The guys over at EA have worked hard this past year, perhaps harder than ever, as they knew they were again taking on a real life basketball game giant in 2K’s NBA 2K9. To bring back those that switched to 2K during Lives recent disappointing years EA had to offer something very special, and the demo released this past week was a major part of gaining the fans trust again.

By releasing the demo this past week EA may have garnered themselves a tonne of new fans for this years game. With releases of both titles imminent a good demo can make or break a game, and EA has been first out of the gates this year.

So what makes a good demo and what makes Live 09 a good demo? First of all gamers want to have a compelling gameplay experience. Something that they can play more than once and which shows the breadth of gameplay available.

Gamers don’t want to be locked into specific options or timed demos and want to be able to freely explore as much of the game as possible. EA stepped up this year and delivered with the Live 09 Demo by including the practice facility shootaround, which allows you to shoot around for as long as you like and work on your ankle breaker moves.

Going a step further, they included full options for camera settings in-game, control settings, and also help functions to guide you through the exact controls. Often gamers are plunged into a demo with little knowledge of the games controls, but this year EA has made it as easy as hitting a button to find out all you need to know.

Also included in the demo, which many other games fail to include, is the ability to replay the game from the start, quickly and easily. Its as simple as going to quit and then rematch, and you are back playing within seconds for another go around. For those that really want to get a taste of what Live 09 is like this is a great feature.

Adding to the ability to get a feel for the game is the inclusion of options for game speed and various other sliders which allow you to adjust your game to suit your style or tastes. What many game demos do is lock these in order to give a specific end user experience. EA has seen the light and realized that gamers want to see what customization is available in a demo before purchasing the retail version. This shows faith in their product by EA and is to be commended as simple tweaks like game speed really can improve the gameplay experience.

Hopefully other developers follow suit and realize how important a good demo can be in drawing in players. With the ease of XBOX Live and PSN there is more opportunity than ever for bringing in new players to your games. We never thought we’d say it but EA has lead the charge this year and is surely to be commended.

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