Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Demo

Turning Point: Fall of Liberty is yet another FPS to be set in that highly plundered period of World War II but promises to offer a new perspective on events. The whole premise of Turning Point is based upon the idea of an alternate timeline. A reality where the then diplomat Winston Churchill hadn’t survived a collision with a New York taxi cab on December 13th 1931, and thus didn’t become the hugely influential prime minister of the United Kingdom. In this timeline the tide of Nazi Germany domination couldn’t be stopped and the United States is about to be invaded.

At the start of the demo you find yourself in New York atop the semi completed structure of a skyscraper during the initial air invasion. Your task is to navigate your way down from this precarious position to street level far below. Unfortunately the first segment of this demo as you immediately get control is flawed, requiring the player to negotiate a series of narrow girders. Although as long as you don’t jump off you can’t really fall to your death, merely grabbing the girder and hauling yourself back up, as an introduction to unfamiliar controls this design leaves a lot to be desired.

Once free of the platforming the game picks up slightly leaving you to follow a fairly linear path to the end of the demo. To keep the feeling of tension high and the player on their toes a smattering of pre-scripted events are also thrown in for good measure.

The game itself looks passable but I certainly wasn’t overly impressed with what’s on show in the demo. The controls were all fine and I liked the introduction of the context sensitive “B” button that’s used for actions such as climbing or descending ladders and grappling enemy troops.

Turning Point is one of those demos where you just have to wonder why the publishers released a demo. The premise is a sound one and there are some good ideas lurking in the depths but surely releasing a game build which is sub-par with some obvious bugs and flaws does more harm than good? When an enemy’s body disappears right in front of your eyes, the third person view doesn’t show weapons even though you’re carrying them, and bullet collision detection is dubious you have to question the logic behind the decision.

However, according to the developer’s blog the demo is several months old. There’s still reason to hope that this game can improve, but unfortunately the seeds of doubt have already been sown.

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Devil May Cry 4 Demo

Capcom’s Devil May Cry series has been around since 2001 and the highly anticipated fourth installment is due to be released next month. A demo of Devil May Cry 4 was released onto Xbox Live Marketplace last Thursday (24th) and should be available on the Euro Playstation Network later this week.

In previous games the lead character was Dante, but the demo introduces you to the new character Nero via two playable missions to showcase the different aspects of the game. The first mission "Exterminator" allows you 10 minutes to experience the core of the game as you move from area to area in an opera house plaza clearing enemies with the odd simple puzzle thrown in. The second mission “Executioner” lets you play a couple of set piece battles, firstly against some “Icy Frosts” before the final showdown with the impressively huge flaming boss character “Berial”.

The controls are all fairly straight forward and moves and combos are slowly introduced throughout the demo. Like Dante, Nero has both a sword for melee and a gun for ranged attacks but his right arm is not human and has a couple of “Devil Bringer” attacks that can also be used. There are some great attacks to play around with in the demo. Whether it’s launching enemies into the air or grabbing enemies and hurling them around with his demonic arm when “B” is held down, which is particularly great to watch against the boss “Berial”, all of them look impressive.

Both sword and gun attacks can be charged up for additional damage by either holding down the left trigger or “X” respectively. As with the previous instalments in the series each encounter is graded and the key is to try and chain combos together, not only to dispatch an enemy as fast as possible, but also to get the best rating.

The camera, which for the majority of the game provides a fixed viewpoint of the action, can only occasionally be moved by the player and it does take time to adjust to this, especially as the viewpoint will change as you're running along or between areas which can cause some disorientation.

The demo of DMC4 looks fantastic, with some great looking cut-scenes, decent character and enemy designs and a great boss encounter. However, the game mechanics all feel very familiar and don’t seem to have changed significantly from its predecessors, which on the one hand will appeal to fans but may alienate newcomers. The demo is well worth investigating and fans will be happy with what’s on offer until the games release.

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KUF: Circle of Doom Demo

Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom is a fantasy third person hack and slash action role playing game. A demo of the game is now available from Xbox Live Marketplace and is a rather chunky 1.2GB download.

According to the written prologue, which you can view if you’re really desperate, the world was once ruled by a pair of deities, Nible the lord of light, and Encablossa the lord of darkness. Each lord would take it in turns to rule and shape the world as they see fit and then after an age had passed hand over the reigns of power. However as is usual someone always gets fed up with the arrangement, in this case Nible throws his toys out of the pram and refuses to hand power back to Encablossa, thus igniting a war between the forces of light and darkness.

