META Meta Platforms Inc

By Nathan Olivarez-Giles 

When Facebook Inc.'s Oculus Rift headset launched in March, it allowed you to virtually step into brilliant, 360-degree worlds. But you couldn't reach out and touch anything.

On Tuesday, Oculus will finally launch its Touch motion-sensing controllers. While they're arriving later than rivals, they're the best VR grips yet. Rift finally feels complete.

Up to this point, Rift apps and games could only be controlled with a small click remote or an Xbox gamepad, both of which come packaged with the $600 headset. Being confined to these traditional controllers was limiting and it broke the sense of immersion that Rift was striving for.

With Touch controllers, the Rift tracks the movement and location of your hands. With triggers, joysticks and easy-to-reach buttons placed on a plastic grip, Touch catches up to the interactivity its rivals, HTC Corp.'s Vive and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation VR, have had for months. But Touch edges ahead, too, with sensors in plastic rings that wrap around your fingers.

These sensors know when you're pointing your index finger, making a fist or even giving a thumbs-up. Vive and PlayStation's motion-tracking wands can't do that -- and aren't as comfortable either. With its ring design, the Touch handsets allow you to move your fingers without feeling like you'll drop a controller.

Oculus has also fortunately ensured there will be things to do with the Touch controllers -- more than 50 games and apps are available now, Oculus says, with dozens more due next year.

" SuperHot" is my favorite game so far. In a dreamlike world, you fight off faceless villains with fist, knife and gun. The trick is that in the game, time is frozen until you move. Your hands may control the action itself, but it's your body that makes the whole game move forward. It's a surreal feeling, ideally suited to VR.

" Dead and Buried" is a Wild West shooter with Pixar-esque graphics. In this free game, you face ghosts and zombies, and can go online to battle other gunslingers too. To survive, you have to stand, crouch and occasionally dodge bullets. You'll definitely break a sweat.

Other actions simply felt natural, like grabbing a scalpel in " Surgeon Simulator," casting a line in " Pro Fishing Challenge," and smashing glowing racquetballs in " HoloBall."

Despite the Touch's benefits, there are still downsides. In the game "VR Sports Challenge," hitting a home run felt awkward since two controllers can't stand in for one, solid baseball bat. And many of Oculus' best games, such as "Edge of Nowhere," "Eve Valkyrie" and "Dirt Rally," still require the Xbox controller.

And while there's plenty to play, you'll pay for the privilege. A Rift-ready Windows PCs and the Rift headset will total at least $1,800. The Touch controllers, without which Rift feels incomplete, are an extra $200. Then you still have to buy games, which can cost up to $60. (Many are free, for now.)

Thanks to the exceptional Touch controllers and dozens of great games, I now prefer Oculus Rift to the similarly priced HTC Vive.

However, Sony's PlayStation VR still offers the best overall VR experience for your living room. It's got its own fantastic selection of games and a more comfortable headset. It's also about half the price -- and that's if you don't already have a PlayStation 4 console.

If you want to explore the more creative, nongaming aspects of VR, however, the Rift is proving to be a cutting-edge tool.

" Kingspray Graffiti" lets you use Touch to virtually paint murals on train cars and brick walls. " Medium" lets you create floating sculptures. " Quill" is an incredible art app that lets you stand inside of your drawings, in between strokes of color. It's being used by Oculus's animation studio to make VR movies.

With these three apps, all requiring the Touch controllers, Rift is a legitimate creative tool. If VR is ever going to go mainstream, it needs be about more than videogames. With Touch, Rift can now serve as a testament to the technology's massive potential.

Write to Nathan Olivarez-Giles at Nathan.Olivarez-giles@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 05, 2016 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.