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The Oculus Touch controllers add motion controls to the Rift VR headset.

Unless you own an Oculus Rift, HTC Vive or PlayStation VR, you have probably written off virtual reality as the great non-starting tech trend of 2016.

And in a way, you’re totally right. For all the hubbub about how VR will change the world, the first iteration of its flagship products have struggled to connect with consumers, either due to price, design or a generally unfinished feel. Those of us who bought in are having fun, but we get why no one else really wants to buy in just yet.

Oculus Touch, however, brings the Facebook-owned (FB) Oculus and its Rift at least one step closer to the virtual reality game-changer we’ve all been crowing about. Released as an optional accessory for the Rift headset, the twin controllers are about as far from optional as an accessory can get. Lightweight but sturdy, they shoot the Rift past the competition by delivering the most engaging way to interact in a virtual space currently available to the public.

Hands in hand

The $200 Touch package is pretty svelte, containing two Oculus Touch controllers and one tracking camera identical to the one that comes with the Rift headset. Compared to the 6 year-old PlayStation Move wands and the large, wonky Vive sticks, the two Touch controllers are surprisingly elegant. Each sits comfortably in the hand, your index and middle finger resting on touch capacitive triggers while your thumb sits on a small analog stick next to two traditional buttons.

The addition of motion controls greatly improves the sense of immersion while using the Rift.

This does a few cool things. The position of your hand and fingers makes the act of gripping something natural, and indeed, if you grab anything using the Touch controllers – a gun, a sword, a football — it feels like you’re actually grabbing it, not just pressing the ‘pick up’ button. What’s more remarkable is how well those capacitive triggers track your resting state; gently lift your finger from a trigger and your virtual finger does the same. Though you don’t get full five-fingered representative moment, it’s a step past analog, mirroring your input even when you’re not actually inputting anything. More than anything, it convincingly tethers your real-world hand and finger position to their virtual representations. That’s big, and it’s wonderfully effective.

The space case

Combined with the one that comes with the Rift headset, the extra tracking sensor delivers small room-scale VR that does a fine job of freeing you from the immediate space in front of your computer. I played a number of Oculus Touch games while puttering around in a roughly 5’ x 7’ space, and considering the fact that the Rift is still wired to a PC, I’m not sure I’d be game to go any further without MacGyvering the kind of crazy VR rig hardcore Vive fans have demonstrated.

Each Oculus Touch controller features a joystick, two traditional buttons and a trigger.

That said, it’s still a step behind the Vive. That’s because with the Rift’s cameras positioned in front of you, it’s easy to block the Touch controllers with your body. In contrast, the Vive uses two IR sensors positioned diagonally from each other so you can’t block the system’s controllers or headset no matter where you stand. A third camera can be connected to the Rift to better simulate Vive-level room-scale VR, but I’m unconvinced these elaborate setups lead to the best experiences at the moment. Other than a handful of games that encourage rummaging around your entire room, most VR games understand the limitations of most setups and focus their energy on entertaining you in a reasonable amount of physical space.

The play’s the thing

And that’s why you’re here, primarily: to be entertained. The good news is that with 53 Touch-supported games available at launch, there are plenty of options.

One of my favorite games from E3 2016, pack-in title “The Unspoken” is a fantastic showpiece for the system’s accurate capture. A multiplayer marriage of Harry Potter and the revered coin-op game “Discs of Tron,” the game turns you into an urban wizard, flinging spells and hopping between platforms as you try to take down an opposing wizard across the arena. It’s immediately gratifying; holding a smoldering fireball in your hand and hurling it like a baseball across an alleyway looks and feels like (I imagine) it should. Though the primarily multiplayer affair highlights the small user base and gaps in Oculus’ backend (hooking up with friends should be easier), it works, and it works well.

The Touch controllers require a second camera sensor to track their movements.

I was equally stunned by “VR Sports Challenge,” a game with a name so lame, you’d swear it already came and went back in 2010 on the Wii. But this collection of four sports mini-games is actually more Wii Sports than Wii shovelware. I genuinely broke a sweat hurling footballs, shooting baskets and blocking pucks as I tried to unseat some friends on the smartly included in-game leaderboards.

There are plenty of other excellent Touch games to check out. James Bond-inspired escape room puzzler “I Expect You to Die” is a winner, and “Oculus Medium” is a solid competitor to the 3D art program “Tiltbrush” for the Vive. Crytek’s previously released rock-climbing sim “The Climb” is vastly improved with Touch controls. I even spent some time with “Fruit Ninja VR” – yes, that “Fruit Ninja,” now in VR – and it’s good fun.

