Latest OXM: well worth $10

[YoshiM]

I braved the near-blizzard like conditions to pick up the latest Official Xbox Magazine as I heard the new 007 game's demo is going to be in there. While I didn't peruse too deep (had to run other errands during my lunch time) I did discover that a demo of The Suffering is on tap. Only two minutes into the game and it's creepin' me out. I skipped some of the scenes to get to the game (lack of time) but it looks as though something supernatural attacks the prison you, an inmate, and in. You are freed (door blows off) and find walls ripped open by claws and blood is spattered everywhere. A guard gets impaled through the head and dragged through a ceiling air duct (complete with a steady drip...drip of blood that rings in the hallway). As I maneuvered the character around I start hearing a weird whispering going from speaker to speaker followed by a muffled scream as another guard gets snatched and dragged (messily) into a wall duct. It looks too...damn...cool.

But the demos are not the best part. Included in the magazine is a free 2 month trial subscription to Xbox Live. I've always wanted to try this but didn't want to pony up the dough to give it a shot. So not only did I get what looks to be a killer demo disc (yes there ARE online demos of Return to Castle Wolfenstein on this disc as well along with another online demo) but 2 months free.

Just an FYI to fellow Xbox peeps. Yo.

[eldunko]

Don't you need the headset in order to to go on live? I thought it was a requirement.

[YoshiM]

It's not a requirement. You just won't be able to speak or hear the others but you will be able to play.

[E Nice]

A neat thing about Crimson Skies, also the other demo on that disc is that once in the hosted game lobby, go into your options (the window that lets you select which plane you want to use) there's a speaker option in the list. It's set to off as default but if you turn it on you can then hear people with headsets speaking through the tv speaker.

[IcewynG]

I agree... It was definitly money well spent. Got it a few days ago and had a chance to try Crimson Skies and RTCW: Tides of War online. These were two games I was considering buying and now, after trying these demos, they are on my "must get" list. :) I hope OXM will get more XBOX Live demos in the future.

Haven't tried the Suffering yet... I am not a fan of survival horror genre but I will have to try it out. 007: EoN looks pretty good so far... :D

[YoshiM]

Quick post before I hit the sack: Suffering demo is gooooood. It's not really survival horror in the strict sense-it's a cross between a Tomb Raider (or System Shock if you play in first person mode) and Hellraiser with a dash of Eternal Darkness. It's really creepy in first person BUT hand to hand combat is nigh impossible until you switch to 3rd person. This is a demo so hopefully that got fixed. It messes with your head and there must be some kind of karma thing. Worth a try.

Bond is very cool. Takes a bit to get used to but still cool. A motorcycle level is an obvious nod to Spy Hunter.

That's all I really played. I have to run some cable from the computer room to the living room to try out Live.