The Worst Demos On Xbox Live

OXM looks at the five most disappointing demos on Xbox Live, ranking them in order and explaining why they were such a letdown...

[Fishy Fingers]

Doesn't sound like OXM are to impressed by Denis Dyack's antics.

[Elven6]

Thats funny OXM US like it and OXM Uk hate it.

[KingME]

I wasn't going to get too human until I played the demo. I actually like the game. Kinda of puzzled as to why it's getting such negative feedback. I thinks it's kinda unprofessional for game reviewers to slam a game because they don't like the developer. If this is the case with too human.

I guess in some ways it can be called fair. Lair was unfairly slamed by game reviewers also.

[drewdrakes]

I agree, Too Human is pretty good, its not the greatest game, but its still good.

[green]

This Too Human hate by the media is getting out of hand.If the Too human demo was not released, i can bet you that this article would never had been made.It's like some gaming journalists are just out to make sure this game flops, due to their new found hatred of Denis Dyack.

If you read the comment section, some people even confirm that the Arthur of the article RYAN KING does not like Denis Dyack.

Too human last week was the 7th most played game on xbox live.Demo's hardly make the list, and that should give a good indication that people are playing it multiple times.

This game is not perfect, but above all else it is a lot of fun.And if that is not the reason for gaming, then i don't know what is.

[PwnShop]

I do find his critics of the Too human demo pretty stupid, i mean how can he criticize the story and call it pretentious when all he's judging it by is a demo, also the controls and camera i find perfectly fine after the second play through, it's a new, well some would say innovative change of controls and it takes time to take used to. I think this is undeserving hate to the demo.

[P4KY B]

But isn't the story just a futuristic version of Ragnarok.

And if it is then Baldur will die before the end, then be resurrected.
And I'm really looking forward to seeing Lokis children.

[dan-boy]

this and the rainbow six vegas demo are without doubt best demos i've played! i cant fathom why everyone has lined up to take a pop? after the negative previews i was apprehensive, but after the demo, i'm like wtf?? the game rocks! all the people who i've spoken to on my friend list love it also!

OXM uk are beyond sh!t anyway! when they reviewed rocky on the original xbox, they talked about the on-line portion, saying they had encountered no lag and descrbed the functions, but when it was released it was an off-line only game!!!!!!!! how bad is that??

anyway, f*^K the haters, first day purchase for me! i cant wait to play it!

[Acidicpack]

They hit the nail on the head with Hour of Victory. God that game is the most God awful peace of CRAP game that I HAVE EVER PLAYED.

Now on the other hand Too Human is not a bad game at all. Yes it takes some getting use to the controls but its not all that bad. Its still a day one buy for me. Its been a long time since I have had the chance to play a Dungeon Crawler like Baldurs Gate DA or Champions Of Norrath.

@dan-Boy I Agree with you 100% Bro Too human has been getting way to much hate. Peeps need to give it a play first befor just blindly bashing the game. Just my two senses.

[Nevers]

I'm buying Too Human. I didn't go in with rose-colored glasses but what I found was a pleaseant surprise. Took like 2min for me to get the hang of the "stick-combat" control scheme and then I really enjoyed it. The camera worked pretty well too. It seemed smart enough on it's own that I really wasn't as bothered by it as it seems a lot of people. I can understand why they took it down to 2 player co-op as, IMHO, 4 player co-op woulda taken all challenge out. 4 Baldurs would simply wreak too much havoc and the AI wouldn't have a chance.

[n to the b]

and that's not even a true count of how many are playing the demo. some people are playing offline due to the unlockables...

[witchking]

Yes, the hate for Too Human is getting out of hand. I actually liked the demo, and my kids both have played through it numerous times and are slobbering drool all over the place waiting for the full retail version.

This whole Dyack thing is stupid. Who cares what he says? Will any of that have any impact on whether you enjoy the game? No.

Same as all those nuts saying Assassin's Creed would be great because Jade Raymond is hot.

