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Editor's note: Many things make Demon's Souls special. I'm a big fan of its oppressive mood -- I feel the world's weight on my shoulders as I play. Rob points out how your actions, not a bunch of cheesy cut-scenes or hackneyed dialogue, tell the story. Do you appreciate this approach to storytelling? -Jason

The land's shrouded in blackness. Enemies are more resilient than ever, and new, more powerful foes lurk in dark corners. After much patience and caution, I'm set to meet my prize -- a primeval demon.

I've been searching for colorless demon's souls. Each playthrough has only 10 such souls. These souls are unique as they are the only upgrades available for rare items. You may apply up to five colorless souls to each item, which means that you may fully upgrade only two items per playthrough.

The game has just a few ways to obtain these elusive souls, and my journey to obtain all 10 in one playthrough has revealed another unique aspect of Demon's Souls -- it uses gameplay to tell a specific story.

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Today, Capcom Special Advisor to Super Street Fighter 4 Seth Killian introduces us to Juri, one of the new faces in the World Warrior lineup. Unlike T. Hawk and DeeJay, she doesn't have a Super Street Fighter 2 background for players to look into. No problem, though -- Killian gives us the inside scoop on the versatile (and limber) fighter. Read on to see what the SF expert likes about the newest addition to the series and what her potential weaknesses are.

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Yesterday, Capcom's Special Advisor to Super Street Fighter 4 Seth Killian broke down T. Hawk for us. Today, he opens up about the other series veteran returning for this spring 2010 release, DeeJay. Let's see what Killian likes about the revamped dancing Jamaican -- and what his new weaknesses might be.

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Seth Killian knows his Street Fighter so well, some Japanese guys asked him to help develop their games. Killian, Capcom's manager of community, is now also the company's "Special Advisor to Street Fighter 4 and Super Street Fighter 4" -- yes, that's all part of his business-card-busting title -- because he can talk frames, discuss priorities, and shoryuken with the best of them.

Although he failed our 5HP quiz miserably, he's still more qualified to talk about SSF4 than we are. So this week, we're going to get his thoughts on the newly revealed cast so far (what he likes about them, what World Warriors they'll have trouble going up against, etc.), starting with a giant fighter we haven't seen in a while....

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Sidewalk fighting? Pfft -- no one cares. How about house fighting? A domestic drag! But fighting on the street? Hot damn -- now that's just super. Capcom's Community Manager Seth Killian knows all about raising dukes on the public pavement. In fact, Mr. Killian has such an extensive knowledge of outside butt-kicking that we made our five random questions extra difficult this time.

So let's find out if he can weather our hurricane kicks....

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My buddy Cesar Quintero over at Area 5 once told me a story about how he waited patiently for a wedding to start in Fallout 3 -- just so he could nuke everyone in attendance. He also told me about several other acts of horror that he'd committed in the open-world, do-anything-you-want-including-stuff-you-probably-shouldn't RPG, so that got me thinking:

People sure know how to act like a-holes when given the means.

(Hey, I'm not judging -- I did get the Achievement for planting a live grenade in someone's back pocket in the same game.)

So, for fun and curiosity's sake, we asked some of our game-industry friends what sort of sick, depraved, evil video-game deeds that they try to get away with when no one's looking (and sometimes, even when someone is), starting with the guys who made the wedding-slaughter simulator. And don't forget to share your own terrible tales in the comments below.

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Editor's note: The state of Japanese game development is an interesting subject. It's weird that, right now, I'm enjoying two very different RPG experiences -- one from Japan (Demon's Souls), and one from American (Dragon Age). And I'm really digging the Japanese game. Are you troubled by the state of Japanese development? -Jason

The 2009 Tokyo Game Show's over and done with, and very little big news came out of the event. Sadly, instead of returning to the U.S. excited about what's on the horizon from the country that used to be the de-facto leader of the gaming world, the press slunk back, seemingly dismayed at the state of development in Japan.

Even with huge titles like Final Fantasy 13 and The Last Guardian on the way, a pall hovers above the Japanese horizon because their leadership in the games realm seems to be coming to an end.

In a September 28 post, Brian Crecente of Kotaku.com said that this year's TGS revealed "an industry scrambling to stay relevant in an increasingly Westernized gaming world."

