3-5: 4 Demo Impressions

Nothing like spreading things out over the 52 weeks of the year as there were four new demos waiting for download on Live this morning. Gamers got a nice sneak preview of not one but two Vin Diesel vehicles in The Wheelman and one of my most anticipated games of 2009, Chronicles of Riddick: Assualt on Dark Athena. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania also came out with a surprisingly good demo and Wanted: Weapons of Fate also saw release.

I spent about 20 minutes to a half hour with each and because this is the internet I believe my opinion matters and that other people desire to hear it.

WWE Legends of Wrestlemania



Probably the most surprising of the demos. I'm a huge wrestling fan, although I go through weird cycles of attention. Over the past couple years my on-again, off-again affair with wrestling seems to be more off than on and I can only stomach a couple months at a time before needing a break. I only buy Wrestlemania now (instead of the 'big four' I was buying a few years ago) and this is down from once buying each and every WCW and WWF PPV event in the calender year.

But I've always kind of had a hate-relationship with wrestling video games. Outside of the Fire Pro series there just was never enough there to keep me statisfied. Yeah we played the hell out of WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF No Mercy was good enough to throw parties to play but the Smackdown series has just been horrible in my eyes. I'd play them for a few hours and either get bored or have to go to the optomitrist as the first three were wretched eye sores.

Some how Legends of Wrestling (of which there are three games in the series) actually wound up capturing my gamer attention, after all it had Mil Mascaras, Man of a Thousand Masks and the wrestler I could beat anyone with. The games weren't particularly amazing in quality but we put several sessions into the games nonetheless. After a small hiatus apparently its now WWE Legends of Wrestlemania. The license somewhat limits it in terms of roster and that one of the appeals to LoW, the insane amount of wrestlers at your disposal not under WWE contract. Flying Brian Pillman for shit's sake. Rick Rude. That alone made it awesome.

But for what it loses in roster it does make up for in presentation and official music. I wish I knew more about the match types and how multiplayer works but so far impressive and the game has moved up my board into potential buy realm. Even with just two available matches I had a lot of fun.

Relive mode appears to be where it's at as you get to relive some of the greatest matches in Wrestlemania history (well other than Macho v Steamboat WM3, probably the greatest match in the history of the event) and there seems to be a sort of 'scorecard' where you have to meet objectives for that match, do things that actually happened in the real match. Sometimes you'll even be asked to take the job and lose to get the points. It's piqued my interest and hopefully someone has a list of matches before it hits retail.

+ Excellent presentation
+ Official WWE theme music
+ Commentary by JR and The King is hilarous
+ Build-up videos to sort of set the context for the 'Relive' Wrestlemania matches
+ Controls seem fairly easy enough
+ Relive mode sounds interesting
- Glaring omissions on the roster. No Macho? No Dragon?
- Time Action events. Thanks, Shenmue.....
- Wrestlers look so good they almost look strange in movement
? Multiplayer
? Variety in matches

WANTED: WEAPONS OF FATE



So much for getting the video game out to tie-in with the movie. For a product all about super-accurate marksmen they've missed that mark twice with the theatrical release and the DVD/BR release. Maybe they're aiming for the USA Network release? Starz? Here was to hoping that it meant they were trying their best to make a good game.

I spent by far the least amount of time with this demo than any of the others. The opening didn't grab me and for some reason there was no chance to look at the control scheme so I didn't really exactly know which button did what or what any of the on-screen HUD meant. The obvious stuff yes, but the two bullets up in the corner? Not a clue.

If I had adjusted my brightness I guess it may have been better but game looked too dark (yes, again I know stealth is an element but I should still at least be able to see something) and the coolest part, maybe the only cool part of the movie was the bending of the bullets, which I couldn't figure out at all. If that's really the only thing you have going for you, cool bendy bullets, give me that shit right off the bat. But I didn't get cool bendy bullets right away and I got discouraged. Call it adult ADHD, cal it whatever. I call it boring. With so many games coming out in 2009 and competing against three other demos (and the Halo Wars demo I still haven't played) you needed to come out the gate swinging. And didn't. I'll probably still rent it and see how it is knowing what I can do.

