Am I too old to start getting into all that gaming stuff?

All this gaming malarkey used to go completely over my head. It seemed to have to be all-consuming, a way of life, with people feverishly logging on to play games (with someone in the next room) and letting life pass them by without even looking up.

Not stereotyping at all there eh?

I’m not sure what I was looking for at the time, but I had been carried away down one of those internet rabbit holes you often find yourself in. I was several pages, sites, and clicks away from where I started, when I stumbled across a clip of someone playing ‘Beat Saber’.

“Ooh that looks like fun” I thought. It had a great soundtrack, and the player was obviously having a ball. My first thoughts were that it could be a good way to exercise while playing a game. I was intrigued.

Always one to go blustering in when I don’t have a clue, I clicked over to Amazon and searched for VR headsets. Hmm, what strange language is this? How do I know if I need 128 or 512 Great Britains (GB’s?). And why would I need a different head strap? Surely they come with one. Or are you supposed to squeeze your eyeballs together to hold it on your face?

As you can see, I’m a real techie!

I buried myself in reviews, and became even more confused. Back to plan A then. Just jump in.

I ordered it, it arrived, and the fun began.

I needed to charge the headset, The handsets had batteries in them. And it also came with the Beat Saber game that had originally piqued my interest. It is a stand-alone contraption, so no need to connect to a computer.

When I first put it on and ‘stepped’ inside, I was amazed! I was just looking around open-mouthed.

I have to say, although a steep learning curve, it was so enjoyable exploring all the features. It was surprisingly easy and intuitive to navigate.

After I’d fallen off the floor a few times, and decided to move the furniture further out, I really got into the swing of things. There is a guardian feature that puts up a kind of mesh – so that you can see if you’re close to hitting anything. But I must admit – I sometimes get so engrossed that I miss it!

I went straight into Beat Saber, and purchased different music. You can also play online with other legless people. I explored various fitness apps, boxing, relaxing, travel. It’s all on there.

I have attached a clip (I’m no video editor either). Which shows bits of:.

• The initial home surroundings

• Alcove – a retreat where you can relax, change the scenery, meditate, and . loads of other stuff.

• Beat Saber – Thrashing away to Born to be Wild, like Darth Vader at a rave

• The Thrill of the Fight – A boxing game

I’m moving my head a lot so that you can have a good look around

I went onto an app called Wander. It’s basically Google maps, but you are there! Of course, I did the daft thing where you ‘visit’ the outside of your own home. No idea why. I could just walk outside and look at it In Real Life.

I came out of my first session, having definitely exercised! And the variety of options to choose from is enormous.

I did ‘need’ a replacement headstrap, as I use it a lot and wanted it to feel more secure. I also bought a spare battery. Not only for the additional power, but it sits in the back of the headstrap and balances out the weight better.

I also got protective covers for the handsets as I kept hitting things playing the boxing game. Really need to watch my footwork.

I’m sure the more game orientated folks find all this a bit blasé, and think this is nothing special. But if it failed, or broke, I would buy another. I’m not giving it back. You’d have to prise it out of my cold dead hands.

I’m off to play mini golf on a space station – obvs

Anyone interested in buying one – I bought the Meta Quest 2. I think it’s now been upgraded to the Meta Quest 3. I found 128 Great Britains to be just fine. Yep, still clueless…

Here’s a link to the Meta page:

https://amzn.to/3MvNdDm

I think this one should take you to the actual headset (something else I’m not good at) The list is endless…

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meta-Quest-128GB-Breakthrough-performance/dp/B0C7VRQ29K?th=1&linkCode=ll1&tag=juliamknight-21&linkId=de80f8b1a39349f624304428938a8ae3&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

If you buy something using the above link, I may well gain some commission at no cost to yourself. I will probably then put that towards upgrading my own to a version 3