Game:

Assassin's Creed (2007)

Category:

Review

Duration: 13:59

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123

OnLive Micro-Console and Service Review

Features
The OnLive Micro-Console has support for 1080p video, 5.1 surround sound, stereoscopic 3D, four controllers, and four bluetooth headsets. 1080p gaming should be available by next year, along with voice chat.

The Wireless Controller is probably the most impressive part of the hardware, sporting a very comfortable design, hefty balance, smart button layout, and convienent media bar along the bottom. The triggers have a very natural pressure to them, and the shoulder buttons are easy to get to without getting in the way. The D-Pad is very nicely designed, making it perfect for fighting games and exact movements.

As for the OnLive Service itself, gaming on the service is very much community focused. You have the norms such as friends lists and messaging, but OnLive also has features like the Arena, Brag Clips, and Zero Latency Multiplayer. The Arena is a spectators sport, where you can watch other OnLive members play games in real time. While watching you can Cheer or Jeer them depending on how well they are doing. Brag Clips are another great feature that records the last 10 seconds of the game you are currently playing.

Multiplayer in OnLive is unique compared to other consoles. Unlike other games you play online where you can see players jittering around on the screen, people using hacks and exploits, and other latency related issues, OnLive is completely devoid of these things. OnLive is basically run like a giant LAN network, so when you're spectating someone or playing a multiplayer game with them, there is no latency/lag/pause/jitter. What they see is EXACTLY what you see.

Lag
When talking about OnLive you have two forms of lag, internet performance and game performance. Internet performance can become an issue if your connection isn't stable and contains jitter. As far as game performance goes it is pretty much on par with other consoles. Very few games dip below 30 FPS, with majority of them performing at a solid 45 to 60 FPS.

Games
Jumping into a game and playing instantly couldn't be easier or more gratifying. For each game you have the option of playing a trial, renting for a few days, or purchasing the full title. The current game selection is around 35 titles right now, though they hope to have around 50 or 60 games by the end of the year. Once the PlayPack service launches on January 14th, they expect to have around 40 titles for that as well.

They also have another 100 titles currently in development for release in 2011, many of which are day-in-date with console releases. Still for a new console launch it has more games than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 launched with. There are no exclusive titles yet of course, but given time I'm sure we'll see some interesting software come to OnLive.

Video Quality
There are two video streams that OnLive uses while a game is being played. One is the media stream, which is used when spectating someone or when a brag clip is taken. This stream is usually lower in quality, more akin to a YouTube video. The second stream is the gaming stream, which is used when you're actually playing a game. The gaming stream is optimized for playing the game and looks crisp and clear. Of course you may see some compression if you look for it or take a screenshot, but OnLive is made to look great in motion and not in a still frame.

When I sat an uncomfortbale distance from my screen (about a foot or so) I could see compression, however when I sat back and relaxed to just enjoy the games (about three feet away) I didn't notice any compression at all. When playing on a PC or Mac with a resolution of 1920x1080 OnLive might not look as good, since the image is being scaled up and causes blurring. You're also sitting much closer to a monitor than you would a TV, so compression will be much more noticeable.

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