Demon Front Review

Jul 19, 2017  Americans love excess, noise, and bombast, and the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is as excessive, noisy, and bombastic as a car can get. But the ultimate Challenger is.

Joinable Netplay Multiplayer Sessions for Demon Front (ver. 105)

An Obscure Gem
Working as a Game Tester, it's my job to test all sorts of games that I've never heard of before. The great thing about this is that sometimes I'll discover new games that are simply loads of fun. Such is the case for Demon Front.
I grew up on SNK games, quickly becoming a huge fan of their titles. One series in particularly was a Side-scrolling Shooter by the name of Metal Slug. One of the things I noticed first when testing out Demon Front is how reminiscent it looked of a Metal Slug game. It too was a side-scrolling shooter with platforming elements and really had an overall similar feel. However, this game manages to take an already fun game like Metal Slug and improve upon it.
Demon Front features a cast of four different playable characters. Each character has a special helper spirit thingy that lends them unique abilities. These can be special charge shots, shields, or even altering movement. Due to this, each character plays differently and isn't just a carbon copy of the others like most similar games tend to do. It's a lot of fun to strategically make use of these special powers in addition to your regular shots to enhance gameplay.
Graphics: 9 - While not as polished as the Metal Slug series, I still found the graphics to be very good. They're very clear and vibrant with lots of colorful sprites and animations. The explosions and shot graphics are very well done. I also appreciate that fact that each character has their own discernibly unique design rather than just being a custom head planted on the same generic body.
Sound: 6 - This may be a bit unfair since the emulator reports the sound emulation isn't 100% so it's possible the sound quality of the real game is a lot higher than what the RGR represents.. still it didn't have terrible sound. The shot and explosion SFX seemed appropriate and there were even voice effects. The background music felt a bit bland though and wasn't especially memorable for me.
Addictiveness: 10 - This game is super addictive to me. I really like Metal Slug, as I said before and this is like that but better. It's really fun to play with these characters and their special powers. It also seems like it would be even more fun in multiplayer.
Story: n/a - I don't actually know the story yet because I haven't completed the game. I'll update this once I get to the end, but I don't feel it's fair to attempt to rate it at this time.
Depth: 7 - I feel there's a fair amount of depth to this game. You can replay it to experience it as other characters and try out all their abilities and whatnot. There's also a stage select so you can kinda go in different orders through different playthroughs to create different experiences. The actual game itself isn't super long, though.
Difficulty: 5 - If you're used to this genre, this game isn't very hard. I find it to be a fair deal easier than other similar games due to the special abilities you have. When you have a magical bunny that can turn into a magical shield for you to protect you from all attacks, it's not that hard to get through the more intense parts. If you've never played games like this; however, it could be rather difficult for you.
Overall, I give this a preliminary rating of 8.2, which is considered 'Very Good'. Do note that this rating is subject to change once I've fully assessed its story and factored that in. Story is very important to me in games and a bad on will bring a game's score drastically, while a great one can lift it up a lot. Just assessing the game for its gameplay value, it's definitely a very good game. I really did enjoy what I've played of it so far and recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Metal Slug or Contra.
Graphics 9 Sound 6 Addictive 10 Depth 7 Difficulty 5

NEW YORK -- Dodge conjured a powerful Demon and wants it to help bolster sales and enhance its reputation as the wicked child among automakers.

How hellish? Try 840 horsepower.

Challenger SRT Demon is a limited-edition car that's so oriented toward the track it doesn't come with front passenger or back seats. They're options -- priced at $1 each. The car is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi Demon V-8, an even hotter version of the same basic engine the powers the Dodge's 707-horsepower Hellcats. It produces 770 foot-pounds of torque, which is a lot, and only 3,000 will be available in the U.S.

It can rocket from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds. It can go from zero to 100 mph in 5.1 seconds. The car is so powerful that it is capable of pulling its front wheels off the ground.

Pricing won't be disclosed for a couple months, but Tim Kuniskis, head of Fiat Chrysler's passenger cars, say he expects it will be well under $100,000.

As such, he doesn't say it will be a big moneymaker. Rather, the Demon is designed to bring more shoppers into Dodge dealers, where they will end up looking at other cars as well. 'We'll sell more Hellcats as a result of having a Demon,' he said at a warehouse event here ahead of the New York Auto Show where the car was introduced. 'That's just how it works.'

Yet the car is designed to be capable of being licensed and driven every day, he said. 'You can make your Demon as crazy or as comfortable as you'd like,' Kuniskis said.

Related:

A resurrection of the Demon name from the 1970s plays right into a renewed horsepower war.

Two years ago, Dodge offered Challenger Hellcat to top Ford's Mustang Shelby GT500, which was pushing more than 660 horsepower. When talk surfaced at this year's Detroit auto show on whether Ford would return fire with a more powerful Mustang, an FCA executive hinted at the Demon.

An enduring part of American culture, muscle cars tended to be smaller vehicles with bigger engines. There's no set definition for what makes a muscle car, but they were built to be street driven and be affordable to the middle class. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the original sticker price for a base-model 1971 Demon was $2,721. Adjusted for inflation, that would be $16,366 now. The new, high-performance versions of the vehicles are now more sophisticated and expensive.

'The muscle car was the perfect example of the right car with the right target demographic,' said Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at the Henry Ford museum, which has 260 cars in its collection. 'You had a lot of young people at that time coming into some money buying cars of their own, looking for something they could, if not race in, pretend to race in.'

The first Demon rolled out in 1971 as a part of the Dodge Dart lineup.

Tim Costello, a photographer for Mopar Collectors Guide, wasn't quite born yet then, but something about the Demon, when he became old enough to drive, captured his soul.

'I've always wanted one,' Costello, 45, of Shelby Township, Mich.,said. 'They were little and fun and fast — and reasonably priced.'

Later Demon models shared a body with the Plymouth Duster. But the Demon, a two-door coupe with a V8 engine, had its own grille and rear taillight assembly. The logo was wicked, too. It included the word Demon in yellow, with a cartoonish devil and fork that made the M. Some religious groups objected to the name. By 1973, the car was renamed the Dart Sport.

But you do have my full attention now. I don't think you'll enjoy it. Scarlet Briar: Just kidding! Scarlet Briar: I keep a list of people that need sharp reminders about how insignificant they really are. And you just jumped to the top of it. Scarlet blade population.

Costello is restoring a bright red 1972 Demon that he bought in Hot Springs, Ark., and hauled back to Michigan.

The new Demon, he said, is a 'really, really incredible street machine.'

'I don't think I can afford a new one, myself, to be honest,' he said. 'But, there is a clientele — guys like me and older — who look at the older Demons and say: 'I don't want to work on cars anymore. I want to go to the dealership and buy a new car that has a warranty and have fun with it.' Old guys like them because they have air-conditioning, power steering, power brakes and all the bells and whistles.'

--Witsil reported from Detroit and Woodyard from New York