• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Xbox 360 Live demo availability thread

ant1532 said:
Damn it, I really want to play Sonic but my 360 was shipped out Monday to get fixed!

Does anyone know if these demos will ony be available for a limited time or what?!?

I think all the E3 ones are still up, don't see why not!
 
What about a thread to celebrate the awfulness of Sonic? Don't bump this the whole time, plz. I keep getting disappointed.
 
After spending more time with the demo and getting used to the controls, I have to say I've been enjoying it.

Still no excuse for making the controls as twitchy and sensitive as they are though.

Sonic should be a pick up and play game and I shouldn't have to fumble around with the controls for 10-15 minutes.
 
How in god's name are you supposed to run and turn at the same time? 9/10 times I treid I went over the edge. Sonic's really twitchy! :lol

The demo was too short IMO aswell, was over before it started. :(
 
the only problem s i see with this game is the camera and the controls...

the controls are too sensitive

the camera doesnt pan around fast enough (and should set to the LT and RT instead of LB and RB)


the game is designed right... it's just the camera and controls seem to be breaking this game. i hope this was a early demo and the final product will be much more fine tuned.
 
Man, what a huge ****ing dissapointment. Sonic Team hasn't learned anything after all these years.

I can easily see Sonic ending up in the hands of another team sometime soon, kind of like how Core was forced to pass on the baton to Crystal Dynamics for Tomb Raider.
 
If it's not too much to ask can you guys post impressions of the Smackdown demo when you get it? and the features? Like... what modes do you get to play and which wrestlers etc.

Thanks, babes.

I'd do it myself but my 360 is being repaired. :(
 
Joeroll said:
If it's not too much to ask can you guys post impressions of the Smackdown demo when you get it? and the features? Like... what modes do you get to play and which wrestlers etc.

Thanks, babes.

I'd do it myself but my 360 is being repaired. :(

Dude it's the slowest download I've had in AGES.

:(
 
pilonv1 said:
There's no way I'm wasting 1gb on a Smackdown demo before getting a truckload of impressions. Impressions please!

It's smackdown 2006 with better graphics and pretty neat controls. Animation is absolutely garbage, they've done nothing to improve it. 2 wrestler demo (HHH, Kane). They give you a nice tutorial before you play so you dont go into it saying WTF (which I did). Think of this as NBA2k7, same core gameplay but added something new to keep it feeling fresh.

Ohhhh yea, THQ, your load times are still a goddamn joke. For to wait damn near 20secs for a match to load is pathetic now...I guess 2k7 spoiled me on that. Worthy of the 1gb d/l? Maybe not but you should give it a shot.

-Regular Singles match w/o managers.
-Raw Arena
-HHH vs. Kane
-Full Intros. (which look pretty damn good)
 
DaddyZ said:
It's smackdown 2006 with better graphics and pretty neat controls. Animation is absolutely garbage, they've done nothing to improve it. 2 wrestler demo (HHH, Kane). They give you a nice tutorial before you play so you dont go into it saying WTF (which I did). Think of this as NBA2k7, same core gameplay but added something new to keep it feeling fresh.

Well NBA 2k7 is GREAT, while SD v RAW is not. But I get your point :(
 
Im just pissed they did NOTHING to the animations. When Kane chokeslammed me there was no sense of impact. Maybe they'll have this cleaned up by November?
 
DaddyZ said:
Im just pissed they did NOTHING to the animations. When Kane chokeslammed me there was no sense of impact. Maybe they'll have this cleaned up by November?

:lol :lol They've had SIX YEARS to clean up the animations, what makes you think they're going to start now?
 
Haven't seen a lot of talk about the Tenchu Senran demo, how did you all feel about that one?

I've always liked the series, both Acquire and K2's installments. I'm a bit disappointed with Senran, however, and the thing is getting released next week. Unless this demo is old, old, it's not looking too good for the final game. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels different from the previous ones. Graphically, it's not too impressive, but I can forgive most of it (characters with fixed expression and lips that don't move, however, I can't). Controls are fine, they're mapped different from what we're used to, but it doesn't take long to adjust. Nice to be able to sheath again, too. Fighting engine is as stiff as always, and somehow seems to have less moves than previous games.

Also, I'm not sure what the deal is with the storyline progression, but you create-a-character even for the offline game. You can make an Ayame look a like, but she's a bit off. Rikimaru is displayed everywhere in the game's artwork, intro, etc, but is nowhere in the demo. It's going to be weird if his part in the game is like snake's in MGS2.

Even though the demo's not stellar, I've still kept it. It's far from perfect, but I'm still holding a little bit of hope. Any word on an US publisher?
 
Gyrian Seed said:
Haven't seen a lot of talk about the Tenchu Senran demo, how did you all feel about that one?

I've always liked the series, both Acquire and K2's installments. I'm a bit disappointed with Senran, however, and the thing is getting released next week. Unless this demo is old, old, it's not looking too good for the final game. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels different from the previous ones. Graphically, it's not too impressive, but I can forgive most of it (characters with fixed expression and lips that don't move, however, I can't). Controls are fine, they're mapped different from what we're used to, but it doesn't take long to adjust. Nice to be able to sheath again, too. Fighting engine is as stiff as always, and somehow seems to have less moves than previous games.

Also, I'm not sure what the deal is with the storyline progression, but you create-a-character even for the offline game. You can make an Ayame look a like, but she's a bit off. Rikimaru is displayed everywhere in the game's artwork, intro, etc, but is nowhere in the demo. It's going to be weird if his part in the game is like snake's in MGS2.

Even though the demo's not stellar, I've still kept it. It's far from perfect, but I'm still holding a little bit of hope. Any word on an US publisher?

First time I've played a Tenchu, but I love it. It's ugly as hell and the combat system is horrible, but stealth ninja action is sweet and it uses the rumble in a great way. Definently worth setting up a Japan silver account to grab.
 
DaddyZ said:
Ohhhh yea, THQ, your load times are still a goddamn joke. For to wait damn near 20secs for a match to load is pathetic now...I guess 2k7 spoiled me on that.

****ing lame. I'm still buying it but me and my brother always use CAWs so the load times are insane. Also the animation has sucked for eons so I don't expect any improvements.
 
Mojovonio said:
MS almost never delivers on Demos. I kept telling you guys, don't get yoru hopes up, but nooooo.
What are you talking about? Smackdown is the 51st demo on the US Marketplace, and it hasn't even been a year yet.
 
You know what's just abusive? I'm one of maybe 6 people on the planet that really enjoyed the Sonic demo and the goddamn thing went and broke my 360 the second time I played it.
 
LakeEarth said:
What are you talking about? Smackdown is the 51st demo on the US Marketplace, and it hasn't even been a year yet.

I'm talking about that once again, the had the chance to really make it so we could be playing the same thing as everyone at X06..... and we get Smackdown and Sonic instead.
 
Mojovonio said:
I'm talking about that once again, the had the chance to really make it so we could be playing the same thing as everyone at X06..... and we get Smackdown and Sonic instead.

Man, I must be posting in another dimension for all that people pay attention. They do not now nor will they ever have that same chance, demoing games in a contolled environment on consoles THEY HAVE PROVIDED not ones that YOU HAVE PAID FOR. Just being able to watch all this shit on your TV and in Hi-Def is unprecedented enough. There's no Earthly way you'll ever be able to hop on your 360 and have the same experience. They are giving you coverage of the event. It's specialized coverage and obviously not as in depth as a game journo's impressions, but the relative quality of the assets (720p, 5.1) is where it stands out and makes it a worthwhile program.

And that's all MS has ever promised.
 
I don't expect to get all the demos from the show floor as most of them arent in any condition to be played by the masses

I am very dissapointed that most of the videos on the marketplace are CG though. It isn't like Sony's E3'05 where they pretended the cg was realtime or 'target renders' but its just... boring.
 
Mojovonio said:
I'm talking about that once again, the had the chance to really make it so we could be playing the same thing as everyone at X06..... and we get Smackdown and Sonic instead.
Do you realize that a demo made for an event showfloor and one made for public download are quite different things, right?
 
Are we having this damn conversation again? We went through this at E3 too. Demos for a trade show are often never meant to be seen publicly. Many of them are not in any kind of state to be distributed out to a mass audience. Yes, it would be great to have stuff from the show floor, but it's not going to happen.

Hell, I'm just loving some of the HD videos we're being provided with.
 
Smackdown looks great... at times. Very nice detail on the models but as was said the animation is still typically Yukes. Control system seems neat enough but I can't get the hang of it yet! :D
 
Francias Castiglione said:
Smackdown looks great... at times. Very nice detail on the models but as was said the animation is still typically Yukes. Control system seems neat enough but I can't get the hang of it yet! :D


ok i figured out how to pick up the opponent (click right stick, or hold it and move to drag em)

but how in the hell do you irish whip, i did it by accident but I cant figure out how.
 
