We were quick to chuckle into our sleeves at Don King Presents Prizefighter, especially when the overwhelmingly mediocre reviews started rolling in. But that was before we read his Wikipedia entry, which says that he shot a man who was robbing a gambling house he owned and beat an employee, who owed him $600, to death. So you'll understand when we're coming from when we tell you that there's a demo for Don King's game on Xbox Live and it's freaking amazing.

As we sat there with our mouths agape enjoying the splendor of the demo, we kept wondering "Is it even possible a game this magnificent was designed and programmed by just one man?" ... Not that we'd ever doubt you, Mr. King. Ever. Hey, what are you doing with that bat?

We're not sure what a "Vesperia" is, exactly. We suspect it's either a topical cream which has sinus cleansing vapors, or some manner of ornate doily. If that's the sort of thing you'd like to hear some tales about, you're in luck, as the demo for Namco Bandai's cel-shaded RPG, Tales of Vesperia, has just arrived on Xbox Live.

Yes, Namco told us that a demo was coming this month, so it's not exactly earth-shattering news, but we find great comfort in things panning out the way we've been told they would. As per our usual agreement, let us know what you think of the demo in the comments.

We love sports games. No, we don't really play them that much, but we like the insight that they give us into the mind of the non-gamer. The way we feel when we comb through various combinations of acronyms and numbers is how we imagine non-video game fans feel when they look at any shelf of game titles. ("Tracy, he asked Santa for God of War, do you think Gears of War is close enough?") So understand that when we tell you that there's a demo for NCAA Football 2009 on Xbox Live we don't really know what we're saying.

Is that one of the good ones? Does it have new stuff? We can't tell you. All we gleaned from Major Nelson is that the game has "unique college-style animations" and you know what that means: Post-touchdown beer bongs. So at least you've got that going for you. Hopefully the more knowledgeable among you will let us know how the demo fares in the comments.

We know that this doesn't go for everyone, but we really adored Dark Sector when we played it back in March. Now, just a couple of months after its release, you can finally get a taste of the glaive-tossing action without laying down any cash, thanks to the demo now available on Xbox Live.

The gameplay gets a touch stale toward the middle of the full game and it climaxes with the worst boss fight in recorded history, but we still think it's worth your time. Give the demo a spin (Get it? Like a glaive!) and let us know what you think.

It's a great day to be a first-person shooter fan. ... Well, more specifically, it's a great day to be a first-person shooter fan who's also totally broke. Not only did (as we previously warned you) the Battlefield: Bad Company demo go up over the weekend, but today we get the Xbox Live demo for Enemy Territory: Quake Wars.

So, how is Quake Wars? Well, we haven't taken it for a spin yet, but the reviews say it's at least better than the PS3 version, even if that's not saying a lot. Give both of them a spin for yourself and let us know.

Since we first saw the gameplay from The Bourne Conspiracy, we've held a secret hope that the game, despite its deficiency of Vitamin D(amon), would rise above the standard of mediocrity that has been set by so many licensed games before it. But today is the true test, as a hulking, 1.24 GB demo for the game has just arrived on Xbox Live Marketplace in Australia, New Zealand, India and North America (it's coming to Europe next week).

So eager were we to pass the news along that we haven't given the demo a try yet. But we're anxiously awaiting word on it, so ... what's your verdict?

If you're the megalomaniacal sort who wants nothing more than a race of sentient creatures of your own design bending to your every whim, we have good news! The Spore Creature Creator, once only dated for the murky, fingerprinted window of June, has now been specifically nailed to June 17. If you're megalomaniacal but also too cheap to spring the $9.99 for the game, you'll be happy to hear that a free demo will also arrive that day on the Spore site.

Once the full game arrives on September 5, you'll be able to import in all your created beasts. Until then, they're a perfect way to see if friends and family love you enough to feign interest in the computer animal you made.

Upon first glance (and your second through seventh glances, admittedly) Operation Darkness seems like a game created by insane people. It's a squad based tactical game where you're fighting the "hidden battles of WWII," but the reason they were hidden is apparently because they were waged against skeletons. And and some point, one of those skeletons gets punched by a wolf man in a trench coat. See? Crazy.

