"As in the PC version, you play a marine that has been brought to Mars to investigate some spooky goings-on at a facility owned by the United Aerospace Corporation. Of course, the proverbial stuff hits the fan, and you've got to protect the universe using only your wits, your weapons, and ... well, you pretty much just use your weapons.

When the demo started, I was armed with a pistol, some grenades, and my two bare fists. My most important piece of gear, however, was my flashlight. Using the white button, you can use your flashlight at any time and, trust me, you won't get far without it. Nearly every room is shrouded in shadows, and many times you won't know what's going on around you until it's too late. It was very easy to quickly switch back and forth between the flashlight and my most recently equipped weapon, allowing me to find my enemies and take them out before they could do any damage.

The game, to put it simply, looks great, and it reminded me a lot of the recently released Chronicles of Riddick. While the lighting and shadow effects will be the most impressive part of the game to most people, I found the textures to be amazing.

The powerful shotgun came in extremely handy against enemies that didn't sport weapons, as a headshot would result in a satisfying spray of gore.

It's not a straight-up shooter like Halo 2, it's almost a survival horror game in many ways. In fact, I found myself jumping in terror a lot more than I ever did while playing games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil, thanks to the first-person view and lots of shadows for the creeps to hide in. Unlike the PC version, however, you can bring a friend to Mars if you'd like, as the game offers co-op play over Xbox Live or on system link" (xbox.gamespy.com).