TimeShift: 2/10
Basic game mechanics don't work at all, boring to play, uninvolving, easy to get stuck.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09: 8.5/10
Intuitive controls, but my thumb was sore in no time from all the thumbstick action.
Civilization: Revolution: 1.5/10
I can't see myself playing this on a console. Ever.
Turok: 8.5/10
Awesome overall, but the knife kills, which happen very often due to the extremely limited ammo, are way too repetitive.
Duke Nukem 3D: 8.5/10
ALWAYS BET ON DUUUUUUUUUKE
Braid: 3/10
I don't get it at all. I hope the demo is an actual level from the game so I can go check a walkthrough.
Resident Evil 5: 8.5/10
Awkward controls and extreme mortalilty hurt an otherwise fun, engaging experience.
Dead Space {Dismemberment Demo}: 9/10
No HUD and awesome glibs make me happy, but an objective I couldn't complete dampered my fun.
Stranglehold: 10/10
This demo can give you over an hour of potential gameplay, as every time you beat the provided level, you unlock exciting, Woo-inspired new moves that will make your jaw drop when you look at the clock. The most gameplay in a demo thus far, hands down.
Halo Wars: 7/10
I disliked the campaign demo, but Skirmish's freedom and base-building were more my style. However, you can spend two hours bulking up, only to completely thrash the enemy in thirty uninspired seconds. Most of the upgrades are unnecessary, as you can build five Warthogs, equip them with turrets, and demolish the enemy's base before anything happens. In all honesty, the demo was more of a 5.5 than a 7, but I can't wait to see the retail multiplayer, where base building and upgrades will be more Cold War than just cold.
Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena
PENDING
Watchmen: End Is Nigh
PENDING
Wanted
PENDING
Wheelman 9/10
The combat is hugely satisfying and the ability to "airjack" (jump from car to car), plus the (to me at least) surprising addition of guns and onfoot combat. Together, these elements create one of the finest demo experiences I have had in a very long time. One thing that bugged me was when I entered my first side mission, and about half the screen was taken up by my HUD. This soured the whole experience, as I've begun to gravitate towards HUD-less systems in games (Dead Space being the best example).
Tom Clancy's HAWX: 6/10
Not my type of game (I wouldn't spend ten dollars on a flight simulator, much less 70), but for fans of the genre, this beats the sh*t out of...
Ace Combat 6: 2/10
Boring, ugly graphics, terrible controls, and the fact that not once during the demo did I see the planes I was fighting at; make this one of the worst demos (and according to several reputable sources, one of the worst retail games) I've ever played.
Turning Point: Fall Of Liberty: 1/10
This game had my hopes up. But I've played a LOT of GameCube WWII games, and this was the most unpleasant nostalgia I've ever felt towards them. Boring, cliched weapons. Awful, boring graphics. Faceless, nameless generic characters you don't care one way or the other towards. The same enemies again and again. And the most blatantly linear levels since Super Mario World. Actually, that (far superior, obviously)game had the Minus World, so even that, a 2D dinosaur of a platformer, had more route choices than this steaming pile of shame.
Afro Samurai: 5/10
The best voice acting. The most stylized graphics. The best blood. The most boring, repetitive combat. A.S. doesn't do things halfway, and that's not always a good thing.
Dead Rising: 8/10
It's so easy to accidentally quit. There's a time limit, and venturing too far in any one direction shows you a context-free cutscene, highlight reel of game features, and returns you to the main menu. This is a shame, because it turned away a lot of people from what is truly one of the greatest games of our time.
LOTR: Conquest: 2.5/10
Enemies come at you one and two at a time before you are unleashed in what should be an epic battle, but what really boils down to generic button mashing. I praised the game for its lack of lag, before realizing that most of the enemies on the battlefield were just part of the scenery. Menacing GIFs. I escaped its grasp, despite loving its spiritual predecessor Star Wars Battlefront II. But plenty of people have been suckered into buying this horrible, horrible crime against gamers and smartly returned it, leaving retail outlets who re-ordered to take it in the pants. Not only is it a crime against fans of Battlefront and LOTR, but is an example of how badly opportunity can be wasted in the game industry when a bad game rides on the success of its superior predecessors.
