Sunday, August 30, 2009

PSN Demo Showcase for 8/30/09

The Playstation Store last week had four demos out for download, which are NHL 10, DIRT 2, WET, and F.E.A.R. 2 Reborn. I decided to get three of those four as I'm not that much of a hockey fan, but from what I read, it looks like it will be pretty good.



First off is DIRT 2 and Codemasters have been doing a good job this console generation delivering on good racing games such as DIRT and GRID. DIRT 2 looks like a typical sequel with more content added including more variety of races and online multiplayer. The demo has two races playable (both online) as one features buggys and the other is a rally point-to-point race. If you are used to the Codemasters' racing games, you will feel right at home with its controls. As for me, it took a little while to get used to the game's physics and handling of cars, but eventually I got better at it somewhat. Top names in the rally scene are featured in this game such as Ken Block and Travis Pastrana as you race against the best at various locales. The random chit-chatter by these guys can get a little annoying while racing as well. Online multiplayer with I think up to eight players does indeed work, but of course experiences may vary if players wanna play dirty. DIRT 2 is out in a couple of weeks and looks like it will be another solid racer out there to buy.



WET is some long awaited game that looked like it is never coming out, but it is also out in a couple of weeks. I call this game the female Stranglehold as it is that game, but you play as a chick instead which is Rubi, voiced by Dollhouse's Eliza Dushku. WET as a whole is a pretty edgy third-person action game with a weird graphical style that looks pretty ugly, but very Tarantino-like. As Rubi, you abuse her slow-mo abilities with her twin pistols and sword to take out random thugs. As with games like this, they like a cool first impression, but eventually you get that feeling that it will get pretty repetitive with the full game, which was the case with John Woo's Stranglehold. You definitely feel like a female Max Payne running around going all matrix on the opposition as it is mindless fun, but something not fun for like ten hours. Rubi also has a berserk mode when her face gets all red to go nuts against enemies in the second scene you play during the demo. The last scene is a context-sensitive highway chase scene as you jump car from car to take out the guy that jacked your bag. Unfortunately, while this scene seems cool on paper, the context-sensitive controls seem a bit off especially with the timing as I had a hard time knowing when to press at the right time. Maybe I just suck, but yeah whatever. Eliza Dushku's voicework in WET seems somewhat forced as if she is trying too hard to make Rubi edgy as cursing constantly is not the solution. WET is just another game in the vein of Max Payne clones that do not get it right just by playing the demo. It is definitely worth a rental if you like playing as badass chicks, but definitely not worth 50 dollars.



Finally, there is a demo for the F.E.A.R. 2 Project Origin downloadable expansion called Reborn as you play as Foxtrot 813, who goes rogue to help some guy get reborn (not sure, didn't play Project Origin). It is basically more F.E.A.R. 2, so if you enjoyed that first person shooter, which is actually a decent one, Reborn is worth the purchase. I have nothing else to say about this one as it is a FPS, so you have guns, slowmo, and you shoot them at enemies.



That's it for this week's PSN Demo showcase. Now that I got Batman: Arkham Asylum over with (100% the campaign and don't feel like playing it again other than the challenge mode), its time for me to go back to Street Fighter IV to prepare myself for West Coast Warzone next weekend, which will be amazing and I can't wait. Let's just hope I don't go 2 and out again, but I just want to have a great time hanging out with the SoCal SF scene as always.

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