Crecente's story went on to say that "Capcom's famed developer Keiji Inafune, the man behind such hits as Mega Man, Onimusha, and Dead Rising, warned that Japanese game development has one foot in the grave."

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Editor's Note: The nerve! Patrick casts doubt on a mega-anticipated sequel to a beloved classic. But he does bring up some good points. Who here agrees...or thinks he's totally nuts? -Greg

In the summer of 2007 (2008 for PS3 owners), gamers were treated to an incredible gaming experience, one that won the heart of gamers and critics alike: 2K Boston's BioShock. Many of you, I am sure, were left with an indelible impression of wonder and excitement as a result of your exploration of the underwater city of Rapture, its inhabitants, and the adventure of which you just partaken.

The game's environment set the mood and the story took you on a wild ride that, in the end, likely left you wanting more. At least that is how I felt, and so with that I waited for word on an impending sequel.

When 2K Games finally announced a sequel, I was excited indeed and followed the news for the upcoming game closely...but a funny thing has happened to me on my path to the Sea of Dreams. I have recently noticed that my desired return to Rapture is not what it used to be; it has waned significantly, almost to the point of myself giving a big shrug to the game's recently announced release date of February 9, 2010.

How could this have happened? How could my interest for the sequel to one of my favorite games of all time fall away so? I took some time to analyse this situation, and I have came up with a few points that may be responsible for this phenomenon.

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Sometimes, it can take a good decade to get a decent interview.

It's OK -- we're patient people.

In 1999, Bernie Stolar's Japanese bosses let him go as President and COO of Sega of America -- right before the launch of a system he helped create.

Now, 10 years later, he talks to Bitmob about his ouster, how Sega dropped the ball on the Dreamcast after he left, EA's attempted bullying of Visual Concepts, what he thinks about today's Sega (it's not good), and a huge corporate prank he pulled on Sony -- one of the greatest the industry's ever seen.

Bitmob: If we could send you back in time, with the benefit of hindsight, what would you do to make the Dreamcast survive and thrive?

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Editor's note: How much of an effect does Metacritic's aggregate scores have on games? I've always wondered about this, but I've never analyzed the data. Luckily, Rob has, and he's sharing his examination of Metacritic scores and sales for May 2009 with us. -Jason

The September 2009 issue of Game Informer published a feature discussing the merits of review aggregator Metacritic through the lens of Glen Schofield, former general manager for Visceral Games, which developed and released Dead Space late last year.

Central to Schofield’s complaint is a lone score of 65 that caused the Xbox 360 version of Dead Space’s aggregate Metacritic score to drop one point from 90 to 89. Schofield states that “the difference between an 89 and a 90 is a big-ass deal.”

Games journalist Mitch Krpata criticized the article, claiming that Game Informer was calling for reviewers to inflate scores in order to keep the Metacritic aggregate high.  Whether or not Game Informer actually implied such is irrelevant to the observation that review score inflation would be at the detriment of the gaming public.

However, we all know that publishers use Metacritic scores to pressure developers by tying those scores to monetary compensation. Are publishers justified in using Metacritic in such a way? I decided to investigate the issue by tracking game sales and their accompanying Metacritic scores to find out the relationship between the two.

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Cologne's Gamescom is an avalanche of sausages and questionable haircuts. Today was media and exhibitors only…tomorrow, the gates open to the public and it really gets nuts. Here's what I've seen so far:

10AM-ish -- Microsoft/Lionhead Press Conference
I was promised a Microsoft/Lionhead press conference, but got the one-man Peter Molyneux show instead. The Fable creator made a quick announcement about Fable 2 episodic DLC, then launched into his main topic for the day, Fable 3.

"The third child is always the problem child," he said, and in true Molyneux's signature style, he teased a major tweak to the standard role-playing game format but wouldn't reveal exactly what he had in store. I think he said something about "removing a cornerstone."

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Editor's note: In the grand tradition of Folgers instant coffee commercials, I plan to switch out the innards of this multimillion dollar medical device with a Boong-Ga Boong-Ga arcade cabinet. Let's see if he notices the difference! -Demian

Pilots are one thing -- you know, since they shoot the "enemy" -- but now doctors will benefit from video game playing, as well? I came across the above scan in a promotional flier at a local hospital in Redlands, CA earlier today. Personally, I don't know if I'd trust a doctor looking into the first iteration of Nintendo's Virtual Boy to cut me up...would you?

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