As far as actually reviewing it goes, here's my take on it:
- First, it doesn't aim to be a very deep RPG. It's basically meant as a light-hearted "Jump in and shoot crap" type of game.
- It looks pretty enough. There's no "advanced" graphics options in the demo, so you set resolution, textures, etc as usual. But you can't toggle AA, Anisotropic filtering, etc.
- Its gameplay seems pretty fast paced, even though the demo length is only about 15-20 minutes worth. The thing that irks me most is that there is no inventory, and no real looting. You do find weapons, but the "loot" is all metal scraps that you use to upgrade your gear. So far, it doesn't look like you can actually "outfit" your character, just keep upgrading.
- There is a skill/talent tree, which is sort of a norm for today's games. Your choices are limited also by some skills needing cybernetic components, which you find and install. Supposedly, there's some tradeoff further down the line between getting more powerful with cybernetics vs staying fully human, this isn't obvious in the demo.
Space Siege seems a little simpler than similar games in its genre, mainly because you don't have "loot" and merchants to worry about. The demo isn't clear on whether or not there's any quick modes of transport between areas, or if there's a "town" of sorts and you can re-play areas or if it's just one straight shoot to the finish. It's also unclear if there will be further difficulties that unlock something - again, fairly common in similar games.
So, to be honest, the demo is not a very good glimpse of the final game. You get to see the engine, and it's pretty satisfying grabbing your cybernetic arms and legs and wielding a freaking huge minigun to mow down lots of alien bugs, throw grenades, and pounce on them with your equally huge energy sword.. if you enjoy a light action RPG, I think you have a good chance of liking it, but it's a shame so many gameplay elements are not apparent from the demo.
The exclusion of loot is particularly strange, since outfitting your character and getting new and shinier gear is typically the major draw of light action RPGs. So I do worry about how long the game will hold interest, and how replayable it will be..