It’s a solid lineup all around, though as was the case with the launch of the Rift back in April, the Touch lacks a flagship system-seller. A suite of good software is great if you already own it, but I’m not sure anything here qualifies as a must-play.

And that’s been the story with VR all year long. Tons of really cool stuff, yet nothing really worth the price of admission alone. And considering that altogether ($200 for Touch, $600 for Rift) the Touch will run a newbie $800 before any PC upgrades to get it all working, that’s a really steep price.

But if you’ve already bought in, you’d be crazy to stop now. It’s enormously disappointing that the Touch wasn’t ready in time for the Rift’s initial launch — it is as important to the system as the Wii remotes were to the Wii — but better late than never. If you own a Rift, you need to own Touch, too. It’s that simple.

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‘The Last Guardian’ is a beautiful game hampered by rough controls.

“The Last Guardian” is real. For millions of gamers, that alone is a stunning development.

It took famed director Fumito Ueda and a revolving team of programmers eight long, tumultuous years to build this mythical beast of a video game, and from its first public showing in 2009, we’ve been spiritually building it with him. You can’t blame us for wishing it to succeed. Ueda is responsible for the PlayStation 2 greats “Ico” and “Shadow of the Colossus,” two of the most beloved games ever made.

When a developer of that stature announces an artsy game featuring a dragon-ferret with feathers, wings and puppy-dog eyes, nerds like me freak out. Hell, everyone with a Sony console and a pulse freaks out.

And then we kept freaking out, because “The Last Guardian” vanished. Sony refused to discuss it. The PS3 was replaced by the PS4. Word on the street was that it was cancelled (thanks, IGN!) or delayed indefinitely or just lost to the march of time and technology. Prior to a phoenix-like re-appearance at Sony’s epic E3 2015 press conference, most of us figured “The Last Guardian” would never see the light of day.

Now that it’s finally here — seriously, it’s available in stores and everything — the question becomes: was it worth the wait? The answer is a resounding “yes” with about a thousand asterisks.

Trico will easily win you over like a loving pet… A pet that looks like a ferret married a dragon.

“The Last Guardian” is, unequivocally, the most polarizing video game I have ever played. I’m not referring to the wide range of critical ratings; I mean I was polarized while playing it. One moment, I was staring at a groundbreaking, startlingly beautiful work of art, a masterful musing on companionship by one of the medium’s few true visionaries.

Fifteen minutes later, I was angrily chucking my controller into orbit while stringing together a series of curses so foul they’d make George Carlin blush. It delivers the most impressive artificial creature I have ever met, but makes the simple act of jumping on its stupid back a mechanical nightmare.

Amazing and infuriating. This is “The Last Guardian.”

Creature comfort

Like Ueda’s previous work, the setup is intentionally vague. You play a nameless boy who inexplicably awakens in a dank cave next to Trico, a giant feathered beast chained to the floor. Over the next 12 hours or so, the two of you will attempt to escape a baffling, crumbling fortress by solving puzzles, scurrying up ledges and, most importantly, forging a deep emotional bond.

You play as a nameless boy who awakens in a cave next to your new companion Trico.

Though you control the boy, Trico is the real star here, and what a star he is. A billion animations convey real-life nuances that breathe life into the beast: absently pawing at the ground, sniffing the air, shoulders hunched, ears perking up, head jerking to the side as he intently watches a flock of birds soar overhead. He whines when you leave his side and cowers in fear at frightful imagery. In the middle of a puzzle he might stop to scratch behind his ear like a feathery Clifford. Experience a traumatic moment and he bends his head low, nudging you affectionately. He is solid, weighty and so incredibly well-realized I completely forgot he was just a bunch of ones and zeroes.

Over time, Trico evolves from a fearsome, distrustful beast into an invaluable ally. Your relationship is symbiotic: you will crawl through cracks to open gates, he will pounce on mysterious guards that attempt to kidnap you. When Trico takes a spear to his side, you painstakingly pull it out. Combined with minimalist storytelling — a handful of brilliantly directed cutscenes fill in the backstory and a voiceover offers context (and, occasionally, some hints) — the reciprocal back scratching helps establish the same sort of mutual love and dependence pet owners feel for their companions. It’s powerful, personal stuff.

And just like a pet, you can eventually give Trico basic commands that mirror your own abilities: jump, interact and move in a particular direction. You can also call him to your side, as most of the puzzley dirty work needs to be done on your own while he waits behind a locked gate. Trico pulls double-duty as a movable ladder, too, standing on his hind legs so you can reach inaccessible ledges and even leaping across huge gaps to carry you ever onward. You spend a great deal of time climbing all over him; coupled with the focus on companionship and puzzle solving, this makes “The Last Guardian” feel very much like a cross between “Ico” and “Shadow.” In other words, it’s exactly what most of us were hoping for.

