E3 2010 has certainly caused more of a stir this year than the last two. The exciting trends, the announcements and the return to the glitz and glamour of the past certainly helped it somewhat. We’ve already looked at the massive thrust towards 3D over the next few years and everybody knows about the consoles and their new developments, but what of the PC?
Fans of the ASUS mobo are well aware of the recent decline in games that have been designed especially for the avid PC gamer. Many have even quietly defected to the PS3 or the Xbox 360 just so that they can play games in their natural state, rather than as horribly ports with side-effects of nausea and uncontrollable screaming.
As the roar of keyboards being abused to get the E3 news out there subsided, I excitedly did a search for PC games launched at E3. What our friend Google returned to me was, erm, nothing? Perhaps my search term “PC games E3 2010” was a little too confusing.
Obviously there were games squeezed into the long lists of console titles but sadly this much-loved behemoth is not getting the attention it deserves. However, through some industrious digging I did uncover titles that are going to make the PC’s day and felt a surge of delight as I realised that many developers still hold a soft spot in their hearts for ye olde PC.
It was on PC Gamers’ site that I found the biggest treasure trove of titles, themes and concepts. The games that made PC Gamer weep with delight include The Old Republic, Crysis 2, Rage and Civilization 5. Hardly shabby titles that make us feel neglected. Personally the demos I’ve seen of Rage and The Old Republic have had me clutching my sides with glee.
The biggest thing, of course, was the OnLive service that will turn every single machine into a gaming monster thanks to its cloud streaming service. Suds has already given us a brilliant introduction to the service so if you’re desperate to play PC games and your PC has seen better days then read that article immediately.
BUT, and this is a biggie, OnLive isn’t quite there yet. There are some latency issues and the price is a tad prohibitive with you having to pay a monthly fee of $4.95 a month and that’s without having bought the games themselves. You’re buying games for full price, you don’t actually own them, and there are always going to be concerns about how it will deliver over the internet.
The service isn’t available in the UK as yet and the response to it has been ambivalent. I am tentatively optimistic about the idea behind OnLive. It certainly sidesteps many of the DRM nightmares that plague hard copies, let’s you play whatever your mood desires at the drop of a hat, and only demands a mouse and a keyboard. Imagine playing Rage on your netbook while sitting in a hotel? The mind boggles at the potential.
However, and this is the kicker, it’s likely to cost twice as much for the monthly rental fee in the UK. These things usually do. And I wouldn’t pay around £8 a month for a service I only have the time to use sporadically.
I think, in conclusion, it’s clear that the PCs days are not even as remotely numbered as console fans would like us to believe. There have been some fantastic new titles and MMOs announced at E3, awesome new technologies at Computex, and there has never been a better time to get your PC souped up, kitted out and ready to kick ass.
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Andy
