The Future Of Gaming Has A New Name

OnLive Is The Birth Of A New Gaming Medium

OnLive just sucker punched me and took all my lunch money

I'm always finding myself trying to think of how video games can get better. Graphics, 3D, gameplay; these are all great ways to jump start the next generation of video games, but I think usability and ease of access is the one thing that's constantly overlooked in games today. Ask anyone who's bought a new console and they'll tell you how big of an investment it is. Controllers, hard drives (remember the days when saves would occur within the cartridge?), Wi-Fi connections, it's too much hardware for one person. Not only that, I am always upset when the latest PC exclusive games come out, but are far beyond my system hardware specifications, preventing me from playing them the way they were meant to be played. Well, OnLive is changing all that.

This little guy is a powerful beast

Last week I was able to download a free trial of the OnLive gaming system. For those of you who are unfamiliar with OnLive, it's an internet streaming service that allows you to play video games on your TV or computer, without having the actual gaming system taking up space in your entertainment center. OnLive has what's sure to be very expensive servers that run the games you play, and are basically streaming over the internet the game you're playing. So you don't need any fancy console or TV or PC to run it, but you DO need a high speed internet. For me, I decided to download the service, and use my XBOX 360 controller to try it out. For those of you who'll want to try it out for your TV's, you'll have to buy this little router that's about the size of a wallet, and a controller. Both will cost you about $100, plus the subscription service.

Here's the beauty of OnLive, if you have an internet service that's at least 12 MB/s, the game runs smoothly. Many critics, including myself, said OnLive would never work because the lag of transmitting from your button presses, to the server, and back to you, would be unbearable, basically rendering your game unplayable. I'm happy to say that with my internet, OnLive played with the most minimal lag that wouldn't be noticeable to novice gamers. As a seasoned gamer myself, I sometimes found myself enthralled by the action on screen that I forgot I was playing on OnLive. But the fact that these games have just the tiniest of lag is only the tip of the iceberg.

Just some of the games you can play

OnLive runs current gen games such as Batman: Arkham Asylum, Mafia II, and F.E.A.R 2, and with that pressure of current gen comes the difficult taks to render these games over an internet connection. My friends, these games are beautiful. I played through Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands with some of the most beautiful and smoothest graphics out there. In fact, the sharpness and refresh rates of my monitor made the games look too good, that I noticed some texture problems inside the game that developers didn't even touch up on. All the games on OnLive run on advanced gaming servers that push the games to their limit. I started to look at my own XBOX 360 with a face that a father makes when he's ashamed of his child. I kept asking my console "why can't you play this well?" 

Welcome Home...to OnLive

Next up, is the usability and networking of OnLive, which is also, in the words of Kazakhstan's greatest reporter Borat, "Very Niccceeeee!" The service works similar to what we've seen in consoles like the PS3 and 360. There's a "home" screen that you can reach with the push of a single button. Since I was using my 360 controller, I just pressed the big guide button in the center and it took me there. Menus are clean, and it's really simple to navigate. I can set up a friends list, browse through new games in the marketplace, and even watch so-called "brag" clips that other users put up on OnLive. These clips are another big part of the service, and they're really easy to record. At any time in your game, you can pause, set up a clip, and start recording for your friends to see. Best yet, since OnLive uses it's own servers, you don't take up any hard drive space at all. You can also easily jump in and watch your friends game in progress.  They'll even get a little message in the corner that says someone is observing their game. All in all, slick menus, and easy navigating get high grades from me. 

So with games that run crystal clear with no lag, so there's only one thing left for OnLive doubters to question...and that's the game content. Unfortunately, the amount of games available was my only minor complaint. Maybe it was because I was using a free version of the service, but there were maybe a good 30-40 games available to try out. Of course, I'm the biggest critic when it comes to this, considering how much money and media spotlight was put into this, but it's understandable considering OnLive just launched last month. The quality of the game selection was good for the most part, although there weren't any brand new release games available. I was eagerly searching for Dead Space 2 but couldn't find it. Despite this, OnLive promises that more games are coming. Apparently they've already inked a deal with publishers to release more high quality games on their service, and I'm sure publishers will be keeping a close eye on the subscription base of OnLive for the next set of months.

In the end, OnLive is the game changer it says it is. I was thoroughly impressed with the service from the minimal lag in my games, to the sleek interface. This is the future of gaming, and I don't see how anyone can deny it. Games at your TV/Monitor with the push of your button, playing the way they were meant to be played. However with this service comes questions over how gaming systems will survive. If a service like this was made available, there would be big implications over the survival of consoles. How would developers approach their upcoming games? Do they tinker with their mechanics to better suit a console or for OnLive? Whatever the case may be, I know this will catch on eventually. Maybe not within the first six months, but this is a great way for gamers to play their favorite games on systems they don't own...especially when it comes to PC games that require $2000+ setups like Crysis. 

One thing that's still unclear is how the subscription service will work. There is a monthly/yearly subscription available, but that only includes the service. You'll still have to pay for the actual games, whether you want to buy them, or rent them. Still, I feel the costs are justified, and this is a service that will only get better with time. Not only that, with motion technology on the forefront, it'll be interesting to see if OnLive incorporates them somehow. In my opinion though, the only thing that will ultimately decide the fate of OnLive is how it's viewed by publishers and developers. If they play nice, then I see a future where there are more gamers in the world than Justin Bieber fans....and that's a lot of them. Almost brings a tear to my eye.