Gamescom : Our Hands On With Onlive
Publisher Onlive
Platform Onlive Cloud gaming
Release Date 22nd September 2011
One of the most exciting announcements to come out of Gamescom was that Onlive will be launching its new gaming platform in the UK on September the 22nd and will spill out into Europe quite quickly after its initial UK launch.
So what is Onlive all about? We got to meet with Brian Jaquet Director of Corporate Communications at Onlive to chat a bit about what this means to the world of gaming and just what is cloud gaming. Brian went on to explain that quite simply a cloud service stores all the games on its own servers and you can then play the games on your own PC, mac or TV using the Onlive app or the Micro console. So no more buying disks in stores, no more waiting for digital downloads to install now you can play your favourite games in an instant. Simply log into your Onlive account and start playing, even better is that your account travels so you can be anywhere in the world and log on and start gaming. No need to carry your consoles and games with you anymore.
Onlive is currently accepting sign up’s at www.onlive.co.uk in preparation for their launch on 22nd of September. Members will be able to create their account for free and choose their gamertag. Once your account has been created users install the Onlive app and this gives them access to the list of games, allows you to view demo video’s and if available even playable demo’s.
It also has a number of social media options like building your friends list or showing brag clips. If your friends are online you can watch what they are playing and give them some advice if they are stuck. If it’s a multiplayer game you can jump straight in too.
Onlive have a multipurpose control pad for those more comfortable with a controller in their hands, the pad works with everything from your PC, to your tablet, internet enabled TV’s or Blu ray players and even the micro console.
Load times are instant and usually only take as long as it normally takes to get through the first few introduction screens of the game but my main concern was lag but after playing a few games of split second I could not notice any difference between playing this on Onlive’s system and a normal console or PC.
An ingenious feature to help with those on a slower connection is that the service will automatically adjust itself to your internet connection speed meaning if necessary it will reduce the quality slightly to ensure a fast gaming experience.
So it’s as fast as a normal console or PC, so it comes down to price and here is where the Onlive service really steps up. A number of options are available of course it is free to sign up to Onlive, this lets you browse the games and social media aspects as well as view trailers and even play demo’s all without spending a penny. If a game takes your fancy you can rent it for 3 or 7 days. Often these days that’s enough to finish a single player game that’s no more than 5 or 6 hours long. If you want the game there is of course the option to purchase it once purchased it’s there instantly to play.
Are you afraid you have missed some gems in the back catalogue? Well Onlive also have a feature just for that, for a small monthly subscription fee (just under 10 dollars in the states) you get full access to around 75 games that you can play in its entirety for free. Jump in and out of classics like Prince of Persia and NBA 2010.
To finish up the last and what we think is a he selling point, Midnight launches. Unlike your bricks and mortar stores who close a 6pm or the online retailers depending on the mail service Onlive can let you play at midnight on the day of release.
Could Onlive be the biggest shake up in the industry for years ? We will find out on the 22nd of September.
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