We were shown a number of games that truly take advantage of this technology, including Quake II, Unreal and Half-Life. Each game ran flawlessly and offered a 3D experience that rivaled Disneyland's Captain Eo. Quake II's explosions had us ducking and flinching. Rockets that buzzed by our heads felt like they really buzzed by our heads. It's safe to say that you haven't experienced Quake II to its fullest until you walk through the particle path of a rail gun that just grazed your ear in full 3D. The castle ledges and catwalks in Unreal instilled a fear of heights and had us gazing towards our feet to make sure we were indeed standing on the office's solid ground. Half-Life's marines, who skitter like rats in between crates and barrels, appear all the more threatening and cunning with the glasses.

Metabyte did their homework when deciding on a suitable pair of stereoscopic glasses. They showed us four different pairs of glasses from different manufacturers, all of which were heavy and obtrusive. Not the case with the H3D glasses. Unlike the others, the H3D glasses were light and fit snuggly around our faces. After playing a deluge of 3D games for almost half an hour, we didn't suffer from any side effects like headaches, blurred vision or the like. Paired with the Wicked Vision drivers and either a Wicked3D Voodoo 2 or a Vengeance, the H3D stereoscopic effect provides for a whole different level of gameplay and doesn't stumble as being an added gimmick.

Metabyte's Wicked Vision functions at the driver level, which means developers don't need to code any feature into their game. Each game in Metabyte's list of supported titles is initially given a general rating of either Gold, Silver or Bronze, depending on its compatibility with the Wicked Vision drivers. Metabyte then rates the titles on a more specific level, addressing individual compatibility and/or performance problems and offering any possible solutions.

Having come out with three solid pieces of hardware designed especially and specifically with the gamer in mind, what's next for Metabyte and the Wicked3D Board Company? "Right now we still consider ourselves a 3Dfx house," says Wicked3D Marketing Communications Manager Laura Stansfield. Considering that they've developed and released every product in 3Dfx's lineup since the Voodoo 2, don't expect that pattern to change. In plain English, Metabyte could possibly be working on a Voodoo 2 Rev. 3 product, a Banshee 2 product and/or a Rampage product for future release… and then again, they might not. Currently, their development teams are getting their hands dirty with a range of video chipsets. Metabyte is a diverse company, and they won't turn a blind eye towards any current or upcoming video solution that holds promise, be it from 3Dfx or not.

- Wicked3D H3D Review
- Wicked3D Vengeance Review