E3: Blue Dragon demo on Live

By Robert Purchese Published 13 July, 2007

And Stuntman, Surf's Up, AC 6.

In all the furore of E3 you may have overlooked the release of four new demos for download from Xbox Live.

The first of these is Blue Dragon, weighing in at a hefty 1.1GB of virtual mass. It gives you the chance to try out Microsoft's big JRPG flag-waver in two dungeons, each filled with Mecha Robos and the rather plainly named Ancient Monsters.

It's already been released in Japan and received an alarmingly positive critical reception. However, Rob Fahey wasn't as bowled over when he got to play the game recently. A difference of tastes? Now you can find out.

The full game is due out here on 24th August - pop over to our first impressions of Blue Dragon for more information.

Next up on Live is a demo for smash and crash title Stuntman: Ignition. This taster is a little smaller at 642MB, and lets you pop on your protective gear to try out the thrills and spills of being a Stuntman driver. The full version is out on 31st August and Ellie had a look at it earlier this year. Pop over to her preview to see what she thought.

Meanwhile, a demo of Ace Combat 6 was also released earlier this week - Namco's latest addition to its flight action series. Signed earlier this year by Atari, we've got a bunch of trailers and screenshots of the 360 exclusive for you to enjoy, too. Go see.

Last of the bunch is Surf's Up, the game of the upcoming animated film featuring surfing penguins - which actually looked quite good in the trailer, er, a friend told me. It's 668MB in girth and we have absolutely no idea what to make of it - probably why there's now a demo.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (46) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Arcadiian #1 5 years ago

    I didn't like the Blue Dragon demo. I really wanted to ! I'll try again.

  • afghan_jones #2 5 years ago

    wast feeling stuntman to be honest. the trailer for ace combat looks amazing but it didnt blow me away when I played the demo.

  • LeD #3 5 years ago

    Rob Fahey not liking a flagship 360 title? Now that's a surprise!

  • The-Bodybuilder #4 5 years ago

    The AC6 demo sold me.

    Imagine how it will be on live? Or with the announced co-op story?

  • step #5 5 years ago

    I found the Blue Dragon demo pretty uninspiring. Played well enough for a JRPG I guess, just boring - maybe down to giving you too much power and most (all?) skills and magic available?
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/07 @ 11:46

  • Xerx3s #6 5 years ago

    I thought all the demo's where a bit meh. Especially the BD demo. AC6 wasn't bad or anything but it didn't do what the classics didn't do yonks ago. They also need to tweak the controls a bit imo.

  • IAmBatman #7 5 years ago

    Blue Dragon was shit. Is this really what Japanese gamers go mad over?

    Stuntman was a lot better than I was expecting, but still a bit too much like Dragon's Lair with cars for me to buy.

    Ace Combat demo was great. And holy crap it looks good in HD.

  • S.J.Rogers #8 5 years ago

    Must try out the AC6 demo tonight.

    360 needs a good flight game..!

  • menage #9 5 years ago

    "I didn't like the Blue Dragon demo. I really wanted to ! I'll try again."

    I had the same at first. I wanted it to be awesome and set my expectations to high.
    I also was irritated because the menutxt was so damn tiny that it took a lot of effort to figure out in the beginning (HD curse strikes again)

    Then I played it yesterday and got to the robot boss, qnd I'm totally hyped again. That shit was awesome. Impressive graphics, incredibly funny metal song, roll on. Must buy.

    i think I was a mistake to not give me an impression of the real begining of the game. Now you just have to battle without context whih isn't fun.

    Stuntman did nothing for me. Ace Combat was fun if a bit boring. Hopefully it will have more dogfighting.

  • Raziel #10 5 years ago

    I'm usually all over any J-RPG, even ones my friends use to make fun of me (Disgaea)...

    But Blue Dragon just sucked... Its like the target age is deaf 6 year olds...
    Can there really be no good JRPG on the 360 or will they all be on the PS3 like last-gen?

    Hope Lost Oddesy is better.

  • brooza #11 5 years ago

    Surf's Up is alright actually, I downloaded the demo from the US XBLM a couple of weeks ago not having a clue what it was

    It's pretty much Tony Hawk on rails

  • ZuluHero #12 5 years ago

    so Ace Combat is ace? Blue Dragon is blue? and Stuntman is stunted?

    /sorry

  • menage #13 5 years ago

    "But Blue Dragon just sucked... Its like the target age is deaf 6 year olds...
    Can there really be no good JRPG on the 360 or will they all be on the PS3 like last-gen? "

    Well, Disgaea 1 had a pretty hefty dose of the same infantile wrenching "but you need love in your life" conversations. So I'm prepared to deal with that. They should have kept the Jap txt in. Makes it less irritating to just read it.

    The game is quite tough as well. I actually died 2 times.