Upon starting the demo you can choose from one of two selectable characters. The final version of the game features six characters but in this instance you can play as either Leinhart an assassin, or Kendal the paladin. As you’d expect each character has strengths and weaknesses and specific weapons and armour types are only available to certain characters.

There are quite a few controls to get your head round in KUF:CoD but the demo will walk you through both the controls and item management. Different weapons can be assigned to both the “A” and “X” buttons whilst “B” and the right trigger are used for special abilities and the two shoulder buttons reserved for item assignment. Although this kind of configuration allows easy access to attacks, abilities and items as with most RPG’s item management forms an essential part of the game and you will frequently have to re-assign buttons as you find better equipment or learn new abilities. The tutorial can be skipped at any point but it’s worthwhile putting up with it the once before deciding to head off into the unknown world.

Any kind of attack, whether it be melee, ranged, or the use of an ability will cost “SP” points to perform. Your character has a total number of “SP” points available indicated by a blue bar at the bottom of the screen but once depleted the character will no longer be able to attack or use abilities. Although the SP bar does replenish fairly quickly (or via potions) having depleted can leave you vulnerable to attack for a period of time. This is compounded by your characters complete inability to block any type of attack.

Along the linear path that your character travels “idol sanctuaries” will be found. At these locations the player can buy, sell or synthesise items together. Alternatively you can choose to sleep and enter the dream world, a place where you can learn new abilities and discover more about the characters and the story.


KUF:CoD looks quite good. The demo environments all look OK and the main character models are decent enough but there is a lot of screen tearing throughout. Unfortunately I found the AI to be very poor with groups of enemies standing around and quite happily ignoring the player until trigger points are crossed. Similarly when fleeing to a previously cleared area enemies will only pursue you so far and will suddenly break off and return to there original stating location.

The camera is frustratingly poor, needs constant attention, and will frequently get obscured by a bush, tree or other object whilst fighting large groups of enemies. By holding down the left trigger you can change the camera to an aiming view. However this view seems rather pointless because although I could see a group of enemies and fire at them they were invulnerable until a trigger point was crossed. Once triggered the group would be upon you in seconds leaving only enough time to loose off a couple of ranged attacks.

On a positive point the game has a wealth of equipment and special abilities with which to customize your character. Levelling up a characters hit points, sp points, and luck works quite well with a pot of “attribute” points that allocated how the player sees fit.

I wouldn’t say that KUF:CoD is a terrible game, just average. It does quite a few things competently enough but there are some key areas in the demo that it falls down on, not the least of which is that it is repetitive. If you’re a fan of hack “n” slash RPG games then it’s worth giving the demo a cursory glance.

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Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Demo

I gave the Guitar Hero III demo that's available on Xbox Live Marketplace a run through yesterday in preparation for the UK release later this month on the 23rd. The demo offers five different songs to try your guitar thrashing skills on including "Lay Down", "Rock You Like a Hurricane", "Even Flow", "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", and "The Metal".

Apart from "Even Flow" by Pearl Jam I'm not familiar with the other tracks, but I found them all enjoyable enough to play though and thought they provided a good example of the different styles of music that would be available in the final release.

The fundamentals of the game remain unchanged, adopting the "if it ain't broke, why fix it attitude". And to be honest I can't really see how they could, or would want to change the core gameplay to make it much better. Players still hit notes and play chords as they scroll down the virtual guitar neck using the five "fret" buttons and "strum bar" on the guitar controller. Your performance is measured via a "rock" meter varying in colour from red (poor) to green (good) and if you miss too many notes in a row then apart from being greeted by the jeers and booing of the audience you will also find the "Song Failed" message staring you in the eyes.

The demo includes a comprehensive tutorial on how to play the game covering the basics and advanced techniques, and is well worth a look if you're new to the series. The tutorials also explain how the "battle mode" works, which is a new mode introduced this time around for "boss" battles and player vs player.

All in all the game is shaping up quite nicely and I'm looking forward to the retail release version as not only does it provide a lot of fresh new tracks to try out, but also I'm afraid I just can't resist that new wireless "Gibson Les Paul" guitar controller.

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Need for Speed: ProStreet Demo

It's approaching that time of year again where one should try and be kinder to their fellow man or woman, turkeys are gazing nervously at the farmer and a new "Need for Speed" title, in this case ProStreet, is about to be unleashed upon the masses.

Ahead of its release later this month you can sample the demo which is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace at a pretty decent download size of 655MB.

The demo lets you try out two game modes, each one with a different track and preset car. "Nevada Highway" is a straightforward speed challenge whereby you, and seven other competitors, have to pass through four speed checkpoints as fast as possible with the winner being the player with the highest cumulative speed total. The other track on offer is "A-54 Interloop" which is a standard two lap race around a street circuit.

