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Reminder: Left 4 Dead demo now available 4 all

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 10th 2009 at 12:00PM }

For those who have yet to face the shambling, undead hordes of the south in the Left 4 Dead 2 demo, now's your chance. Previously available only for pre-order customers and Xbox Live Gold members, the demo is now open to all Xbox Live members. That means everyone can enjoy the hacking, slashing, shooting, shuffling goodness of Left 4 Dead 2 ... well, two sections of it, anyway.

You might as well give it a try. It's not like there's anything else going on, right?

Add the Left 4 Dead 2 demo to your Xbox download queue

Dante's Inferno demo burning up Xbox 360 and PS3 next month

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 10th 2009 at 11:30AM }

Though Visceral Games' video game adaptation of the classic parable known as Dante's Inferno (which, fun fact, was actually a book adaptation of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) won't see the light of day until next February, we'll be getting our dirty, sin-soaked hands on a demo for the game in December. In 'The Gates of Hell,' players will be able to traverse the entire first level of the game, taking them from the surface world to the titular portcullis, where they must battle (and presumably kill) Death himself.

We imagine the game gets much easier after, you know, there's no more Death.

So you want to play the Bayonetta demo early, do you?

by Xav de Matos { Nov 6th 2009 at 11:00PM }

Sega just announced that 40,000 lucky Xbox 360 owners will get extremely early access to a demo for the upcoming action game Bayonetta. To be considered for the prize, gamers must register for a free Sega Pass -- essentially the publisher's newsletter -- and enter for a chance to be selected on the official Bayonetta demo site.

Registration for the "contest" will be open from Monday, November 9 to Friday, November 13. Winners will be notified on Monday, November 16. Those not selected will then be referred to as "the group least likely to win a 'boot-gun thing' firing contest" ... or PlayStation 3 players. Should you not get selected, you might want to take advantage of making a Japanese account.

Warhammer Online's free trial becomes endless, caps level at 10

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 6th 2009 at 2:00PM }

Most MMO players tend to spend significantly more time in their virtual environs than a 10-day free trial could possibly permit -- that's why Mythic Entertainment recently made some drastic changes to its trial program for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. From now on, folks who demo the game for free will have an unlimited amount of time to try it out -- however, their characters can only reach level 10 before they stop accumulating experience.

Sounds like a wise move on Mythic's part to increase interest in the title, but we're worried that it might create a new breed of Warhammer trial players who get treated like second-class citizens by their subscription-paying counterparts. "Keep walking, ten-capper," they'd say without making eye contact, "we don't take kindly to you folks around here."

Japan getting God Eater sampling platter November 26

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 5th 2009 at 2:44PM }

We like to consider ourselves open-minded when it comes to new culinary experiences, but we confess that we've never had the occasion to dine upon a god. We've heard that it's a delicious (and sizable!) meal -- in fact, on the latest episode of No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain described god-meat as being "light and airy, like aged pork, but with divine properties." Japanese gamers (or PSP owners with a loose comprehension of the Japanese language) will be able to find out for themselves when a demo for God Eater launches on November 26.

The demo for the Namco Bandai-developed action-RPG will be fairly substantial, offering 10 missions, character customization and a small sliver of the game's opening story sequence. It will also support four player co-op in the demo's non-tutorial missions. The demo will be added to the Japanese PSN on Thanksgiving and will also be available on the game's official site. Between those two options, we're sure you'll find some way to snack on a few celestial entities later this month.

Civil War breaks out on XBLM, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 demo released

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 5th 2009 at 12:45PM }

If this Thursday finds you in a superheroic mood, a recent addition to the Xbox Live Marketplace might just serve as an excellent outlet for you to dish out some costumed justice. Major Nelson recently confirmed that a demo for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has been added to the service. Sure, it's a bit tardy, considering the game came out nearly two months ago. Still, we'll happily accept any free opportunities we can get to pretend to be Gambit for a few minutes. We kin' try talkin' like dis', ma cherie, but ... well, it doesn't really cut it.

Left 4 Dead 2 demo, new Games on Demand available now

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 3rd 2009 at 12:20PM }

The demo of the zombie survival training game (also known as Left 4 Dead 2) is available now to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Although the retail game completes the scenario snippet on offer, the demo certainly feels like "more of the same," albeit with the addition of some new melee and bullet-required weapons.

Also on the shooter front: Battlefield 2: Modern Combat can now be acquired through Games on Demand for $20. Far Cry 2 is also available outside of North America. As always, we feel it prudent to mention that the titles are likely to be found cheaper at a local brick-and-mortar shop (at the risk of running into shopper zombies!).

Shortcuts:

Add Left 4 Dead 2 demo to your download queue [via Xbox.com]
Purchase and add Battlefield 2: Modern Combat to your download queue [via Xbox.com]

Kojima Productions working on English language Peace Walker demo

by Andrew Yoon { Nov 2nd 2009 at 8:30PM }

The Metal Gear saga is not the easiest thing to follow. However, it's far more difficult to understand when it's not in English. Thankfully, Kojima Productions is going to make the Peace Walker demo a lot more accessible by rectifying that crucial problem. The latest Kojima Productions podcast reveals that an English demo is already in the works. Makes sense, considering the English voice casting is already complete.

"One could also argue that Peace Walker could be the most innovative title in the series yet," Ludwig stated in his TGS hands-on. Perhaps, after playing the upcoming demo, you will be that hypothetical "one" he spoke of.

