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Ah, PC Gaming. You buy an expensive rig and find that it's out of date only a year later, unable to play the latest games in top detail or your storage space is full. The unavoidable perils of the gamer.
But wait, there is another way! Onlive has launched and promises top quality PC gaming without needing the top notch PC or the 2TB hard drive to go with it. But how? Why? What? And when will I stop asking all these questions, leaving the sentence full of untidy little question marks?
Well, I'll tell you. Onlive is a new idea that uses The Cloud. No, not that fluffy little thing in the sky that looks like a dragon, a baby or your aunt edna. The Cloud is a storage space in a big collection of servers that can stream data to and from your computer and other sources. The way Onlive works is that it uses The Cloud idea and powerful top end PCs to play the games on, with you just sending the control data over the internet and getting back a streaming video of the game in action. It sounds mad, but it works.
Onlive has already provided a good collection of games, including recent hits like Deus Ex and Dirt 3. It's also already got pre-orders for Batman Arkham City and Saints Row 3 on the menu, so there's much more to come. You can sign up for free and then choose to buy games individually or go for the playpack which costs £6.99 a month and lets you play a whole range of games whenever you want, saving your game saves back to its server. It also gives you 30% off anything else to buy.
So is there a downside I hear you ask? (ok, I didn't hear you, but then this is a static review on a website, so please allow for a little dramatic interpretation here). Well, despite not requiring the PC equivalent of a new Ferrari, you'll still need a good internet connection. 2mbps is the bare minimum. My system runs on a 2.8-3mbps connection and handles it just about fine, though things improve greatly as you near 8mbps. In return, though, you'll get a great service on both PC and Mac and soon it'll even work on an iPad.
You can use the old staple of Keyboard and Mouse with the games or connect an Xbox 360 wired Joypad or a PC joypad and play the games like a console. Barry from the PC hobbyist club down the road might scowl at you for it, but it's a damn sight more comfortable for games like Batman Arkham Asylum.
Another nice feature for voyeurs of the videogame kind is the Arena. This is an area where you can see everyone else playing their games. It works well as a trailer for each game as you get to see them all being played properly by normal people (and Colin down the road who thinks he's an Orc and dresses as a woman on Saturdays, but we won't mention him). Think about it too much and it might seem a bit creepy to have someone watching as you battle through another set of enemies on Warhammer, but you can always see who is watching, even if you can't turn it off.
If you don't even have a PC and are perhaps reading this at work (watch out, the boss is behind you!) then there's even the option of grabbing a special Onlive console to connect to your TV in Game for £69.99. It comes with it's own Joypad and everything. What's more, get Onlive now in the next week or so on PC or Mac and you can choose your first game for £1, even Deus Ex!
In short, Onlive is great and is set to revolutionise the way you play games on PC over the internet. If you've got that new fangled internet thing at home and a PC or Mac that's seen better days, go and grab an Onlive account now.
10/10
But wait, there is another way! Onlive has launched and promises top quality PC gaming without needing the top notch PC or the 2TB hard drive to go with it. But how? Why? What? And when will I stop asking all these questions, leaving the sentence full of untidy little question marks?
Well, I'll tell you. Onlive is a new idea that uses The Cloud. No, not that fluffy little thing in the sky that looks like a dragon, a baby or your aunt edna. The Cloud is a storage space in a big collection of servers that can stream data to and from your computer and other sources. The way Onlive works is that it uses The Cloud idea and powerful top end PCs to play the games on, with you just sending the control data over the internet and getting back a streaming video of the game in action. It sounds mad, but it works.
Onlive has already provided a good collection of games, including recent hits like Deus Ex and Dirt 3. It's also already got pre-orders for Batman Arkham City and Saints Row 3 on the menu, so there's much more to come. You can sign up for free and then choose to buy games individually or go for the playpack which costs £6.99 a month and lets you play a whole range of games whenever you want, saving your game saves back to its server. It also gives you 30% off anything else to buy.
So is there a downside I hear you ask? (ok, I didn't hear you, but then this is a static review on a website, so please allow for a little dramatic interpretation here). Well, despite not requiring the PC equivalent of a new Ferrari, you'll still need a good internet connection. 2mbps is the bare minimum. My system runs on a 2.8-3mbps connection and handles it just about fine, though things improve greatly as you near 8mbps. In return, though, you'll get a great service on both PC and Mac and soon it'll even work on an iPad.
You can use the old staple of Keyboard and Mouse with the games or connect an Xbox 360 wired Joypad or a PC joypad and play the games like a console. Barry from the PC hobbyist club down the road might scowl at you for it, but it's a damn sight more comfortable for games like Batman Arkham Asylum.
Another nice feature for voyeurs of the videogame kind is the Arena. This is an area where you can see everyone else playing their games. It works well as a trailer for each game as you get to see them all being played properly by normal people (and Colin down the road who thinks he's an Orc and dresses as a woman on Saturdays, but we won't mention him). Think about it too much and it might seem a bit creepy to have someone watching as you battle through another set of enemies on Warhammer, but you can always see who is watching, even if you can't turn it off.
If you don't even have a PC and are perhaps reading this at work (watch out, the boss is behind you!) then there's even the option of grabbing a special Onlive console to connect to your TV in Game for £69.99. It comes with it's own Joypad and everything. What's more, get Onlive now in the next week or so on PC or Mac and you can choose your first game for £1, even Deus Ex!
In short, Onlive is great and is set to revolutionise the way you play games on PC over the internet. If you've got that new fangled internet thing at home and a PC or Mac that's seen better days, go and grab an Onlive account now.
10/10
I tried this service, but unfortunately my internet connection can only download at 1mbps, so I can't use it even though they have my details! :s
Hopefully I will be able to use it after my internet contract expires and our service provider is switched.