Out of control

Unfortunately, no one was hoping for these controls.

The controls are a major issue in ‘The Last Guardian.’

Your character has a contentious relationship with the game’s camera, turning simple directions – climb towards Trico’s head, for instance – into a battle of wills. You press ‘up,’ but since the boy is, say, clinging upside down to Trico’s belly, you instead climb ‘down’ towards his tail. You correct it, and slowly make your way to his neck, but then Trico gives a shake and you’re no longer facing the right way. Which way is up? “The Last Guardian” can’t settle on an answer, constantly turning what should be a straightforward act – getting to a certain spot on Trico’s large frame – into an unnecessary slog.

The controls are so imprecise, simply navigating the world is an exercise in frustration. The ‘drop’ button doesn’t always work correctly as the boy will inexplicably grab on to Trico’s feathers when you’re just trying to dismount. You can attempt to jump off, but often you’ll just jump in place. For a game all about navigating a precarious environment, the wildly loose control and disconnect between your inputs and what the boy/Trico actually does is a gap even a huge dragon-ferret can’t cross.

It gets even worse when you’re in one of the game’s many small interior spaces. The camera can’t handle Trico’s large frame in a confined space, so you often wind up with a frame full of feathers. You spend a great deal of time navigating corridors, and in turn, a great deal of time fruitlessly swinging the camera around.

Your character and Trico are best friends, but can’t get on the same page when it comes to controls.

That all pales next to the game’s biggest sore spot: training Trico. Issuing commands feels like a total crapshoot. You see clearly that he needs to lift you up to a ledge so you can unlock a gate, but no matter how many times you hammer on ‘jump’ and/or ‘move forward’, the big galoot just sort of sits there sniffing at thin air, or worse, turns around to wander back down the hallway you just passed through.

This delayed response isn’t just annoying, it transforms routine puzzles into controller-flinging mysteries. There’s the part where you’re stuck in a pool of water with a box; the part where you’re stuck in a tree; the part where you’re stuck in an arena. There are lots of “parts where you are stuck” in “The Last Guardian,” and most of them are solved when Trico finally decides to do whatever the hell it was you were begging him to do with a million button presses.

Is Ueda making a statement about man’s futile attempt to control nature? Is Trico just being a stubborn virtual animal? Is the programming kinda crappy? Whatever the case, asking Trico to do something and watching him ignore you may be realistic, I guess, but it’s also enraging when you know exactly what to do but have to wait for Trico to randomly agree to help out. The game struggles to catch up to your puzzle-solving skills. I can’t imagine this is by design.

Best friends forever

Here’s the thing: “The Last Guardian” is still worth it.

It’s hard to quantify exactly why this game, despite its disastrous mechanical flaws, soars so high. The astounding visuals help — the boy’s fluid animation reminds me of Ralph Bakshi’s pioneering rotoscoping work — but in a year overflowing with blazing fast shooters and colorful adventures, “The Last Guardian’s” formidable technical prowess isn’t its selling point.

It’s all about heart, I suppose; specifically, the way Trico burrows into yours. Its mysterious world, artful narrative and moving character work is the reason we play games. It’s depressing that its singular vision is hampered by the most basic video game building block — the ability to control your experience — but beneath its finicky handling and aggravating programming lies the same magical hoodoo you find in great Pixar films. It’s fitting, really, that a game this difficult to birth would be equally difficult to enjoy. But if you take the time to love it, it will love you right back.

What’s Hot: Trico is incredible; deep, emotional bonding; stunning visual design; beautiful storytelling

What’s not: Terrible controls; lousy camera; seriously, the controls, wtf

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If you’re a consumer-electronics company, you live for the holidays. Your entire development cycle is skewed to release new products in the late fall. That’s just how it goes.

So how are the big companies doing this year? Here’s a quick report card.

Apple (AAPL). Big new products: Apple Watch 2 ($269-$1,099), touchbar MacBook Pros ($1,299-$2,799). Assessment: Smartwatches in general aren’t selling very well. The Apple Watch model is faster and waterproof, but doesn’t solve the one-day battery-life problem or answer the big “Why?” question.

The new laptops are crazy expensive and, because they have only USB-C jacks, require you to travel with a bag full of adapters. Still, Apple says that they’re selling like hotcakes.

Sony. Big new product: The PlayStation VR virtual-reality goggles ($400). Assessment: They’re selling great. They’re the first high-end VR goggles to rack up serious sales, probably because it’s the first pair that don’t require a souped-up PC to run. Instead, these plug into a PlayStation, which millions of people already own.