    I'l say it again. evewry RPG with the story ripped out will suck by default. Why battle after battle if you haven't got story progression. That's the problem here. No context in the demo.
    Edited by 2 at 13/07/07 @ 12:38

  • Raziel #14 5 years ago

    Hmmm, thats not a bad point you have there.
    But overall I'm still a bit disappointed by the feel and style of it. I might give it another try tonight, but I'm pretty sure I'll let this one go by.

  • SomaticSense #15 5 years ago

    Didn't like Blue Dragon at all. I usually like Jap RPGs, but I just found it totally uninspiring, boring, and plain shit. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the stunning FFXII, but whatever.
    Music was among the worst I've ever heard in a game as well. Just terrible.

    Ace Combat just confirmed that while I've got a pretty varied taste in game genres, and that I'm always willing to experiment (even outright buying a full priced game just because I've not played one like it before), flight combat games are really not my thing at all.

    Stuntman was an ok demo. Good for 5 minutes fun, but I would never in a million years pay anywhere above a tenner for the full game. Got boring really quick.

    In short, I hope there are more E3 tie-in demos on their way, because the current ones were completely inspiring, and have made MS' whole 'Bringing It Home' event a massive letdown.
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/07 @ 12:50

  • login_name #16 5 years ago

    I usually like Japanese RPGs but I didn't get into the Blue Dragon demo. Maybe it's cos I didn't start from the beginning, I dunno. It was also just a little too cute looking, although stunningly so if you like that sort of thing. I did, however, love both Ace Combat and Stuntman. The latter end of this year is really gonna cripple my finances :)

  • menage #17 5 years ago

    "Didn't like Blue Dragon at all. I usually like Jap RPGs, but I just found it totally uninspiring, boring, and plain shit. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the stunning FFXII, but whatever.
    Music was among the worst I've ever heard in a game as well. Just terrible. "

    Funny how people have different tastes. I thought exactly the other way around with FFXII. here I actaully got to push a button myself once in a while. Turned that of after 6 hours.

    Each his own off course.

    Didn't get that music comment though. I thought it was quite fresh and catchy instead of the usual uninspiring symphonic blah blah shit.

  • peterfll #18 5 years ago

    Tried Surf's Up and AC6 last night. Surf's Up - shocking! Played (and looked) like a XBox Live Arcade game you'd pay 200 points for.

    AC6 looked impressive and seemed solid, but is probably just not to my taste. Will try Blue Dragon over the weekend.

    Have to say, Sony really need to get their ass in gear, getting demos up on the PS Network, it lacks in comparison with Live.

  • Aretak #19 5 years ago

    There seem to be very few defenders of Blue Dragon around anywhere. Even on the GameFAQs 360 board, a hive of fanboys who'd defend just about any old shit if it was on the 360, most topics were a general concensus that it was mediocre at best.

    Eternal Sonata FTUW.

  • Avaloner #20 5 years ago

    The Blue Dragon demo suffered because there is a very steep learning curve, since you start with a lot of powers and abilities from the outset and also because, as some pointed out, you do not get really involved in the story. With references to incidents and people who you have no idea about. Other than that it looks like a good JRPG but I do not believe its as good as Dragon Quest VIII (which was brilliant).

    The Ace Combat 6 demo is quite nice. More an arcade shooter than a sim (although it does look like a sim). Playing it once was okish. Playing it a second time was great. And with multiplayer an coop it will be awesome.

  • Dr.Gash #21 5 years ago

    Blue Dragon demo was guff. Very plain, very dull.

  • Raziel #22 5 years ago

    "Eternal Sonata FTUW."

    Ha, forgot about that one. I got the demo of the Japanese marketplace, fully English.
    Now that was a good demo. The combat is a bit wierd, but still pretty cool. I loved that one, buying it for sure!

  • AaronTurner #23 5 years ago

    Wierd, I don't like games like final fantasy whatever but I thought that Blue Dragon was quite good fun.

  • spongebob #24 5 years ago

    I already downloaded Blue Dragon and Ace Combat 6 demos. Haven't tried them yet, to be honest. Stuntman demo was a surprise to me, and I've been browsing the XBL Marketplace all day :) Gotta get that as well.. I like the premise and idea of the game.

  • moggsy #25 5 years ago

    I enjoyed the Blue Dragon demo. The graphics are lovely, the music is a bit cheesy but the gameplay kept me amused for the full hour. I'm not a big RPG fan or anything but I have played FFXII which meant that I at least knew what the hell was going on. If you were new to RPG's then you'd have no chance!

    Played the AC6 demo also - the first AC game that I've played. The grahics and sound are great. The game bored me after a short while though. Hopefully the full game will have a lot more varied missions than turn, turn, turn, fire and repeat.
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/07 @ 14:06

  • Machiavellian #26 5 years ago

    I guess I am the only one who though the Blue Dragon demo was good once I figured out what the heck I was doing. It's hard to get into a RPG when you are already so far within the game and you have no story ,background or anything to relate to.

