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.
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