If you haven’t seen or heard of OnLive yet, prepare to have your mind blown. OnLive may be the most interesting innovation in video games of the past year. Here’s a brief taste of what it does.
Gaming in the Clouds
OnLive is cloud streaming video games. That means that it delivers quality video game entertainment while mostly doing away with going to the local game store, with the need for an expensive game console, or with being locked into gaming on a single PC. OnLive plays where you are, on your PC, Mac or TV. Instantly.
The way it works is simple. OnLive’s game library is installed in the cloud. You access that cloud in a variety of ways through your internet connection. First you create an account for free at OnLive’s web site. Then you download and install a small app to your computer, or you hook up the “microconsole” to your TV. Once installed, sign in to your account and you have instant access to hundreds of video games. You can install the app on as many devices as you want, and when you buy and play a game, your saves and progress get tied to your login account. So your game progress goes to whatever device you happen to be on at the moment.
OnLive also does away with the need to download the games or their demos, at all. In this respect, it gains an advantage over its most obvious competitor, the Steam game network, which requires local downloads for all the content you choose to access. So where, in the Steam universe, you might wait hours just to sample a demo of a game you’re considering purchasing, with OnLive, once you click on the Game Trial button, you’re automatically and instantly allowed to demo the game.
OnLive’s optional microconsole also gives it an edge over the more expensive XBox360 and PS3 consoles, in cost, portability and ease of use. Because the games are installed in the cloud, there is no need for discs, and therefore no moving parts inside OnLive’s tiny box. No red rings of death, no DVD readers that suddenly die. And at just a bit larger than an iPhone, the OnLive console will fit anywhere, while at $129 off Amazon for the box and a wireless controller, it fits just about any budget too. Apple fans will appreciate the packaging in which the console arrives; it’s a sleek black box reminiscent of the packaging in which Apple places the iPhone.
The Pros
OnLive’s positives are numerous. Access is free, and you can go from zero to demo in maybe five minutes. Installation couldn’t be easier. It frees you from having to use any particular device, and expands Mac gaming considerably. I tested it on an underpowered six-year-old laptop, and because OnLive streams the games rather than depending on your local hardware, my ancient laptop played like a brand new machine even on high-end, graphics-heavy games. OnLive opens up gaming even on machines you’ve given up for dead, as long as they can handle a fast internet connection. OnLive’s Arena mode lets you spectate on games as other members play them in real time, allowing you to sample as many games as you want just by watching the action. Wonder if the newest game deserves its M rating? Scope out a few minutes of it in the Arena to find out for yourself.
Its social networking side allows you to meet friends, play cooperatively and live audio chat if the games you play allow that, and it offers parental controls to help parents keep edgier games out of the hands of the young. OnLive’s library runs the gamut from casual and family games to sports to horror and shooters.
OnLive also offers a rent-or-buy approach to pricing. You can, for instance, purchase Assassin’s Creed: Revelations for $49.99 or rent it for three or five days for a much lower cost. The system also offers a Play Pack of 130 games for $9.99 a month, unlimited play. You can search games by genre, check out New Releases, and OnLive frequently runs special deals on a variety of games. Its slick interface couldn’t be easier to navigate. You can also save “Brag Clips” of your greatest gaming exploits. On the gear side, OnLive’s microconsole is attractive and its wireless controller feels like a cross between the XBox and PS3 controllers, easy to set up and easy to use. The microconsole can handle up to four wireless controllers at a time, and allows multiple user accounts.
The Cons
OnLive isn’t perfect. Because it uses streaming technology, OnLive demands a fat internet pipe. You cannot play without a connection. If you’re on fiber or cable you’ll be fine, but if you’re on DSL you’ll run into lag and reduced visual quality, and if you’re on dial-up, forget it. Taking your laptop to game on the local Starbucks connection might get you kicked out. OnLive also wants to be wired, which can present problems if your router is on one floor of your home and the living room TV is on another. The microconsole does not have wi-fi built in. A third-party wi-fi bridge can fix that, but at extra cost. I did run it wireless on a variety of machines, with mostly good results.
During my tests I ran into some lag and reduced graphics quality on my very fast wired cable connection, while using the microconsole attached to my TV via HDMI. I tested Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine because I had played it on the PS3, and at low net traffic times the game looked spectacular and played very fluidly. At peak times, though, it got a big laggy and at times the graphics bubbled and blew up because the video stream just couldn’t keep up. OnLive adjusts on the fly and does its best to catch up as quickly as possible, though. I played Batman: Arkham City and Tomb Raider: Underworld after peak times and both rendered and played beautifully, as if I was on a PS3 or tricked out PC.
