Welcome everyone to a new weekly feature we like to call “The Down-Low on What to Download”. Basically, we play all the demos that were released on the PSN each week, and then bring you our thoughts. What we liked, disliked and whether or not its changed our opinions on the game. Just think of it as a way for us to help make that decision on which demo’s you should play and which you should pass up.
For this week, there were four demos released: Mini Ninjas and IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey on the North American PSN, and Dirt 2 and Wet on the European PSN.
IL 2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
This game is a WWII combat flight simulator that’s focused on the air battles of the Eastern Front. The demo is made up of three tutorials, with one section focusing on basic maneuvers, and the other two focusing on more advance tactics. You also get to play a single player mission, which will have you trying to take down multiple planes.
The demo was average at best. We liked the plane controls, the game had a decent draw distance, and it offered a good amount of play time for a demo. However, the graphics were mediocre and the gameplay in general seemed lacking. Admittedly, most of the staff are not particularly fond of flight sims, and this game did very little to sway our opinions. After spending some time as a whole, we agree that this is a rent at best. But with games like HAWX out on store shelves, you won’t miss much by not playing it.
Wet
Wet is a 3rd person shooter that is very similar to Stranglehold, with over-the-top gun fights mixing seamlessly with sword fights. The demo is made up of four sections. The first is a tutorial level that has you running, jumping, sliding, shooting and slicing through multiple enemies. The second part has three spawn points. This section is all about collecting points and, each enemy you kill adds more to your overall score. There are multipliers you can shoot, and ultimately you need to shut down all three spawn points. The third part starts with your character getting blood splashed on her face. Everything turns red and white, and you go into Rubi mode. The music speeds up and you pretty much dominate any opponent thrown at you. The fourth and final section takes place with your character on the roof of a car flying down the highway. You jump from car to car, shooting enemies and nearly escaping collision’s with high speed traffic.
My first impressions of this game were that it is very Quentin Tarantino-esque. The gun fights are over the top, there is blood everywhere, and it’s very action-packed. This was actually one demo that surprised most of the staff. The controls, which may take some getting used to, seemed very fluid. Jumping, shooting, and then hacking someone in half with your sword worked flawlessly. The whole jumping from moving car to moving car is very farfetched, but when played with an open mind, it is enjoyable. This went from a “why bother” to a good weekend rent. We all agree that it still is not a must buy, but should make for a very solid rental.
