Download ‘AAA’ games in a few minutes with AWOMO

Posted at: 4:43pm 19th December 2008 by Ben Hardwidge

Download Rome: Total War for free by trying out GDI's new download service, which it says will allow you to download and play games 20 times quicker than a conventional download service

We already have plenty of game download stores, including Steam, GameTap and even the Custom PC game store, but UK-based Game Domain International (GDI) reckons there’s room for one more. The reason, it says, is that its AWOMO service will allow you to download and play 'AAA' titles up to 20 times quicker than a conventional download service.

The trick, according to GDI, is its ‘unique technology’ that ‘lets you start playing before the game has finished downloading, meaning you can be up and running, jumping and fragging in minutes rather than hours.’ Although some other download services allow you to start playing a game before it’s fully downloaded, you usually still have to download a big chunk of data before you can start, and GDI reckons that it’s cracked this problem.

According to GDI, AWOMO takes a look at your PC's spec and connection speed, and then hooks you up with a sufficient buffer to stop your game stalling during gameplay. The company is confident that ‘the delivery system accurately predicts the data you require next and ensures it’s already there waiting before you need it.’

This gradual game-streaming feature also allows GDI to offer a new service for gamers, with which you can rent a game before you buy it. While the game is downloading, you can pay for it at an hourly rate while you’re playing, and then stop the download at any point if you don’t want to continue any further. After five hours, the game will automatically be yours to keep. AWOMO will also offer a traditional rental service in addition to the rent-to-buy scheme, with which you will be able to try out a game over an evening or a weekend.

GDI hasn’t revealed which titles will be available when the service launches, but there’s currently a public BETA up and running here that allows you sign up for the service and play Rome: Total War for free. You can either manage your downloads via your web browser, or through a small desktop client. According to the website, you should be able to start playing the game in just 11 minutes using an 8Mb/sec broadband connection, compared with 54 minutes using a conventional download service.

In addition to ‘AAA’ titles, GDI also says that it plans to follow in the footsteps of Good Old Games by resurrecting ‘many classic games that have long been discontinued.’ The company explains that this ‘makes perfect sense for us as we don't have to worry about shelf space. So long as the gold master discs exist and someone owns the rights to sell it legally, we can bring it to AWOMO.’