I also got around to trying out a couple demos from XBox Live today (there was also the PS3 Haze demo, but it’s still downloading…).

First up was Operation Darkness, which looks like a fairly traditional SRPG in terms of its mechanics. The twist is that it’s set in WWII and you control soldiers with the usual assortment of vintage weaponry in famous battle locales, but with supernatural elements introduced. The Nazis are apparently tapping the power of the undead, and some of the members of your team can turn into werewolves.

It looks intriguing and I’m tempted, but the demo froze on me before I could actually get too far into the battle. Sigh. Oh well, I’ll wait and see what the word-of-mouth is like when it comes out.

Next up was GRID, the spiritual successor to the ToCA racing series. It looks gorgeous, but I’m disappointed by a few things like the lack of improvement in the physics model (I’m now more used to something more Forza-like), the crazy AI (in the road-raging side-ramming sense), and the reduction in different types of racing available. I’ll probably give this one a pass.