Fitbit (FIT). Big new products: The Fitbit Charge 2 (with screen and heart-rate monitor, $149.95-$179.95) and the Fitbit Flex 2 (waterproof, no screen, $99.95). Assessment: These are great trackers. The Charge was already the bestselling tracker from the bestselling company, and the Charge 2 is even better. The Flex 2 ran into manufacturing problems, which helps account for Fitbit’s recent stock slump; but the products are great.

Google (GOOG, GOOGL). Big new products: Google Home (a clone of the Amazon Echo, $130), Google Pixel phone ($650). Assessment: These are fine products, if derivative ones. Google Home does some things better than the Amazon Echo, and some things work; Google promises that it will get better and smarter over time. The Pixel phone has been well reviewed, and the smaller model is sold out; looks like Google has a hit on it its hands.

‘Dishonored 2’ is a stealthy smash.

Dishonored 2 Review: The power of positive sneaking

It has been an exceptionally noisy year for first-person video games. “Overwatch,” “DOOM,” “Titanfall 2,” “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare,” “Far Cry: Primal,” “Battlefield 1” – if you like to blast things in the face, 2016 has over delivered.

But those with a taste for more…delicate…ways to dispatch bad guys have had few options. “Deus Ex: Mankind Divided” did the trick, but there’s an even deadlier sneak lurking about in the form of “Dishonored 2.” The sequel to the 2012 gem “Dishonored,” the new effort by Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios is a master class in world building and level design, and while it misses a bit with its narrative, you’ll be too busy slyly choking out guards to care.

Striking from the shadows is always blast.

“Dishonored 2” encourages choice, going so far as to offer two totally unique playable characters in the form of original “Dishonored” star Corvo Attano and his equally deadly daughter, Emily Kaldwin. Now the Empress of the Isles after the events of the first game, Emily and her royal protector dad are framed, their lordship usurped by Emily’s evil aunt. You play as either the ousted leader or her potent father; either way, you find yourself fleeing the imperial capital Dunwall for the port city of Karnaca in an effort to undermine your aunt and right a wrong.

Powers beyond reason

Once you choose, you are locked into that character for the ensuing 15 hours, though you can’t really make a bad choice here. Both Corvo and Emily wield a trusty sword for up-close-and-personal dirty work, but more exciting is a wealth of awesome abilities used to navigate Karnaca’s gritty steampunk world and deal with its legions of unfriendly sorts.

The newer of the two, Emily has a few very clever tricks up her sleeve. Domino lets you psychically link enemies so that what affects one will affect the others. One sleep dart and three dudes are laid out. She can also summon a lifelike Doppleganger to throw enemies off her scent, or transform into a smokey creature to scuttle through hard-to-reach grates. Corvo retains most of his powers from the first game, though some have been upgraded significantly (Possession, for instance, can now be used on corpses.) Using abilities like Blink (Corvo) or Far Reach (Emily), both characters can zip past guards and sneak through windows. They’re equally fun and eminently playable.

It’s all about the powers in ‘Dishonored 2.’

“Dishonored 2’s” really shines when you’re mixing and match abilities. You can, for instance, combine Doppleganger and Domino to create a sort of voodoo doll. Upgrade Far Reach and you can pull an enemy off a lookout ledge and fling him into a stash of explosive whale oil for an impromptu bomb. The more you experiment, the more “Dishonored 2” pays off.

Chaos theory

Of course, triggering a whale oil explosion isn’t optimal if you’re trying to stay stealthy, though technically you don’t have to.

Avoiding detection, keeping civilians safe and knocking out guards instead of killing them leads you down the “low chaos” path, which will yield a more positive ending. Alternately, you can invest in offensive-minded powers and/or straight up weaponry, chucking grenades, firing pistols, and slaughtering foes to create “high chaos” for a darker ending.

Ostensibly, you can follow either playstyle, though like its predecessor “Dishonored 2” not so subtly suggests that “low chaos” is preferable. It’s certainly not easy. The hypersensitive A.I. will see and hear you if you aren’t exceedingly careful, and once you’re detected, escaping can be a real challenge. The stealth approach creates a pretty standard loop: you’ll explore a bit, find some enemies, try to be slick, screw it up and get caught, reload to try again, and eventually live with a mediocre performance so that you can move on. If you plan on being stealthy – and for your first playthrough, you probably will — save early, save often.

Worlds within worlds

Repeating sections isn’t a drag, however, thanks to “Dishonored 2’s” brilliant design. Karnaca is broken into traditional game levels – this isn’t one big, interconnected world – but each section is a dense, labyrinthine playground that never feels too small.

