OnLove – Why OnLive Remains an Obsession of Mine After Acquiring Powerful Hardware

It's late on a Saturday night, and my hand made gaming rig is finalizing its Windows installation at last. I couldn't wait to play games like Crysis, Far Cry 2, GTA IV, and the rest of my Steam library at the highest graphical details. Complete with a GTX 560, a solid i5 processor, and 8 gigabytes of RAM (with two more free slots for a future upgrade), my new computer did just that. However, there is one unlikely application that remains pinned to my taskbar. That is OnLive; the wonderful cloud gaming service.

As many of you should know, OnLive is a way to “run” top-tier mainstream and indie titles alike on devices that lack the processing power that they demand. It's done through a cloud-based video stream, believe it or not. The button/key presses are sent to their low-latency servers and sent back to the output video on your screen. In short, it's like Netflix for video games. As a result, any modern device that is capable of streaming video has potential for implementation of an OnLive client. With all this in mind, why in the world would I need such a thing if all my Steam games look gorgeous on my system?

Well, first of all, I'll get this out of the way: OnLive is complementary to local and physical gaming, as stated numerous times by OnLive staff. Sure, some gamers have made it their primary platform for their own respectable reasons, but for those that still have a console or capable gaming PC, it's always a good idea to stay up to date. As for myself, I treat OnLive like another Steam. I play some Fallout: New Vegas or Skyrim for a while, then if I wish to play Saints Row: The Third or Just Cause 2, I start up OnLive. Sometimes it can be cumbersome to juggle two digital distribution services (I hate having to use Origin just for Mass Effect 3 when the first and second ME are on Steam), but the magic of OnLive is that it just isn't cumbersome. It's just a single, static (in a sense that streaming is all it's doing), low-power application that is my hub for access to several amazing games. On the other hand, with the combination of Steam and Origin, it's disorienting to switch between both just for Mass Effect, and a waste of ram to keep them both open. Then sometimes, I don't bother playing Mass Effect because I'm so attached to Steam and OnLive.

Secondly, it's a joy to play console-class games on my Android tablet. I'm not a fan of Apple products, but I genuinely sympathize for iPad users that still have their version of the app in approval-limbo. Hipsters, brand whores, call them what you want. I believe everyone deserves the joy of cloud gaming. Split/Second with a hipster? Sign me up! I'm kidding, relax. The point I'm trying to make is that the mobile client is rock-solid, and as close to the “real deal” of modern gaming that you can get on a tablet or smartphone. My new favorite touch based Android game is now L.A. Noire. The L.A Noire.

I've just about run out of things to say, except I haven't. The last things that I have to say are not necessarily related to OnLive's functionality. The service just has sentimental value that drives me to support it. Sure, I used to have frustrations with some of OnLive's lack of communication and game release consistency in the past, but we all must realize that OnLive is a pioneer of cloud gaming, just like Steam was with digital distribution for games in general. In conclusion, I'm convinced that it will someday make it as a competitor with the big boys (aka major distributors). OnLive's CEO Steve Perlman broke the uncanny valley of computer-generated human faces with MOVA, he plans to break the uncanny valley of wireless technology with DIDO, and he has broken the uncanny valley of the accessibility of high-performance games with OnLive.

I'm Andrew Pyle, and I'm a damn happy customer.

Consoles Have 99 Problems But a Witcher Ain't One (The Witcher 2 Enhanced Edition Proves That)

In 2007, CD Projekt RED's The Witcher raised the bar for mature storytelling in computer games. Throwing players into the medieval fantasy world of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher series is not the typical “happily-ever-after” fairy tale game and is not for the faint of heart. In The Witcher, you are Geralt of Rivia, who is, as the title suggests, a “Witcher.” Witchers are mutants who make a living by slaying monsters, and are misconceived as untrustworthy criminals by common folk. Themes like violence, sexuality, politics and (especially) discrimination are very common themes throughout your journey, and it is up to you to make organic decisions with no definite black-and-white outcome. Your final decision will often leave one group happy while displeasing the other. The player's actions will leave lasting effects on the world, and what remains of your adventure. Last year, a direct sequel released on PC, sporting gorgeous visuals, revamped gameplay, and an even darker plot. Meanwhile, console gamers eyed it, green with envy. Now a year later, due to great demand from fans, A newly-enhanced version of the game has made its console debut on the Xbox 360. CD Projekt RED has carefully tailored the epic with numerous bug fixes, and four extra hours of adventure. As you can expect, the graphics have been toned down for the console, but still hold up with little compromise. As for the original content, everything from the original game is intact, from the uncensored sex scenes to every single piece of DLC ever released.

This is fantastic news for Xbox gamers, but should early adopters of The Witcher 2 feel gypped? Certainly not, because thankfully, current owners of the PC version will automatically receive a free upgrade to the Enhanced Edition in the form of a patch. There are also confirmed plans for the game to release on the OnLive cloud gaming service, so everyone is happy, save for PS3 owners. Here's hoping that they'll get the Witcher treatment as we did. Just...don't count on a Wii version.