Happy Christmas, Happy Holiday or just enjoy your break from reality. However you refer to this seasonal respite, there's actually an even better way to escape from it all – in Virtual Reality.
OK, I'm not suggesting you ignore your 'real' friends and family but If you've just invested in Samsung's Gear VR, the best VR headset on the market (for now), then you should probably grab a couple of new titles to justify the purchase.
The free apps are best experienced by trial and error but you should start with Jurassic World: Apatosaurus, Battle for Avengers Tower and James's Legacy - The Prologue.
Gear VR works with Samsung's Galaxy Note and S6 phones and as they're on the Android platform, paid-for titles tend to be unfamiliar territory. Take my advice – as you've just spent $99 on a new headset, spend some more on these two...
Land's End $7.99
This audio-visual masterpiece is a 3D strategy game from UsTwo, the team behind the hit app Monument Valley. I don't even like puzzle games but I refused to return to reality until I'd completed all five levels. The finale won't disappoint – it's spectacular!
EVE: Gunjack $9.99
I tested EVE: Valkyrie earlier this year on the consumer edition of Oculus Rift. It is scheduled to ship with this hardware in 2016 and the audience will love it. I won't go into detail as you basically pilot a spacecraft around er, space, shoot lots of stuff and marvel at the world as it floats by your cockpit.
It's an adrenaline-fuelled ride and visually stunning but couldn't be further removed from the look of Land's End. You're in a movie – and an impressive one at that! In EVE: Gunjack you're in control of a gun turret rather than the whole ship, but it never feels like the poor relation. It's still a mightily impressive VR experience.
It's worth noting that Samsung's gamepad enhances the gameplay so is a good investment for this and many other titles.
There's an increasing number of titles appearing for the Gear VR, some good, others not so. Enjoy the best of the bunch in the standalone VR headset market until the full-blown Oculus Rift, HTC's Vive and Sony's Playstation VR arrive in 2016.
If you don't own a Samsung phone, there's still a healthy selection of Google Cardboard headsets available. I'd recommend looking at a couple of robust options that still hold iOS and Android handsets – Mattel's View-Master reboot and the Zeiss VROne.
I'll feature a more in-depth report on the VR market when I write from CES next month. Have a very Happy Virtual Christmas!