Vuzix announced yesterday that the software for their VR920 headset, a pair of spacey-looking glasses that hooks directly to your PC for use as a second display, has been updated to version 2.2. Included in this update is support for eleven new games, including Halo: Combat Evolved, Lord of the Rings Online, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the Spore Creature Creator.

The headset also supports headtracking and stereoscopy (3D imaging), and over 20 of the headset’s previously supported titles have gotten some new treatment with these most intriguing features, most notably id Software creations Quake 4 and Doom 3 and Valve favorites Team Fortress 2 and the Half-Life series.

I was a little skeptical of industry support for such a pricey headset (a pair still runs $400), but most of the best-selling PC games are currently supported. Vuzix also promises to continue expanding their cadre of supported titles, as over 800 developer kits have been distributed to studios so far. It still makes me cringe to think about dishing four Benjamins toward a PC accessory when my own monitor could use a substatial upgrade, so I hope their next press release includes something about a price drop -- a big one. Ramen noodles only last for so long, Vuzix.

Read the full press release, including the complete list of newly supported titles, below.

Rochester, NY – July 29, 2008 – Vuzix Corporation is excited to release the VR920 Version 2.2 Software, expanding the number of VR920 virtual reality supported titles to 62. The v2.2 software provides the user with superior 3D visual quality and compatibility with virtually any graphics card on a 32-bit Windows XP or Vista system. The 11 new titles include:

• Halo: Combat Evolved
• Lord of the Rings Online
• Far Cry
• Falcon 4.0
• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
• EverQuest II
• Final Fantasy XI
• PlanetSide
• Spore: Creature Creator
• Quake Wards
• X-Plane 9.0

Additionally, v2.2 software upgrade includes Vuzix 3D Stereoscopy and/or head-tracking expanded support for 20 previously supported games. These titles include:

• Call of Duty (multiple titles)
• Roller Coaster Tycoon 3
• Doom 3
• Quake 4
• Crysis
• Half-Life (multiple titles)
• Team Fortress 2
• The Ship
• Dark Messiah
• Garry’s Mod
• Dystopia
• Hidden
• Hypercube
• Insurgency

For a complete list of titles, please visit www.vuzix.com.

“We are pleased to see our customers’ recommendations becoming a reality,” said Paul Travers, President of Vuzix Corporation. “With our list of supported titles continuing to grow, the VR920 has become the video eyewear of choice for gamers worldwide,” added Travers.

Additionally, Vuzix has distributed the over 800 Software Developers’ Kits to the developer community.

“Due to this phenomenal level of interest in Vuzix virtual reality products, the available customer experiences continue to grow,” said Vuzix Product Manager Ron Haidenger. “VR920 users will have more and more compatible titles from some of the world’s largest developers,” added Haidenger.