Free demos with every game
One of the most impressive aspects about OnLive is the way you can purchase games and start playing a game within a matter of seconds, without the need to wait for downloads or updates to be applied. There's a decent variety of games too - from single-player gems like Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood and Batman: Arkham Asylum to classics like Abe's Munch's Odyssey and World of Goo. Games span all genres, so you can expect to find the likes of DiRT 3 alongside titles such as Supreme Commander, Saints Row 2 and the multiplayer shooter, Homefront.Though there are a lot of games to get you started, there are some glaring omissions: it's already clear that the marketplace will need to be updated regularly with decent games to keep people coming back. With over 50 major publishers pledging they’ll help to do just that, you can't grumble too much about the UK launch line-up, which boasts over 100 games spanning every conceivable genre. Nonetheless, having the likes of Bioshock available, but Bioshock 2 missing, (and some of the biggest games of the last two years absent) is a little bit disappointing.
Though the OnLive service is free-of-charge to access, there are a few incentives on offer. You can pick up the OnLive PlayPack, which offers users unlimited time to get to grips with dozens of games, including F.E.A.R. 3, Borderlands, Just Cause 2, Prince of Persia and Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition. For £6.99 a month, the PlayPack service also promises subscribers other added incentives in the form of discounts. OnLive is also offering new subscribers the chance to purchase their first title for just £1. Other than that, titles are priced from £1.99 upwards, and despite some omissions, there are some great games among on offer.
If you opt to buy one of the AAA titles that are known for their high-quality graphics, such as Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, you can immediately see that drop in quality as OnLive attempts to render high resolutions. As a result, some of the major titles can be a little grainy in quality, but it doesn't affect the gameplay in any way. Indeed, the quality of the stream does depend on your connection. OnLive requires a wired 2Mbps or Wi-Fi Internet connection to work effectively, and the official website recommends a 5Mbps connection for streaming higher-quality games. Our 3Mbps connection could be why we experienced a slight drop in the quality with the major titles, which included some screen stuttering while playing Homefront’s multiplayer. Considering how much we’ve played OnLive since launch, however, these technical issues were few and far between. And with OnLive constantly working to fix these problems we should see stronger connections down the line.
When playing single-player campaigns, OnLive has performed impeccably with the likes of action adventures and shooters such as Batman: Arkham Asylum, Deus Ex Human Revolution and LEGO Harry Potter Years 1-4 all streaming at a decent quality. Strategy games have also performed well, such as Tropico 4, with minimal amounts of input lag - in particular when using keyboard and mouse rather than the controller. Overall, we’ve been really impressed with the OnLive service directly via the PC, and though it’s unlikely it will ever replace our hardcore multiplayer PC or console gaming habits, it does deliver a no-hassle gaming experience with only a small loss in quality.