Game demos are typically a controlled experience, even if you’re holding the controller. A public relations figure tells you where to go, what to do and points out features. It can take away from the experience of actually playing.

My hands-on experience with the upcoming first-person shooter “Legendary” from  developer Spark Unlimited and publisher Gamecock, however, was the opposite. Someone handed me a controller and just watched me go.

Having been in many a game demo, I appreciated that.

After 20 minutes of hands-on time with mythological shooter later, my favorite “Legendary” moment was unleashing a mutated werewolf, who meant to tear me to pieces, and quietly forcing him to take out my foes.

It’s actually not too different from ideas played with in this year’s “Turok” reboot. “Turok” promised, but didn’t entirely deliver, on the exciting prospect of manipulating A.I.-controlled dinosaurs with the environment. “Legendary” doesn’t take place in a free-form jungle world, but there are similar opportunities for fun.

I first encountered some feisty werewolves. I was told the demo was “super hard” and the game would be toned down before release. That explains why I died about a minute in. I did much better my second time, making it all the way to the end of the demo without much incident. Take that, unbalanced enemy A.I.!

The werewolves don’t seem to care who’s in front of them. Good guy, bad guy — they’ll tear apart whoever is closest. It’s apparent the A.I. will undergo some surgery before “Legendary” ships out, but it shows glimpses of greatness. I thought I’d single-handedly cleared a battlefield, but only seconds later, I heard gunfire from around the corner. One of my fellow soldiers was still battling a werewolf.

In the same combat scenario, I experienced my favorite moment. I clambered to higher ground with an assault rifle, hoping to pick off my enemies with head shots. Instead, the nearby PR rep — one of the very few times he interrupted me during an otherwise silent demo — recommended I shoot the front off a cage housing an enraged werewolf. Not your typical werewolf, either — a bigger, meaner one.

I shot off the lock. The werewolf systematically took out everyone in just a few seconds. The problem: He didn’t commit suicide afterwards. I had to deal with him.

“Legendary”’s gunplay is a bit clumsy in its current state. Switching weapons takes too long and weapons look confusingly similar to one another. In the heat of battle, I sometimes had trouble distinguishing my assault rifle from my shotgun.

You’re constantly switching between fighting human and mythological enemies in “Legendary,” but I hope the finished game emphasizes the latter. I can pick up any random shooter and fight nameless marines. There aren’t many games in which a wall-crushing minotaur wants to smash my brains in. It’s cool, it’s different, but my short playtime didn’t give me a proper impression of the enemy ratio.

There will be dozens of shooters vying for your attention in 2008. This summer, “Legendary” will be one of them. Its unique premise proves a strong asset so far — here’s hoping it pans out on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year.