Series of Demo Impressions

Over the weekend I was fairly bored with the games in my possession so I downloaded a couple of demos with the hopes of picking a new game to purchase. XBL Marketplace has added a bunch of new content since Resident Evil 5 and Halo Wars came out and it was time to get my hands dirty with them. Now, none of these came carry the same hype as RE5 or Halo Wars, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have great potential. I was pleasantly surprised with some, disappointed with others, and after a few hours of demos, nothing really stood out as a must-buy. However, Monsters Vs. Aliens, MLB 2k9, Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X., Afro Samurai, and NHL 3 on 3 Arcade offered varying game experiences that could appeal to any number of gamers.

Afro Samurai

This bad boy is one stunning game. And it’s a cartoon. But it’s a gorgeous cartoon. Somewhere in the past decade, developers have realized that you can make a visually incredible game without rending real world graphics or realistic physics. That if you immerse the gamer in what is essentially a super slick Anime title, and you make it look good, they won’t care that it’s a playable comic book.

The game itself reeks of Ninja Gaiden, but the controls and camera were easy to negotiate and the game play itself was just complicated enough to want to try more techniques. The best feature was the “slow down time and kill all the bad guys” button. Basically, press LB and the color goes to black and white, the enemies slow down to a crawl, and your damage is multiplied. Remember bullet time in Max Payne? Same idea, only with swords and black Ninjas. I had a lot of fun with this, and very well might make the leap into full game status in the near future.

The rest of the demos are after the jump…

MLB 2k9

In the world of Sports Gaming, Baseball has always been pretty hit or miss. There have been some awesome options over the years, with MVP Baseball 2004 being my personal favorite. But in this generation, MLB The Show for PS3 has been light years ahead of the comparable 2K Sports titles. MLB 2k8 was frustratingly hard, introducing a new pitching mechanic that had such a high learning curve it turned many would-be baseball fans off the game. Instead of button choice dictating what kind of pitch was thrown, this game made gamers vary their right stick movements to determine the pitch selection. Get the rotation wrong and the meatball that you produced would rival some of Tim Wakefield’s better fastballs.

In this year’s installment, it seems that the developers have given some leeway to the pitching. Now even the more complicated pitch selections, like the 12-6 curveball, were easy enough to pull off. Now that it’s not the hair-pulling experience of last year, the game is actually a wonderful surprise. Everything else was top-notch. The graphics and in-game animations were superb, from the catcher moving his glove to the optimum pitch placement to the on deck routines, MLB 2k9 looks and feels like a next-gen baseball title should. I reserve judgment of the other game modes to when I get my hands on the full thing, but for now this is a definite improvement from last years edition.

Monsters Vs. Aliens

This one is an enigma to me. Definitely felt like a child’s game (it is one after all,) but had some pretty difficult elements to it. I didn’t spend too much time with it, which might be a more telling review then my overall impressions, but the experience itself was fairly entertaining. Different characters led to different demo levels; some were more fun the others. I’ll have to admit, the blob’s level was super boring. Mostly puzzle solving and throwing blocks, the demo didn’t leave me with any lasting feelings. The other level I tried was a straight Sonic homage (or rip off, depending on how you feel about it.) The character rollerbladed and sped its way into 5 minutes of entertainment, but mostly the game was shallow and uninteresting.

Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X.

This one was the most infuriating of all the demos. While a dog fighting flying game is an untapped market, the controls and execution left a lot to be desired. Maybe I’m nostalgic for Tie Fighter, but every flying game seems banal and simplistic nowadays. Even in the “advanced controls” it didn’t seem like there was any challenge other then “line up the enemy in my sight, slow down when in range, and launch as many bullets as possible until enemy is dead.” There were no Star Fox-esque barrel rolls or U-turns or any other advanced maneuvers that I can’t relate to a N64 game.

What really lost it for me was the camera. I didn’t understand why, but the game would not let me switch cameras back to in the cockpit. I was forced to play this game from a movie directors standpoint, watching my plane fly in circles but without any real sense of where it was aiming. Try zeroing in on a bogie without being able to tell what’s directly in front of your plane. It’s hard. And in this case, not fun at all.

NHL 3 on 3 Arcade

Did you ever play Wayne Gretzky’s Hockey on N64? What about NBA Jam for SNES/SEGA? Maybe Blitz or NHL Hitz will ring a few bells. If you’ve played any of those, then you will surely recognize the concept. Condense our simulation into a 3v3 party mode that will be fun for casuals and hardcores alike! Um, ok. So this game is actually not that fun.

The demo, that is. I should reserve judgment until I play the whole game, but this is my blog so I will judge if I damned well please. And this was pretty boring. I’m certainly the wrong audience, and if you read my NHL 09 piece you’ll know how great I think that game is. But this is just a cheap knock off trying to cash in on casual levels of entertainment. The game isn’t quirky, like Wayne Gretzky (like when the goalie would turn into a literal brick wall) or compulsively addicting like NBA Jam. Nope, the game is a watered down version of NHL 09 with giant heads and stupider goalies. I’ll admit that scoring a goal is much easier and could lead to some pretty competitive battles with your 10 year old niece, but as a stand-alone title, even from the Arcade, it’s not worth the money. Sure it would be fun if it was included in NHL 09 as a party mode. But to spend hard earned MS points on it? I’ll pass.