When you've selected your race you're taken to the race day menu, which just seems to show some of the car entrants for the race with various people wandering about fawning over the cars but with no real interaction from the player. All you can really do is start the race and I hope the final release utilises this menu screen a bit better.

To help the player you can choose from three levels of driver assists before the race starts (casual, racer or king). "Casual" helps the player by managing the braking with some adjustments to find the best racing line, whilst "King" leaves the driving to the player.

Personally I preferred setting the assistance level to "King" as I found that the other two levels, especially the first, interfered far too much with the driving experience and it just didn't feel right.

Visually the game looks pretty good at this stage and should be able to hold its own against most of the 360 racers out there although it's hard to tell from the demo tracks whether it will be top-of-the-class. For me the "A54 Interloop" track was the better of the two available as the Nevada Highway was mainly a series of straights, which is fine for a speed test but doesn't really present much of a challenge.

If you're into the "Need for Speed" franchise then it's worth trying out the demo as a taster of things to come but with so many quality racing titles already available for the 360 we'll have to wait and see what this offers compared to its competitors as the demo doesn't really give much away.

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Conan Demo

The demo for Conan, a third person action hack and slash game, is now available to download from Xbox Live Marketplace. The game lets you try out a single level and provides some mild entertainment.

Initial impressions of the game were not that great. It certainly isn't the best showcase for the graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360 with OK character models and an uninspiring environment on show. In all departments a game such as God of War 2 on the PS2 is superior.

The games strongest element is the combat. Conan has at his disposal a huge variety of attacks based upon combinations of light, heavy or grappling moves using the "X", "Y" and "B" buttons. You can also block an attack using the left trigger and if this is timed correctly Conan can perform a deadly counter-attack. The right analog joystick is used to evade attacks but unfortunately because it is reserved for this purpose you have no direct camera control leaving its placement in the lap of the gods.

Conan is a blood thirsty game and doesn't hold back with the severed arms, decapitations and general blood spilling and soon the level is awash with the spilt blood of your enemies. Hopefully the final release of the game is given a bit of a polish as lurking beneath the negatives and rough exterior is a game that is both playable and quite good fun.

For me, Conan is a game that I may pick up if I had no other games to play and it was found lurking in the bargain basement bin at the local gaming emporium.

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Sega Rally Demo

I tried out the Sega Rally demo last night that's now available on Xbox Live. The demo lets you try out two courses and choose between two staple rally cars, either the Subaru Impreza WRX or the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. After you've selected the course and car you have to decide on one of two setups to determine if your car is either better on tarmac or off-road segments.

As this game is more an arcade racer, compared to say something like DiRT, you will soon find yourself performing stupendous powerslides as you career sideways around corners without any concern for car damage. The handling feels more akin to something like Ridge Racer with a "hovercraft floaty" feel, although not as extreme, and is perfectly acceptable for an arcade racer which allows players of all skill levels to instantly jump into the action and have a blast.

Graphically it looks excellent. The car models all look very sharp and the courses themselves looked great. One of the first things that caught my attention were the "tracks" left in the mud by the cars themselves. Rather than just looking flat, like most other racing games, they had depth and there was a distinct rumble from the controller when driven over.

As usual there's an array of camera views to select from with the "bonnet" camera being my personal preference as I felt I had more control and could judge cornering better than if I were to use an external chase camera.

Overall this is looking like another fine addition to the Xbox 360's repertoire of top class racing games and if you prefer the more "pick up and play" approach to racing games rather than the depth of something like Forza Motorsport then this is definitely something to watch out for.

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Blazing Angels 2: Secret Weapons of WWII

I tried out the demo of Blazing Angels 2 on Wednesday. My impressions of the first game were that it was an average arcade flight-sim. It had some flaws but was something I may consider playing if I was at a very loose end. And I'm inclined to think the same about this game as-well.

The demo lets you play the single player mission "Rain of Death" which sees you flying over Germany on the Zingst Peninsula as part of the Operation Overlord offensive taking out V2 rockets as they launch. Once you've taken down enough of the rockets you're joined by your wingmen and proceed to destroy as many ground targets as possible. Finally you have to protect the incoming naval strike force as they approach the coast.

Before the mission starts you can select your aircraft from either the German "GO 229", "DO 335" or the Russian "Yak 15" and as the name suggests this game is about the more advanced fighter technology of WWII. You also have the option of upgrading your aircraft from a number of categories such as "aiming assistance" when spending Prestige points. These points are accumulated from flying missions and can be spent how you see fit.