Arkane takes a cue from its publisher by channeling the kind of rich lore building you might find in an “Elder Scrolls” or “Fallout” game to give its fantasy world a believable backbone. Some of this is found in collectible scraps and books, but the real joy is in the finely-detailed environments; the constricting grime of hidden back alleys, the soaring verticality of once-gilded structures that have fallen into disrepair, the pooling blood beneath fishhooks. Every nook and cranny has been handcrafted, it seems, despite the fact that it’s impossible to experience the totality of “Dishonored 2” in one go.

‘Dishonored 2’ paints a beautifully bleak picture of the world.

That’s a testament to the game’s stunning level design. There truly are multiple ways to attack each level, and you’re bound to discover a few depending on your play style. They grow in complexity and offer fascinating twists. One level is a mind-warping, user-controlled time-travel bit that amplifies the stealth into something truly unique. Another, a masterful, confounding clockwork mansion made of moving walls and floors, is its own piece of art. “Dishonored 2” is level design done right.

I would have appreciated a bit more non-hostile life, though. Some of the game’s brightest moments come when you stumble upon a quest giver or overhear an interesting conversation. I could have used more of that; other than a handful of civilians here and there, Karnaca is crawling with people who will shoot on sight.

‘Dishonored’ 2 is an absolute stunner.

Narrative dissonance

But where I struggle most with “Dishonored 2” is in its storytelling. For a game bursting with creativity in its style, gameplay and environmental design, it musters a pretty flat tale.

The core plot — take revenge on the mysterious family member who ruined your life — fails to really ignite and the villains never really have time to be villainous. The story beats don’t flow well; one moment you’re rescuing a lost scientist; the next, you’re digging up dirt on a new character. A whaling ship acts as your central hub and even contains a makeshift evidence wall like you might find in a lunatic detective’s dank apartment. But the strands just never come together, and despite the messiness, the big points are pretty predictable.

Look past it, though, and you’ll see another gorgeous, enticing location in which to test out your powers. “Dishonored 2” puts its money in the right places, offering finely-tuned gameplay that’s as challenging as it is thrilling. For a game all about choice, the decision to add this sneaky genius to your collection is a no-brainer.

What’s Hot: Incredible level design; wonderful world-building; cool powers; rewards multiple play styles

What’s Not: Story struggles to find its footing; save/reload loop can be a little frustrating

Platform reviewed: Xbox One

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Sony’s new PlayStation 4 Pro is a powerhouse console, for now.

Time was, you could buy a video game console with the confidence that you wouldn’t feel the urge to buy a new one for a while.

Those days are gone.

While hardware manufacturers have long released new versions of game systems with slimmed down chassis and tweaked inputs, this is the first generation to give mid-cycle performance upgrades a shot. While Microsoft was technically the first out of the gate with the Xbox One S, that system’s biggest change was in its aesthetics, not its power.

But here, with Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro, the opposite is true. Retailing for $399, the new model is a thick, chunky, beast of a system that makes up for its bland looks with significantly improved horsepower and 4K capabilities. It’s undoubtedly a burlier system than the regular PS4 (which will still be available at retail), but is it one you need to own? Let’s find out.

Function over form

For a brand new console, the PS4 Pro hardware itself hasn’t gotten much airtime. That’s possibly by design, because it’s not much to look at.

Though it retains the stylish rhombus shape of the original PS4, the Pro has an added layer in the middle that gives it a slight height increase and makes it look like a matte black PlayStation sandwich. It’s heavier than the PS4 as well, though it’s surprisingly not that much bigger, with an overall footprint a bit smaller than the original Xbox One. It should fit in the same entertainment center spot as a standard PS4, albeit a bit more snugly.

Otherwise, its changes are fine if unexciting. You get one extra USB port (handy for PSVR owners) and Sony attended to the irritating “which one’s power and which one’s eject” issue that plagues the original PS4 by switching out the impossible-to-read white-on-chrome power and eject icons for white on black. It’s still a little confusing — the eject button is inexplicably off to the right of the disc tray, which sits right above the power button — but it’ll do.

Everything you’ll get with the PS4 Pro.

The 4K difference

Where the outside of the system is utilitarian, the inside is far flashier.

A faster CPU, double the GPUs and an extra 1GB of RAM generate 4.2 teraflops of processing speed. That’s roughly double the PS4. That also means it runs hotter, and sure enough, placing your hand behind the unit is a good way to burn your fingers. The fan blasts some seriously hot air out of the back. Sony also added some value by doubling the hard drive size from 500GB to 1TB.

The point of this power seems pretty straightforward — make games look and perform better — but the degree to which this is true is contingent on both game developers and the type of television you happen to own.  