[Megatron08]

I have to agree with green on this one. From what I read of most ot the people that played the demo they have liked it. There are some that played it for like 2 mins and hated it but come on anyone plays a game for like 2-15 cant even have a real opinion on the game. Especailly Too human the control are not awful like this guy says they are by any means they just take longer to get use to cause I dont think any game has ever used a control set up like this before. You cant say it has a bad story from the demo either as the demo really tells you very lil about the story.

[Bazookajoe_83]

I have to laugh a little about youre comment "If the Too human demo was not released, i can bet you that this article would never had been made" when the article is about the worst demos on live. I get youre point, but it was kinda funny..

[Rob0g0rilla]

The game is filled with glitches that will get you killed, 3 minute loading times for messages that will literally take 2 seconds to read and followed by another 3 minute load time, bad camera angels, terrible new characters (cough*silver*cough) and the game never really lives up to it's name.

You have a to be a real Sonic fanboy to have what it takes to beat that game.

[Truplaya]

the battlefield demo was good, i think you could even play with mates who had the full game. Turning Point was the worst by far

[bumnut]

hour of victory is worse than turning point.

[kevanio09]

i agree...i want the 15 minutes of my life wasted on hour of victory back...

[CyberSentinel]

I hope this game sells well, so Denis can give the finger to all you haters.

[Mr_Potato_]

Even as a crappy game, it should sell well since there's not really anything else coming out on Xbox...

[lawman1108]

I did not think it was bad at all and when it drops from 60 bucks to 40 something I will pick it up . Turning Point by far was the worst pile of garbage to come out.

[bumnut]

so basically they are saying too human is worse than crashtime, quake wars, sega super star tennis & top spin 3

im sure there are more crap demos i just can't think of any more at the moment

what a crappy article

[green]

So they are saying Blacksite Area 51,Chromehounds,Clive Barkers Jericho,Conflict Denied Op's,Full Auto,Operation Darkness,Superman Returns,Turok to name a few, are all better than Too Human.

[bumnut]

thanks for refreshing my memory!!!!

[ChampIDC]

I played Conflict: Denied OP for like 3 minutes and turned it off. I at least could stand to play through Turning Point.

[TheColbertinator]

@Green I thought the demo of Blacksite was actually good.The rest of the game was boring but the demo was fun.

[andron]

How can they have forgotten about that abomination?

It was hilariously bad, both demo and game. I played through the demo a couple of times because I just couldn't believe how bad it was.

[dcbronco]

Everyone I know that's played the Too Human demo liked it. The controls and camera take a little getting used to, but you get used to them pretty fast. And the take on the story is actual very nice. If a person from a technologically advanced future went back in time to 1,000 BC, the people probably would think of them as Gods.

@Green Lay off Chromehounds. I played that game online for months.

[InMyOpinion]

Stand in line to bash Too Human...

Btw, here's a tip if you find the controls are hard to figure out. Go to the menu and click on "Advanced controls". There you will find commands to juggle the enemies, do finishers, long range sword attacks and more.

[Mr_Potato_]

It doesn't suck that much, this game is only 2nd on the worst demos list. I mean, there's one worse game after all (achievement unlocked ?).

[t-0_ot-]

@Krakdol - Yet, it's managed to get you running through all the Too Human articles, eh?

[t-0_ot-]

@Krakdol - You're an idiot. (Trophy unlocked?)

[Mausenheimmer]

@Original Post

Good find! I was struggling with some of the more complex attacks. I was in desperate need of a manual.

[kevanio09]

Is not that bad, it not perfect...but its trying something new...it can be adjusted to even an isometric view if that's what you want. They are trying something different from most other games being released with the camera. Playing as the beserker class the second time around the game was so much better. Now its a first day buy. If you didn't like the game the first time with champion class, play with a different class the second time around.