+ I'm sure cool bendy bullets are there some where
- But I didn't find them
- No choice to change control scheme
- No bendy bullets to be found
- Didn't hook me at all
- Based off a movie that wasn't that good and tried to be edgy to only cover up for being piss poor

WHEELMAN



I have a secret to admit to. I'm secretly in love with Vin Diesel and pray that there's an alternate reality somewhere in the fabric of space-time where he's won an Oscar. And there's like 20 Riddick movies and the release of Pitch Black was a culture changing event. And Babylon AD led to world peace....ok that last one is stretching it a bit but maybe The Pacifier did the trick instead. Either way, he's kind of a guilty pleasure of mine. God, he's so horrible but so good at the same time.

I'm looking forward to Wheelman the movie, but the game....maybe not as much. I ended the demo right after I completed the first mission and there's some things to like and some things where you just shake your head and you know this game might be on the boring side. But hey, its built around car chases and car chases are awesome, even the bad ones. Combine them with Vin and I'm sold. Fast cars and Vin Diesel has it failed before?

Not really much to say other than you're the Wheelman for a woman that's robbed a bank in Barcalona and you have to escape from the cops, ditch your car, find a new car, escape from a rival gang and shoot people while driving. But only bad guys. Can't shoot civilians , cops or anything, wrong game. Just other gang members.

There's no dialog from Vin during the game until the cutscene you're rewarded with upon completing the first mission. And OMG I HEART THE CHEESY VIN-TASTIC DIALOG!!! HE TRUELY IS AN ARTIST IN SUCH THINGS!

"You know where to find me - behind the wheel."

Get it? He's the Wheelman. Get it? Get it? Fuck yeah. I feel so flithy for marking out over that shit.

There's a few 'cinematic' moments during driving like when you crash through shit or go over the ramp where I'm thinking it might be best to get this on the PS3. I think there's going to be a lot of eye candy appeal and right now I only have the PS3 on HDMI.

Apparently the game will feature an open world and side-missions. I'm not entirely against the sandbox format but it almost makes me groan. I'm sure others the words 'sandbox' makes them whet in various places.

+ Vin Diesel
+ Cheesy dialog
+ Game + Movie = a new franchise
+ Shooting people on motorcycles
+ Car chases
+ Looks good, probably more so in HDMI
- No Vin oneliners while driving
- Has the potential to be maybe a bit boring in gameplay
? How the sandbox format will work out

CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: DARK ATHENA



Do we need to go over how awesome Riddick and Vin Diesel are again? I think we do. Vin Diesel is the man Superman, Paul Buynun and Chuck Norris look up to. He is the original Bill Brasky and he created the Earth in just two days. Then wrote Strays and Multi-Facial with the other five.

Escape from Butcher Bay proved two things to the X-Box crowd in 2004. Of course all things featuring Vin Diesel (besides Babylon AD) are amazing, and that someone could make a great video game based on a movie. Thanks mostly belongs to Vin but Starbreeze Studios I guess deserves some credit.

Assualt on Dark Athena is the sequel to said game but it also features the first game, completely redone in HD graphics and alongside the new Dark Athena campaigns. So even if the Dark Athena campaigns suck you still have Butcher Bay which was, even without Vin, completly fun to play. I would tell you to go find Butcher Bay and see for yourself but now I can tell you just buy this and you'll get both for the price of one.

+ Vin Diesel
+ Features the original game redone
+ Essentially two games for the price of one
+ Knife to the muthafuckin' skull
+ You can buy it twice. Once for the 360. Once for the PS3.


So what did everyone think of the demos? Which was your favorite and which demo maybe conveinced you to give its game a look upon release? Likewise, did any of the demos turn you off on something you thought you may have bought?