2016 as a watershed year for virtual reality? The HTC Vive follows hot on the heels of Oculus's Rift with an April 5 release, while PC and console gamers anticipate launches for "Dirt Rally," "Dark Souls III" and "Quantum Break."
HTC Vive
For: Windows PC
Available: April 5
At $799 and representing the high end of the spectrum in home VR, following the $599 Oculus Rift launching in March and $399 PlayStation VR set for October, HTC's partnership with PC gaming giant Valve has yielded the tricked-out Vive, which uses discrete Lighthouse cubes to track movement around a room -- hence its reputation as the most mobility-friendly of the three VR headsets -- embeds an outward-facing camera in its visor so users can see what's going on in virtual reality as well as in the space around them, and packs in the custom SteamVR controllers as well. Needs a hefty PC to power it.
Dirt Rally
For: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Available: April 5
Having launched via Steam's early access on Windows PC in April 2015, and received as a resounding return to form for racing specialist developer Codemasters and its tentpole "Dirt" franchise since, the exacting motorsports simulation provides players with the technical challenge of mastering 70-plus stages over 6 courses inside nearly 40 vehicles both contemporary and classic.
Quantum Break
For: XBO, Windows PC
Available: April 5
The studio behind cult favorites "Max Payne" and "Alan Wake" returns with an ambitious hybrid of episodic TV and video game action. Main character Jack Joyce gifted with the ability to halt the passage of time, and he'll need to use it to stop the game's villain. At key junctures in progress, players can then watch 20-minute episodes that are edited in response to their actions and show things from their enemy's perspective.
Dark Souls III
For: PS4, XBO, WinPC
Available: April 12 (Japan since March 24)
Another descent into the intricately detailed, deviously difficult dungeons planned out by "Souls" series overlord Hidetaka Miyazaki and his aides, plunging once more into gothic medieval art, architecture and armories for inspiration, and one that this time takes on a fiery motif, re-examines the role of magic within its unearthly realm, and enacts an increase in speed when compared to previous installments.
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