Mirror's Edge: 0.5/10
DO. NOT. WASTE. YOUR. TIME. ON. THIS. CRAP.
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix: 3/10
Extremely bland, content-free demo with two playable characters (the two most boring, I should add) that will appeal only to arcade Street Fighter fans who want to make sure the control scheme fits their fancy before paying full price.
GRID: 5/10
It's too much of a sim for me (the turns border on impossible) but the replay system (also seen in Duke Nukem 3D) is a great idea and the amount of names and nicknames the game can audibly call you will astound.
Banjo Kazooie: 8.5/10
This hooked me instantly, giving me almost tearfully fond memories of my favourite childhood game, Super Mario 64. The option to buy the game and continue playing being seamlessly integrated, and the fact that some decent gameplay exists without buying full, hooked me right away. It took me ten minutes to decide to buy, and I questioned whether my 1600 (!) points was worth it. Nine hours in and I haven't regretted it for a minute. Sure, it's not for everyone, but if you were (and/or still are) an N64 fanboy (even if you're uninitiated into the Banjo-Kazooie fancircle), this is not to be missed.
Legendary: 3.5/10
Boring, linear gameplay with awkward controls. The whole thing was so insanely mediocre, I can barely remember it.
Army of Two: 8/10
The gay jokes are endless, but at its core, Army of Two is some good, clean, mindless fun. (Without the clean.) Best co-op moment: My partner dragged me around a corner to heal me. Instead of being grateful and taking the game seriously like he was, my quote was "Now that we're alone..."
Crackdown: 4/10
My enthusiasm for Crackdown was limited to the glory days of 2007, my transition to current-gen, back when any M-rated free-roamer could satisfy me. Now, I realize that none of the game mechanics are even mildly fun (now that I hold games to a standard a little higher than "can you go anywhere?") and the graphics (once considered stylized) fall alarmingly flat and are actually highly annoying.
The Force Unleashed: 3/10
SO. BLAND. No matter how you kill your enemies, it never feels right, and the physics system (other than the well-used Euphoria engine) needs a serious overhaul. The boss battle cannot be won without a quicktime event, and ends in such a boring, unsatisfying manner, you'll wish you'd let him live.
Bomberman LIVE!: 4/10
While I love the Clint Eastwood parody costume (inaccessible in the demo), Bomberman is looking really outdated in the light of better, similar games like LittleBigPlanet and 2007's New Super Mario Bros.
Half-Life 2: Episode 3 Demo: 1/10.
If you've been keeping up, these plot details will probably excite you. If you're like me and you haven't, you will try to kill yourself with the controller in many new and exciting ways as an alternative.
PURE: 8.5/10
I can't see this being fun in the long run, but this plays like a lightweight, ATV port of MotorStorm with some great stylized artwork and fonts.
Battlestations: Midway: 0/10
I think I was playing it wrong, because I would be hard pressed to think of a more miserable game-related experience than this.
LEGO Batman Demo: 7/10
More satisfying combat than previous LEGO titles, especially LEGO Indy, but if you're getting tired of the formula or you're not much of a Batfan, this is not for you.
Bionic Commando: Rearmed
PENDING
Mega Man 9
PENDING
Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway: 2/10
I was so bored, I actually left to go play Hexic. I HATE HEXIC.
Hitman: Blood Money: 5.5/10
The AI is insanely stupid, and dying far into the mission forces you to repeat the bland, unskippable cutscene at the beginning. Great if you played Splinter Cell and never got detected, but wanted more substantial goals then "go to
x and turn on/off
y, then retreat back to
z with everyone looking for you".
skate.: 4/10
I hate skate. I loved Tony Hawk's ridiculous tricks, lack of any learning curve, and
skateboarding game for non-skateboarders mentality. skate., however, takes realism too far the other way, where only skateboarders will love it. If you like the slow-mo science of coordinating your body into simple tricks, you'll love this. But for the rest of us, this is inaccessible skate
boring.Overlord: 8/10
A genuinely funny and fun reversal of traditional roles in a game like Fable or Oblivion, where there are basically no consequences to your actions. Even your little demonic henchmen are loveable. The only problem is, I really hope a lot bigger squads and different unit types balance the bloody boss fights (I lost my entire force in one fell swoop, bringing back painful memories of lost souls on the battlegrounds of Pikmin) in the retail version.
