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…
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The Bird Nest 