I found the controls easy enough to handle and you have the option of using either "Arcade" or "Simulation" flight controls. Like the previous game you can order your wingmen to attack targets, defend or perform an ability which are all easily accessed via the D-pad.

From the demo I can't see that the look of the game has improved much over its predecessor, and I would say it was "functional". However, with just the one single player mission to try, which was at night and in rain, it probably wasn't the best envoy to use as a showcase.

This second installment of Blazing Angels appears to offer more of the same but with some improvements, such as the aircraft selection, upgrades and prestige points. If you liked the first game then I'm sure this will be right up your street.

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Bioshock Demo

The demo for one of this years most anticipated games, Bioshock, has been recently released on Xbox Live Marketplace. The download isn't small at 1.35GB so expect a wait if the servers are busy. The demo lets you play a small part of the beginning of the game and reveals some of the story behind the game.

It's 1960 and you find yourself in a plane crash whilst on a night flight over the mid-Atlantic. As you struggle to the ocean surface you're surrounded by a ring of fire created by the crash and see what's left of the plane slowly sinking into the murky waters below. In the distance what looks like a small island with a tall building lights up the night and is the obvious destination to swim towards.

As you climb the steps on the island you find that the door to the the building has been left ajar and with nowhere else to go you head into the dark. When you step through the door it closes behind you, light slowly illuminates the area and in the distance you hear some 50's instrumental music. The only way to go is down and as you descend a few flights of stairs you discover the source of the music comes from a bathysphere.

This is your gateway to "Rapture", a sprawling city built beneath the sea by its visionary "Andrew Ryan". Your guide to Rapture, at least for the demo, is via radio contact with a man calling himself Atlas. He introduces you to "Plasmids", which are genetic enhancements that rewrite your DNA giving you abilities. "Electrobolt" and "Incinerate" are just such plasmids and enable you to send out a bolt of 1000 volts or set a target alight. Atlas also gives you some background information about the warped citizens that now lurk around the corridors of the city.

The graphics of this game are very impressive. From the first scene where you break the surface of the ocean to the excellent object modeling and art deco styling everything is outstanding. I sometimes found that I spent time looking at the scenery rather than getting on with the task in hand. The game is also very atmospheric with some great use of music and sound effects to enhance the tension.



The controls were straight-forward enough and will be familiar enough for anyone that's played a FPS game with the left joystick used for movement and the right for looking and aiming. Triggers are used for plasmids (left) or weapons (right) whilst the bumper buttons are used for plasmid and weapon selection. This leaves other actions like reloading, jumping, interacting and healing assigned to the main buttons (X,Y,A,B).

Although this is a FPS at heart it seems to encourage you to use your environment as you see fit. For example you could hack a sentry gun or sentry bot to use as an ally rather than destroying it. Or if you spot enemies standing in water you could opt to Electrobolt the water rather than just the individual.

The demo gives you a taste of what's to come and definitely leaves you wanting more. I would highly recommend that you download and try out this game if you're a fan of FPS games, and even if you're not a fan try it anyway!

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Stranglehold Demo Impressions

Stranglehold popped onto Xbox Live yesterday. It's a meaty download at 1.3GB so be prepared for a bit of wait before you can take Inspector Tequila for a stroll.

The game is a third person shooter and has been developed in collaboration with the film director John Woo of Hong Kong action movie fame. It features Chow Yun Fat whom is reprising his role as Inspector "Tequila" Yeun from the movie Hard Boiled. Those that have seen a John Woo film should know what to expect as the game brings on non-stop action with a cinematic flare.

The demo is based in Hong Kong and the story commences via a cut scene showing the abduction of a police officer. After the police department receive a ransom call demanding that they send in a lone policeman to Kowloon Market Inspector Tequila steps forward and volunteers for the mission.

The game makes use of most controls on the Xbox 360 controller with the left joystick used for movement and crouching (when clicked) and the right joystick used for aiming. The right trigger is used to shoot whatever weapon you have while the left is used to interact with objects or to perform dives when used in combination with movement. The left bumper button is used to take cover, for example against walls or columns while the right bumper is used to activate "Tequila Time" which is a slow mo mode that lasts for a limited duration. Special moves entitled "Tequila Bombs" are activated via the d-pad and finally "X" is used to pickup weapons, "A" switch weapons and "B" is used for grenades. Although there are quite a few controls to remember the game does a good job of introducing them to you as you play through the level.

