Skip to main content

Google bringing high-end gaming to Chrome via Native Client

mini-ninjasGoogle showcased the power of its Chrome browser recently, announcing a slew of new console-quality browser games exclusive to Chrome. Among the companies utilizing the browser’s Native Client feature include Square Enix, Bungie and Unity Technologies.

Native Client came with Chrome 14, allowing the browser to run applications securely in languages like C and C++ rather than the simple JavaScript or HTML; languages that have been standards for the web app industry. Web browsers so far haven’t been strong enough to handle high-end games, but Square Enix chief executive Yoichi Wada and others believe that Google has changed that.

“Gaming in the browser greatly expands the video game market to new consumers, devices and platforms,”said Wada during the Native Client event at Google’s Mountain View headquarters. “ Native Client enables the same consumer experience in the browser as in a native application. With the power of this technology, Square Enix is pushing the boundaries of the browser gaming market to include high quality games in addition to our popular portfolio of casual games.”

Square Enix is the company behind the Dragonquest and Final Fantasy series’. The first offering from the Japanese video game company will be the Mini Ninjas RPG, first released in 2009 for many consoles. Square Enix plans on making more titles available on Chrome sometime in 2012.

bastion
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Other games include Wolf Toss as well as Supergiant’s award winning Bastion which was previously relegated to the Xbox and PC, now available in the Chrome Store. Along with a wider range, developer’s are also being encouraged to use Native Client to port because of the ease of use. For example,VentureBeat points out that the Unity 3D engine allows a check box for developers to click; no need for any rewriting which accelerates delivery.

If you want to try out Mini Ninjas for Chrome its in open beta, but you’ll need to wait for the new Chrome 17 beta to be available in a few weeks.

Jeff Hughes
Former Digital Trends Contributor
I'm a SF Bay Area-based writer/ninja that loves anything geek, tech, comic, social media or gaming-related.
The best Dragon’s Dogma 2 mods
Dragon's Dogma 2 key art featuring a knight with a fiery hole in their chest.

Even before release, there were some red flags about how Dragon's Dogma 2 would perform on a technical level. While console players need to wait and hope for patches to fix things, those on PC can already improve their games through the hard work of modders. Of course, technical improvements are only one area where modders focus. With such a massive world and many systems in place, Dragon's Dogma 2 is brimming with potential for mods of all shapes and sizes. Aside from mods that just improve your performance, most are better saved for after you've reached the true ending, but no one is going to stop you if you'd rather start experimenting from the start. Here are a handful of the best mods you should try in Dragon's Dogma 2.
Dragon's Dogma 2 DLSS3 Enabler 01 - Puredark

For whatever reason, Dragon's Dogma 2 launched with its DLSS3 function disabled. While it is assumed it will be turned on at some point with a patch, modder Puredark went ahead and released the simple Dragon's Dogma 2 DLSS3 Enabler 01 to let you actually play the game with better visuals and framerates. If you have an Nvidia 4000 series GPU, there's no reason not to install this simple enabler.
Crazy's Shop

Read more
V Rising – Legacy of Castlevania crossover will let you fight Simon Belmont
Castlevania's Simon Belmont in V Rising.

Stunlock Studios and Konami have revealed that the survival crafting game V Rising will feature Castlevania crossover content when it leaves early access this May.

V Rising is a survival game where players control a vampire, and this crossover adds Simon Belmont as a hunter who's constantly trying to track down and kill players. If Simon Belmont is defeated, players will be able to equip and use his whip as a weapon. While that content is being added to V Rising free of charge as soon as it hits 1.0, a paid Legacy of Castlevania Premium Pack DLC will also be released. Purchasing it will net players Castlevania-themed decorations and music for their lair. These are all fitting crossover spots for a game that already heavily features vampires and pumps some life back into an unfortunately dormant game series.

Read more
What is dragonsplague in Dragon’s Dogma 2 and how is it cured?
A dragon roars in Dragon's Dogma 2.

Dragon's Dogma 2 likes to keep many of its mechanics and systems a secret until you discover them. You will learn quickly that you can't fast travel around the map freely, but there's one mechanic that is far more detrimental to your game. This is called dragonsplague and it is a disease that can't be cured with a simple tonic. In fact, you may not even realize if you have it in your game because it isn't something that affects your character at all; instead, it affects your Pawns. Failing to recognize you have dragonsplague and deal with it in a timely manner can ruin your entire playthrough if you're not careful. To avoid such a catastrophe, here are all the details about this cruel disease.
What is dragonsplague?

Dragonsplague is a special kind of disease that Pawns can contract seemingly by interacting with either Drakes or Dragons. That part isn't fully clear yet, however, we do know that Pawns with dragonsplague can spread the disease to other Pawns. Since Pawns are able to pass between worlds to join other players, you are never fully safe from being infected if you're playing online. Unlike a real sickness, though, dragonsplague actually transfers between Pawns rather than spreads, meaning it won't fully run rampant through the game.

Read more