    The combat at that stage is pretty hard and you could end up having your whole party killed before you know it. I got my behind handed to me from the second Monster I faced. The end boss was fun and it gave you an opportunity to see the big spells (forget what they are called) that are very impressive.

    I liked Ace combat 6 and the game looks great in HD but the arcade feel is not what I look for in games like that.

    I actually do not know if I like Stuntman or not but I did put in a lot of time trying to perfect the few stages I played. Once I got the hange of the controls, I started to get into it a lot more.

  • LeD #27 5 years ago

    I absolutely agree with Machiavellian here. My first playthrough left me a bind underwhelmed, but once I got the hang of the combat system, which is quite deep, started playing around with skills slots and all that, I really fell under the charm.
    Also in order to appreciate it fully you've got to really fall for the art direction, which is very bold, OTT, saturday morning animé style, à la Dragon Ball - and for well documented reasons.
    Absolutely love it now, can't wait for it, and if it misses its audience in the West it'll be a great shame.
    I know at least it will do well here in France, the second largest manga/animé buying country after Japan.

  • Aretak #28 5 years ago

    I like anime. I like JRPGs. I played through the demo three times to get a feel for it. Still, nothing. It just doesn't seem like a very good game to me. And that's coming from someone who even found a lot of enjoyment in a relatively mediocre RPG like Enchanted Arms.

  • InsoFox #29 5 years ago

    For those that haven't played an AC game before, I'd say that is generally representative of the gameplay, but with a few caveats:


    It didn't help it that the plane they give you is one of the more basic, early ones. You'll find that quite quickly you'd get access to planes that are faster, more responsive and just seem a bit less sluggish.

    You can also expect to find some variation in the missions. Previous games have had low flying canyon battles, missions that are dogfighty, ones that are more ground/sea attack based, fast paced journeys through tunnels and even some things which can best be described as boss fights - I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a mission to take down that big flying fortress.

    So there's lots to be had, and it sounds like it's better kitted out for multiplayer than any game in the series yet.

    Tip: It seems like in the demo it only records a replay for about 30 seconds before you crash/finish the mission, but I spent a good 30 minutes trying cool moves and then crashing so that I could watch the replay of them (hold the left trigger for slow motion!)

  • LeD #30 5 years ago

    Well I had a lot more fun with BD combat system in a hour than I did during the 40 hours it took me to complete Enchanted Arms!

  • lennon #31 5 years ago

    I quite enjoyed Enchanted Arms. A lot more so than FF12. I still just cant figure out why I would bother to keep playing it yet I cant quite bring myself to trade it in.

    I didnt get the BD demo at all. I didnt give it very long admittedly and I am going to try again when Im in a better mood for it.
    Edited by 1 at 13/07/07 @ 15:22

  • DUFFKING #32 5 years ago

    "It didn't help it that the plane they give you is one of the more basic, early ones. You'll find that quite quickly you'd get access to planes that are faster, more responsive and just seem a bit less sluggish."

    So I will be able to hit some of the bastards that show up toward the end of the mission when i get a good plane?

  • the_dudefather #33 5 years ago

    never played the first stuntman, but quite liked the demo, in a burnout meats guitar hero kinda way (cars plus scoring I guess)

  • Razorus #34 5 years ago

    The Blue Dragon demo was terrible. I expected I wouldn't like it anyway, as I'm not into turn-based combat but this was quite a bit worse than Final Fantasy. The characters do nothing, all you see is a few blue dragons doing all the work. There are WAAAY too many enemy encounters in the field, and I felt the combat offered nothing new to the genre.

  • adamamosa #35 5 years ago

    ace combat 6 demo is pretty great, aswell as just pretty. I didnt take to stuntman straight away but i found after half four i couldnt stop playing it . . .

  • login_name #36 5 years ago

    "So I will be able to hit some of the bastards that show up toward the end of the mission when i get a good plane?"

    If it's anything like the other Ace Combats, not only will you be able to, you'll have to.

  • Darren #37 5 years ago

    Well I liked the Blue Dragon demo despite the bland, boring environments. I think you have to play the game from the start to appreciate the characters and story though as the demo stupidly plonks you in the middle of the story with no clue as to what is happening or who's who. It's a real shame this game wasn't released in Europe earlier on this year though as it's late August release alongside BioShock and pre-Halo 3 means it'll likely be overlooked by a lot of people I bet.

  • Darren #38 5 years ago

    Oh and there's now a demo of the new Harry Potter game too weighing in at 510 MB.

  • Razorus #39 5 years ago

    Harry Potter SUCKED.

  • smurphs #40 5 years ago

    I was really looking forward to AC6, as I haven't played a decent flight sim since F/A 18 interceptor. Flying under the Golden Gate Bridge brought back happy memories :).

