Welcome back to another issue of On the Download. This month we're going to cover something we've only recently begun seeing in the demo space - persistent demos. What's a persistent demo you ask? Let me tell you.
Persistent demos are those that are more than just a single turn style demo. For instance, most demos you'll play through 20 to 30 minutes of content, be greeted with a "Thanks for Trying the Demo" splash screen, and then you would have to do it all over again. Persistent demos the other hand usually entice you to come back for more - either by unlocking content in the full version of the game, or allowing you to save your progress from session to session.
The Syndicate Co-Op Demo is a good example of the latter; it provides players with up to 10 character levels to unlock along with abilities. These don't need to be earned in a single sitting, but rather, can be earned over many different play sessions with numerous people. Sadly, your progress from the demo won't carry over to the single player game.
There are companies that have dabbled with that very idea. A lot of recent EA games unlock items in the full version just by playing the demo. Kingdoms of Amalur actually unlocks content in Mass Effect 3 while the Mass Effect 3 demo will unlock content in Kingdoms of Amalur. It's these kind of little perks that make playing a demo a much more rewarding experience.
What we'd like to start seeing though is full progression carried over from a demo to the full version. While not a demo, Dead Rising: Case Zero saw this come to fruition by carrying character progress into Dead Rising 2.
All of these are great examples of how demos are evolving within the current generation of games.
NEW IN DOWNLOADS AND DLC
Not too much going on for the DLC front.
Little Big Planet 2 got a piece of DLC featuring the Muppet characters. Yeah...that's pretty awesome.
And...that's about it. Unless you want to count the Modern Warfare 3 DLC schedule.
Free For You
Since we've talked about it all article, the Syndicate Demo is a worthwhile download for co-op fans. With 10 levels and dozens of unlocks available, you'll be able to put a solid few hours into the demo before you even see all the content. You have from now until the game's release to check it out - and we highly reccomend you do!
The demo is available on the 360 and PS3 only.