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Since its Kickstarter page went live nearly a month ago, the Oculus Rift has turned the heads of game developers and enthusiasts alike. The advanced virtual reality headset has already piqued the interest of PC gaming legend like id Software's John Carmack, as well as several other developers and companies.

In only a few short weeks, the small company has managed to rack up over $2 million in pledges -- 8x more than it had originally planned to receive. With the sheer number of supporters for the upcoming product, there is little doubt that the gaming world is finally ready to surpass 3D stereoscopic viewing, and jump into the 100+ degree viewing range of the Oculus Rift.

So, too, is Adhesive Games. The developer recently announced full support for the Oculus Rift, and plans to ensure that its upcoming mech combat title, Hawken, is one of the first games to use the Oculus SDK. Though the free-to-play multiplayer project officially launches on December 12th, there is no ship date for the virtual reality hardware as of yet -- though it is also assumed to be in December. Built on Unreal Engine technology, Hawken is primed to spark interest and showcase what the Oculus hardware is capable of achieving. Adhesive Games also plans having the Oculus dev team be the first people to play the game, making sure that the cooperation between software and hardware is fluid and seamless.

id Software has also been a powerful ally in pushing the Oculus Rift to the mainstream, and plans to launch Doom 3: BFG Edition and the much-anticipated Doom 4 with full VR support, which will certainly help make the hardware more accessible to FPS players. While there is currently no question that this is a product people want, only time will tell if the experience will be worth the wait -- and the money invested. Fortunately, some of the heavy hitters in the video game industry have already been singing Oculus Rift's praises, with not only game developers but critics standing behind it.

What do you think, Ranters: does the idea of controlling a VR headset controlling a character controlling a giant bad-ass robot sound totally awesome? Or, are you waiting for the dust to settle before buying into the hardware? There are only a few days left until the Oculus Rift Kickstarter is closed, but a pledge of $300 or more will guarantee you get your hands on a dev kit and Doom 3: BFG.

Hawken is set to release December 12, 2012, on PC, with the Oculus Rift probably not far behind.

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