Hello all! Welcome to this page's new, weekly feature: Demo Reel! Each week will highlight all of the demo releases across the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. You'll get a brief review on how each game is shaping up, and there will be a video attached so you can experience the demos yourself. Think a game was missed? Go ahead and leave a comment and it may be retroactively added to the article. Enjoy!
Dead Space 2 was a controversial entry into a series that once had serious potential as the next big Survival Horror franchise. Instead, the developers chose to make it more of an action game; a trend which has continued into Dead Space 3. The scares are light, instead replaced by cheap jump-moments that rarely work and action that's never difficult. Now, ammo applies for every weapon, making the idea of conserving ammo a thing of the past. The only real terror here lies in the controls, which worked well when Dead Space meant Survival Horror. Now, though, Isaac controls like a tank in a world where he begs to to handle like a human being. Often times the action moves faster than you can manage, simply because the controls don't allow you to keep up. There's potential in the co-op, and the demo limits you to a fairly straightforward section of the game, so hopefully the full release turns out better than this quick dip. Oh, and you fight a giant drill.
Metal Gear Rising is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. Developed by Platinum Games but overseen by a few key players at Konami, Rising will tell the story of cyborg-Raiden as he does...things...with his sword. The story isn't made all that clear in the demo, but it seems to follow the trend of private military corporations first introduced in Metal Gear Solid 4. There are elements of stealth to the demo, but they are light compared to what has been seen in every other game in the franchise. What Rising does have, though, is a ton of action. At first, the game can be frustration. Raiden doesn't have the ability to dodge, which instantly makes this game feel underdeveloped on the control side. Once you master the parry move, though, you'll find it to be much cooler than a boring old dodge move. The fights are fast and bloody, and the boss fight that tags the demo teeters on being the only truly challenging moment of the demo. The biggest fear that players will take out of the demo, though, is whether or not the slow-motion, cut everything swordplay will prove to be a boring gimmick, or a valuable addition to gameplay.
Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
It's been a long time since the last Sly Cooper game on the PS2, but now fans of the franchise can finally take control of the cunning raccoon and his animal friends again. Playsation Plus users got a chance to try the game this week, and it's everything fans could have hoped for. All of the characters feel and act like those you grew to love in the last generation of consoles, and the visual sport a nice sheen that fits with the style of the previous games, while feeling like an improvement. In the demo, you'll play as Sly, Bentley, and Murray as you stealth, hack, and punch your way through what appears to be the first heist in the game. It's fun, though not challenging in the least, but that's typical of the early stages of any Sly Cooper game. If anything, this demo will only fuel the excitement that already exists, as gamers everywhere await the release just a few weeks away.
That's it for this week's demos. Share your own thoughts in the comments section below, and be sure to check back next week as we take a look at what's in store.
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