Xbox 360 Game Demos: Burnout & Jericho

One thing I love about the Xbox 360 (and likely the PS3 if I had one) is that they post up a bunch of game demos online every week or so. I used to subscribe to the official Playstation magazine just to get the demo discs back in the day. I'm glad the demos are now easily downloadable for this current generation. However, I have noticed that the 360 isn't getting as many demos as it used to. The more popular brand games aren't getting any demos at all now like Call of Duty or even Naruto. I'm disappointed about that personally. I think demos really help make your decision to buy games that you may of not bought otherwise. I guess thats why theres a lot more demos of lesser quality games up on the 360 now, haha. Well, I have fallen behind on playing these Xbox 360 demos, so you'll hear me talk about game demos that have been out for a few months. I wonder if most 360 owners with an internet connection actually attempts to play all the demos Xbox Live releases. I sure do, and I notice they take down some older demos as time goes too.

(Warning: Any impressions and opinions below are solely based on game demos and not the full version)

Burnout Paradise (Demo)
A sure easy bet that's going to be on my buying list. Burnout Paradise has actually moved onto an open-world structure similar to the old Need for Speed Underground and Most Wanted games or Test Drive Unlimited. Wow, how nice is it to have a high quality racing game in an open world to explore and play in high definition. A full city catered to the destruction nature that Burnout promises. As I said, a simple decision to put on the list of must owns if you like the Burnout games. Racing and destruction at their greatness. [ IGN Entry, GameStop Entry ]

Clive Barker's Jericho (Demo)
I was hoping for something good since it had Clive Barker's name on it, but I guess that's just like any other licensed game. Jericho is a horror-based team squad FPS video game. You get stuck with a team of members that you can control individually and command as a team throughout the game. Apparently you don't get to keep all of them as some will die unnatural deaths throughout the story. The demo begins in the middle of the game. Each squad member has their own unique magical abilities and guns. I was pretty disappointed overall. I really didn't like using the team members and I felt the enemies were hard to really fight. The gameplay and controls were decent, but battling the enemies felt disappointing. Other players felt the same way based on the main reviews I found. I must say that the graphical designs and world would have been interesting as it could been something out of Barker's mind, but the game itself is just not enjoyable. It's generic and gimmicky. It's not a complete waste, but could be a lot better. I think if you only played as a single character and the enemies were easier and more enjoyable to fight, the game could of been saved. I'm going to play the demo again another night, but I don't think I'll change my mind. If it just didn't have the squad... [ IGN Entry, GameSpot Entry ]

"Clive Barker's Jericho is an inconsistent first-person shooter, alternating between moments of pure, atmospheric greatness and irritating design paradoxes that suck the fun out of the gameplay. Jericho is both a triumph and a disaster, and not a lot of games manage to be both of these at once. Frustrating, exciting, inconsistent, linear--these words and many more describe the various elements of Clive Barker's Jericho. If you've got a high tolerance for gameplay annoyances and like the feeling of imposing dread and claustrophobia this corridor crawl provides, by all means, give it a shot. If you like tight shooting mechanics and smart level design, you'll want to steer clear." - GameSpot