[The Lazy One]

The camera is the only legitimate problem I had with the game (aside from the guy that yells every time he speaks... wtf?).

It makes it really hard to chain combos over a certain point because all the enemies are behind you. You have to do a lot of blind attacking, which is no good in almost any game.

That aside, this game was one of my favorite demos on live except the battlefield bad company one. The game went from a rent to a panic to find funds to buy day 1 game.

[radzy]

2 of the best demo's on xbox live were a) battlefield modern combat
and b) too human.
the point of a demo is to give you that incentive to buy the game.
me and my mates all played battlefield demo until the full game released , then we bought the game , day one.
alot of people also played too human demo , and will buy the game as well , day one.

[felidae]

Too Human ist sehr sehr geil.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

I love Battlefield and play it everyday online ranking up. To me it was a new experience over Call of Duty. Too Human demo was good to. Also a new Action-RPG experience. I think some of these people want to stir-up controversy and hits to their site for writing crap like this. I've been seeing to much BS articles being approved on this site.

[boodybandit]

Battle Field Modern Combat and not Bad Company. Modern Combat had serious server issues and voice communication problems. It's the single biggest reason I stopped playing the game.

Bad Company has voice communication issues as well but everything else runs really good. I am surprised it isn't selling more than it has. I too play it nearly every day.

[Cherchez La Ghost]

If you think about it, BF:MC wasn't that bad of a game (for one of the launch titles). Now "graphics" wise, Perfect Dark was terrible, but multi-gameply was good. They could have took a little more time to made it better. Sorry to get off subject for a second.

[insane_cobra]

The only thing that is horrible, awful, lame, hideous, clunky, ugly, pretentious, and most of all, embarrassing is that article.

[LeBart]

Seriously, what did people expect from Too Human ? I was not paying attention to this game before the demo so I tried it with no apriorism, and it is A GOOD GAME. The controls may take some time to getting used to, but what the game does with storytelling for instance is just fantastic.
When MGS4 came out, everyone was super impressed with the absence of transition between cinematic and gameplay, but in reality it was just in some rare cases. I think Too Human does a better job of melting gameplay and story together.
Of course if the story is crappy, this will not matter much, but you have to acknowledge what is good if you want to b*tch about the camera.

[Daxx]

F*ck OXM UK and f*ck Denis Dyack. The Too Human demo is a great demo. OXM UK is just pissed because Denis Dyack doesn't know how to keep his big damn mouth shut. If Denis wasn't such a huge fanboy of his own game I don't think Too Human would be getting so much negative publicity. It's going to be a great game but it has an ass hole as its top developer.

[CyberSentinel]

....that makes you an @ssWhole?

Denis is right on the money when he talks about corporate outsourcing and workers rights. If Americans hate him for that, then I say wait till you lose your job, and see what it's like to find a "real" job in today's economy.

Blind Lemmings, You Are The Reason America Is In Such Dire Straits.

[NowGen]

tell me why is AMERICA in Such Dire Straits?

[Daxx]

Wat?

I think you misunderstood why I'm calling Denis an asshole. I'm only talking about all the fanboyish nonsense he's been spewing for the past few years not his political/business views. It's very unprofessional for a person of his status to get into flame wars over his game. I'm fine with him defending what he believes but he doesn't need to be spitting venom at the press or at the people that hate his game. He should have just left that job up to the fans of Too Human.

And I don't out right hate him, I'm just upset with him (it's hard to show true emotions with words). And where in the world did you get this preconceived notion, from just reading my comment, that Americans hate him? And what’s all this nonsense about job security and corporate outsourcing/workers rights? I never heard him talk about these things. I only listen to what he says about Too Human.

[2paclives]

Too Sh!tty, more like it.
Who hyped this game?? And why? Boring, bland and lame.
Sorry folks, try harder nest time.

[kevnb]

I really needed that said

[slugg]

Oh, I get it, you are some kind of vulture...