Penny Arcade: On The Rain Slick Precipice Of Darkness Episode One: 7.5/10
I'm a rabid Penny Arcade fan, and the series references and humour in their debut game do
not disappoint in the slightest. Taking the time to walk around and investigate things will reward you with quite a few laugh-out-loud instances, but the combat is awful at the juncture I reached in the demo. I think having multiple characters in your party should fix the repetitive your-turn, my-turn formulaic combat, but I can't rate the demo based on hope.
Shadowrun: 7.5/10
The magic gameplay gimmicks work nicely, and the bot matches actually had me fooled into thinking I was playing online for a few minutes. However, I can see the game getting old fast. Nothing some DLC couldn't fix, wink wink, nudge nudge, cough cough, make the damn DLC already...
FarCry Instincts: Predator: 3/10
Nothing but boring tacked-on multiplayer with a dedicated fanbase of cheapskates to see here. However, I should mention that the full game is actually very very good.
Conflict: Denied Ops: 2/10
Shoddy graphics, unlikeable characters, and boring combat make up for the bad environments, inexplicable shaky pixels, and confusing level layout. A fantastic demo.* This game only succeeds on one level: There is now a game called Conflict, and it holds my coveted Most Obvious Title award.
*If you are allergic to fun.Small Arms: 7/10
A blatant Smash Bros ripoff, Small Arms succeeds as a fun little diversion of a game, perfect in small increments (I play the demo while waiting for other demos to download). It's worth the little price tag (400 points)
Superman Returns: 0/10
If you liked Superman 64, you'll love this. Unfortunately, nobody who liked that game will be playing this one, because their straitjackets will prevent proper usage of the controller.
Fatal Inertia: 0/10
This game shouldn't even exist, let alone cost actual money. If it was on Newgrounds, it would be Turd of the Week, hands down. It's beyond being "so bad it's funny". It's just "so bad it hurts in a totally serious way".
Just Cause: 6/10
Fun, but for what it is you may as well buy the very similar (and much better IMHO) game Merceneries 2. A lot more gameplay hours, big expansions on the horizon, and excellent destruction systems will show you a good time. But if you've only got five bucks, 2006's Just Cause provides a few hours of fun and that's about it.
darkSectOr
PENDING
The Club: 10/10
A perfect combination of Tony Hawk's frenetic combo system and Gears of War's third person ridiculousness, The Club is a very unconventional shooter. Go in expecting regular old
get to x and kill y objectives, and you'll be surprised. However, if the following equation is more to your liking...
(Tony Hawk - Skateboarding) + Guns - "Famous" skateboarders + Graphics + (Fun x 896,000) =
aGears of War - Cover system - Gore + Colours - Giant bugs =
bStreet Fighter - Everything but great character selection =
ca + b + c = The Club
GO OUT AND BUY IT NOW. YOUR LANDLORD CAN WAIT ANOTHER MONTH.
Penny Arcade: On The Rain Slick Precipice Of Darkness Episode Two
PENDING
Beautiful Katamari: 6/10
I had fun, but haed the time limit. Also, I can't imagine the retail has very much longevity.
Quake 4
PENDING
Heavy Weapon: 3/10
A scrolling ground-to-air shooter that recalls similar arcade games, but a lot more boring.
Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp
PENDING
Assault Heroes: 8/10
It's old, but it's still great. Looks good for the price, and the controls are really solid. But it's not until you play retail multiplayer that you'll truly fall in love with this underrated little gem.
Cloning Clyde: 7/10
Some fun to be had here, but the demo doesn't show off the actual game nearly enough.
FIFA 07: 10/10
The best franchise sports game I've ever played. (Not that that's saying much, but still.)
Assault Heroes 2
PENDING
The Simpsons Game: 3/10
I can't vouch for the rest of the game, but the demo is HORRIBLE.