14 DAY TRIAL // Good news for Xbox LIVE Gold members, not so good news for Silver members who have to wait for a whole week to get their hands on Namco Bandai's Culdcept SAGA demo, available now via Xbox LIVE Marketplace. What, didn't you know? A Silver account won't do anymore dude, so do what it takes and turn yourself into gold.
One way you could do it is by playing Tomb Raider: Anniversary and getting to Midas' statue. The guy's hand turns everything into gold, you know. OK, enough kidding around, let's talk some Culdcept SAGA demo facts, shall we?
First of all, fans of the classic-puzzle genre should know that Culdcept SAGA combines the strategy of a board game with the depth of a trading card game to create a unique fusion of traditional turn-based play, according to an recent Namco Bandai report. The demo currently available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Gold members even allows players to have a go at the game's multiplayer mode. It also features a single player mode, of course. Each have two different gameplay modes.
Gameplay is rather simple, but that doesn't mean you'll get bored playing. You see, by simple we mean that the rules are basic enough to make you want to play immediately, but as soon as you move around the game board and attempt to claim ownership of land squares, all this while battling enemy monsters. You'll see that it takes more than one try to succeed.
On the bright side, you can fully customize your own decks, choosing from nearly 500 hand-illustrated cards with fearsome monsters, powerful spells, as well as useful equipment. Something not usually found within a demo is the possibility to unlock stuff. As it turns out the Culdcept SAGA demo will have you unlocking new cards by playing through the game's both single player and multiplayer modes.
To top it all, you'll be able to go online with it through your custom made decks and participate in strategic clashes. Up to four players can join in the action, via Xbox LIVE. Namco has carefully added pre-made decks so players can easily learn the rules of the game and start having fun ASAP.
The full version of Culdcept SAGA from Namco Bandai will become available for Microsoft's Xbox 360 starting February 5th, 2008, going for for $39.99. Here's where you can get more information the game.