The demo...

Did anyone else have trouble getting their Zone of the Enders demo of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty to play? It loads up the main menu (really, really slowly) but then crashes before the demo begins. The OPTIONS, PREVIOUS STORY & SPECIAL work just fine, but NEW GAME won't. I can even select a difficulty & a radar setting, but the game just won't load after that.
It's the PAL edition of Zone of the Enders, & a slimline PS2. Also, the disc is blue; I know PS2s sometimes have trouble with blue discs.
PS I know there's little point in playing the demo now (I already own, & have completed, Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance), but I want to, just out of interest, to see what the demo's like.