[enjoi187]

why is too human on that list? idoits

[kevnb]

It's only barely thinly veiled by putting Hour of Victory as number one. Oh well, who cares what oxm thinks? Most people seem to be enjoying Too Human.

[kazuma]

oh this is just too good to be true. an OFFICIAL xbox magazine saying that the too human demo sucked? but...but...but, didn't they have massive downloads, according to denis dyack? doesn't it mean it's good? but the official xbox magazine didn't like it, and a few other ppl didn't like it either.
oh the irony.

[Mausenheimmer]

This sounds cynical, but think of all the hits that article would generate if it became controversial. More money for Microsoft. An unorthodox method of hyping a game, that's to be sure.

[kazuma]

well that is a thought. as long as they keep ppl talking about the game, it's more publicity (good or bad).
but what i find weird is the oxm taking such a cheap shot at a demo (which imo was normal as most demos are, i mean they're usually just a taste of the game, good or bad) of a 360 exclusive that microsoft has been supporting a lot lately.
i mean let's not kid ourselves here, official magazines are always biased. this is just some goddamn weird situation.
sonic, turning point and hour of victory are some of the worst games this generation (hurray for sh*tty and generic fps's), it's no wonder they also have sh*tty demos but battlefield 2 is an okay demo (although i didn't find the hit detection on the enemies all that good) and an okay game and too human was okay too, but we'll have to wait to see how the game shapes up.

[Microsoft_Spokesman]

LOL

[Ace Killa 08]

that game was fun to play with , however it was dam near impossible to join a match. you would stay in the menus looking for a match for an hour and still none found.

[dachiefsman]

crappy controls??? they are different but not crappy. The game was easy after my second play through. Too Human should not be in that top 5. I could think of plenty of other games that sucked harder than Too Human. Area 51, Jericho, Sonic, etc....

[speed]

I noticed the camera issues within the first 5 minutes of the demo. They're not as crappy as say Ninja Gaiden but they need some serious work. I was expecting more of a wow factor but was a little disappointed. The graphics I would consider to be top-tier last generation graphics, but I understand if they had to sacrifice to keep the framerate decent. I would give the demo a 6.5 out of 10. The important thing is that SK takes these things to heart and improves the issues before the game is released. I'll wait for the final game to give my final opinion.

[fablib]

I have tried the demo and I really really love it...
I have play it 3 times already..
I will buy it on day one!!!

I really do not undrstand why media are against this videogame...
I am really addicted by its gameplay (sort of diablo let me say) and the graphic, the art direction and the story are really excellent!!!

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Articles like this are just shameful. Previews and things like this amount to unfair reviews of games before they come out. I mean honestly can the media please stop passing judgement on games based of pre-builds, demo's and unfinished code? This is really becoming problematic. This guy in OXM is basically taking Too Human to task and grinding an axe against Dyack for no good reason.

Demo's are put out to let consumers..NOT the media...judge the game for themselves. Why should the media give a rats a$$ if a demo is any good or not? Seriously? Why does this guy even care? Ok so he thought the demo was bad...then he doesn't have to buy the game. The rest of the public should get that SAME opportunity. By him thumping his chest about bad demo's he is effectively giving Too Human a bad gaming score prior to its release...which is completely unfair to ANY game let alone Too Human.

side note: I happened to love the demo and find this guys opinion utter crap.

[Mausenheimmer]

The only shockers were Battlefield 2 and Too Human. The rest were demos of terrible games. I'm surprised Army of Two didn't make it. A demo which forces you to play it co-op defeats the purpose of trying it out on your own terms.

Ya know, I'm noticing a trend for bad demos to follow games with "Two" in the title (or one of its homonyms).

[Rhezin]

LOL

[MetalProxy]

to bad this isnt about that poor game from sony. This is about M$ failed attempt to have a good first party game. :)

[Naism]

With mediocre graphics, gameplay, story, bad camera, bad controls, bad animation, bad character design, it's no surprise that the official xbox magazine uk doesn't like Too Human. Maybe next time Denis Dyack.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Honestly? With your profile pic and track record for posts....you really think anyone here doesn't see you as anything other than a fanboy? Why do you even bother commenting on this?

