Ok, first off this game is scary. If you've played Doom 3 or Resurrection of Evil then you will know what I mean. There always seems to be something messing with your head in this game, before disappearing as soon as you turn around. This might be because I'm scared easily, but this game is not for the faint hearted.

The demo from Xbox Live Marketplace puts you in the shoes of the lead character and dumps you straight into the ghoul filled mayhem from the off. In the demo you have to infiltrate an underground facility in search of something, or someone that is causing havoc. As soon as you get down into the dark, the game hits you with paranormal activity, from odd whisperings to flickering lights, as well as an odd little girl that seems to run just out of reach.

The atmosphere is chilling, every time your flash light switches off you find yourself spinning around looking for something in the gloom, shooting bullets at shadows as they fly past. You seem to always hug the walls just to keep from anything unnatural creeping up on you. This makes for some tense times, as you really don't know what on earth is going on here.

The demo also gets you straight into some amazing gun fighting moments. The guns themselves are amazingly powerful. The humble pistol is brilliantly powerful, and if that's not your thing you have two machine guns to mess around with in the demo too. The first has a frighteningly quick rate of fire, and when it shoots you can hardly control it. The second is a more sedate affair, making for some cool head shots from afar.

As well as this you also have the more destructive weapons. The shotgun is amazing to say the least, not only good at medium range, but up close it has the large chance of turning your enemy into a crimson mist in a matter of seconds. As well as the shotgun, there are more destructive weapons in the form of a particle weapon that fries your enemies to a crisp, as well as the standard grenades that blow the unfortunate grunts limb from limb if they get caught napping.

This brings me on to the awesome environments in this game. The demo showcases some amazing textures, from the slimy and weird to a nice military standard you see in most games. The best thing about the environment however is the fact that you can destroy almost everything within it.

Every bullet or shell you fire has a direct and different affect on the surroundings. The assault weapon I mentioned above is the best example of this. You squeeze the trigger and hope, and once the dust settles you can revel in your carnage. Holes will appear in walls (which smoke by the way!) doors will be buckled and broken, shelves will be blasted away, glass will be sent flying from windows, all amazing stuff!

The best moment I had while playing came when I saw three of the standard grunts from the game talking amongst themselves in a small room. With a quick shot from the pistol to break the glass I launched a grenade into the now open window and dived for cover. The shouting and panic you hear from the soldiers is funny as hell, as they frantically try and escape from the blast. But, as soon as the grenade detonated the room was filled with black smoke, and a healthy dose of blood was splattered gloriously across what was left of the windows.

The bodies of your enemies can be horribly if not satisfyingly mutilated, blowing off limbs and as mentioned before turned into their very basic chemical products. This isn't an easy affair however, as the normal grunt is still a formidable force to be reckoned with. They are incredibly intelligent and make good use of team work and cover, dealing out some nasty damage if you're not careful.

The nastier enemies in the demo are some incredibly armoured individuals that take a hell of a lot of damage. They truly surprise you too, the first smashing his way through a steel door with a loud crash, before unleashing round after round in your direction. However they can be beaten and this is where the demo's added features come into play.

You are gifted with the power to slow down time, using your reflex skill to take the upper hand on your enemies. This is not just insanely cool, but useful too. It allows you to dodge incoming bullets or shells and plant many more in your opponent. You can even keep shooting your target as he flies through the air, making his body jerk and twitch uncontrollably as his gun keeps shooting in his hand.

The power is rechargeable too, allowing you to use it in bursts for maximum effect. You would think that this would make the game incredibly easy, but the sheer amount of bullets flying at you, and the toughness of the enemy means that you have to learn to use the power in moderation, since once you use it, you might regret it in a few seconds when that heavily armoured trooper crashes through that door.

After these tense fire fights the demo launches back into scare-mode. You get constantly freaked out by weird ghosts appearing in front of you as you turn round, or as you land in a dark stair well. It seriously is a heart pumping experience, full of guns and probably the freakiest ghouls in any game I've seen.

F.E.A.R is seriously good, and the demo gives you a juicy bite of what is to come from this game in the near future. If your thinking of downloading any game at the moment gets this, you will not regret it.