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Top 10 OnLive games you must play on Android and Xperia Play

Every cloud has a silver lining

Top 10 OnLive games you must play on Android and Xperia Play
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Streaming game service OnLive has just been updated with support for the Xperia Play gamepad, so now's as good a time as any to have a look at it.

The OnLive app lets you stream proper PC games over the web. Servers up and down the continent chug away playing games like Arkham City and Saints Row, sending the 720p video to your tablet, while you bounce back your controller inputs.

It's magical stuff, and as long as your web connection is up to snuff, it's exactly like having a full-fledged console release running on your Android device. Plus, social features let you watch other gamers play, cloud saves mean your progress is carried between gadgets, and there's even a Bluetooth controller to buy.

We sifted through OnLive's considerable catalogue of games (some 200-odd games), and chose the best ten titles. We recommend you add them to your virtual shopping basket immediately, and begin streaming them over that old information superhighway.

Remember: most of the games will only work if you have a controller or gamepad on your phone. If you want to find out how to link up a PS3 pad to your tablet, take a look at our handy guide.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
By Eidos Montreal (Also available: Deus Ex, Human Revolution's The Missing Link DLC)

onlive-games-dxhr

Deus Ex has always been about choice. Whether you're playing as genetically superior megaman JC Denton in the original (also on OnLive, we should mention) or augmented robo-dude Adam Jenson in Human Revolution, it's up to you how you tackle your mission.

Do you burst into an enemy compound with your machine gun blazing, laying out nuisance baddies with an explosion of deadly-fast ball bearings? Or do you take the stealth approach, soundlessly sneaking past guards and hacking into security computers?

Throughout a monster campaign that takes you from the streets of near-future Detroit to a double-layered Shanghai, this accomplished FPS always lets you play the way you want.

Batman Arkham Aslyum
By Rocksteady (Available as part of the Playpack Bundle. Also available: Batman Arkham City) onlive-games-batman

This might be the first Batman game that plops you snugly into the boots of The Caped Crusader. As you stomp the halls of Gotham's super-prison on Arkham Island, you'll biff some baddies in fist fights, and snuff out others from the cover of darkness. Together, you truly become The Dark Knight.

This Metroidvania-style romp isn't just for comic nerds, but Batman fans will go giddy at the knees with all the boss fights, bonus characters, and sly references from the franchise's past. Plus, Mark Hamill's The Joker voice - his cackles echoing around the asylum - absolutely makes the game.

BioShock
By Irrational (Available as part of the Playpack Bundle) onlive-games-bioshock

The underwater dystopia of Rapture is drenched in Objectivist philosophy as much as it's drenched in seawater. This spooky shooter will school you in Ayn Rand as you battle lunatics and solve the doomed city's mysteries.

The best bit? Prepubescent girls called Little Sisters who you need to either kill to harvest their genetically enhanced juice, or save to cleanse your soul. Whatever you choose, it won't be easy with the clanking drill-sporting Big Daddies watching their every step. You better prepare for a fight.

Braid
By NumberNone

onlive-games-braid

The temporally twisted world of painterly indie epic Braid will definitely give your brain a cerebral workout. Its a sort-of Mario Bros.-meets-Prince of Persia affair, letting protagonist Tim mess with time in order to overcome his obstacles.

Sure, you can turn back the clock to undo a mistimed leap, but you'll soon need a deft grasp on the flow of time to interact with past versions of yourself, activate time-immune puzzles, and warp the clock's speed.

If that doesn't make your head spin, the barmy narrative will.

Tomb Raider: Anniversary
By Crystal Dynamics (Available as part of the Playpack Bundle. Also available: Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light) onlive-games-anniversary

The original Tomb Raider had some awe-inspiring bits. We all remember descending down St Francis' Folly, or stepping out into that foggy jungle. But, much like the treasures Lara excavated, time hasn't been too good to the old girl. Going back to the classic is a tough sell.

Luckily for us, Anniversary revamps the original in style. Favourite levels return, but now with splendid visuals and sporting controls that actually work.

None of the essential atmosphere has been lost, either - it's still a game about Lara trudging through dank caves and dim tombs. Alone. You go, girl.

Trine
By Frozenbyte (Available as part of the Playpack Bundle) onlive-games-trine

"Two heads are better than one", they say, but there aren't many pithy idioms about three heads. If Trine, a fantasy side-scroller from Finnish studio Frozenbyte, had anything to say, it'd be: "three heads will get you anywhere, as long as one of those heads is on a wizard's shoulders."

You see in Trine, you play as three heroes - a thief, a knight, and a wizard - and you can switch between them at the tap of a button.

You'll need the thief's zippy grappling hook, the knight's all-out brawn, and the wizard's ability to magic-up helpful objects to beat enemies and solve puzzles. It's all rather clever, and the game looks outstanding, too.

L.A. Noire
By Team Bondi

onlive-games-noire

Detective epic L.A. Noire is one bold game. Here's a game where you spend more time grilling witnesses than gunning down perps. A game where a few million bucks were chucked at MotionScan technology to capture realistic facial expressions from Mad Men actors.

It's bold, alright, and is probably unlike anything you've ever played before. Greenhorn detective Cole Phelps must solve a series of grisly murders by turning over crime scenes, chatting to people of interest, and tracking down the killer.

It's typical Rockstar bravado, and the presentation is out of this world.

Dirt 3 - touch enabled
By Codemasters (Also available: Dirt 2) onlive-games-dirt

It's gritty, grubby, and totally dirty. Codemasters's gaudy rally racer certainly earns its name as you burn rubber around a series of off-road tracks.

It's not all grime, though - the showy Gymkhana mode sticks to the tarmac as your boy-racer does doughnuts and loops to impress judges.

An extensive suite of online modes is present, too: the barmy Invasion mode that has you taking out cardboard cutout aliens, and the barmier Outbreak mode that is like zombie tag and has you ramming into opponent cars to infect them.

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
By Ubisoft Montreal (Also available: Assassin's Creed II, Assassin's Creed Revelations) onlive-games-brotherhood

If you're not familiar with 'Creed lore, let this be your catch-up session. Present-day hoody fan Desmond Miles is the descendant of various neck-stabbing assassins from the past. He uses a magical machine called the Animus to relive their memories, hoping that some of their skills will rub off.

Once again, we zap into the boots of Ezio Auditore, as he follows the Templars to 15th-century Rome. He's on the trail of the Pope, but he won't be going alone.

As the name suggests, Ezio can hire a brotherhood of assassins to help him execute guards and maim baddies. When in Rome, eh?

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! -- A Reckless Disregard for Gravity
By Dejobaan (Available as part of the Playpack Bundle) onlive-games-aaaa

It may be the most un-Googleable name in history, but that endless procession of 'A's does accurately describe the feeling you get in this nutty skydive sim.

As you're hurtling towards the ground, you can earn bonus points by hugging close to buildings, darting through tiny gaps, giving a thumbs-up to your die-hard fans, and flipping the bird to protesters.

Just make sure you stick the landing.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer