The Benny (Macho)

One of the great things about this current generation is the availability of console demos, taking access to them away from the overpriced (and generally biased) official magazines. It costs nothing to download them from Live or the PSN and setting up the connection is relatively simple, so I figured it could prove a decent source of discussion here, with people sharing their opinions of a game and maybe encouraging others to give it a try. So let's see how it goes.

(I don't have a PS3 so any multi-platform games will be from the 360 version, but generally they cover the same things.)

• Crash of the Titans (Xbox 360)
  
  I'd decided to completely ignore this on account of Crash games not really being up to much since Naughty Dog left the series, but then Gabe on Penny Arcade happened to mention being surprised by it so I figured it might be worth a look.
  
  My first reaction upon starting the demo up was that it didn't really have much in common with 'classic' Crash - no 2D/3D segments, boxes, wumpa fruit, animal enemies and the like - but it controls well enough and the possession idea is quite interesting and executed in a very simple manner. What bumps it up several notches is the drop-in drop-out co-op mode. My nephew (he's six) and I had both played it through separately and found it reasonably enjoyable, but together we had a blast. As long as the game can scrounge up a few above average reviews (about the 7/10 or 70% mark) it will be a guaranteed purchase.
  |
• The Simpsons Game (Xbox 360)
  
  As with Crash, Simpsons titles aren't often worth bothering with. The developers of this one are doing their best to make a decent offering, placing the characters inside a video game and filling it with in-jokes and pointing out clichés of various genres (jump in the water in the demo and Comic Book Guy grants you a Cliché award, pointing out that characters never learn to swim until the sequel).
  
  The demo has Homer and Bart (who can be switched between at all times) trying to stop the Lard Lad mascot, brought to life by the aliens Kang and Kodos and let loose on Springfield. Homer is able to inflate to ridiculous proportions and roll around, while Bart has ranged attacks and a grappling hook. Oddly, Homer is next to useless for the task of defeating Lard Lad, making the level an odd choice for showing off the ability to take advantage of the strengths of multiple characters. The actual process of bringing down Lard Lad can prove quite tricky, requiring careful positioning and good timing.
  
  The controls aren't perfect but more than adequate for what they need to do, while the camera occasionally suffers when near buildings, with a few points in the demo where it mildly hinders progress. Nothing major, but it could perhaps prove frustrating on trickier levels. As with Crash though, the drop-in co-op option very much interests me and could see it getting a purchase with a few okay reviews.
  |
• Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360)
  
  I hadn't actually paid much attention to previews regarding this so had no idea what to expect, but apparently it's a team-based horror FPS. The intro runs through all seven members of Jericho Squad you'll control in the game and was a little overwhelming at first, with more information on their abilities and powers than I was able to commit to memory. However, the demo only puts you in charge of three (who I mentally dubbed Sword Ninja, Sniper Girl and Minigun Man). I don't know if the full game puts you in charge of the whole bunch at any point but that would be quite daunting.
  
  It all seems fairly well put together, operating with the standard 360 FPS controls. The team dynamic is a little different to something like Gears of War or Rainbow Six Vegas in that you can switch control between team members at any point, depending on where you feel your efforts are most needed. I didn't come across any enemies where it seemed to matter which person I played as, with the sniper having the only obvious advantage at long range, but that may be different in the full game (or perhaps I was just doing it wrong). It also features the occasional quicktime event that took me completely by surprise each time they cropped up, though failure puts you back to the beginning of the event to immediately try again.
  
  It certainly seems to have some potential, with some interesting abilities (the slowmotion sniper power being very interesting, where a successful hit allows you to re-angle the bullet to move into another enemy) and a lot of effort put into the characters and story. One I'll be keeping an eye one, anyway.

Well that's three to be getting on with, all of which I think are available on PS3 too. So download and discuss! Or share others you've enjoyed, of course.