[Highwayman]

Naism-

Considering the the fact that you haven't played Too Human and as the poster above me said means that your opinion is void.

[okcomputer]

"Horrible controls, awful camera, lame combat, embarrassing dialogue, hideous character models, clunky menus, ugly HUD, pretentious storyline"

wow, that quote basically captured every single feeling I had about the too human demo in one sentence.

[SDS Gamerfiend]

Is TRASH! Deleted it within 5 minutes!

[Mausenheimmer]

Really? What's your gamertag?

[Highwayman]

Yes, I am curious to know this as well.

[psnCAShville_615]

u guys are stupid for buying 3260s

[t-0_ot-]

Until you learn how to spell.. don't come back.

[StrikingDmc4]

droid lets see how many years ur going to have to wait for that crappy game u have on ur icon xb

[ThaGeNeCySt]

I wonder why The Outfit didn't make this list

that demo blew major junks of poop

[Dragnipur]

Rubbish... what more can i say! ... crap, waste of time, defunct!

[Auron]

its all good by me.

[Splenda14]

lol Too Human

[XxCYONIDExX]

The Too Human demo kicked ass. Sure the camera did suck some, but the combat was good. I'm guessing that the idiot that wrote this review isn't that good of a gamer and probably didn't use any of the several combo moves that the game has. All that was annoying was the camera and the length that it took for that angel to come down and revive you, but getting revived is better than starting from the last save.

[LostChild]

Like everyone, I had a problem with the controls at first, but I got use to it. I played the game 4x times through with each of the characters that can be unlocked and I still want to play more of it. I am holding off though until the full game is out for me to buy on first day. I find the game fun to play and like Baldurs and Champions, I enjoy these types of games.

[True Sony Fanboy]

Too Human is a pretty decent game not as bad as the media makes it out to be. I would probably get bored with it, but I'll give it a chance when it releases.

[Mausenheimmer]

Are you sure you're a fan boy? That was an awfully logical conclusion.

[Xelai]

That article has only been written in order to bash Too Human, Comparing Too Human to those miserable and crappy games ( well BF not so much ) is really bad taste. What people do expect from a demo?
Right now is fashionable to bash Too Human, that is the only reason there is. The game can be better or worse, but it is no lemon.

[NewSchoolGamer]

Too Human will be awesome when it releases but just not as good as some of us expected(not AAA but atleast fun to play).

I played the demo at my freind's house and it was fun although honestly I find the Battlefield Bad company demo alot more fun but they are both different types of games anyways.

I think this article is crap even if it dones't mention Too Human

[jack who]

i can think of bout 5 demo that should take too Humans place... Don King Presents Prizefighter been at the top

[ukilnme]

I have played the demo several times. It just feels to stiff to me. Maybe I'm too stiff. I was looking forward to this game because of the story but I'm not sure now because of the gameplay.

[Alpha_Gamer]

My favorite part about this article is that it`s supposed to be about too human is one of the worst demos, yet 80% of the too human section is about dennis dyack. If this article changed your mind about buying the game itself...get your head checked out.

[CrizzleC24]

replace BF2 with BF:Bad company (I hate having a blood red screen for the full 50 minutes just because the wind is blowing in my direction.)

And if Too human is great (havent tryed it yet) replace it with the lame night demo of perfect dark zero. Perfect dark Zero looks beautiful on even the first level so why night levels? Why mask something so colorful? I understand a night level for a game that might face epic scrutinization. Just in case it doesnt deliver (hint* hint* Killzone 2).

Im stoping myself there (and am waiting to see killzone 2 DAYTIME video)

Ok now im stopping myself.

I could go on for years about how I hate night levels (except gears of war).