[Via Siliconera]

Ubisoft not planning to release Assassin's Creed 2 demo

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 1st 2009 at 7:30PM }

Much like that other highly anticipated Q4 blockbuster, it seems Assassin's Creed 2 won't receive a pre-launch playable preview. According to Connected Consoles, a Ubisoft representative recently confirmed at the Eurogamer Expo that the company has no plans for a demo. We've contacted Ubisoft to try and corroborate this report, and to see if the company has a good reason for not putting out a sneak preview of the title. You know, a reason better than "you guys already know what stabbing people is like."

[Via Kotaku]

Gallery: Assassin's Creed 2

God of War III Ultimate Edition to rip apart your wallet

by Andrew Yoon { Oct 30th 2009 at 10:45AM }

You'd think that with a box as obnoxiously large as this, the God of War III "Ultimate Edition" would be overflowing with goodies. However, don't expect an abundance of physical goods in this 8.3" wide x 10.5" long x 5.9" tall "High-End Sculpted Replica of Pandora's Box." With the exception of the God of War III art book, all the bonuses packaged into this collector's edition are downloads:

God of War Combat Arena containing an exclusive environment and seven challenges
Premium Kratos Skin – Dominus
God of War: Unearthing the Legend Franchise Documentary – a full-length movie documentary depicting the history of the God of War franchise
God of War Trilogy Soundtrack – God of War, II, and III scores from the game (mp3 digital download).
God of War: Blood and Metal EP – a heavy metal homage featuring original music inspired by God of War (mp3 download).

So how much will this big box o' digital goodies cost you? $100!

Of course, a big-budget game isn't complete without a requisite pre-order bonus. God of War III's pre-order bonus is none too surprising: a downloadable demo of the game you just put a deposit on! With the same demo releasing via the God of War Collection and the District 9 Blu-ray, chances are good you'll end up with more than one access code to the GoW demo before it ships next year -- heck you might even see a code pop up in your e-mail this weekend!

Rumor: Left 4 Dead 2 demo files name two DLC packs

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 29th 2009 at 2:58PM }

A number of dirt-digging zombophiles have unearthed a pair of suggestive errors buried within the code for the Left 4 Dead 2 PC demo. These error messages are meant to appear after a player has been kicked from an online multiplayer match after failing to load a DLC map that the match host has selected for play. These disabled messages seem to indicate the names of what many now believe to be two DLC releases planned for the future: The "Miracle Pack" and the "Apocalyptic Pack."

Frankly, we think the game's already got its fair share of the Apocalypse, not to mention plenty of miracles, which is the only way we can explain how four people can survive continuous encounters with a city's worth of the walking dead. Still, we've contacted Valve to see if these two messages are a sign of more disastrous -- or miraculous -- things to come.

Torchlight demo released on Steam for frugal fantasy fans

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 28th 2009 at 11:20PM }

Your money is precious, like a precious, precious flower, made out of a precious crystal of some sort. We understand your hesitance to drop a wad of cash -- or in this case, a lone $20 bill -- on unfamiliar IP. Fortunately, so does Runic Games, developer of the recently released top-down RPG Torchlight.

The studio has answered the call of the "try it before you buy it" contingency and added a demo for the game to Steam. It's there right now, and it's free, and it has Diablo-ish sensibilities. If that's as enticing to you as we think it is, you can click right here and make it your own.

Japanese Valkyria Chronicles 2 demo coming Nov. 2

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 28th 2009 at 2:15PM }

Sega will release a Japanese Valkyria Chronicles 2 demo November 2, translates Andriasang. It's currently unclear whether the demo will be the same one shown at Tokyo Game Show, but for those who weren't there, now's the time to practice some internet trickery if the language barrier isn't a bother.

Our hands-on time with VC2 at TGS gave us hope that, despite its portable size, the sequel will attempt to deliver the same epic strategy and drama of the PS3 version. We will definitely keep our ears open for a Western demo, but with the overseas release of the game not expected until summer 2010, don't hold your breath. If you haven't played the original, what are you waiting for?

Gallery: Valkyria Chronicles 2

New MGS: Peace Walker demo on Japanese PSN this Sunday

by David Hinkle { Oct 28th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Some days you feed on a tree frog ... and some days you get a new Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker demo! Kojima's official blog brings word that a new demo will drop on the Japanese PSN this Sunday, November 1st. It's not quite the same as the one we got our hands on -- this one will be a tweaked version of the demo that was available exclusively in a special section of Konami's booth at the Tokyo Game Show.

Kojima Productions has modified the controls based on player feedback, adding an unlockable third control scheme on top of the original two. The developer also improved the enemy AI and behavior, and changed the CQC system a tad, all in an effort to make the game easier to play.

Kojima explains that this process of releasing demos is a game of "catch ball" with the players and that he's looking for more input after they've tried this second demo. Sharing is caring, after all.

[Via andriasang]

L4D2 pre-order demo MIA on Steam

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 27th 2009 at 5:57PM }

We knew that the pre-loadable Left 4 Dead 2 demo on Steam would send withering waves of madness through the world's populace, but we never considered what would happen if the demo failed to materialize on the promised date. Steam users have been reporting that the demo is still unavailable, and Steam's own events page -- pictured above -- notes that it won't be available until early tomorrow.

The delay seems to only affect Steam users at the moment, as the Xbox version of the demo is currently available on Xbox Live Marketplace for those that have the redemption code. We've contacted Valve regarding the delay and will update this post as soon as we have more information.