OnLive's cloud-streaming gaming service allows folks to experience the latest AAA releases via a high-speed Internet connection, even if you don't have top-of-the-line hardware or a very recent Mac or PC. Following a long lead-up, OnLive is finally knocking on the door to the App Store with its submitted app, which lets iPad owners get in on the fun with either custom touch controls (for select games) or a Bluetooth wireless controller. As the app continues to await Apple's final approval, I've had a chance to try out several of the titles available on the service, and spend more time checking out the touch controls following an initial hands-on at the Penny Arcade Expo in August.
According to OnLive, about 30 titles will be playable using touch controls, with games like L.A. Noire and Defense Grid specially adapted by their respective publishers to utilize gesture controls. Other titles, however, use virtual button overlays like those seen in many iOS games, with a unique layout designed for each that includes lightly transparent buttons and analog-like sticks for all the needed commands. In racing games like Split/Second and Dirt 3, that includes virtual trigger buttons that can be toggled on and off instead of constantly held, while a twin-stick shooter like Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light includes two virtual analog sticks, along with various buttons for swapping between weapons and items.
OnLive games are sold individually and as part of a monthly PlayPass program (for certain titles), along with multi-day rental programs and 30-minute free trials for most releases. The iPad version of OnLive uses a nearly identical interface to those seen on other platforms, letting you browse and play games, watch other people's public streams, and even submit "brag clips" when you've done something notable within a game. Because the iPad app relies on a Wi-Fi connection for play, you may need to configure your router before it works very well, however. Before I opened up a large block of ports, the gameplay was often choppy, but it's been very smooth since then.
The one constant across OnLive-supported devices is that when you have a speedy connection handy, the games run nearly as well as if you were playing them locally. Aside from some light fuzziness to the visuals – the result of the streaming image coming from a remote server running the game – the controls are as responsive as expected, and that doesn't change with the iPad's touchscreen.
Plus, the games look markedly better than anything currently available on the App Store, especially when you're talking about a game like Split/Second. A gimped iOS version of the action-focused racer is available, but it's a pale shadow of the awesome full experience, which is found here within OnLive. And you can even race online from the iPad just like you would on PC or a console. The iPad version of Lara Croft is pretty solid, but if you have a choice, the OnLive version is much sleeker and significantly more polished. It costs more, but it's worth the hassle.
All of this assumes that you have a fast (and stable) enough connection to warrant use of the service, which is absolutely essential. There's no such thing as "offline play" when it comes to OnLive, since you're constantly streaming footage over the air. If you can't rely on your Wi-Fi or don't have access to the router to make changes as needed, you'll definitely want to use the available free trials of games to be sure that it'll work well enough to invest in single games or a PlayPass.
Beyond the initial round of titles that support touch controls, dozens more can be played using the wireless Bluetooth controller, including huge recent releases like Batman: Arkham City, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Saints Row: The Third. The controller is available for $50 from OnLive and can also be used via USB cable on Mac or PC, and it looks similar to many other console and computer gamepads, featuring dual analog sticks, a pair each of triggers and shoulder buttons, a directional pad, and front buttons, along with some OnLive menu buttons.
Unfortunately, while I was able to link up the controller with my iPad and start navigating the menus, I wasn't able to fully try it out due to interference issues. Once I started moving the sticks in the menus, I'd encounter seconds-long bouts of lag and receive "Network Problem" notices. OnLive suggests that perhaps it's a matter of me using a single-band 2.4Ghz b/g router, where the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth signals are fighting for supremacy and ultimately getting tangled up. They said that a 2.4Ghz N router would be better, though the most ideal situation is a dual-band router that lets the Wi-Fi run on 5Ghz while the Bluetooth takes the lesser spectrum. As such, folks without a recent or higher-end router may be on the outs when it comes to using the wireless gamepad on iPad.
Whether or not you're able to take advantage of the Bluetooth controller and access the wider array of titles, OnLive is still a very intriguing proposition for iPad gamers, as the touch screen controls and slick performance deliver bigger and bolder play experiences than what we're used to from the App Store, and the free app and trials make it easy to test out the service and games before committing and cash. OnLive is currently waiting on approval from Apple, but we'll be following up with additional coverage once it's released.
