Gadgetory

hey guys this is Austin and today I'm here with a review of the on live micro console on live is a very different way of playing games and 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 online console to be small really small it's quite well designed with a pair of USB ports for connecting an optional mouse and keyboard upfront and generous selection of ports on the back you'll find HDMI AV a 3.5 millimeter audio jack optical audio Ethernet and power not bad for a console that's roughly the 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 micro USB for charging wireless controller Ethernet as well as the OnLive controller itself speaking of I quite like the controller it 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 on live 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 strained 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 bright 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 game straight up or getting the play pack the play pack is like game fly you pay $10 a month and can play any of the games in the play pack as much as you would like not every game on online is in the play pack 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 this is pointless without talking about the actual gameplay itself though right on this front is just like how it runs on your PC Mac or Android phone or tablet and almost entirely depends on your internet connection online recommends at minimum a two megabit connection and recommends five megabits this doesn't entirely sum up what you need however I have an 8 megabit connection and while it usually 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 online 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 an upscaled to 1080p 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 on live in the micro console 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 play pack is awesome for the price and is honestly one of the biggest draws to using on live 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 on life is entirely 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 increased lag there are 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 online micro console along with the play pack is one of the best deals in gaming if you enjoyed this video be sure to leave it a thumbs up and if you want to see more videos like this be sure to subscribe