The single biggest selling point of the Pro is its ability to output in 4K resolution. Using a technique called “checkerboard rendering,” game makers can turn 1080p games into 4K experiences, and the results are pretty astounding. If you own a 4K TV, you can play a number of current and older PS4 games in 4K; “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” “Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare,” and even the three-year old “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor” boast substantially crisper visuals. And if your set and the game support HDR (high-dynamic range), you’ll experience a deeper contrast between light and dark. The PS4 Pro in 4K is, unquestionably, the prettiest way to play a console game in 2016.

The Pro can also stream non-game 4K content via Youtube or Netflix (that functionality went live on launch day). Unlike the Xbox One S, however, it cannot play Ultra Blu-rays as the disc drive doesn’t support the format. It’s a frustrating omission, especially since Sony created the Blu-ray format.

For the rest of us

It’s important to note that all PS4 games past, preset and future will work on both the PS4 Pro and the PS4. Sony refuses to split up its user base, so there will be no PS4 Pro exclusive games.

Likewise, the Pro isn’t just for 4K sets. If you own a standard HDTV — and that’s far away the majority of us at the moment — the Pro has you covered there as well … sort of.

Some games, like “Infamous: Second Son,” “NBA 2K17,” and a handful of games for the newly released PSVR, enjoy a variety of enhancements on non-4K sets. But good luck figuring out exactly what those enhancements are. Are you getting a slightly higher framerate? Improved lighting? Is that guy’s head a little less blurry, maybe? Who knows? You will, if you research it, but every game developer will tackle their Pro enhancements independently.

The entire PS4 lineup.

Results vary. “Rise of the Tomb Raider,” for instance, offers a best-case scenario by including a handy options screen toggle between enhanced visuals and higher framerate (from 30 to 60 fps). But “Battlefield 1?” I guess it runs better on the Pro, but I can’t say for sure because I literally have no idea what is being enhanced. “Mafia III” has slightly higher image quality and longer draw distance, maybe? “NBA 2K 17” already looks pretty amazing; I’m not sure what’s better when using a Pro. For a system all about enhancing visuals, Sony and third-party publishers make it weirdly difficult to figure out exactly how things are improving.

In part, that’s because it’s up to each developer to optimize and patch each currently released game to take advantage of the Pro. Some will go big, perhaps assuming that enough Pros will sell to justify the added development costs. Others will just nip and tuck a bit. There’s no standard here.

And frankly, we’re not talking about the sort of game-changing, high fidelity leap you get when you upgrade from a crappy onboard video card to a GeForce 1080 on a PC. For most games, the difference between the Pro and standard PS4 experience on a non-4K set isn’t quite worth the price of admission on its own.

Timing is everything

And so we come to the big question: should you buy one?

For $399, you’re getting the most powerful video game console currently available, and one that is future-proofed in the ever-widening world of 4K. More games, including huge first-party releases like “Horizon: Zero Dawn” and “The Last Guardian,” will ship ready-made for the Pro. If you’re already in Sony’s ecosystem or are starting from scratch and just bought (or are planning to buy) a 4K set, it is an easy, obvious upgrade.

But other than some shinier looks and moderate performance enhancements in a handful of games, there’s really nothing the Pro will do on a standard HD set, at least currently, that your run of the mill, $299 PS4 can’t.

There’s also the little matter of Project Scorpio. Microsoft’s upgraded Xbox One will reportedly run faster than the PS4 Pro, turning Sony’s impressive new machine into the second-most impressive machine on the market roughly one year from now. Such is life in the big leagues of modern console gaming, which is beginning to look an awful lot like the older days of PC gaming.

Unsexy as it is, this ultimately boils down to tech matchmaking. Without a 4K set, the $100 premium for the PS4 Pro is not worth it yet. The library isn’t there and it’s unclear what you’re getting for the money, other than some extra hard drive space and greater potential. Have the right TV, however, and it makes much more sense —  4K visuals are glorious, and the PS4 Pro’s performance boosts really do make a difference. Either way, one thing’s for certain: owning a home video game console just got more complicated.

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Review: Impressive storytelling can’t get ‘Mafia III’s’ tired gameplay off the hook

“Mafia III” has a beautiful narrative, but repetitive gameplay.

Any writer will tell you that the intro is the hardest part. Take this review. Intro stinks already.

That’s true for video games, too. Few nail the opening beats, and that can often make or break the whole experience. Don’t explain the mechanics clearly and gamers will be annoyed and confused; overexplain them and gamers will be annoyed and, well, just really annoyed.

