After playing the demo 4 times, I can safely say that this game has lived up to my expectations. In terms of graphics, the game is simply amazing, that's easy enough to tell from just looking at screenshots or videos of the game, but there was nothing quite like seeing it on my 32" HDTV, truly breathtaking.

I wasn't sure how good the gameplay was gonna be just by looking at vids however, sure it looked fast-paced and action heavy, but you can't get what it truly feels like to be playing the game just by looking at it. Thankfully the game plays just as good as it looks, I have never played an FPS that is as satisfying as this. The enemy AI reacts so realistically to the way you shoot them that no other game feels quite like it.

The controls can take time to get used to i.e. you have to hold down L2 to stay in cover, then use the analogue stick to peer out and shoot the enemy, plus press another button (depending on what contol scheme you use) to aim down the sight. But everything feels smooth once you've got used to them. Another thing you'll notice is that you're character feels quite a bit heavier to move than in other FPS's like COD, and this adds to the feeling of realism in the game, as that is how you'd move if you were loaded down with armour and a gun.

So overall this is an amazing demo and I can't wait to get my hands on the game. Roll on 27th.

If you have played the demo let me know what you thought of it.

Final Fantasy VIII

There's a lot I want to say about this game, but I'll keep it short. It was tough to decide whether I should put this higher up on the list, I decided against it because while it's a great game it many ways, it's deeply flawed for an FF game imo. I'll start with the positives of the game first, most notably the story. The story in this game is simply fantastic, no denying that. It's well paced, there's a ton of character development, it grips you in from start to finish, and the game has arguably one of the best endings in the series to date.

The graphics are also amazing, it was a huge leap from FFVII in terms of graphics, the character models looked realistic, and the world was massive.

So everything that was expected from an FF game in story and graphics were there. However, what really brought the game down was the battle system. It was a traditional turn-based battle system with random encounters that you'd come to expect from FF in those days, but the new GF system, which basically had you tediously junctioning you're GF's (summons) to your characters, was hugely annoying and unneeded. Everything that could be used in battle (except for standard attacking) could only be done once you had GF's junctioned to your characters. The other thing wrong with the battle system was the draw system, which was awful. You could only use magic by drawing different spells out of enemies and draw points (found throughout the game), thus greatly limiting your use of magic. What made things worse was that you could junction magic to any of your stats, allowing you to become greatly overpowered early in the game.

The flaws were not enough to stop it from being an awesome, gripping game though, it was just disappointing knowing that it could've been a lot better.

Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon

Objective of the game- collect gems and eggs that are scattered across different realms. Yes it's a very simple concept, and yet it's done so well, that the game gives something a lot of games don't, provide an addicting and fun adventure.

Spyor 3 had a better, larger world than it's predecessors. The core gameplay that made the two Spyro games before it so great was still there, but the introduction of playing as different characters was a big step up, as each character was unique- having their own skills, and it also allowed the story to be seen from different perspectives.

Spyro 2 was the first game I ever played for the Playstation, and it was amazing for me at that time, being a huge leap in gameplay and graphics from the Megadrive (the first console I owned) So it took a lot for Spyro 3 to beat it. But it managed to do everything that Spyro 2 did well and at the same time, adding much more to the experience.