9 Video Game Demos That Totally Lied To You

9. Aliens: Colonial Marines (E3 2012)

Ah, Aliens: Colonial Marines. Without question one of the most disappointing AAA releases of the last decade, Gearbox's first-person shooter nevertheless wowed fans of the Alien franchise with a fancy marketing campaign focused on a thrilling series of gameplay demos.

Unfortunately these slick, atmospheric demos, especially the widely-praised one debuted at E3 2012, were nothing more than a smoke-screen to cover up for the fact that development wasn't progressing as intended.

The final product was severely downgraded from that E3 demo, lacking the same detailed particle effects, atmospheric dynamic lighting and smooth animation. That's not to ignore the fact that the demo promised a cinematic, faithful rendition of the iconic James Cameron movie, which the finale game, er, wasn't.

Sega and Gearbox's deception was offensive enough that two players even filed a lawsuit, claiming that the game was falsely advertised. The lawsuit failed, but the spirit of its sentiment was on-point: this demo promised a moody tribute to a classic film and instead felt more like a direct-to-video knock-off.