As soon as the demo begins you're thrust into the action and one of the most impressive things that you immediately notice is the amount of destruction in the game. Most of the objects in the game can be damaged in some form or other and as you take on an ever increasing number of enemies you start looking at the environment for assistance in dispatching your enemies. Any environmental objects that "Tequila" can directly interact with flash as you approach them and objects that can be shot to cause damage noticeably "glint" to draw your attention. The game rewards you for style and the more stylish a kill the more your "Tequila Bomb" gauge is filled. Thus instead of running at opponents head-on you soon find yourself diving over barriers, sliding down banisters and trying to interact with the environment.

There are four "Tequila Bombs" (special moves) accessed via the D-Pad which include a health boost, a precision aim which zooms in on the target and follows the bullet to the point of impact, a barrage attack where you unleash a massive number of bullets, and finally the spin attack which kills every enemy in the vicinity. The game also includes "stand off sequences" at set points. In these slow-mo events the camera changes to an over the shoulder view as "Tequila" is surrounded by a number of enemies and one by one you have to take them out as you dodge left or right to avoid incoming bullets. The last three "Tequila Bombs" and the "Stand-Offs" are very cinematic and enhance the overall "movie like" feel of the game.

No shooter would be complete without a selection of weapons and you start with a pair of pistols but eventually you will come across shotguns and a few hidden weapons like the golden pistols or Uzis.



The demo offers a good amount of gameplay and to start with only two difficulty levels, "Casual" and "Normal" are available. Repeated plays unlock "Hard" and "Hard Boiled" and also the last two "Tequila Bomb" moves (Barrage and Spin Attack). If you want to experience all the demo has to offer then you will most likely play through the level at least three times.

Overall I thought the graphics were great and Chow Yun Fat was easily recognisable as Inspector Tequila. Although the controls are pretty good I did find that "Tequila" has a tendency to slide over objects (which is automatic) far too easily which did annoy me on a number of occasions and an option to have this tied to a button combination may have been preferable.

If you're a fan of action games and third person shooters, and especially if you like Hong Kong action movies, then I'd recommend you check out this demo. The game is shaping up very nicely and I'm looking forward to it's release later in the year.

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Ace Combat 6 Demo Impressions

The Ace Combat 6 - Fires of Liberation demo has been around for a few weeks now and I thought I'd give it a go. It's a fairly small download at 309 MB but the demo still gives you a good dose of gameplay.

The game is a flight sim, but it is only semi-realistic and although the countries and places are fictional the aircraft in the game are based on realistic designs. The demo allows you to sample the first mission from the campaign mode entitled "Invasion of Gracemaria" and as you're scrambled from your airbase it sees you defending the skies from a hostile invasion.

The controls are fairly complex to start with and make use of most buttons on the Xbox 360 controller, but they are not too overbearing and once you've had some time with the game you will soon get the hang of it. Additionally the demo provides either "Normal" or "Novice" difficulty levels with novice providing slightly easier flight controls so you don't have to worry about yaw control.

I found while playing the demo I relied heavily on missiles rather than the aircraft cannon and luckily, as it's only semi-realistic, you get a healthy supply of ammunition which didn't come close to running out.



The game runs very smoothly with great graphics overall, and it's only when you get really low do you find that some of the ground scenery for the city (not objects such as buildings) are just textures. I thought the backing track and sound FX all suited the game and there's quite a lot of background chatter going on between pilots to add to the atmosphere. However I found I didn't really hear what was said most of the time as I was concentrating on taking out the next target.

Initially I was disappointed with the camera views on offer as I thought the default chase view was the only one available but after a some experimentation I found that you could change the views between "chase", "cockpit" or "HUD" via pressing the right joystick control.

Overall I enjoyed this taster of the game and I'll be keeping an eye on it as the release date approaches later this year.

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NASCAR 08 Demo Impressions

After my Xbox 360's absence quite a few demo's have built up and I've been busy downloading and testing a few of them out. First up was NASCAR 08.

Firstly I'll have to admit that I don't know a great deal about NASCAR as it's not that popular over here in the UK. The demo provides you with one track to race on, which is the "Daytona International Speedway" and allows you to select from one of three available driving personalities (presumably real life drivers in NASCAR).

Before a race you can choose to qualify for track position and you're given two laps to post your best time. Once you've qualified (or skipped) you can enter the race and this commences with a rolling start and lasts for a eight laps with eleven competing drivers.

The graphics are OK but didn't overly impress me and although the sound FX were fine in general when changing camera views there seems to be a transitional sound effect as the engine noise is silenced for a split second until the new view takes over. I'm not sure why the developers thought this necessary, but I found it irritating as I do tend to switch views every now and again during a race. On a positive note there's a good selection of camera views including a cockpit view which serves its purpose well.

