Games

Sensics SmartGoggles Make You Choose Between Looking Stupid and Playing 3D Games

Sensics tries to take gaming to a whole new level with its SmartGoggles, which literally put your head in the game. That is, you have to put your head inside a bulky contraption (the SmartGoggles) before you get to play anything.

Putting the goggles (if you can even call them that--they're more like a Stormtrooper helmet) is a little tricky, because they surround your entire head. They're extremely heavy, but they'll weigh less by the time they come to market. Inside the goggles are two little lenses that you look through; I found this to be difficult because the prototype is so heavy that the goggles keep falling down on your head.

But once they're on--and you're holding them in place--the goggles are pretty cool. I played a game in which I was a giant robot that punched buildings. I used a game controller to punch, but the goggles can supposedly track your hands as well. I was also able to look around at the city by moving my head, and to jump on buildings by, well, jumping. I looked ridiculous, of course, but that's part of the fun of gaming.

In Video: Sensics SmartGoggles at CES 2012

The game's 3D graphics were terrible, but the company's representatives told me that "you have to start somewhere", and that the graphics will of course be improved before the goggles go to market. No word on when that will actually be (though the prototype seems pretty rough at the moment) or how much it will cost, though a Sensics representative says that they will be priced for consumers. Sensics also showed off a pair of goggles that cost about $23,000, which were decidedly not priced for consumers.

For more blogs, stories, photos, and video from the nation's largest consumer electronics show, check out PCWorld's complete coverage of CES 2012.