Despite some impressive technology, it used to seem like the Oculus Rift virtual reality system was turning into gaming's version of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy: it was taking forever to arrive and looked like it might be disappointing. But after playing some of the newly announced games for both the Rift and its mobile cousin, the Samsung Gear VR at this year's Oculus Connect 2 - a gathering of developers, publishers, and media at Los Angeles' Loews Hotel - the future of VR gaming is looking a lot brighter.

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The first indication that things might be improving came during the keynote address from Oculus' chief technical officer John Carmack. Taking the stage of the Dolby Theater, Carmack conceded that while VR technology was almost there, the content was not, and that this was their big problem.But Carmack remained optimistic, explaining how playing Minecraft on the Gear VR with his kids had been a real education in how VR gaming could impact people. "Everybody has memories of playing games," he said, "[but] I have memories of being in the game."Following his keynote, I checked out demos of the newly announced Rift games. First up: the most talked about game at the event: Bullet Train , a futuristic first-person shooter being made by Epic. Inspired, it seems, by equal parts Bulletstorm, House of the Dead, and John Woo movies, the game has you using the Oculus' Touch controllers to shoot up a bunch of sci-fi suit wearing soldiers while moving around the world via teleportation. At t first, it seemed like an on-rails shooter, but the game slowly revealed some of its more virtual aspects, like how you can grab bullets mid-flight and toss them back at your enemies.Next up was Nimbus Knights , a cartoony strategy game where you pick up little barbarians and drop them near some enemies in hopes they'll battle their way to victory. While the demo didn't get too deep, it did seem like it had the potential to become like a frantic VR version of Cooking Mama where you're really shuffling things around.I also played Dead and Buried, a Wild West-themed shooting gallery that armed me with a pistol I had to manually reload by shaking the Oculus Touch to the left to dislodge old shells, and then right to reload. But things got really fun when they put a second six-shooter in my other hand, and reversed the reloading process. While this reload mechanic is a rather obvious idea for a virtual reality system, thanks to the Touch's accurate controls, it was actually more fun than other static gun games I've played in VR.But the best game I played on the Rift was I Expect You To Die , a first-person situational puzzle game in which you have to get out of a car surrounded by poison gas. Using your wits, you have to search the car for ways to escape. Though in doing so, you may get yourself into more trouble. For instance, after finding the keys, I started up the car, only to have it drop a bomb in my lap. It's a clever game made better by how you have to "open" compartments and "use" knives or broken bottles to "cut" the blue wire first.Along with the aforementioned games, I also had an opportunity to try out Medium, an art program that allows you to sculpt objects in 3D space. I ended up making something that looked like a cross between Marge Simpson and The Joker. It's nothing I'd ever need to do again, but in more creative hands, we could see some interesting creations.In the next room, I first played EVE: Gunjack, a sci-fi turret game set in the same universe as the MMO EVE Online, on the Gear VR. Much like Dead and Buried, turret shooters are an obvious choice for VR but EVE: Gunjack worked well by making it feel like the enemy's ships were coming right for me.Then there's Oculus Arcade, which lets you play coin-op games by Sega (including Altered Beast and Sonic), Midway (Defender, Joust), and Namco (Pac-Man, Galaga) in a virtual '80s arcade. They even make the buttons and joystick move in time with what you do on the controller. While it's an interesting idea, especially since you'll be able to buy each game for just a couple bucks, it comes off as more of a visual trick than a virtual one.Far more intriguing was Land's End, which looks and plays like a more puzzling version of Journey. Wandering around a desert, you occasionally come across pictographs that have you using the Gear VR's visual controls to connect the dots, thus opening new passageways.In addition to new games, the Gear VR also now has "social services," which are basically avatar-based chat rooms where people can watch Twitch, watch videos via Vimeo, or look at pictures. Trying out the Twitch set-up, I found myself as a smiling sunflower sitting in a comfy chair in a large movie theater, watching someone play a game on a big screen while four other sunflowers sat around me. We could even chat in real time, though only with other viewers. While it works well, I couldn't help but think how it would be hard to find the chips with the Gear VR blocking my view.Following all this fun, I rubbed my eyes and headed upstairs to chat with Nate Mitchell, the co-founder and vice president of product at Oculus. After laughing about my Chinese Democracy analogy, and relieved that I thought the Rift's games made it feel more like the first half of Appetite for Destruction, Mitchell concurred with what Carmack said a few hours earlier. "When it comes to selling the Rift," he said, "it is about the content."But we're starting to have the awesome content," he continued, "and I think that games — along with immersive cinema, and unique experiences like Medium — are going to be what sells this initially. Game developers are the ones with the experience who will be pushing the boundaries for a while."Assuming anyone buys it, that is. After all, unless you experience it for yourself, you may not get it. Or, more importantly, want to get it. But Mitchell already has a plan. "For Gear VR," he explains, "Samsung has set-ups in Best Buy stores where you can go and try out a Gear VR. And you can expect something similar for the Rift. We want there to be a place where people can try it because they need to try it to get what it's all about."Though I also think, more than anything else, that it will be about people showing it to their friends," he added. "'Guys, I got a Rift, you have to try this out.' And word will spread as to why virtual reality is so cool, and why they'll want to get a Rift."