What's the Point of a Demo?

So I recently tried out the Burnout Paradise Demo. After reading Granger's comments, I have to say that I too am a little disappointed in the new Burnout game. Keep in mind I've never been the biggest Burnout fan. I've only spent a few hours with the second and third games. I've spent much more time playing F-Zero, Ridge Racer, and the overly rated Mario Kart.

First off let's start off with some good things. I like the fact that they're trying something new. The open world mechanic seems like it'll have some problems, but I always love a developer for doing something new. The online play, the way it was explained to me sounds very streamlined and seems to be the next step in how online games should be organized, but then again, I'm not a game player who's main focus is playing online. When I do hop online, it's with friends and rarely am I just going to hope online and play a stranger.

A big problem I have with the Burnout series is with the look. Before people start screaming RED RUM, let me say the game looks fantastic. It's amazingly detailed. When you drive one way, the suns glares in your eyes but when you turn around, it's the opposite. The detail is amazing as well as the things you can do to your vehicle (ie crash it up). The cars and environments shine with the best of them. But I can't stand it. It's like it's too shiny. Everything is kind of the same shade and it's really hard to tell what's coming or going. I end up realizing too late and it's like knowing your horrible future and then having to sit through it all while not be able to do anything about it. I cannot stand the map system in this new Burnout. The map should always rotate with you in the direction you are traveling ala GTA. It's unnecessary to have to try to figure out which direction the next left is on the map while driving at high speeds. I was going to say extremely high speeds but then I feel like this game isn't as fast as some of the previous Burnouts. I do like the street sign system which not only tells you what street your approaching but helps you time the turn as well. But I'm very confused about the drive thru points. Having to find them and then use them in races to fix damage and gain boost seems like an extremely frustrating and bothersome mechanic.

So in the end, what have we come to? Nothing. This is a demo version of the game. A lot of the answers and complaints of mine would surely be answered in the full game. All I do know is that I'm probably not going to be purchasing Burnout Paradise anymore. I was somewhat curious previously but after playing the demo, I'm perfectly comfortable passing on it. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. The same thing happened with Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Ninety Nine Nights, Dead Rising, Ratchet & Clank Future, and to some extent Lost Planet. I feel sometimes that with demos, you're dropped into a game with no knowledge of story or gameplay and it's a very shallow experience. I'd prefer if a demo was the actual first 15 minutes of the game. They'd let you play and then save your data so that when/if you bought the full version, you could continue right where you left off.

Some will argue that these demos saved me time and money from playing crap games. And while it's a valid argument. But what is the point of a demo anyways? Isn't it to get people to buy the game? I can tell you that the majority of the demos I've tried, persuaded me out of the game. This, I find, is a little ironic as well as regrettable. I wonder how things would be if I had actually played the game from the beginning. It's possible that I would be head over heels for the game and things would be completely different, if not for the demo.


There's an ad for CompUSA in the Burnout Paradise, it's hilarious.
David