The HTC Vive offers the best in-home VR experience yet, but it's too unwieldy to truly enjoy for extended play sessions.

Sharp and incredibly immersive VR; Head tracking is superior to Oculus Rift; Whole-room VR is impressive; Motion controllers work well

Expensive; Tricky setup; Uncomfortable to wear for long periods

The HTC Vive is up against the Oculus Rift and Sony's PlayStation VR in the race to be the best and most successful virtual reality headset. I'll say right here and now that as a piece of technology, it probably is the best, but that as a consumer device, it probably won't be the most successful.

Brilliantly immersive; Can be worn at length; Plenty of good games

Neither cheap nor simple; Inevitably bulky & cumbersome; Very few great games

Recently, we got the chance to take a look at the HTC Vive virtual reality headset for a three week test run. With quite a few virtual reality headset options out on the market right now, we were interested in finding out what exactly sets the HTC Vive apart from the rest.

We'll start with the good, and when it's working, it's an excellent and immersive experience. The headset is not heavy, the cables do not really get in your way and once the tracking units are set up, you can forget about them.

Removing yourself from the Vive's virtual worlds is an odd, disorientating experience. Despite the fantastic worlds into which you're submerged it's so realistic it's unnerving.

OK look, I like to think of myself as a straight shooter, so I'm going to be super transparent here: I am a huge cynic. Yes, being a child of the 80's I'm not actually that old, but when it comes to tech I'm like the grumpiest of grumpy old men. I didn't think much of smartwatches (BAH!

I like the $2000 price tag

If your life is perfect and nothing every gets lost of breaks, this may be a good gaming product.

DIdn't get to use it long enough to find them

We lost a part; HTC would not sell us a replacement; They said to buy a new unit

The future is here. It's called the HTC Vive and it is incredible. It is the most exciting piece of tech I've used in a while and it's not even close. Let's back up a little bit though. I've been a big fan of the Oculus Rift and it's goal of bringing of VR to the masses.

The HTC Vive has proved to be quite a formidable piece of kit. Not only did it surprise when it stole much of Oculus' pre-release thunder with roomscale and hand tracked controllers, but it surprised post launch by being more widely available.

Room scale is hands down; the best VR experience you can have; Motion controllers make interaction in VR natural; Tracking is almost flawless with proper sensor placement; Chaperone gives you confidence to move around in VR; Headset is comfortable over long play sessions; Zero motion sickness...

Clearing space can be a pain; especially in smaller British homes – but it is worth it; Set up can be a bit fiddly; Steam VR still crashes; Lens contours can occasionally be seen in scenes with bright light sources; Headset weighting needs improvement; Crisp; bright screen makes pixels a little more...