It asks more of you than Oculus does, but Vive also rewards you with an even more immersive, transformative VR experience

Room-scale is the best kind of VR; Motion controllers make you feel even more immersed; Steam support means it's easier to get games

Heavier; less secure on your bonce than Oculus Rift; Fiddly firmware and a mess of cables; Currently lacking fully formed games

Is the room-scale HTC Vive worth the £499 price tag We've spent some time with the HTC Vive, and here's our review

A wonderful three-dimensional experience that will take not only gaming platforms but I could see it bringing educational software to life. Good service as always from JL

it's a wonderful bit of kit and while not perfect still blows anything else vr out of the water. feels surreal to use you have to try it to understand.

In the end I did not use the stands but will keep them should i change rooms, The steam set up tutorial was easy to follow. I have played elite dangerous on a monitor but in VR it is breathtaking the three D effect makes it seem real you can walk about your ship and look out of the windows at...

It is a wonderful technlogy that will break for no reason after a few months of use. One of my sensor broke. It's usual for that brand I saw on the net... very disappointed.

HTC Vive is an amazing bit of kit that brings brilliant immersion. Not only is it for gamers as it can be used for creative purposes or simply watching a movie in your own personal cinema.

HTC’s latest headset is a baffling mixture of good, bad and ugly but the overall impression is a positive one

Excellent built-in speakers; Comfortable visor; Gorgeous display;

Small sweet spot; Not compatible with all Steam games; Too expensive;

With its streamlined setup, lack of base stations, and tracking that's fairly accurate for the most part, anyone getting their first taste of VR will be rightly impressed with Cosmos. The potential for upgrading in the future sounds tempting, too. However, at £699, it's hardly entry-level money - and that's before you start adding accessories or faceplates with extra functionality. If you don't plan on buying upgrades in the future, the Oculus Rift S offers a similar experience with only slightly inferior visuals for £300 less. And anyone wanting the very best VR right now needs to bite the bullet on Valve's more costly Index. Cosmos has potential, and HTC hasn't been afraid to pump out accessories for the OG Vive, so it may still surprise us - but as a one-box system, it's tough to recommend.

High quality visuals, if not quite the best; Tracking without Base units is convenient; VivePort subscription good for VR newcomers;

Position and hand tracking can lose itself; Controllers not the most comfortable; Limited upgrade potential right now;

A great VR alternative to the Oculus Rift S, but the Vive's imperfect daylight tracking and a higher price tag hold it back from perfection. Software updates have vastly improved things since launch though.

Snazzy design; Inside-out tracking cameras means easier setup; Awesome-looking controllers; Comfortable fit; Superb flip-up visor;

Lacks Mini DisplayPort adapter in the box; Some of the design feels flimsy; White room setup can still be an issue;