Sandbox games are quickly becoming the bane of the demo-loving public. Open worlds just don't separate into bite-sized pieces well. Take Far Cry 2, for instance, which game director Clint Hocking has confirmed will have no playable demo before release due to the staggering amount of gameplay packed into every nook and cranny of the game. What, can't we just use invisible walls?

"One reason is, even if we were to give out what you played today - even if we put invisible walls around it and said, here's the demo, you can go anywhere you like inside these walls and play it how you want - that's potentially right there eight-to-ten hours of gameplay. I don't know too many people who are willing to give away a 12-hour game for free."

How about really tiny invisible walls? Maybe with a time limit? No? As gamers get more and more used to having demos available before games are released, the sandbox game devs are going to have to adjust. Perhaps just give gamers a square of land, a selection of weapons, and a target range? We can work this out folks!

No Far Cry 2 demo planned [Eurogamer]

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