SAN FRANCISCO--Ever-vigilant Microsoft is eager to promote its XNA platform for up-and-coming developers. In an effort to show off what talented game designers can do with these tools, the company announced at GDC this week that a number of demos for XNA-based games will be available to download from the Xbox Live Marketplace for a limited time. Eager to see what the offerings were, we plunged right into the most interesting-sounding game: Dishwasher--or to be technically correct, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. No, this isn't a kitchen-based minigame collection with ninjas. Rather, it's a wonderfully gory side-scroller that whetted our appetites for the full-fledged version, which will be released later this year via Xbox Live Arcade.

　　Be sure to download the Dishwasher demo while it's available.

　　We checked out two levels, starting with story mode. In this level, Foghorn Cafe, we took control of our angry-looking, cleaver-wielding samurai after a short graphic-novel-style introduction that told you...well, rather little. Regardless, we didn't need a story to tell us what our main objective was: carve up dudes like they're Thanksgiving turkeys. It wasn't long before enemies came crawling out of the woodwork with guns and swords, forcing us to do our dirty work.

　　The controls are quite easy to get a handle on. You jump with the A button, perform normal attacks with the X button, use the Y button to attack with even more force, and finish off enemies with B. Unsurprisingly, you can string button combinations together to make for some truly spectacular acrobatic moves. As we progressed through the beautifully bloody level, we found out we could jump up and off of walls, which allowed for some awesome attack moves that would make Ninja Gaiden's Ryu proud.

　　Eventually, we encountered the end-level boss. He didn't prove to be much of a challenge initially, given that his charge on horseback was easily avoided as we whittled him down while fending off the more standard enemies. Once we knocked him off, he proved to be a much bigger challenge; he was so quick he essentially teleported through the air. A play of the arcade mode on the Swatted! Level resulted in a similar whomping. This impressive moving-train level had us fighting with katanas, and required a slight technique adjustment because the moves were a bit more deliberate.

　　The terrific visual design is replete with muddy blacks and rusty reds, and we especially loved the splashes of blood that splattered against the screen and trickled down. Ska Software has delivered a demo with remarkable potential, and we look forward to getting our hands on the complete product. We'll bring you more information about The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, including a release date, as it is announced.