Hopefully I will be able to use it after my internet contract expires and our service provider is switched.
Nice review pb .... Six Sigma stuff that :¬)
Ah, PC Gaming. You buy an expensive rig and find that it's out of date only a year later, unable to play the latest games in top detail or your storage space is full. The unavoidable perils of the gamer.
But wait, there is another way! Onlive has launched and promises top quality PC gaming without needing the top notch PC or the 2TB hard drive to go with it. But how? Why? What? And when will I stop asking all these questions, leaving the sentence full of untidy little question marks?
Well, I'll tell you. Onlive is a new idea that uses The Cloud. No, not that fluffy little thing in the sky that looks like a dragon, a baby or your aunt edna. The Cloud is a storage space in a big collection of servers that can stream data to and from your computer and other sources. The way Onlive works is that it uses The Cloud idea and powerful top end PCs to play the games on, with you just sending the control data over the internet and getting back a streaming video of the game in action. It sounds mad, but it works.
Onlive has already provided a good collection of games, including recent hits like Deus Ex and Dirt 3. It's also already got pre-orders for Batman Arkham City and Saints Row 3 on the menu, so there's much more to come. You can sign up for free and then choose to buy games individually or go for the playpack which costs £6.99 a month and lets you play a whole range of games whenever you want, saving your game saves back to its server. It also gives you 30% off anything else to buy.
So is there a downside I hear you ask? (ok, I didn't hear you, but then this is a static review on a website, so please allow for a little dramatic interpretation here). Well, despite not requiring the PC equivalent of a new Ferrari, you'll still need a good internet connection. 2mbps is the bare minimum. My system runs on a 2.8-3mbps connection and handles it just about fine, though things improve greatly as you near 8mbps. In return, though, you'll get a great service on both PC and Mac and soon it'll even work on an iPad.
You can use the old staple of Keyboard and Mouse with the games or connect an Xbox 360 wired Joypad or a PC joypad and play the games like a console. Barry from the PC hobbyist club down the road might scowl at you for it, but it's a damn sight more comfortable for games like Batman Arkham Asylum.
Another nice feature for voyeurs of the videogame kind is the Arena. This is an area where you can see everyone else playing their games. It works well as a trailer for each game as you get to see them all being played properly by normal people (and Colin down the road who thinks he's an Orc and dresses as a woman on Saturdays, but we won't mention him). Think about it too much and it might seem a bit creepy to have someone watching as you battle through another set of enemies on Warhammer, but you can always see who is watching, even if you can't turn it off.
If you don't even have a PC and are perhaps reading this at work (watch out, the boss is behind you!) then there's even the option of grabbing a special Onlive console to connect to your TV in Game for £69.99. It comes with it's own Joypad and everything. What's more, get Onlive now in the next week or so on PC or Mac and you can choose your first game for £1, even Deus Ex!
In short, Onlive is great and is set to revolutionise the way you play games on PC over the internet. If you've got that new fangled internet thing at home and a PC or Mac that's seen better days, go and grab an Onlive account now.
10/10
But wait, there is another way! Onlive has launched and promises top quality PC gaming without needing the top notch PC or the 2TB hard drive to go with it. But how? Why? What? And when will I stop asking all these questions, leaving the sentence full of untidy little question marks?
Well, I'll tell you. Onlive is a new idea that uses The Cloud. No, not that fluffy little thing in the sky that looks like a dragon, a baby or your aunt edna. The Cloud is a storage space in a big collection of servers that can stream data to and from your computer and other sources. The way Onlive works is that it uses The Cloud idea and powerful top end PCs to play the games on, with you just sending the control data over the internet and getting back a streaming video of the game in action. It sounds mad, but it works.
Onlive has already provided a good collection of games, including recent hits like Deus Ex and Dirt 3. It's also already got pre-orders for Batman Arkham City and Saints Row 3 on the menu, so there's much more to come. You can sign up for free and then choose to buy games individually or go for the playpack which costs £6.99 a month and lets you play a whole range of games whenever you want, saving your game saves back to its server. It also gives you 30% off anything else to buy.
So is there a downside I hear you ask? (ok, I didn't hear you, but then this is a static review on a website, so please allow for a little dramatic interpretation here). Well, despite not requiring the PC equivalent of a new Ferrari, you'll still need a good internet connection. 2mbps is the bare minimum. My system runs on a 2.8-3mbps connection and handles it just about fine, though things improve greatly as you near 8mbps. In return, though, you'll get a great service on both PC and Mac and soon it'll even work on an iPad.
You can use the old staple of Keyboard and Mouse with the games or connect an Xbox 360 wired Joypad or a PC joypad and play the games like a console. Barry from the PC hobbyist club down the road might scowl at you for it, but it's a damn sight more comfortable for games like Batman Arkham Asylum.
Another nice feature for voyeurs of the videogame kind is the Arena. This is an area where you can see everyone else playing their games. It works well as a trailer for each game as you get to see them all being played properly by normal people (and Colin down the road who thinks he's an Orc and dresses as a woman on Saturdays, but we won't mention him). Think about it too much and it might seem a bit creepy to have someone watching as you battle through another set of enemies on Warhammer, but you can always see who is watching, even if you can't turn it off.
If you don't even have a PC and are perhaps reading this at work (watch out, the boss is behind you!) then there's even the option of grabbing a special Onlive console to connect to your TV in Game for £69.99. It comes with it's own Joypad and everything. What's more, get Onlive now in the next week or so on PC or Mac and you can choose your first game for £1, even Deus Ex!
In short, Onlive is great and is set to revolutionise the way you play games on PC over the internet. If you've got that new fangled internet thing at home and a PC or Mac that's seen better days, go and grab an Onlive account now.
10/10