Firstly, I strongly encourage everyone interested to try the demo as it will give a very good idea about what the game is like.

Secondly, I think this game will be an acquired taste. There will be some who just don't like it. I did.

There is no linear story as such. You are given background on the situation of the city and you get background on info of gangs & gang members. The city is then given to you as a sandbox in which to play. That is exactly what they wanted to do, again it might not be for everyone.

"Missions not varied enough" stems from the misconception that this is a GTA clone and has "missions" or activities like Saints Row, GTA etc. This is not the case. You have 21 targets within the 3 gang hierarchy to take down. You must first find these targets and then eliminate them. The targets will be in a variety of settings/locations but the objective is always the same, take down the kingpin. It is not "mission" based as such. You do not go to a flashing beacon on the map and choose to accept the mission to kill target X. Instead, when you find a gang members location, you are briefed on the person/location in game. Their icon then appears on the map. You can then, at any point, choose to go to that part of the city in an attempt to take him down.

Of course there are other things to do, there are races, in cars and rooftops. A huge part of this game is exploration, finding the agility orbs, seeing what you can do to/within the world in the sandbox. It might not sound like much but if you dig the concept, it is.

Worrying about a lack of variety in the missions is worrying about the wrong thing. There are no "missions" . If that is something that concerns you, you should be worrying about whether you will like the game instead, not just that specific element. In both cases, I would encourage you to try the demo. I'm sure might have a go and decide it's not for them, which is fine but I'll wager a few people will be pleasantly surprised.

I hope we get a term for sandbox/open world games at some point because referencing everything to GTA doesn't do the genre any favours.

..because betas usually cost $60.

I get it though, and I'm probably going to bite for the same reason..but I need to try this demo first. Wish it was still on for tommorow.

I think it changed from the 18th to by the end of January. I don't think they announced an official date since they pushed it back. I hope it comes out next week.

No but the adverts for it are, grr.