Impressions: Dirt 2 Demo.

I enjoyed the first Dirt game for the most part. The one issue I had with it was the handling of the cars. All the fun of rallying lies in the fact that your car is pointing sideways more often than straight ahead. In this regard Dirt got it all wrong. It was almost impossible to get the car sliding through corners as it always just seemed to stick to the road way more than it should. So with this in mind I was eager to fire up the Dirt 2 demo to see if they had addressed these issues.

From the moment you take the first corner it becomes apparent that they have indeed worked on the handling of the cars. The back end slides out easily now and it doesnt take much efford to get a nice drift going. I have seen some people complain in forums that the handling is too floaty and that its like driving on ice. I can see why people say this when comparing it to the first game but I dont find that the handling is unrealistic.. not that I have ever driven a rally car but it just feels like you have more control over what you would like the car to do than in the first game.

Another point worth mentioning about Dirt 2 is the visuals. The game really looks amazing and the framerate appeared to be pretty solid throughout. The in-car view looks very good indeed and a nice touch is that you can have your Xbox avatar dangling from the rear view mirror if you want… complete with whatever outfit it is currently wearing. A meaningless but nice touch nevertheless.

This demo really changed my mind about the game. It went from being a game that I didnt really care about to being one that I am now seriously considering purchasing.

Impressions: Lost Planet 2 Co-op demo.

I was really looking forward to this demo since I heard it was coming out a couple of days ago. I played the first Lost Planet but never finished it because it just became too frustrating. The fact that Lost Planet 2 has coop made me think that it would maybe be a bit easier this time around … I would have some help after all. With this in mind a friend and I fired up the demo and got stuck into the action.

Apart from the gameplay itself (which we will come to in a second) the structure of the demo is rather disappointing. All it is is a boss battle. You run up a short path, around a corner and there is the boss… a giant salamander. The whole demo is just all about killing it…. no glimpse of story or the new lush forests they have been teasing us with.

Gameplay wise the game is even more disappointing. The main reason for me was that I couldn’t really tell if they have changed anything. It felt identical to the first one… which immediately left a bad taste in my mouth considering my experience with the original. Since the demo is basically just a boss fight you don’t get to see any of the new environments or much cooperative features. I can’t understand why anyone would put out a demo like this. In my humble opinion this demo will do more to dissuade people from buying the game than to motivate them. That certainly was the case for me and my coop buddy.

This is another example of where the Japanese take a fairly simple concept and overcomplicates … and takes most of the fun out of it in the process. Why cant we just push B to get into the mech and off we go? Why must we now push X to Activate it as well? And why cant we just pick up ammo instead of having to get out of the mech… pick up another gun… attach it…. get back in… activate it.. and finally be ready to fight again. Yes I guess attaching a new gun to it is more realistic but this isnt exactly a game based on realism is it? I mean you play some futuristic samurai looking guy with what looks like a giant tap on your back.

All I can say is thank goodness for demos. This is the second demo recently that has convinced me not to buy a game… the other being Batman: Arkham Asylum.