    However, it got boring very quickly. Too much twisting and turning all over the place to get to the next target. Yawn. I got Pilot Academy on the PSP this week, and although the nub is hardly helpful, the game gives a really good feeling of flying, which is more than can be said for AC6. Come on MS, give us Flight Sim X for the 360 (as if...)

    Stuntman seemed crap at first, but became incredibly addictive. Much more fun swapping the controller with a mate too.

    Haven't tried BD yet. How can a demo give a good impression of an RPG? It's like giving out a few pages to sample a large novel.

  • TheJuriel #41 5 years ago

    Played the Blue Dragon demo, found the character design annoying, the voice-acting sub-par, and the combats unchallenging and SLOW. I think it's mostly the characters and that people have said its plot is kiddy-grade (i.e. non-existant) that will keep me away from it.

    Enchanted Arms, on the other hand, I kind of enjoyed. Even if the game has WAY too much pointless running around.

  • TheJuriel #42 5 years ago

    "Haven't tried BD yet. How can a demo give a good impression of an RPG? It's like giving out a few pages to sample a large novel."

    If those few pages are full of typos, and the characters don't say anything clever, only 'oh I am sad' 'me too i too am sad' 'oh dont be sad' 'okay', and the combat descriptions are 'shinji lifted his punch and bim-bam-pow defeated them all!', I think it says enough to stay away.

  • Martin #43 5 years ago

    I liked Blue Dragon but it was way too easy on easy (maybe that's why they call it "easy" mode). Going to buy when I get the chance though.

    Stuntman was great - I got hopping mad at it at times but it always managed to get me back playing just one more round. I love that type of gameplay as well, where you have to try over and over and over again in order to get the top score (I can spend hours on just one track in Burnout).

    Haven't played Ace Combat yet so I can't speak for that and I can't find Surf's Up in my demo list. :/

    EDIT: Forgot about Harry Potter - the only fun thing with that one was showing tables, chairs and books into Wesley's (sp?) face. }:)
    Edited by 1 at 15/07/07 @ 10:27

  • NegativeZero #44 5 years ago

    I seem to be one of the only people who found the Blue Dragon demo reasonably enjoyable. It's not incredible, but it has a nice, solid traditional feel to the gameplay. I was more annoyed that the demo area seemed to be from the end of the game. Thanks for the spoilers, MS.

    The Ace Combat 6 demo was awesome. I was already pretty confident that the game would be good - the other Ace Combat games are great - but it really impressed me. Better flight physics, huge amounts of enemies on screen, and it looks fantastic. Plus it's smooth as anything, without any hint of slowdown even when there's piles of enemies and missile contrails everywhere. The promise of Live play is the icing on the cake.

  • menage #45 5 years ago

    "I was more annoyed that the demo area seemed to be from the end of the game. Thanks for the spoilers, MS. "

    Well, you don't know that. Multiple DVDs.

    In Dragonquest you faced the main badguy halfway already and than the game went on and on. Same for Okami. I'll bet it's 15 hours or so into the game.

    That said. The trailer for the Darkness gave the entire ending away, what the fuck was that all about.
    Edited by 2 at 17/07/07 @ 10:56

  • sharpfish #46 5 years ago

    BD: 50/50. Gfx were nice, and i'm sure there's a lot better to see in the full game. It didn't appear to offer anything new even though I had been hyped for it. However, I knew that you simply can NOT 'get' a JRPG from a simple drop in and sample of the combat - combat is always pretty much the same in turned based rpgs (and it is FUN; but only when in the context of empathy with the characters and hard earned skills). This felt like someone had turned on the action replay codes, skipped to half way through the game and expected you to feel the gameplay... impossible. Another case of the demo being underwhelming with the full game very likely a 1000 times better (You need to start from the begining it's a story led game afterall). However if the story is as bland as it's been reported then probably not an esential purchase for me!

    AC6: Nice gfx (planes and vids) environments less so, they looked sharp but still 'generic cityscape made from boxes'. And while it is possibly bad taste to allow building destruction on impact with the planes it felt fake as all hell when you do accidently crash and the building isn't deformed in any way. One for the fans I think, though the point about having a slow plane to start with is probably part of the reason it feels a bit dull.

    Stuntman: Didn't expect much from this but man it's addictive! I worry about longevity if I were to buy the full game, but there was some spectacular action and great gfx on show and more importantly ever second of it felt like fun, could be a real multiplayer (or split screen) laugh-a-thon.

    My pick: Stuntman Ignition. It may have a limited premise but it's very cool to see 'new' ideas being explored with proper development teams rather than budget release studios. Should be applauded for taking a "cool idea" to a very workable game and not worrying about doing just the same old racing game stuff over and over again. (Same applies to the original stuntman but this seems loads better, even if it is just cos of the extra immersion the graphics offer us).