IPad 2 games of the machine could be quite ill, but has the features you crave traditional video players – power play full retail titles that you can see on the computer or game console. This is all about to change, because not only can iPad play PC games, can be damn good. It can do a real live game controller.
At the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to mess with an updated version of the iPad OnLive app. OnLive is a cloud-based service game, which really gives players the opportunity to play a full stream on your PC, and in particular the micro-cantilever, which is hooked to the TV.
The power of OnLive is that it allows players to get in on PC games without having a powerful computer capable of playing those top-tier games, and it bypasses the need for an expensive console (the micro-console only runs $99 and OnLive often gives it away for free with pre-orders of big-name games). The service just passed the 100-game mark, and it also has an iPad and Android app that lets users spectate on what other players are currently playing.
But later this year, OnLive will update the apps to make them actually compatible with playing games. That’s right – the free app allows you to stream PC games and play them on your iPad (or Android tablet). You only need pay for the game just like you would if you purchased it in a store or rented it, unless you opt for OnLive’s monthly subscription service that includes better than 50 games in an all-you-can-play setup, and you’re ready to go.
On the show floor at E3, I tested out OnLive’s improvements using the game’s virtual controller. The setting lays see-through buttons on the screen just like many iPad games already do. It was by no means an ideal way of playing the game, but it was possible, and it’s hard to overplay the fact that I was running Red Faction: Guerrilla, a PC and console game, on an iPad.
virtual controls are immediately available to everyone, but the real way to play OnLive be with a driver. The application is compatible with a universal driver likely to be associated with IPAD using a Bluetooth connection. It suddenly becomes more than a game console IPAD, with all the attributes – only requires an Internet connection to play. Better yet, the image is available with IPAD iOS 4.3 and HDMI adapter lets you play on your TV OnLive IPAD using the console, and when iOS 5 rolls in the fall, you will be able to do so wirelessly with Apple TV.