[OC_MurphysLaw]

I wont argue with anyones opinion of the demo itself. If you didn't like it, you didn't like it.

But what I do question is the list itself and the intent behind it... Can you honestly tell me you feel Too Human as a demo was worse than any of these demo's that hit Live:

- America's Army: True Soldiers
- Armored Core 4
- At World's End
- Beautiful Katamari (the demo lasts 5 minutes)
- Bee Movie
- Bladestorm
- Blazing Angels
- Blazing Angels 2
- Blitz: The League
- Cars
- Clive Barker's Jericho
- Conan
- Conflict: Denied Ops
- Crash Of The Titans
- Crash Time
- Eragon
- Fuzion Frenzy 2
- Kingdom Under Fire™ Circle of Doom
- Looney Tunes: ACME Arsenal™
- Ninety-Nine Nights™
-The Outfit™
- Project Sylpheed™
-The Spiderwick Chronicles™
- SUPERMAN RETURNS™: THE VIDEOGAME
- Tenchu Z
- Thrillville™: Off the Rails™
- UFC

...my point is there have been A TON of worse demo's on LIVE. His point of the article felt like nothing more than a call out of Too Human given the writers public track record. And again, I dont take issue with anyone not liking a demo. I do take issue with a professional journalist for a large gaming magazine calling out a game's demo as being bad and basically calling the game bad prior to the games release and their review of the finished game. Demo's are free on LIVE. There is no reason why anyone (especially a gaming journalist) should in all honesty be telling anyone not to play the demo and check it out for yourself...thats why its there. This is just blatantly bad journalism on this guys part...and probably done on purpose to garner web hits and attention on top of his known dislike of Dennis Dyack.

[Ali_The_Brit]

wow man the 360 has ALOT of flops

[pow3r of t3h c3ll]

Just listen to the newly formed too human defense force trying to defend the game, face it, it sucks, its the worst demo I've ever played.

But I bet you will buy it anyway just to help your favorite fascist company rule the world anyway!

[resistance100]

Too Human shouldn't be on that list, there are far worse demos than that on XBLA. However yes Too Human demo was a let down.

[Fade_Walker]

F*CK YOU OXM, Too Human isn't perfect but it's far from the worst demo's on Xbox Live, the combat is fine once you get used to it, the dialog isn't bad either, the menu isn't clunky, the HUD is just fine the way it is. The camera isn't perfect, but I know a worse demo you can put on that list, Operation Darkness had the worst camera I have seen in a long time! Hideous character models you say? Try Halo 3, they weren't that great either, but it still was a hit.

So stick that in your pipe and smoke it!

[joeynox]

I absolutely loved the too human demo. icant wait for the came to come out

[Bazookajoe_83]

That goes to three of the mentioned demos, i dont think i have to go into detail for you guys to understand which games i mean...

[Mars Attacker]

Too Human was not nearly what I thought it would be, but Turok was much worse.

[thenickel]

I'm in love with Too Human and will be playing it for months. This guy is nothing more then a hater on a mission to hate on Denis himself.

[Highwayman]

This article is trash not Too Human. Having spent a good deal of time with the demo I can firmly say that I enjoy it greatly. Hour of Victory, now that was the worst demo I've ever touched. That is an example of bad controls. Too Humans controls are different but by no means did I find them "bad" It was quite refreshing, really.
Doesn't the author of this hate Dyack anyway? If a journalist is going to start writing blatantly biased articles such as this, then I daresay it is time for him to put down the pen and seek out a different profession.

[Teknique1988]

lmao you kids are really pathetic seems like good ol snake cant keep you droids entertained for like a month lol but to power of the cell its funny how stupid you are you talk all this crap about the box and proclaim how fascist the company is but yet you claim that you played the game before well just wondering if you dont like the 360 why would you buy the xbox and pay for the service seems to me like your supporting this fascist company you shouls spend more time on the foreman grill 3 and off a true gamers machine=)