I found that driving at speed on an oval does take skill and finesse even though in principal it sounds fairly easy, and if you're not careful you will clip the barriers or spin out on numerous occasions. Although the speedometer reported that I was travelling at high speed (over 170 mph) I never really felt a great sensation of speed. This may be due to the nature of an oval track as there aren't many objects that whizz past or corners you have to brake hard for to enhance that impression.

The demo doesn't really give you a lot of options to play with but gives a flavour of the game none the less and there are various options that are greyed out that indicate there's more to the game than the demo suggests.

Although the racing genre is among one of my favourites I'm sorry to say that NASCAR isn't really my scene and the demo didn't impress me enough to tempt me into trying out the full retail version.

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Project Sylpheed Demo Impressions

Project Slypheed is a sci-fi space combat shooter and is now available for your perusal from Xbox Live Marketplace and is just 613MB to download.

The demo allows you to try out the extensive tutorials along with an actual combat mission, in which you have to escort and defend a number of cargo vessels for 15 minutes as they try to reach "Vonnegut Base"

Before jumping into combat I'd recommend that you try out the tutorials first as each one introduces you to the nuances of your ships controls from basic handling, weapons, and wingmen to more advanced maneuvers.

You have to read the briefing before you're allowed to take off and start the main mission, but after this you can research and customise your ships weapony. Once into the mission things quickly hot up as you're thrust into the defence of the cargo ships with multiple enemy targets including fighters and capital ships to contend with.

I usually like space combat shooters / simulators and initially had high hopes for this game. I enjoyed the tutorials but unfortunately once the main mission started I just couldn't quite get into it. I think the main reason for this are the engine trails left by friendly and enemy fighters. Once there are multiple enemies on screen at once, all hurtling around you, it all becomes a little too confusing for my tastes. Aesthetically the trails look quite nice, but to me they're just a visual impairment.

The production values seem to be quite high and there's a good CG intro movie which hints at elements from the main story. Graphically it's quite hard to appreciate this game. Although capital ships and backdrops look good, enemy fighters don't hang around long enough for you to get a good look at them and you'll spend a lot of time chasing a targetting recticle.

Part of me really wants to like this game, I think I'm longing to play a space combat shooter and I'll therefore reserve judgement until the final game is released. If you've played the demo let me know what you thought.

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Overlord Demo Impressions

Overlord is a fantasy action RPG in the third person perspective but instead of taking on the role of a traditional hero you are instead cast as an evil overlord and it's your job to bring the realm back under evil dominion. A 892MB demo of the game is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace.

As the demo begins you are awakened by your evil minions and discover that your predecessor has been killed and your tower has been plundered and wrecked. With the help of your right hand minion master "Gnarl" you're taken through a series of tutorials on summoning minions, basic combat and minion control as your unfortunate court jester takes a pummeling.

After the tutorials you're allowed to try out the first few tasks of the game that include recovering the "Tower Heart" which is the source of power for your evil tower and teaching halflings a lesson or two as you "rescue" some villages.

Not only do you get control of the "overlord" but you have the ability to summon minions to help you wreak havoc. The minions can be targeted at objects or creatures or you can take direct control of them using the right analog stick to "sweep" them to an area. Minion control looks to be a fundamental aspect of the game as not only will you need them to fight for you but also to move obstacles standing in your way.

Overlord is set in a cliched fantasy universe, with bright colours, bouncing sheep, bubbling brooks and ugly pitchfork wielding farmers. This is not a negative, the cliches are here as intended by the developers. This game does not take itself too serious as there are a number of humorous moments throughout the demo, from the dialog with the court jester to finding out that my minions like to wear pumpkins on their heads. I think it's important that this game does not take itself too seriously as I'm sure if this game was delivered in the wrong way then it may be unpalatable to some gamers.

The controls worked well although minion control uses the right joystick which can take a bit of getting used to as a majority of games reserve this for direct camera control. Instead you have to remember to hold down the left bumper button if you wish to move the camera.

The graphics are excellent with nicely animated character models and good textures. The look of the game reminds me in some ways of Fable, which is no bad thing, but a similar negative for both games is that invisible walls are employed to keep you on track. The sound also deserves a mention with good sound effects and backing music all fitting in well with the environment. The minions are especially good as they gleefully go about there tasks.

I really enjoyed this demo and I'm intrigued to see how the "minion" mechanics evolve for the final game. In the demo you only get to control one minion type but the game hints that different types will be available. The game is looking to bring some new mechanics to the action RPG genre and I can't wait to give the full game a go.

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Tenchu Z Demo Impressions

The "Tenchu Z" demo was made available last Thursday on Xbox Live Marketplace as a 642MB download but I've only just got around to trying it out.

