I'm torn between Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines and GTA IV.

They can be modded to look more visually stunning, but it's the amount of optional content that keeps me coming back. I enjoy games that have low moments in the action to just hang with your NPC friends or help people.

Sadly, I'm so used to them I barely play them anymore. I'm too busy with the Yakuza ports or the Serious Duke 3D mod for Serious Sam.

@girlusocrazy: Then would you say the implementations I mentioned in HL2 and TESIV were just poorly adjusted by the developers? In Half-Life 2's case, it was developed with only Bloom in mind, so I could understand that, but I believe Oblivion had HDR as an option at launch.

Or am I wrong about the old/new HDR options being different technologies, and I was making a mistake playing those games in 2007 on an SDR panel?

@firedrakes: In the world of reality, of course it is. Life is not a home computer screen or CGI.

But perhaps I'm not understanding and you know something I don't. Would you care to explain?

That's not sarcasm by the way. If there is something in history I don't know, I find this stuff rather fascinating.

This isn't something I see documented too often online, and I've lived through all these eras.

If anyone else can relate, how would you best describe the transition between the three?

I'd say early HDR was an overexposed bloom effect that often distracted from the artistic vision (Half-Life 2 looked more natural at launch before it's inclusion, and its implementation in Oblivion made stone pitch white.)

Modern HDR is a different beast entirely, and with a capable display, and correctly tuned settings, it's almost like you're looking through a window than a non-CRT flat panel.

Over time, HDR as we knew it replaced it's original definition, similar to how "literally" and "figuratively" now share the same space in Webster's dictionary.

Remember in the early to mid-2000s how every new major FPS had some form of system where you could interact with vending machines and computer screens within the game's world? Whatever happened to that? Other than the occasional Deus Ex sequel every once in a while, have there ever been any more modern titles that have more to do in the world than just shoot things?

@warmblur: That demo's short if you know what you're doing, but I agree that it's highly replayable. Especially since you unlock extra modes for completion.

@Yama: Any tips for that Final Fantasy XV demo? I'm trying to get into it, but it's pretty difficult to get invested without friends. I'm usually a single player guy, and anything more than Runescape 2 has been intimidating for me.

The only exception was Black Desert, which I enjoyed soloing, but the community there was just so... 4channy.

@mrbojangles25: I definitely feel you there. My BF demo of choice was 1942, but when it comes to a demo that gives you endless replayability, Halo: Combat Evolved was my jam, before the GameSpy Arcade servers shut down and ruined everything. I still never got to play the Enemy Territory: Quake Wars demo without bots. I was a few years late to that one.

@sakaixx: Did you notice any apparent differences in the demo that weren't present in your original PS4 base playthrough?

I was recording footage for a Youtube Top 10 video on this before complications arose and I had to delete the footage. But during my partial recording process, here were my results: Every demo was played as "Any% runs" - attempting to naturally complete side quests before the demo eventually concludes and kicks me out.

The Witcher 1 Demo - Over 11 hours before completing the last story mission - 6 unfinished side quests remained.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 JUMBO Demo - Over 9 hours, completed the first major story goal, surprised to find there was still more. Hard Drive needed a reformat and my save file was lost. Abandoned.

The Evil Within 2 Demo - Between 7 to 8 hours, completed most side quests and stopped timer at the dead end.

I'd also recorded Dishonored 2 Demo footage, but that ended up on the short side, between 3 and 4 hours.

Bonus: Deus Ex: Human Revolution Leaked Beta - Just over 6 hours, was unable to defeat end boss (I had a stealth build and this demo was before the turrets were added in the GOTY edition.)

The next demo on my list was going to be the Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Demo, but as I had to wipe my drive and experienced hardships with several moves, poverty, and hardware instability, I gave up on the project.

If anyone wishes to continue where I left off, feel free! Some demos are so big, they leave one feeling satisfied without the need for buying the full game.

But In the mean time, what are the largest demos you guys have played?
Note: For this topic, please do not count older Shareware titles as demos. Thank you.