A couple of new demos hit XBL recently.

Just Cause is sort of like a revolutionary GTA. And not revolutionary in that it recreates the genre, but revolutionary in that you play as a revolutionary. I wasn’t all that impressed. Some of the features, like stunt positions on vehicles and the acrobatics were cool, and I appreciate what they were trying to do, but it seemed too over-the-top. Too gaudy.

Though this is just my first impression, and shouldn’t be taken to heart yet. I only played the game for ten minutes at 4am last night for the sole purpose of giving my first impressions in today’s newspost. I owe the game more than that before I pass final judgement.

The other demo was for Test Drive Unlimited. “Racing Reinvented”. Racing reinvented into what? Exactly what it’s always been? I don’t care how nice that Ferrari looks, this demo was bad. Why can I drive a brand new car down a cliff, hitting every tree on the way, and at the bottom there is not a single scratch on the clear coat? I know we have the technology to do damage models. Even just scratches and dents are done in most driving games now. So what gives?

I was unimpressed and it had nothing to do with it being 4am.

I also grabbed the free Texas Hold ‘Em that was out this week, for a limited time. I haven’t played yet, but maybe next week I’ll jump online so you can all take my money.