The reason I bring this up is that no game in recent memory storms out of the gate as explosively as 2K’s “Mafia III.” Over its first several hours, it’s a captivating foray into a beautifully-realized, well-written take on 1960s America as seen through the eyes of a soldier returning to his troubled hometown. It deals with subject matter few games would dare tackle, yet “Mafia III” unflinchingly dives in and delivers what is, at first, one of the genuinely coolest video games of 2016.

It’s just too bad it that feeling doesn’t last.

Welcome home

You’re Lincoln Clay, an African-American veteran back from his last tour of duty. It’s 1968 and you live in New Bordeaux, a faux New Orleans that, as you would expect from a southern town in 1968, is a pretty unpleasant place for African-Americans. Racism is pervasive and gangs rule the city. Your particular “social group”, a small outfit in a poor district, gets tangled up with mob heavyweight Sal Marcano, who turns Lincoln’s homecoming into a bloody nightmare. From the ashes of his former life, Lincoln rises to exact revenge on the family that took his – and to take over the city along the way.

Lincoln Clay comes home.

What’s remarkable about “Mafia III’s” opening isn’t the specifics of its story, however, so much as its documentarian manner. The narrative flashes through time, interviewing the protective Father James during the mafia war in the 60’s here, catching up with the priest in the future there. A CIA buddy testifies before a commission, enigmatically telegraphing the in-game action. It’s clever and effective.

Helped along by superb writing and acting, “Mafia III” weaves a multi-layered socio-political drama that captures the nuances of its complex era with surprising grace for a big, splashy action game. That includes the appropriate (if at times overwhelming) use of racial epithets to hammer home the tension and unease of 1968 America. It’s touchy stuff, but the portrait “Mafia III” paints of its conflicted city works. For better or worse, New Bordeaux feels like a real place in a real time, a feat any open-world game would love to achieve.

Repetitive gameplay

But when it eases back on its storytelling and thrusts you into its action, “Mafia III’s” carefully crafted façade begins to crack.

Lincoln’s goal is to take over the ten districts of New Bordeaux, systematically climbing the mob food chain by picking off Marcano’s lieutenants and capos. Lincoln replaces these schlubs with his handpicked trio of underbosses; a metagame pressures you to fairly divvy up the town to keep all three happy, but it’s not well-developed.

Capturing districts unlocks new abilities, like calling in a car if you’re stuck somewhere, taking the heat off by bribing the cops, or getting backup for a big shootout. It sounds interesting, and at first, it is. But the desire to earn more cash to buy more weapons is mitigated by brain-dead AI and overpowered stealth, which turns combat into a cakewalk.

“Mafia III’s” gameplay is its biggest flaw.

You can whistle, for instance, to draw the attention of a nearby guard, who will handily wander over to your hiding spot. One button press later and he’s lying in a heap behind you. Other guards won’t notice unless you do this sort of thing right in front of them; whistle again, and another guard will unwittingly stroll by. At one point I killed a half-dozen guys hiding behind a trash can. Oscar the Grouch, pied piper of doom.

You do this over and over again, district after district, warehouse after warehouse, watching sadly as what started as a well-told drama devolves into an open-world grind. A helping of side missions do little to break up the monotony, as they too fall into the same repetitive loop as the main missions. There are plenty of doodads to collect – Alberto Vargas posters, old Playboy magazines (yes, these include uncensored centerfolds), some LP covers — but it just feels like scattershot busywork.

Worse, it’s missing one of the key features that makes open-world grinds tolerable: fast travel. I get that to stay authentic, “Mafia III” doesn’t want you fantastically warping around its world. But that exists in other games because walking or driving back and forth across a massive map quickly wears thin. In the case of New Bordeaux, a city that looks great but isn’t really teeming with things to do, it becomes a painfully mundane time- and interest-killer.

Déjà vu?

It’s a good thing the game features one of the best soundtracks in video game history, as it helps take your mind off the endless driving. Whoever’s in charge of licensing at 2K should get a promotion, because the 100 or so tracks here span an astonishing variety of era-specific talent. The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke, Dusty Springfield, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aretha Franklin – on and on goes the list. It’s so good, I’d often stop and just sit in my car to let the song finish before rushing into yet another warehouse shootout.

Where it soars in its audio, “Mafia III” stumbles in its technical delivery. Glitches are frequent and bizarre, from missions that refuse to start or finish to physics-defying acts of pure terror. Patchable, sure, but it speaks to a game that is too big for its britches.

Lincoln Clay, signing off.

And maybe that’s where things went wrong. Between its sharp writing and excellent performances, “Mafia III’s” narrative is a winner. Perhaps if developer Hangar 13 hemmed it in a bit and tightened its screws rather than spend so much energy building a pretty but largely empty world to explore, “Mafia III” would have snapped into focus. It’s almost worth it for the cut-scenes alone.

