I played it this morning.
I have to say it's very distinctly average. The graphics are sub-standard, with bad textures, and poor lighting. The gameplay is solid, nectar being is a nice edition to gameplay. The weapons are standard fare, a pistol and assault rifle being the main weapons of the demo.
(oddly enough the pistol seems to be able to zoom in to the same distance as the assault rifle...)
The online co-op looks good, and the menu layout for the online modes looks easy to navigate.
I have to wonder how Free Radical managed to drop the ball on this one though.
I think it's a combination of things. Firstly, Free Radical, despite being great devs with a solid track record, were not ready or equipped to create their own game engine for the PS3.
Secondly, they some how got the notion into their heads that Nectar and the bland Mantel/Rebel story line alone was enough to really distinguish this shooter from others.
Lastly, Ubisoft being the publisher was probably not a good thing. There's a developer diary on GT that shows the Ubisoft representatives visiting the Free Radical studio to play the game in it's early stages. Both the representatives look bored, and after playing the demo all they have to contribute is "emmm....maybe you should add more smoke" then they leave.
