News of InstantAction has come and gone over the last year or so, as they periodically kept reminding us that their “revolutionary” new browser based gaming service was on its way. Well, it’s finally here, and when you pause to think about the nuts and bolts of the system, it’s rather clever.
The service allows players to play games which are rendered in their web browser. The clever bit is that the gaming action is almost instant, thanks to the way in which the service delivers the files – progressively as they are needed, and quietly in the background otherwise.
If we were talking about the small web games which are the typically conjured to mind when thinking about web based gaming, then this wouldn’t seem that impressive – but to show off the power of the service, InstantAction has debuted with the successful The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition (that’s the high definition remake for those who haven’t been keeping up).
The service allows 20 minutes of free gameplay, before the full game must be purchased for US$9.99 (±R75).
The other clever feature of the service, is that it allows any other website – from Joe’s Blog to Facebook – to embed any game within their site. The game is still served through InstantAction, but it’s a clever way of allowing the Internet at large to spread the word about the available games.
Facebook is currently offering the game, which can be accessed via this link.
South African gamers may have to think twice however. Whilst the foreign press reports talk about how the 2.5GB demo files aren’t that much these days, in SA, only those with ADSL connections and large bandwidth caps will likely be making use of this service. InstantAction’s back catalogue of games is currently unavailable while the site is being updated, but it is promised that they will reappear soon.
Despite this, we are witnessing the dawn of a new browser based gaming era and distribution platform.
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