Crackdown 2 Demo Impressions

Based on the demo alone Crackdown 2 feels a lot like the first iteration - that is, it feels right. It feels good to be cleaning up the streets of Pacific City once again but for some reason, mutants now come out at night. I imagine that the final game will lend us an answer to these mutants but damn if there aren't a lot of them.

The game is almost identical to the first game. The looks are mostly the same and the same thing can be said for the controls. I know that based on these two things alone, I am ready to jump back in.

My first three times through the demo I earned none of the achievements that the game had to offer and I also did not complete the last part of the mission on any of my playthroughs. I might knock the difficulty down to easy just to see what is after the end of the mission. Some of the achievements that they give you to work on seem impossible in the realm of the demo but I am certain that there are those out there who had no problem doing it.

It seems to be the the Cell are the new daytime baddies and the mutants whom only come out at night are better fought with better caliber weapons (or fists).

The bottom line is that if you liked Crackdown you'll love Crackdown 2.

Split/Second Demo Impressions

Split/Second is still a game I have mixed feelings on. I had the opportunity to check out the demo and I played through the solitary race (the only one included in the demo) 4 or 5 times in a row. Based on the demo and my previous hands-on time with the game I feel like I am not seeing a large enough sample of this game (perhaps the much touted Survival mode would sell me?) - at the very least, not enough to merit a purchase. This game will be a word of mouth purchase if it ends up purchased at all.

Alas, I am jumping to my own conclusions too soon; at the very least these demo impressions will be a comparison (hopefully a stark one) to my previous hands-on time.

To start I will say that the same events, both large and small, still feel copy and pasted though I did get to experience two course alterations whereas previously I had only noticed one major one per track. One of the course alterations was a large tower falling and thus changing the course of the race but it felt extraordinarily reminiscent of the Space Needle falling on the track (and from other trailers there look to be a lot of falling tall structures).

In my five races I only lost once, and just barely, and I found that I was just trying to get a better time (my best being '4"24). I experienced every event that this track had to offer and by the end (except for trying to get a better time) I was tiring of the sameness. I even had earning Power Play juice down to an exact science.

I also noticed this time around different Power Play levels (1 & 2). The first are simple things such as blowing up a parked car as an opponent drives by and having explosive barrels dropped from helicopters. Level 2 Power Plays require the full PP Meter (course alterations require this as well) but with good reason - buildings blow up and can take out upwards of 5 opponents at a time. It is fun a few times but perhaps it would be more satisfying if I were playing this demo online.

The major thing that I noticed that was a stark comparison from my hands-on time with the game was that there seems to be little or no slowdown at all (one of my previous major worries).

I may be one of this games only critics but Split/Second is still on my list of wait-and-see games. Perhaps I should check out this Blur Multiplayer Beta I have been hearing a lot about.

Brutal Legend Demo Impressions

Before I booted up the Brutal Legend Demo, I was worried that I might not like the game as much as I liked Psychonauts (or as much as I wanted to). I was worried that it could not be as funny (but let's be honest here Jack Black misses the mark about half of the time) as Psychonauts and that I would be ultimately disappointed.

I am here to let you know that this is not the case. The demo (and likely game) is more witty and clever than I had originally anticipated and having had a taste I officially do not want to wait any longer.

Not only is the dialogue funny but the game's design (classic Tim Schafer) is funny from the get go when the game's design subverts what is going on and asks you if you would like to hear curses or bleeps or if you want to see blood or not (and of course I will not spoil for you how it asks you this (or which ones I chose)).

My only concern is that I noticed that the game throws a lot of weapons and combos at you from the very beginning. It gives you one weapon, and then another, and then a combo - and another. If the same pace continues throughout the games entirety the control system is likely to become convoluted (granted this is only a small sample). I would not even be sure if I was completing the game in the correct fashion. Too much to think about when playing might take away from where the game really shines.

At the end of the day we all knew that I was going to pick up this game regardless so my opinion might not hold much weight for the general skeptic. 

On Rocktober 13th you know where to find me.