Hey guys this is Austin and today I’m here with a
review of the OnLive MicroConsole.
OnLive is a very
different way of playing games than using an ordinary
console or PC.
It works by streaming your games from
the cloud using the internet as opposed to playing
them locally using some sort of disc like most consoles
today.
It’s like the difference between watching a
Blu-ray on a player beside your TV or streaming it using
Netflix.
This allows the OnLive console to be small.
Really small.
It’s quite well designed with a pair of
USB ports for connecting an optional mouse and keyboard
up front and a generous selection of ports on the back.
You’ll find HDMI, AV, a 3.5mm audio jack, Optical Audio,
Ethernet and power.
Not bad for a console that’s the
roughly size of a 3DS.
What you won’t find is Wi-Fi which
can be a problem if your TV isn’t near your router.
You also get quite a few accessories with the console
including cables for HDMI, MicroUSB for charging the wireless
controller, Ethernet as well as the OnLive controller itself.
Speaking of, I quite like the controller.
It’s feels like a
mix between the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers with a very
solid build and good layout.
Using OnLive is as simple as it
gets.
Once you create your OnLive account you have access to
several features.
The first is the Arena which allows you to
watch other people who are playing games live.
Since it’s all
streamed this only takes a few seconds to load and can help you
get a good idea of what a game is like before picking it up.
There are also Brag Clips where you can save clips from your
games to...brag about.
Pretty cool, huh?
As far as buying games
goes it’s all done online through the OnLive service.
There are
two options, buying the games straight up or getting the PlayPack.
The PlayPack is like GameFly, you pay $10 a month and can play any
of the games in the PlayPack as much as you would like.
Not every
game on OnLive is in the PlayPack but there are quite a few.
You
also do get a short demo if you want to give a game a shot before
dropping your cash on it.
All of this is pointless without talking
about the actual gameplay itself though, right?
On this front it’s
just like to how it runs on your PC, Mac or Android phone or tablet
and almost entirely depends on your internet connection.
OnLive
recommends at minimum a 2 megabit connection and recommends 5 megabits.
This doesn’t entirely sum up what you need however.
I have an 8 megabit
connection and while usually it runs reasonably well if for example
someone gets on Netflix or uses up the bandwidth while I’m gaming
the quality and latency will immediately drop off quite a bit.
When no one is trying to sabotage my games everything works fairly
well.
Considering that every control you send is being sent hundreds
of miles away to the nearest OnLive location I’m quite impressed.
You
will notice some slight lag between pressing a button and seeing
something happen however it’s something I got used to pretty quickly.
For most games it’s no problem, however for some fast paced games like
first person shooters it can be a disadvantage.
Games are streamed at
720p and upscaled to 1080 by the console and in general the graphics
are similar to what you’ll find in consoles.
You do get some slight
pixelation and loss of sharpness but overall it’s not bad and it’s only
something you’ll notice if you’re quite close to the screen.
OnLive and
the MicroConsole are very different from any type of gaming that’s
currently available.
You get a lot of very cool pros including being
able to play any game in seconds, being able to play the same games on
everything from this tiny console to an underpowered Mac or PC to even
some Android phones and tablets.
The PlayPack is awesome for the price
and is honestly one of the biggest draws to using OnLive.
And finally
the console itself is downright cheap as far as video game consoles
go at only $100, with it occasionally being offered for free with the
purchase of a big name title.
On the other hand, OnLive is entirely,
and when I say that I mean entirely reliant on your internet connection.
If it’s out or even slow the playability of games will rapidly fall off.
You also have to be tethered to Ethernet or use something like a Wi-Fi
bridge to get a connection which can be complicated and increase lag.
There also aren’t that many games available for it, although there is a
decent selection of top tier games with more added all the time.
Overall I recommend giving OnLive a shot using the free client for PC
or Mac first just to see if it will run at all.
If it does, then I can
honestly say that the OnLive MicroConsole along with the PlayPack is
one of the best deals in gaming.
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