Traditionally, the fourth-quarter onslaught of big game releases is followed by a lightly packed first quarter with one or two significant titles scattered throughout the months. However, the first stretch of 2008 is paved with a host of potential blockbusters thanks to a wave of delays that saw many high-profile holiday titles slip into the new year.

　　Xbox 360 owners today are getting a chance to try out a pair of those games, because demos for Frontlines: Fuel of War and Burnout Paradise have arrived on the Xbox Live Marketplace. Electronic Arts and Criterion Games gave players a chance to brace for impact with last week's announcement about the Burnout demo (also set to debut on the PlayStation 3's online store today), but no such warning was offered by THQ and Kaos Studios for their Frontlines trial. The Burnout demo clocks in at more than 835MB, while Frontlines will set hard drives back 1.69GB of free space.

　　Burnout Paradise is set for release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 on January 22. Frontlines: Fuel of War is slated to arrive on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in February.