WTF SEGA?!?!?!?!? 5 3D ITERATIONS LATER AND SONIC STILL HAS THE SAME MECHANICS FLAWS AS IT DID 7 F*CKING YEARS AGO?!?! HOLY CHRIST


This is exactly why Wii Sonic is exciting to me..because it seems to be the only 3D Sonic title yet with a chance to capture the feel of the original titles. In "Sonic the Hedgehog", the camera, bizarre sprinting/lock-on attack issues, and control sensitivity are the same as they were on Sonic Adventure on the DC. I can't tell you how many times in this demo that I inexplicably dashed off a ledge while performing a standing attack on a box (a standing attack I ironically chose to execute so that I didn't fly off the ledge during a lock-on jump attack lol). Or how about when, while trying to avoid the left cliff edge after pounce-attacking a box, I ran off the opposing cliff edge because I pressed the stick away and for some reason Sonic was suddenly moving at Mach 3. Or how many times, in a dash section of the stage, I missed entire strings of rings because it's nearly impossible to align yourself straight on-the-fly in a mid sprint. I'll get one ring out of the segment and then run myself off the platform while trying to steer toward the remainder. The only strings I complete are the one's that I'm forcibly propelled through by a booster/spring/leaping X attack. Awesome.

ITS THE SAME SH*T I WAS DOING 7 F*CKING YEARS AGO SEGA, WITH PRETTIER GRAPHICS.

Give me on-rails gameplay with responsive controls over this mess anyday. Ugh..
 
i happen to think the sonic demo is very good. it only took me 3 tries before i go the 'S' rating. it's all about the homing jump and hitting (X) to lock on to a string of rings when you're close to it. other than that, just avoid jumping over the edge of the stage and you'll be fine.
 
Once again, the complaints against are as I said. The game is not kind (and feels broken as a result) to those who do not know how to play.
 
dark10x said:
Once again, the complaints against are as I said. The game is not kind (and feels broken as a result) to those who do not know how to play.

The level itself feels like such a vast improvement over the stupid "Run forward with little or no control over your character for five minutes" shit that plagued almost all of SA2. I only got to play though once before it killed my system, but once you got your pace down the whole level just flew and it felt like you were actually playing it, I was quite impressed.
 
Sonic was atrocious at E3 and the demo is slightly less so thanks to the exclusion of Silver's stage which was the worst part of the experience. Sonic Team still doesn't understand precise control or how to create an efficient automatic camera. Level design still remains shit with a few poorly implemented "cool" sections like the ruin falling or the switch to a wall run soon after. The ideas Sonic Team has are great but the imprecise controls and slow camera combine together to create a frustrating experience. Controlling Sonic in full tilt becomes almost a meta game to have him do what you want or not randomly fly off a stage thanks to nonexistent blocking volumes.

EDIT: Before the "you do not know how to play!" Sonic defense squad comes in, I've had no trouble completing the demo at both E3 & now (quite simple if you know the bugs intimately) and understand the meticulous approach that must be taken with the game. However it still doesn't excuse the problems. I will say that the game is a marked improvement for Sonic in general and I can see that they're heading in the right direction by trying to incorporate the adventure aspects from the SA series with the run 'n gun portion of the original titles. Now if they could fix the collision detection, lock-on, control/camera, and all the bugs then it would drastically improve the gameplay.

No complaint from me on the graphics looks nice and does it job. The addition of Havok is nice albeit it can only be appreciated by playing as Silver. Poly counts could be a little higher and maybe use a bit more of the ole' next-gen FX but it looks good.
 
I'm a sucker for games like Sonic (although I drew the line at Shadow) so I'll probably get it, but the demo has some serious problems. I played a couple of times and got better at the homing attack but it's still a little bit random sometimes. Also the jerkiness of movement is definitiely a problem, most noticeable for me at the point where you're running sideways along the wall and it's very difficult to line up the speed boosts.
 
the sonic demo is probably the worst sonic game i have ever played (keep in mind i never played shadow the hedgehog. the last sonic game i played was sonic adventure 2 on gamecube)

the game is truly a piece of crap. then again this is just a demo. i see SOME potential there (graphics aren't horrible, sense of speed is there at times), but they really need to fix the controls
 
I didn't want to believe it, but it's so true. Sonic played like crap. You never feel like you had total control of him. He felt like he was fighting for control or something.
 
Top Bottom