OnLive’s library will present another issue. While it is large and boasts a wealth of the latest games, it is not as extensive as the libraries for any of the major consoles or the Steam library. Both of Rocksteady’s great Batman titles are there, as are Saints Row, L. A. Noire, Homefront, the Borderlands franchise, the Deus Ex franchise, Lara Croft, and many other major multi-platform titles and franchises. But there is no Little Big Planet, no Halo, and no Call of Duty. No Skyrim or Portal 2. No Madden and no FIFA, but the NBA franchise is there. So hardcore gamers will not be able to live on OnLive alone. There have been a few complaints about customer support, but I never experienced any problems that warranted finding out for myself.
OnLive also isn’t available on the iPhone or iPad, at least not yet. But it is available on Android devices.
The Bottom Line
OnLive is a great next step in video gaming. Its ease of use and its Arena mode set it apart as both user-friendly and cutting edge at the same time. No large downloads means you’re demoing and playing instantly. Its portability makes OnLive the most open gaming platform available. Arena mode will rock your world and its Marketplace brings an app-style selection of the latest video games right to you, instantaneously. More titles and improved streaming would turn it into a major force in the gaming universe.
I give OnLive four out of five stars.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some thugs to thrash.
“OnLive demands a fat internet pipe.”
Has anyone actually seen one of these? I hear that they exist, but suspect they are like the mythical unicorn, born of the fevered imagination of small children.
I live on the edge of Atlanta, which is supposedly a modern metropolis located in the most prosperous nation on the face of the earth, and the best I can get is a DSL connection that averages less that 500Kbps.
I live in podunk nowhere Kansas and have a 16mbs fiber to the home connection. *ducks*
I heard about this just a couple months ago, then promptly forgot about it; I’d meant to check it out. Interesting concept. I hadn’t thought about it then as a head-to-head competitor for Steam, which rely on a lot! Three disadvantages I can think of right off the top: What about those times you don’t have Internet? Or the service is sluggish? As Tolbert notes. I’m smack dab in the middle of the High Tech Nation, about an hour outside Boston, and sometimes my provider absolutely SUCKS. What about multiple computers in the house? I doubt it will let you be logged on to the same account from two different computers at the same time. With Steam, my kids can play the games on one machine logged in, and I can play offline on another. Finally, and this would be a huge issue for me, I think: What about mods? For those unfamiliar, a “mod” (modification) is a custom addition to a regularly purchased game that can convert it into a game almost entirely different, or provide variations and expansions for a familiar game. They are free, and many are extremely innovative and clever. I am big into the Half-Life/Half-Life 2 games, and some of the mods for these are just stunning. When I bought Half Life, I didn’t get just that game, I got an amazing amount of additional gameplay on top of it. I highly doubt a purely streaming format would be able to do that. I man, I’m sure it has its pluses, and I mean to check it out, but it isn’t going to revolutionize gaming.
I heard about this just a couple months ago, then promptly forgot about it; I’d meant to check it out. Interesting concept. I hadn’t thought about it then as a head-to-head competitor for Steam, which rely on a lot! Three disadvantages I can think of right off the top: What about those times you don’t have Internet? Or the service is sluggish? As Tolbert notes. I’m smack dab in the middle of the High Tech Nation, about an hour outside Boston, and sometimes my provider absolutely STINKS. What about multiple computers in the house? I doubt it will let you be logged on to the same account from two different computers at the same time. With Steam, my kids can play the games on one machine logged in, and I can play offline on another. Finally, and this would be a huge issue for me, I think: What about mods? For those unfamiliar, a “mod” (modification) is a custom addition to a regularly purchased game that can convert it into a game almost entirely different, or provide variations and expansions for a familiar game. They are free, and many are extremely innovative and clever. I am big into the Half-Life/Half-Life 2 games, and some of the mods for these are just stunning. When I bought Half Life, I didn’t get just that game, I got an amazing amount of additional gameplay on top of it. I highly doubt a purely streaming format would be able to do that. I man, I’m sure it has its pluses, and I mean to check it out, but it isn’t going to revolutionize gaming.
OK quick update- first off, on my PC, first thing it told me was that I do indeed have to install their software – so it’s not purely streaming. Then, it stalled halfway through and told me it connect to the OnLive servers. Not impressed.
You’ll pardon me if I stand back and wait for this to develop, this app absolutely depends on your “pipe” and the “cloud”, wherever the latter is. Multiple servers ?, if not you’re at the mercy of a spiderweb of routers and networks, all subject to fail at a moments notice, just as I’m about to “insta-gib” my opponent.
I have a pipe: it’s called a door to the outside world.