"We want all our PC players to be sure it runs perfectly on their system, before they commit to buying it," Criterion wrote on its site. "But there's a lot of game to show you."

"So rather than restricting what you can do, we're letting you play through the start of the full game for a limited period...You can go anywhere in Paradise City and check out everything on offer," it clarified. All in-game events will be available.

"Obviously, there's a limit to just how much you can do and for how long...we hope you'll agree that there's plenty there to give you glimpse of what the full game has to offer." The restrictions were not specified, but time and or in-game progress are likely criteria.

The demo will be released via criteriongames.com and ea.com in February, as well as through "millions of disks." Once installed, the disk will no longer be required. A store within the game will let players upgrade to the full game.