I have a special love/hate relationship with game demos. I love the fact that they exist. I tend to think of it as good omen for a game if the publisher releases a demo as opposed to forcing you to make your purchasing decision strictly off screenshots and online reviews. Kinda like how bad movies don’t advance screen for critics, to me the lack of a demo puts up a red flag. However, the one thing I hate about demos, is just how poorly they tend to represent the game they are selling. I suppose it’s just a limitation of the format, how can you really show everything a 20 hour game has to offer in fifteen minutes? Some demos for great games just left me cold, such as Batman: Arkham Asylum or Dead Space. The games themselves are exceptional but the demos just didn’t work well enough to make me say “damn, I want this game!”

This has been a constant sticking point with me and demos for a while. At least it was until I played the God of War III demo last week. This, gentlemen, is how you create a demo that not only left me pining for more action, but so thoroughly convinced me of GoW 3’s awesomeness I’d have ran out that instant and bought the game if it were available.

The demo is perfectly scripted. It’s probably representative of the first 15 minutes of the actual game, but it hits a number of marks that need to be present in a great demo. First, it introduces you to the core gameplay in a way that is easy for newbies to the series but also serves as a great refresher if you’ve played the first two games. It doesn’t babysit you at all, but teaches pretty much everything you’ll need to play the full game in just a few minutes. Second, the action never lets up. The pacing keeps you constantly moving, fighting, and gazing at the insanity all the way up to the dramatic conclusion. I don’t think I’ve played another demo that felt so much like a polished mini-game the way that GoW 3 does.

So there you have it demo people. Make your demos as exciting, polished and well paced as God of War III’s and you will sell lots of games. You have my Personal Guarantee!

The most recent example is Trine. The game immediately interested me, since the puzzle/platforming multiplayer co-op sounded like exactly the type of game my wife and I would enjoy playing together. Downloading the Steam demo sealed the deal. While I may have bought the game without having tried the demo, the demo removed all doubt. I now plan to play the game when (and if) it’s ever released on PSN.

Trine PC Demo

A game that I likely would never have bought without trying the demo is Pixeljunk Monsters. Like many other PSN demos, I downloaded it on a whim and it probably sat on my Playstation’s hard drive for a week before I even installed it. When I started playing it, my initial take was that the music was a little annoying and the graphics were too cartoony. But as I do with most demos, I decided to play through to the end before making any kind of decision. The game got addictive. The music was actually catchy. And I wanted more levels. I’ve now grown to love Pixeljunk Monsters, and it’s without doubt the game I’ve put the most time into on my Playstation 3.

Plants versus Zombies was a similar story. While it sounded cute, I expected it to be very much like the Peggle and Bookworm Adventures demos I’d tried: fun, but not worth buying.

After completing the demo levels, I had to play the full game. And it turned out to be the only game I’ve ever played on which I’ve completed every single achievement.

Plants vs Zombies Demo

The last demo that’s floated its way into my mind – I nearly forgot about this one – is the demo for Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. It was a lot of fun. I got caught up in the stealth upgrades and in kicking orcs and goblins off of cliffs. The game was rated horribly, so I didn’t buy it immediately, but when I saw it in a Target for $12.50, I snatched it up with no hesitation. And it’s a keeper. You can get it on Steam now for even less than that.

Dark Messiah of Might and Magic Demo

Now I’ll grant you – not all demos are representative of the actual game. The Playstation 3 demo for Resident Evil 5 was terrible, but the game was actually pretty good. The Playstation 3 demo for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was excellent, but the game itself was horrible and frustrating.

In closing, I can’t write about demos without mentioning the venerable but hilarious demo for Typing of the Dead, which is still available here, especially after having read such a well-written article about the game last week.