But for all its brilliance – and there are undoubtedly some very special moments here – “Mafia III” never manages to maintain its initial momentum. There are too many other open-world games that do what it does better, smarter, and with more stability. Like its motley cast of Mafioso, “Mafia III” is simultaneously likable and unpleasant, a tempting offer that all but the most dedicated gamers would do well to refuse.

What’s Hot: Beautifully told story; handles sensitive subject matter well; incredible soundtrack; starts with a bang

What’s Not: Continues with a whimper; repetitive, grinding gameplay; bad AI; prone to glitches

Platform reviewed: PS4

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Sony’s PlayStation VR.

Virtual reality has officially reached the consoles. And it’s pretty good! Sony’s PlayStation VR is extremely comfortable and reasonably priced, and while it’s lacking killer apps, it’s loaded with lots of interesting ones.

But which ones should you buy? I’ve played just about every launch game, and while some are worth your time, others you might want to skip. To help you decide what’s what, I’ve put together this list of the eight PSVR games worth considering.

“Rez Infinite” ($30)

Beloved cult hit “Rez” gets the VR treatment to help launch the PSVR, and the results are terrific. It includes a fully remastered take on the original “Rez” – you zoom through a Matrix-like computer system, shooting down enemies to the steady beat of thumping electronica – but the VR setting makes it incredibly immersive. It gets better the more you play it, too; unlock the amazing Area X mode and you’ll find yourself flying, shooting and bobbing your head to some of the trippiest visuals yet seen in VR.

“Thumper” ($20)

What would happen if Tron, the board game Simon, a Clown beetle, Cthulhu and a noise band met in VR? Chaos, for sure, and also “Thumper.” Called a “violent rhythm game” by its creators, “Thumper” is, well, a violent rhythm game that’s also a gorgeous, unsettling and totally captivating assault on the senses. With simple controls and a straightforward premise – click the X button and the analog stick in time with the music as you barrel down a neon highway — it’s one of the rare games that works equally well both in and out of VR. But since you have PSVR, play it there. It’s marvelous.

“Until Dawn: Rush of Blood” ($20)

Cheeky horror game “Until Dawn” was a breakout hit for the PS4 last year, channeling the classic “dumb teens in the woods” horror trope into an effective interactive drama. Well, forget all that if you fire up “Rush of Blood,” because this one sticks you front and center on a rollercoaster ride from Hell. Literally. You ride through a dimly-lit carnival of terror, dual-wielding pistols as you take down targets, hideous pig monsters and, naturally, maniac clowns. Be warned: If the bad guys don’t get you, the jump scares will.

“Headmaster” ($20)

Soccer meets “Portal” in the weird (and weirdly fun) “Headmaster,” a game about heading soccer balls into nets, targets and a variety of other things while stuck in some diabolical training facility. While at first it seems a little basic, increasingly challenging shots and a consistently entertaining narrative keep it from running off the pitch. Funny, ridiculous and as easy as literally moving your head back and forth, it’s a pleasant PSVR surprise.

“RIGS: Mechanized Combat League” ($50)

Giant mechs + sports? That’s the gist of this robotic blast-a-thon, which pits two teams of three against one another in gorgeous, explosive and downright fun VR combat. At its best, “RIGS” marries the thrill of fast-paced competitive shooters with the insanity of piloting a giant mech in VR. It can, however, be one of the barfier PSVR games. So pack your Dramamine, you’re going to have to ease yourself into this one.

“Batman Arkham VR” ($20)

“I’m Batman,” you will say. And you’ll actually be right this time, because you are Batman in this detective yarn, and you know this because you actually grab the famous cowl and mask, stick it on your head, and stare into the mirrored reflection of Rocksteady Games’ impressive Dark Knight character model. It lacks the action of its fellow “Arkham” games and runs disappointingly short, but it’s a high-quality experience that really shows off how powerfully immersive VR can be.

“Job Simulator” ($30)

There are a number of good VR ports in the PSVR launch lineup, but the HTC Vive launch game “Job Simulator” might be the best. Your task? Lots of tasks, actually, from cooking food to fixing cars to working in an office, all for robots, because did I mention you were in the future? Infinitely charming and surprisingly challenging, it’s a great showpiece for VR.

“Eve Valkyrie” ($60)

Already a hit on the Oculus Rift, this space dogfighting game was one of the first to really show off how VR can turn a traditional game experience into something special. It’s pricey and not quite as hi-res as the Rift version, but “Eve Valkyrie” does an admirable job filling the void left since “Battlestar Galactica” ended. Too bad there aren’t any Cylons in it (or are there?)

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