I've gotten to the point where if a game demo starts out with a car crash or airplane going down I immediately uninstall the demo and try something else.

What are some things that are so overused or so bad for some other reason that you immediately uninstall the demo (or the game itself if you didn't try the demo before buying)?

Great question, Jenny - and I hope you get some replies. I tend to give games a chance well into the demo, so there isn't really anything that prompts me to uninstall (barring a technical problem, which only happens on rare occasions).

It would be technical problems for me, for uninstalling games.

Hi, Jenny!

I almost never buy a game without playing the demo first because I want to be sure it will run on my computer. I'll uninstall it without finishing for other than technical reasons if it just doesn't grab me or if I encounter 2 or more puzzles I'm really no good at and have to skip. I can usually tell within the first 10 or 15 minutes whether or not I'll enjoy it and, if I find myself saying "well, this sucks", it doesn't bode well for me finishing the demo or buying the game .

Susan

LOL you made me laugh. That criterion will account for a LOT of games in your recycle bin. I can't blame you; but it seems a little harsh. I also give up on some demos, but I can't put a finger on any common ground; just if I get into the demo and lose interest, out it goes. Actually; sitting here staring at the screen and thinking about your question, I realize there are tons of games that I won't play, but that decision normally comes when viewing the sample video and artwork, and the demo never makes it into my computer in the first place.

On a side note, I have recently chosen games because they are in a series. Latest ones I have played are the Haunted Legends games - those are the ones with that annoying dwarf (St. Germain). There is a somewhat constant thread connecting the stories, and I like that. Other series also tie together; some more than others.

I won't even finish the Demo if the game relies too heavily on brutal themes, torture, shock tactics, etc. I can't tolerate that, emotionally. But as someone already said, you often can tell what the content/context of a game will be from the cover art or the one-minute intro or from past games in that series.

Otherwise, the main reasons I've bailed were 1) didn't run properly on my machine, 2) puzzles were too easy for the game to be interesting or 3) game involves excessive arcade aspects or includes other forms of timed/combat components.

Of course, some games bore you from the outset. We've all been there. I skip those, too.

One problem with Big Fish Games is that the website doesn't show the year a game was made. There are some really old games on the site made in the Windows XP era. Chances are good some just don't work on today's PCs.

Nowadays I buy these games mostly on Steam, which lets you try for 2 hours or 2 weeks, whichever sooner, before you ask for a refund.

It's true that the BF website doesn't show the year a game was made, but looking at the game reviews (sorted by oldest first) will give you an accurate determination. Otherwise, one can always google for that info.

But the site didn't use the review system until several years after, did it? For instance, Huntsville came out in 2005 but there are no reviews before 2011. Or maybe the site deletes old reviews.

Sort of OT, but a lot of reviews on the BFG site are from people who played only the demo, not the full game. Does that bother any of you? Even though these are casual games, many of them are not exactly short games, and may need 8-10 hours to finish. And some people simply don't admit in their reviews that they only saw the demo (but I know it). Sometimes you see a whole pageful of reviews from demo-players only.

I don't really pay a lot of attention to the Big Fish reviews. I look at the number of stars and sometimes look over some of the reviews BUT, I don't feel it is right to review a game from a demo. I've never actually played one of the BF demos so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but it seems to me there could be a whole lot more to a game AFTER the demo.

Absolutely. I can play the demo myself.
Unless the person is giving tips on how they got the game to work, a review of a demo is a worthless waste of space, and I wish we could filter those out.

I agree that a demo review is fairly worthless. I really appreciate the reviews that say they are based upon having completed the entire game.

I have never looked at the reviews, and didn't realize some people only played the Demo and then submitted a Review. That's absurd.

I sometimes read reviews but never play demos.

I mainly just browse the storyline and look at the "stills" - and see if either appeal to me.

So if I buy a game and then find I don't like it I have no one to blame but myself

However, reviewing a game from playing the demo only is "cheating" in my book

Back to the first comment about the game starting with a car crash - - -

I am playing a game now that did NOT start with a car crash. But - the bonus game is a 'prequel' to the main game and it DOES start with a car crash. How's that for sneaking up on you, Jenny? HaHa

For me, it's the bad guy with black cape & red eyes that appears & disappears in a puff of smoke. I'm so tired of them. I'd like to see more modern mystery games without someone trying to steal your soul.

Yes, that's sneaky.
I've yet to see a situation where some weird ghost appears in front of the car, and instead of driving off the road and crashing, the protagonist grits their teeth and runs him down.


I'm tired of that guy too.
I see him and say "not that old pest again"

to hard games that make it stressful to complete.