Red Faction Armageddon PC Demo is OnLive Exclusive

[ChromeAlchemist]

That is a bit shit, and I wasn't even interested in this game until a friend of mine pitched it to me. I can wait though, and they've got to get OnLive out there somehow.

but a bit of a bright spot for non-OnLivers who are interested in the game.

I would've said "NonLivers" instead.

But you were adding clarification to your OP, so I guess I'm the only one making bad jokes/quips this time. ;(

Why would they limit themselves to such a small faction of their target audience?

Hm. Guess not.

 

[Andy Chalk]

4. There is no "wrong neighborhood." If you have internet access, odds are you have internet access to OnLive.

I want to start with this, because what you're saying is simply not true. A minimum 3 meg connection is required, a minimum 5 meg is recommended, and according to the OnLive support portal, updated four days ago (May 23), "At this time, only the US data centers are enabled for the full OnLive Game Service, so if you travel too far from our US data centers, you'll eventually reach the point where you can't play games."

So you might say there is no "wrong neighbourhood" as long as you happen to be in the right neighbourhood. If you're not, well, you're screwed. (And I am speaking as someone who lives in the wrong neighbourhood, by the way.)

As for the remark about console exclusive demos, I covered this in the post but I'll clarify here. This is not a platform exclusive, this is a distribution channel exclusive. I have the hardware to run the demo, I have the ability to download it normally, but I can't access it because THQ is making the game available exclusively to a limited audience.

I would assume that OnLive threw a couple truckloads of money at them to do it and I don't really begrudge THQ taking the money, nor do I hold it against OnLive, because as you say, they need the marketing and this is a fair play. But if THQ and Volition don't think it's important to get their demo out to as wide an audience as possible, then I'm not going to feel any particular compulsion to try it until I have absolutely nothing else to do. Given my backlog of games, that may be awhile.

 

[de5gravity]

I just wanted to say I'm in France, and while it's not completely fluid, it's still decent and I can play the demo.

 

[Ryan DeJonghe]

Just to clarify, this isn't the demo, this is the full game that you play for 30 minutes. Both Xbox and PS have demos for the same game. What makes it easy for THQ to do this, is they are able to hand the whole game to OnLive and OnLive controls how long people are able to play it.

What is also nice about OnLive, is you can watch other people play it or watch their brag clips. I've done this for a few games I was on the fence with.

As for location to servers, it is true, you need to be somewhat close. The GOOD news for Europe is that several cable companies plan to bundle OnLive with their service. For instance, British Telecom is the rumored partner in the UK. This would be sweet. Imagine turning your TV to channel 33 or whatever, and being able to play a game instantly.

I have a high end PC and usually prefer to play the games on OnLive. It streams at a constant 60 FPS and looks terrific and doesn't have any DRM that will hack into my PC. If I get tired of sitting at my desk, I pick up my netbook and play via WiFi. Even supports a 360 controller.

Believe me, I can understand the need to play on your local machine. That is where I think Gaikai makes a mistake, because they are a demo only service and of course EA has fallen in love with them. Versus OnLive, if it works for you and you like it, you can play the whole game with them. And they have some killer pre-order deals.

 

[Andy Chalk]

I'm starting to wonder if you guys work for OnLive.

 

[Gaderael]

OnLive is alright. Nothing spectacular. I'm here in Newfoundland, Canada, and I never had a problem. I played the Assassin's Creed II demo using OnLive. I never encountered and lag, that I can remember, but the graphics were pretty mediocre.

It was like they were running it a 1024x600 with no anti-aliasing and medium shadows. It was pretty underwhelming. I suppose it'd be good for plying on the netbook, but it's a real let down for those with good computers. Then there's the price tag.

Paying full retail price for bland graphic levels, and having to purchase a subscription. No thank you. At least ith steam, the games are mine, and if Steam ever goes under (which I don't think will happen without a Fallout level event), then they'll end up releasing execuables that will work without the Steam client. You'd just have to back-up your games.

The risk is just too much for OnLive for most people, and I do not really see them ever becoming a really popular service.

I think most people, like myself, still prefer a nice shiny box with fancy artwork, maps, manuals, etc. Or, getting really cheap games from sales on Steam, GOG, Direct2Drive, etc. Not having the disadvantage of retail pricing crossed with the lack of extras that having a digital download entails.

 

[Gaderael]

Paying full retail price for bland graphic levels, and having to purchase a subscription. No thank you.

WHY does everyone think there is a subscription! There is no subscription. There is only the PlayPack for 10 bucks a month if you so wish! If you don't want it, you don't pay for it. I don't understand how that got miscommunicated through the press releases!

My apologies. But I believe the rest of my post still stands.

 

[yarez3]

just to put in my two-cents, the pc client on wifi is pretty laggy, with constant network problems (I blame my ISP, and my 5 year old router, though) and the graphics are blurry. It still needs work. That said, the console fixes those problems. I've ended up with 2 of them (they hand them out like there's no tomorrow) and they work wonderfully. the graphics are clear, and I never get any controller lag. I have a 360, but if the game is on onlive, that's where I get it, just for the sheer convenience of it. I'm gonna hit the play button for RFA at 9:01 (give or take) June 6th and will be playing it 20 seconds later...