The subscription based, cloud game service OnLive has just released a mobile version of "LA Noire," available for a variety of Android devices.
This new version of "LA Noire" is the PC release from last fall, but reconfigured to be part of OnLive's mobile catalog. So it's not like the recently released iOS and Android versions of "Grand Theft Auto 3," which are stand alone apps that utilize code from the PS2 original and the Xbox 1 port, to create essentially a brand new, self-contained game,
The OnLive service allows gamers to play PC games on a variety of devices, including televisions, so long as there is an internet connection (and in some cases, accompanying hardware). The games themselves are running remotely, and then streamed to the end user.
This allows someone to enjoy a high end game on a machine that would otherwise not be able to do. Since, again, everything is happening on OnLive's end.
Released as the end of last year was a client for Android phones and tablets (an iOS version is still in the midst of being approved by Apple). Not every game from OnLive's PC offering is supported. Some are, via on-screen virtual buttons, and a few have native support for touch devices built in, as is the case with "LA Noire."
For those who wish they could play Rockstar's hit from last year on the go, this is your best bet -- for now, anyway.
--
Matthew Hawkins is an NYC-based game journalist who has also written for EGM, GameSetWatch, Gamasutra, Giant Robot and numerous others. He also self-publishes his own game culture zine, is part of Attract Mode , and co-hosts The Fangamer Podcast . You can keep tabs on him via Twitter , or his personal home-base, FORT90.com .
