80 TECH ADVISOR • FEBRUARY 2020FEATURE
of Thieves because I wanted to see how the service
accommodated faster games.
My test bed was a OnePlus 6T smartphone running
Microsoft’s Game Streaming Android app over an
unlimited T-Mobile connection, and a standard Xbox
controller. Just for fun, I tested xCloud not only while
connected via Bluetooth, but also separately with a
USB-C dongle. Both worked well.
I was surprised by how reasonably three out of the
four games played. Killer Instinct was a challenge, in
part because of how unfamiliar I was with the game’s
controls. Unquestionably, xCloud introduced lag into
simple moves and punches, though not as much as I
expected over a cellular connection. Even on a local
connection, I probably would have tended toward
button-mashing. On xCloud, I found that to be the
most effective strategy regardless.
With Gears and Halo, though, I was truly surprised.
While Halo is a first-person shooter, and Gears tends
to be played in third person, I was able to play Gears
5 fairly well in multiplayer Horde mode throughout
the first few levels – contributing to my teammates,
shooting accurately, and so on. My son played about
fifteen minutes of Halo and did just fine, without
complaining of any lag. Peering over his shoulder,
he didn’t seem to have any issues taking on the
Covenant in the opening mission.
The strength of my cellular connection, though, did
make a significant difference. Testing during my son’s
soccer practice, I experienced decent ‘ping’ times
(milliseconds of latency) in the 50s and 60s, as reported
by Gears 5. At home, on the periphery of a couple80 TECH ADVISOR • FEBRUARY 2020FEATURE
of Thieves because I wanted to see how the service
accommodated faster games.
My test bed was a OnePlus 6T smartphone running
Microsoft’s Game Streaming Android app over an
unlimited T-Mobile connection, and a standard Xbox
controller. Just for fun, I tested xCloud not only while
connected via Bluetooth, but also separately with a
USB-C dongle. Both worked well.
I was surprised by how reasonably three out of the
four games played. Killer Instinct was a challenge, in
part because of how unfamiliar I was with the game’s
controls. Unquestionably, xCloud introduced lag into
simple moves and punches, though not as much as I
expected over a cellular connection. Even on a local
connection, I probably would have tended toward
button-mashing. On xCloud, I found that to be the
most effective strategy regardless.
With Gears and Halo, though, I was truly surprised.
While Halo is a first-person shooter, and Gears tends
to be played in third person, I was able to play Gears
5 fairly well in multiplayer Horde mode throughout
the first few levels – contributing to my teammates,
shooting accurately, and so on. My son played about
fifteen minutes of Halo and did just fine, without
complainingofanylag.Peeringoverhisshoulder,
hedidn’t seem to have any issues taking on the
Covenant in the opening mission.
The strength of my cellular connection, though, did
make a significant difference. Testing during my son’s
soccer practice, I experienced decent ‘ping’ times
(milliseconds of latency) in the 50s and 60s, as reported
by Gears 5. At home, on the periphery of a couple