What is best in life?*

So I downloaded the Conan demo for the 360. (By the way, did I mention that I love being able to try out games over XBox Live without having to buy magazines for otherwise-crappy insert CDs?)

THQ took a page from took a chapter from made a direct photocopy of the God of War playbook. Perform eviscerating/dismembering combo attacks, collect red orbs to unlock new moves, collect green orbs for health, find chests with extra orbs, solve basic puzzles, etc. There are some nice differences, though. You can pick up weapons from fallen enemies, and there's a variety of different sword movesets - sword'n'board, dual-wielding, and two-handers. You can even chuck the spare weapons at enemies for an impromptu missile attack. Bodies are persistent, at least for a while, and you end up with areas littered with body parts in true Conan style. Apparently, in the full game there's even the occasional damsel-in-distress-and-undress, so more GoW-style goodness.

Oh, and Ron Perlman is voicing Conan, and from what little I heard of him in the demo, I like it.

The only downside is that it's another title to add to my 360 purchase list. That list currently looks like:

Bioshock
Halo 3
Half-life 2: Orange Box
Eternal Sonata
Gears of War

Conan puts me at an even half-dozen games - nearly $360 worth of 360 fun, fitting enough.

* To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women. **

** Yes, that is good.