We tell you all this, not as a lead-in to dispel your presumptions about the game's insanity, but to see if you'd play the new demo on Xbox Live for us and let us know how it is. Because frankly, we're a little freaked out.

Cake, pizza, fabric, all things you can take a chunk out of to judge the quality. But Fallout 3, it's more like a Jenga tower or a baby: Taking a sample slice out of it won't end up well for anyone. To that end Eurogamer reports that Bethesda's Pete Hines says there will be no demo for the sprawling action RPG.

"When you build it as one thing, there's no way to portion off a section and have it stand on its own without putting the whole game in the demo, which we're just not going to do," Hines told the publication. But honestly, if at their heart demos are to help consumers make wise buying decisions, do you really need one for Fallout 3? We'll be fine waiting to have our minds blown by the whole package. In the interim, enjoy these three new screenshots Bethesda released today, to take the edge off.

We're a little nervous about a new demo for Condemned 2 that was released on Xbox Live this morning. It's not that it's not worth your time (it is) or your money (it's free). We're just concerned that you'll get the wrong idea about Condemned 2 from the provided sample.

If it's the first level of the game, believe us when we say it gets way better. The enemies get smarter, the environments more varied, the weapons get cooler the deeper you get into the game, so don't go getting turned off by the demo slice. We should warn you though that the new Ethan Thomas voice guy doesn't get any less awful. We pine for you, Greg Grunberg. We pine.

To us, demos seem like a great way to get the word out about games, but a recent study suggests that they might be better tools for consumers than solid marketing strategy. The Electronic Entertainment Design and Research Group (EEDAR) reports that games that are marketed on Xbox Live and PSN with a trailer only sell considerably better than games that ship with a demo.

On the PS3, games with no demo or trailer actually sold better than those with a demo, while the inverse was true on the 360. Now, this doesn't mean EEDAR wants you to lose your precious demos forever, but they recommend starting work on a demo after the game's on shelves so no polishing resources are lost. Though we can definitely see the logic in this (we've been kept from buying a few bad games by demos), we kind of wish EEDAR would keep our secret to themselves.

Much like the quests for a better mousetrap or to write a more perfect pop song than Rupert Holmes' "Escape," a great RTS on a console always seems to be maddeningly just out of reach. Developer Petroglyph's attempt on the great white whale, Universe at War: Earth Assault, is now available on Xbox Live for you to sample.

So here's our question for those that have played the demo (or the full game for that matter): Did it work? Are we any closer to finding the perfect combination of factors for console RTS greatness? Or are we back to Square Rupert One?

We've been cautiously optimistic about The Bourne Conspiracy, with all its groin-punching, dramatic framing bravado. But the rubber will truly meet the road (or fist meet the crotch as the case may be) next month when Xbox Live will be receiving a demo for the game, according to developer High Moon Studios. One is also in the works for PS3, though there's no time frame at the moment.

But just imagine: If this game is solid, the sky's the limit for Matt Damon movie-based projects. We're personally torn between The Legend of Bagger Vance's Golfing Armageddon and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Racing. What about you?

Finally, the game that created such a kerfuffle on the Joystiq Podcast (and a couple of great Photoshops on our Facebook group) is now available for you to try for free with the Army of Two demo on Xbox Live. Are your knuckles lubed and ready for pounding? Let's hope so.

But be aware, as we learned from our listeners, if you play the demo, which includes training and the first level, you will not know if you like it. Even if you go on to play the next few levels after that, trust us, you won't know if it's good or not. You had better just take their word for it.

After you've finished covering your toilet in plastic wrap before a loved one uses it (always hilarious), you can do some April Fool's Day unwinding tomorrow with a demo for Army of Two hitting Xbox Live. According to producer Matt Turner, the demo will include the training area of the game as well as the first level, which should should give you plenty of time to fist pound to your heart's content.

For those of you who've already picked up the game, Turner details some of the forthcoming DLC, saying, "1 new multiplayer map arriving as well as 2 new campaign maps in the not too distant future." Sounds great ... now, how about that little regional lockout problem?

[Via Gamespot]