OnLive for iPad is impressive because it lets you play modern console games on your iPad, but performance issues make it come up very short compares to dedicated game systems or a PC.
Plus:
OnLive offers a selection of almost 200 games with more added regularly. The software is free, but players can subscribe to the PlayPass for $9.99 per month, which offers access to over 100 games. They can also individually rent and purchase games, with rates ranging from $3.99 and $5.99 for 3-5-day rentals to $59.99 for purchasing new retail titles. Once a player buys a game on OnLive, they can play it through any device that can run the OnLive software, including the iPad, Android tablets and smartphones, PCs, Macs, and the OnLive MicroConsole.
While you can play every game on OnLive with the OnLive Wireless Controller ($49.99), over two dozen games have been adapted for play with a tablet's touch screen. Some games, like L.A. Noire and Defense Grid Gold, have gotten complete control system redesigns to make them work with a touch screen. Others, like Lego Batman, map controller buttons onto the screen like the virtual controller in most mobile games that require directional controls. Games that haven't been modified to use touch screen controls require the OnLive Wireless Controller, so be prepared to spend $50 if you want to play games like Batman: Arkham City and Deus Ex: Human Revolution on your iPad.
- Lets you play current-generation console games on the iPad.
- Dependent on network speeds. Controls can feel laggy.
- Requires the wireless gamepad accessory to play most OnLive games.
OnLive is a very ambitious service. It promises console and PC gaming on nearly every platform, from computers and consoles to tablets and eventually HDTVs. It streams gameplay between the user and OnLive's servers, running games on the servers, taking controls sent over the Internet and streaming the audio and video back to the player. We previously reviewed the OnLive MicroConsole ($99, 3 stars), and while it wasn't perfect it was a suitably impressive example of technology. Now OnLive has an iOS version, made for the iPad and promising the same current-generation games on a device that shouldn't be able to handle it. It's a free app, but you have to pay for the games, and most of the games require OnLive's $50 wireless controller.
The interface is effectively identical to the PC and MicroConsole versions of the OnLive software, with a grid-based menu system that lets you select, Mega Man-style, the My Games, Marketplace, Profile, Arena, Showcase, Last Played, Brag Clips, and Friends features. You'll spend most of your time in My Games, which holds all of your game purchases and lets you select the games you want to play.
While you can play every game on OnLive with the OnLive Wireless Controller ($49.99), over two dozen games have been adapted for play with a tablet's touch screen. Some games, like L.A. Noire and Defense Grid Gold, have gotten complete control system redesigns to make them work with a touch screen. Others, like Lego Batman, map controller buttons onto the screen like the virtual controller in most mobile games that require directional controls. Games that haven't been modified to use touch screen controls require the OnLive Wireless Controller, so be prepared to spend $50 if you want to play games like Batman: Arkham City and Deus Ex: Human Revolution on your iPad.
0 comments:
Post a Comment