• 16Feb 12

  Live On with OnLive

  Actually that title is slightly irrelevant to what this post is going to be about, frankly. But I couldn't come up with a good title myself so I used the one my girlfriend came up with. Giving that I gave her the credit for it, and that I didn't reveal who she was to the whole internet in doing so, I'm sure it would be fine.

  Anyway, I've been following On Live since I first tried out the free trials that they had to offer to the public. Originally when it was announced, I heard it was going to be a paid service. Naturally, as one who doesn't like paying monthly for anything,let alone for a video game I just bought, it was a bit of a turnoff. Still, the demand was far from unreasonable when you consider the package; cheap subscription with access to purchase any game no matter the graphical requirements and instantly playing it on just about any supported computer, with the only requirement being that you have to own internet.

  I was sold when they announced that the paid subscription was no longer in effect, and usage of On Live was suddenly free.

  Ecstatic, I downloaded it immediately, getting my hands on a few of the trials they had to offer. You can read any other article you want on the details about it, but to summarize, this is what I noticed:

  Multiplayer is restricted to On Live servers

  On the bad side, the playerbase may not be as big as you might hope.

  On the plus side, at least this means that hacking is impossible due to the games files not being accessible from your own computer, and as such you can't play against a hacker.

  Visuals are lack luster

  To any owner of a notebook with no graphics card, this software is a godsend, but to someone who's rig can simultaneously run Crysis 1 and 2 and Battlefield 3 in the background while browsing youtube videos for walkthroughs, you might as well take your businsess elsewhere.

  This is, of course, due to streaming images in the form of an interactive video, so considering the technology, it is far from a huge flaw.

  
  No modding

  This is probably the only official flaw with On Live. As you have games like UT3, which are famous for their modding capability, you realize that you're really only getting half the package or the purchase of such games. "Luckily," most games aren't modable nowadays anyway, and as such On Live has provided a nice way to let you game while saving space on your PC. But the notion of an unmodable PC game (especially when the game itself ismodabl) is a rather depressing one.

  Now that I've got it out of the way, the real article begins.

  On Live has been expanding like mad, offering to work on its own personal web browser that can play flash programs and such on machines without the plugin installed, and more significantly, they have actually succeeded in developing an official app.

  Yes, an app. Android, IOS, the works.

  I downloaded the American version (as it's not available in Canada, which is, actually part of America, so I don't know what gives) and tried it out on my Android phone.

  It was a sight to behold.

  It dished out the same resolution as it did on the PC, meaning lackluster grahpics, but in the palm of your hand on a screen that's about the size of your PC mouse, the image is something to behold. Each game available on On Live can be played with the aid of a controller connected to your iPhone or Android via Bluetooth or a cord, but On Live provides a growing list of various touch control schemes for the mobile phone editions, which, while they aren't perfect (the "analog sticks" are a tad small) are very, very nice to play with. I played Darksiders and Split/Second, though with the stick controls I was crashing often in the latter, but it was incredible seeing Darksiders in action on my little phone. I can't wait to see what other games will have touch interface (preferably Homefront or Splinter Cell, which I actually purchased).

  Speaking of Splinter cell, if anybody feels like playing a Co-Op round of Splinter Cell Conviction with me on On Live, send me a message on Gamespot. Even if you don't own the game, you can still play a resetable 30 minute trial.

  In short, I'm hooked. This formerly controversial piece of software had promised to do the impossible, delivered, and offered a treat with the whole package. It started off with great speed, and I hope it keeps up its pace for a long time to come.

  • Posted Feb 16, 2012 2:52 pm GMT
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• 30Oct 11

  Welcome Back, Random Gun Generator

  It's been two years since the release of the hit space-western FPS-RPG and the community is still as strong and attached to the game as it was the day it came out. What does this mean? It means that if Gearbox wants to see even more bread on their table, a sequel is the answer to their problems with... bread... lacking.

  And wouldn't you know it, as quickly as we asked for it, they answered even quicker with a confirmed Borderlands 2 project heading our way this 2012.

  Perhaps the fact that it's coming out soon after the apocalypse is a sort of mock by Gearbox to say that they will never actually release a sequel, but nevertheless, they are clearly making progress, with a teaser trailer on the way and several ideas dished out to the public aloready, among dual wielding and explodable weapons. The random gun generator will be back, obviously, and as zany as ever, as made evidetn by the beer bottle for a spe on one of the guns in the hands of the dwarf in the teaser trailer.

  So far it's looking to be more of the same, but it's probably a good thing, conisidering the contentupdate is going to be massive and a lot more than just a simple "retail quality DLC" such as Left 4 Dead 2.

  It's too soon to say, though, and there are a few issues Borderlands has to get over first if it intends to have a superior sequel.

  One of those things is Badassery.

  It seems they made a bit of a slip utilizing a short steroid abusing man to replace the role of the fist-fighting giant of the original, Brick, but that's not my concern: His dual wielding certainly wouldn't make me want to come say that to his face. What Borderlands needs is to set the same mood as it did in it's trailers, both in the original and in the sequel, which had a spectacular selection in music for the scene, whereas the game itself had a soundtrack that, while it wasn't bad at all, just never really set the mood for the intensity of the gunfights you frequently find yourself in.

  However, if Borderlands 2 delivers the promise of the new online splitscreen and the other promised features, Gearbox''s sequel should be nothing short of a smash hit. Fingers crossed, yet again.

  • Posted Oct 30, 2011 11:28 pm GMT
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• 27Feb 11

  My faith is gone. Nintendo betrayed me.

  I was incredibly hyped to finally buy my PS3, especially when my parents are out of the house so my brother and I could plug it into the big screen HD TV with surround sound in the living room. The experience was mind blowing, especially when playing Killzone 3 (despite it's terrible splitscreen format) with Move support. The games play great, the graphics aren't rivalled, and demos all around finally let me decide if a game is worth getting (as the PC versions never have demos).

  But shiny effects, great sound, and awesome games aren't the three contributors that made me finally see my Wii as inferior. Not in the least.

  The contributors were foreign games, publishers, and developers.

  Any hardcore fan of the Wii has to know about the countless games that had come out around the world in other countries (particularly Japan) and never in North America, while NA gets releases such as Just Dance and minigame compilations. For a system that has been dubbed "Revolution" as a project name, there doesn't seem to be anything revolutionary about it.

  Anyway, games like Bleach: Versus Crusade and most recently, Last Story have been announced and while I waited in vain, they have never reached the shores of this continent, unless I went to mod my Wii to play imported games. Annd I do not fancy learning Japanese in order to play video games. I may be a gamer, but even I have a life.

  Nintendo has to step up their gamem, releasing some of their Japanese games, or finally begin production on the Wii 2. They're sales may still be great, but that doesn't change the fact that they're selling us crap here in North America, and wihle I'm still excited about Conduit 2, I'm not willing to play a console the developers themselves don't even care about anymore.

  • Posted Feb 27, 2011 12:33 am GMT
  • Category: Computers
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