Try full version of Republic for an hour

With downloadable demos ballooning to monstrous file-sizes in recent months, it's not too surprising to discover that developers are now taking advantage of the prevalence of broadband to distribute time-limited versions of complete games - and one of the most recent examples is Elixir Studios' Republic: The Revolution.

Available from 3D Gamers here, the near-800MB download is a complete version of Republic which you can sample for an hour before deciding whether to spend just over a tenner unlocking the full game.

Although considered disappointing upon its original release, Republic was nonetheless a hugely ambitious and intriguing title - pitting you as leader of a revolutionary faction in a fictional Eastern European state and tasking you with building up a power base. Rob joked that it was the "political version of Championship Manager" and encouraged hardcore simulation fans to give it a look.

Thanks to this time-limited full version, now may well be a good time to do that.