controllers act as shields in this audiovisual experience, and you, the player, must use these shields — one red and one blue — to block incoming balls of goo ( ?) that fly at your face.

The game is similar to Guitar Hero or the TapTap series in that the balls’ flight paths are dependent upon the song that’s playing. Any audio file on your computer can be uploaded into Audioshield and used in the game, which might look like some sort of wild boxing simulator to someone who’s not wearing the headset. The whole thing feels like you’re inside some sort of cool rave-type fever dream, though we don’t encourage you to use performance-enhancing drugs. Audioshield is also compatible with Soundcloud, so you don’t even need to have a music file on your computer to play it in the game. The visual experience may seem a little barebones, but it feels like the beginning of something big in terms of virtual reality.

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Steam

Update: Added Superhot VR, Adr1ft, Rez Infinite, The Gallery, Raw Data, Eagle Flight, Rec Room, Serious Sam VR, Job Simulator, Arizona Sunshine, and Star Trek: Bridge Crew.