Top 5 XBOX 360 Demos

Bad Company is a great game. It got excellent review the minute magazines and websites got a look at it and users went berserk on forums singing it praises. The demo is equally as good. Upon downloading the demos I was immediately greeted by a cut-scene with funky music introducing me to Bad Company – the guys you follow for the course of the game.

The first mission gives you a good feel of the games features including great (and realistic) vehicles, combat system and those extra ad-ons such as your dumb-wit fellow soldiers. The scenery and environment is stunning not to mention almost fully destructible. I didn’t really notice this until I let an RPG fly into a house only to notice two walls explode onto the street – great for a demo!

Hitman: Blood Money is a little more restricting than Bad Company, but none he less a good demo. We’re introduced to our bald assassin upon entering the demo. You get a good feel for what the game will be like thanks to a telling cut-scene and a feel for the game play.

The weapon system is good (couldn’t get any better for the game, surely!). We’re shown a few basic assassin tools and how we’re to use them. The environment is good too especially for a demo where I was expecting unfinished scenery and plenty of faults. Worth a quick look.

If you’re a Moto enthusiast then this one is for you. You can race on one track against a back of leather-bound fellow riders. Everything is what you’d expect in this game. You basically fly around on a super bike trying to get ahead (harder said than done). I spent the first few laps siding around on my backside but once I decided to stop doing wheelies and put the annoying music behind me I was doing alright.

The graphics and game-play are good but steering can get a bit annoying (maybe it’s just what motorbikes steer like?). It’s worth an hour of your time and by then you’ll have made your decision whether or not you want to buy the real game or not.

Blazing angels – a WWII fighter game. Sure, another one of these things right? Haven’t we already had our fill with titles such as Secret Weapons Over Normandy? I thought so too until I had a go. First things first – the graphics. They’re stunning. As you zoom upwards then spiral downwards with flames roaring from your left engine as enemy tracer rounds fly over the cockpit, you’ll be dazzled by the scenery below of green fields and detailed cityscape.

The controls can be a bit tricky to get used to due to the whole flying thing but you will after the initial learning curve. The combat is pretty good to (for a demo). I loved shooting upwards then coming down with throttle at zero, taking out enemy planes from distance. Churchill would be proud of this little gem.

‘Cars’ was a great film. Goof for family laughs and even better to keep the kids busy. They have now released a demo that you can download on the XBOX Marketplace. It fun – for a while. I let my cousin have a go and the quick turn ended up being a two year gaming session for her. She loved it.

The graphics and game play are brutal. The cars slide more than figure skaters and the missions/levels are boring as hell. But who cares? Your six years old and your a shiny red talking car.

Worth a look if you have kids around.