In-Game Web Browser Comparison

So, your playing your favorite FPS or MMORPG, and then it hits you, “Dude! I need to check my e-mail!“. Since you’re in a safe spot in the game, you decide it’s a good idea to pull off the ole Alt+Tab trick, check the e-mail, then bring the game back to focus. If it comes back to focus, you’re gold. If not, it can be one heck of a frustrating experience (especially if you were part of a hunting group).

Did you know though, that there exist tools to allow you to browse the web from inside of your games? Well, I for one didn’t, but I admit that the idea intrigues me quite a bit. The cool thing is, there’s not just one solution, but four, or possibly even more. Even Steam has this functionality, although it must be difficult to find, as I’ve never managed to stumble on it.

That aside, Gamespot has taken four different solutions for a spin, including PlayXpert, Rogue, Xfire and of course, Steam. The screenshot below shows off PlayXpert’s (or pXp for short) usage, and I have to say, it looks quite good. But in the end, each one has its own ups and downs, and for the most part, you’re going to have to do a fair amount of testing to see what works best for you in a particular title.

PlayXpert acts as your one-stop hub to the outside world all within the confines of a game. Through PlayXpert’s taskbar-like menu, you can access all sort of tools. You can easily browse the Web, play music, and chat over IM with your buddies right out of the initial install. According to PlayXpert CEO Charles Manning, “The program has broad compatibility and minimizes hits to performance by injecting its UI into the DirectX command stream as the information goes to the GPU.”