Tenchu has been around for a fairly long time now and this demo gives you the opportunity to play a "Harbour Town" level from the latest instalment in the series. Your mission is to find out what goods a trader is importing but before you can start you have to choose your characters gender, face and costume from a number of different options. I have to admit that I found a few of the face types to be quite hideous, especially some of the female ones which didn't look right to me. Once you've decided upon the look of your character you can distribute various ability points between "Vitality", "Strength", and "Agility".

It's up-to you how you get to the ship where the trader is located, and there's plenty of rooftops to clamber onto so you can avoid the numerous guards that roam the streets if you don't fancy a direct confrontation. Your character is armed with a sword but your most efficient means of dispatching enemies is from behind while they are unawares. This allows you to take them out in one hit rather than a prolonged sword fight, but you could knock them unconscious if you prefer. To help you in your mission you have a number of items, such as shuriken, which are accessed via the d-pad. The demo really doesn't give you any information about them so your only means of determining what they are is by using them.

The enemy AI isn't the best in the world as each guard has a predetermined patrol route which won't change unless your detected. I also found that guards seem to have a limited range of vision and although you may be directly in front of a guard and in plain site you won't be detected unless you get too close.

I found the controls fairly frustrating, causing me to drop off a rooftop or miss-time a jump at the most inconvenient of times and they felt like they were lifted from one of the games predecessors. The graphics are not great with character models lacking detail and the town lacking atmosphere, for a harbour town there was a distinct lack of civilians. The in-game graphics engine is also used in cut scenes which is not unusual these days, but the facial models do not animate along with dialog. This was forgivable for PlayStation (one) title but not something I'd expect to see in an Xbox 360 game.

Despite all these flaws I quite enjoyed the demo but in its present state it's not something I'd think about buying. The game does not look like it's going to push any boundaries but I'm sure it will have its own set of fans.

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Hour of Victory Demo Impressions

The Hour of Victory demo is now available from Xbox Live Marketplace at 938MB. I wasn't aware that this demo was available until I read Jigsaw hc's Demo Review yesterday as it seems to have appeared without much aplomb. To be honest I can see why, as on the whole it's not a game that I'll be eagerly looking forward to playing again.

You may or may not be able to guess from the title that this is yet another WWII first person shooter. These days you really have to offer something new to stand out from the crowd in this overcrowded genre. So what does this game offer us? Well, in the demo you can choose your character from one of three on offer with different skills. There's the British SAS commando "Ross" with strength and endurance, a US ranger "Bull" a trained sniper with a grappling hook to climb to higher vantage points, and finally there's the covert operative "Taggert" whom can pick locks and cut fences. Depending on the chosen character you should be able to take different routes through the level. However, I'm going to have to take the word of the press on this as to be honest I didn't have the tenacity to try out each class.

The demo does not impress at all, the graphics are very humdrum and lacking detail and decent character animation. To compound problems the default controls felt lethargic until the sensitivity was upped at the expense of precision aiming as the shooting reticle jerked about the screen. Whereas games such as "Call of Duty" add a great deal of atmosphere to the gameplay, Hour of Victory is lacking in this department. I didn't feel like I was in a life and death situation at all, I was just going through the motions of moving from one objective to another without really needing to take cover. In the end it just isn't very exciting.

Granted this is a demo of a game and as such it is work in progress but this demo does nothing to help its cause. In some respects it would have been better to not release this as it doesn't compare well against its rivals. Unless this game changes drastically then it is one I will be avoiding.

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DiRT Demo Impressions

The 769MB DiRT demo was made available on the 24th May on Xbox Live Marketplace. Thanks to the new low power download settings of the dashboard I was able to download this overnight as it was going at a snails pace yesterday.

I wasn't really aware of this game before the demo, and I was pleasantly surprised with how the games shaping up.

Colin Mcrae DiRT (to use its full name) is all about off-road racing, as you'd expect if you've heard the name "Colin Mcrae" before as it's synonymous with a number of rally games over the years.

The demo offers you three different cars (Subaru Impreza, Misubishi Evo IX and Ickler Jimco Buggy) but each one is linked directly to a track, so unfortunately you can't try out each car on each track. The tracks on offer vary quite a bit from a tarmac based rally special stage using the Subaru, a long hill climb on gravel using the Mitsubishi and finally a mud based circuit using the Ickler buggy.

Two difficulty levels are available: "Rookie" and "Amateur", with the damage and the opposition skill increasing for the latter of the two. For each race you can also get additional track information including a verbal rundown from your co-driver if desired.

