Xbox 360 Fanboy

It's almost always nice to see a fresh demo pop up on Xbox Live Marketplace. Today is one of those days, thanks to a brand-spankin-new (and very early) demo for The Bourne Conspiracy from Sierra and High Moon. The demo clocks in at 1.2 gigabytes (yow) and promises "An intense, fast-paced, authentic experience." In other words, the demo promises about as much as your average Mexican restaurant. We've yet to put the demo through its paces, but we're eager to give it a try, as what we've seen of The Bourne Conspiracy so far has us intrigued though it hasn't managed to really excite us thus far. Here's hoping the demo paints a good picture of the game to come.

Earlier this month, High Moon Studios revealed that a punchy and limb breaking Bourne Conspiracy demo was planned for release to the XBLM sometime next month. Now, thanks to the magic of the internets and a what a few weeks time can bring, we can confirm via Eurogamer that the Bourne demo will be ready for download on Monday, May 19th. Exciting stuff that would be even more exciting if the franchise's main man Matt Damon was actually featured in the game ... SNAP!

GameTrailers has released a new gameplay video of The Bourne Conspiracy, one of the first to feature a non-stop section of pure gameplay (complete with a HUD this time). This video in particular shows off both the gunplay and melee combat of The Bourne Conspiracy and gives us some clues as to how it will all actually work. Thus far, Sierra has been keen to point out that the game would capture the brutal combat seen in the films, and what's on display in the video is definitely interesting.

Looking at the video, it seems like most of the really brutal moves are initiated as reversals or counters to attacks from the enemy, triggering a brief cinematic attack from Bourne. Beyond that, it looks like the moves actually performed by the player are limited to a few basic punches. Of course, we won't know exactly how it works until we lay our hands on a controller and play it, so we'll reserve judgment until the announced demo arrives next month. In the meantime, give the video a look and share your thoughts in the comments.

Sierra announced today that the upcoming book and film adaptation The Bourne Conspiracy will release on June 3 in North America. As discussed here before, the game features a mixture of hand-to-hand combat as well as run-and-gun action. We're sure gamers are interested in trying out the game or, as As Sierra's Al Simone puts it, "experience the dangerously exciting aura and frenetic pace inherent in the Bourne franchise." We'll see about that.

It's worth noting that Bourne will be making his video game debut on the same day as Microsoft's flagship action, (Game of the Year) Ninja Gaiden II. So, demon slaying super ninja or elbow cracking super spy? Decisions, decisions ....

[Via Press Release]

Some new footage of The Bourne Conspiracy is up on GameTrailers showcasing some of the game's firearms. Anyone that has played a third person shooter in the last several years should be relatively familiar with the action that's present in this trailer. Dark environments: check. Cover system: check. A metal crate deflecting a helicopter's high caliber gunfire: check. One thing that's worth noting, however, is that the video shows no user interface whatsoever. There is no ammo gauge, no aiming reticle, no life meter, nothing. Whether this is indicative of the actual game or an example of developers removing the UI for the sake of a trailer, we'll have to wait and see (for what it's worth, none of the screenshots released thus far include a UI either).

Now, if we can just get a trailer devoted to some Bourne-tastic, arm-breaking hand-to-hand combat, we'll be set.