RealArcade (beta)

RealArcade, a new gaming service from RealNetworks Inc., attempts to bring the power and convenience of online software delivery to a wide audience of gaming enthusiasts. The software, currently in beta form, is available as a free download at the company's Web site (www.real.com). The final version is expected in mid-August, which should give the company time to fix RealArcade's problems. Still, this all-in-one solution is a welcome concept to gamers鈥攐r to those who have Pentium 4 systems, that is.

Primarily a software delivery system, RealArcade allows users to download free demo versions of game software and even purchase and download complete, retail versions of games. Because many of the games and most of the demos are exceedingly large files (often more than 10MB), the software delivery aspect of RealArcade is only truly viable for broadband users. The demos are often the same size as the full versions, in which case they come with a limited number of uses (usually five sessions). And while it certainly is a perk to try out a game before buying it, most of the choices available are not likely to convince a user to download a 40MB file. In fact, most of the games don't allow you to play head-to-head against other players, which would provide some added incentive to use RealArcade.

RealArcade includes some basic management capabilities: A "scan for games" feature looks for all the games on your PC and organizes them in one place. You can then access them via Quick Launch buttons. If you have copies of Unreal Tournament, Age of Empires, and other popular games already installed on your PC, RealArcade recognizes them and adds Quick Launch buttons for each game to the main menu. Games installed after RealArcade is in place can be quickly added through a simple automated system scan. RealArcade also features discussion forums, most of which focus on the games available for download.

In general, RealArcade works very well as an online gaming solution. The software is fairly intuitive and easy to configure. But the software does have a number of quirks. It crashes regularly, and often brings down most of your other Microsoft Windows applications when it does so. The software's stability, though, is a primary goal for the final release. Also, Intel is clearly a major investor in RealArcade. Nearly all games offered by the service contain special features or effects that are only available if you have a Pentium 4 chip powering your PC. This is fine, but continually reading large, obnoxious messages that you are getting a lesser version of a game because you don't have a Pentium 4 can be rather annoying. This is particularly true for users of AMD's processors, which are extremely popular among the hard-core gaming crowds.

Aware of the product's bugs, the company is planning numerous fixes for its release, as well as improved support for CD-based games and better, faster, and smoother game downloads and installation. The software is still in open beta stages, and its stability should improve as it approaches final release status. At the moment, RealArcade is a perfect fit for users with fast connections and limited knowledge of or interest in serious computer gaming. RealArcade plans to provide a more impressive array of game titles, smoother performance, and we hope, a bit less of Intel's advertising blitz.