Overall I was impressed with this demo, the graphics are excellent and you're offered a good variety of camera angles including two in-car views. Both the Subaru and Impreza handled pretty well, but it took some time to get used to the Ickler on the mud track. Damage looks like it will have an impact in the game. The cars get nicely deformed from each knock, and handling does deteriorate. However with the difficulty levels available in the demo your car can take a significant amount of damage and you can still make the finish line.

I'm pleased I played the demo as it has now brought the game to my attention. I'm not sure of the exact release date, but hopefully it won't clash too much with the Forza: Motorsport release date on 8th June.

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Blacksite: Area 51 Demo

The Blacksite: Area 51 demo is available on XBox Live Marketplace as a 584MB download. I've played through the demo a few times so lets get straight down to what's on offer.

It's night and you're in the middle of a thunderstorm. Rain bounces off the environment and you hear from the chatter between your team mates that you're here to locate another team that was lost a number of hours before. You take the lead and a communication box at the top of your HUD kindly tells you that you can command your two team members using the right bumper button. The command button is action sensitive, and working your way around the environment you soon find a door that your team mates kindly blow open once you issue the command.

When you get into the building the action starts aplenty as you see a large bipedal alien life-form attacking a civilian in a car. Of course you'd like to help him out but there's plenty of enemies that need to be taken care of first as your thrust into a firefight. Your team do a fairly good job of helping you out which gives you time to notice some destructible items in the environment.

Onto the next area and firstly you have to deal with some aliens that reminded me of "Starship troopers" as they scuttle up close and personal to take you out. As long as you keep your distance they won't give you any trouble and after you've finished them off you're ordered to carry on the search. At this point the game looks to get a lot more interesting as a large worm like alien impacts into the liquor store. You're treated to a nice matrix style slow mo as cars fly past from the impact and just as you're getting ready for a big ruckus that's when the demo ends.

The demo is a tight on rails affair with not much chance for exploration, and unfortunately it's all over far too quickly. The graphics are good, with some nicely detailed models using the Unreal 3 engine. However I did experience a bit of slowdown during the first firefight but hopefully this will be ironed out for the final release. The game is looking interesting, and offers a nice atmosphere, but at this stage I'm not sure what unique elements it's going to offer in the highly contested FPS arena. The game is due for release towards the end of the summer, and I'll be keeping an eye on its development.

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Forza 2: Motorsport Demo Impressions

The Forza 2: Motorsport demo is now available as a sizable 691MB download from XBox Live Marketplace.

The games starts off very smoothly with a camera panning enticingly over some detailed car models to the sound of a high beat music track. It all looks very nice at this point, but it's how the game plays that matters.

Once into the meat and potato of the demo you're presented with three car classes to choose from: "C Class" containing production sports cars with makes from Ford, Mazda, and the like, "A Class" with high performance sports cars such as "Ferrari" and "Porsche" and the final class "R2", which has purpose built race cars.

After you've chosen your class its next onto the car selection. There's a multitude of cars to choose from (8 for each class) and you can rotate, pan and zoom the camera to get a better look at a vehicle. There's also a variety of colours for each car you can choose from. In the upper right area of the selection screen you're shown a diagram indicating the drive type (e.g. 4 wheel) and the the engine position. Common stats such as speed, acceleration, and handling are also displayed to help you choose the perfect ride.

Once you've decided upon your vehicle there's a number of various "assists" which you can be tweaked such as "suggested line" and "traction". I especially like the "suggested line" assist which when set to full shows the best racing and braking zones, which is perfect for novices learning the game.

Unfortunately there's only track available in the demo, but with numerous cars to choose from it gives a bit of variety. I tried a couple of cars from each class and I was happy to find that they all handled differently. I was fairly underwhelmed with the one track that's available, although the graphics and detailing are nice there was nothing that jumped out at me as PGR3 did all those months back. There are a number of camera views available to choose from; the obligatory bumper and rear to a nice bonnet view. However, I was disappointed to find that there was no in-car view and the rear view mirror is only available when using the bumper cam.

The handling of the cars felt good and far more realistic than say something like Ridge Racer or Test Drive. Although I doubt its a full simulation it feels like a happy medium has been reached.

One plus I liked was the car damage. When viewing the replay it was great to see my car taking a few knocks and this kind of detail increases the level of immersion for a game. I'm not sure how much this effects the car physics directly, but it's nice to see developers going to the trouble and car manufacturers actually allowing damage to their precious car licenses.

I'm fairly happy with the demo, in the end it has to be remembered that this is just a taster of what the finished game promises to offer. I'm still optimistically looking forward to the game and getting a better impression when it is released on June 8th.

F430 clip on Youtube

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