just writing as i go...thinking about actually putting my first review on here. anyway this is what i wrote. will probably keep re-editing this post every minute or so..

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What would happen if Godzilla and the Alien from Ridley Scott's movie had gone to hell to merge together, then came back as a hideous demon with a lean eight-pack(yes I said eight since it's not human..) and a mean punch that Captain Falcon would be jealous of? Why you would get the towering monstrosity known as the Dragon God! It's roars are deafening even from far away. Your heart is beating fast. It's rage is seething uncontrollably that it never stops moving. Yet all you can do is wonder how you can even begin to approach this monster, but you do anyway and you'll pay dearly for it...with your life! Before you can even manage to raise your blade...Ka-pow! You skid about a hundred feet or more face down on the floor. You lie there lifelessly in a crumpled heap. The ghastly scene comes to a dim..

(message appears in bold red)
"YOU DIED - Your body has been trapped by the Nexus!"
(screen fades to black)

This is the reward(some reward huh?) you get for completing the opening tutorial of Demon's Souls. It is one of many memorable, maddening moments from From Software's epic tale of death and soul-starving demons! What immediately grabbed me when I played Demon's Souls for the first time was it's unconventional approach to the tutorial. Where other games force you to learn moves before you can move onto the next section. In Demon's Souls the game doesn't need to hold your hand. You have free reign over when and how to learn to play the game at your own pace. In other words, the game encourages you to experiment with the controls. There are glowing red glyphs on the ground that contain hints or instructions but you aren't required to read them. They are only there for clarity. Fortunately, the controls for the most part are intuitive to learn without the help of glyphs and the button placements make sense for an action RPG. Demon's Souls adapts the old-school philosophy of learning that is almost lacking in today's games. The other interesting thing about the Tutorial is that it isn't just there for you to familiarize with the game's controls. It is also designed to kill you! No matter what the outcome is, your first death in Demon's Souls will, in fact, take place right here in the Tutorial! Regular enemies here in this elaborate ruse won't pose a threat to you though. They are only fighting at half-strength. You'll fight Dreglings, Swordsmen, Blue-eyed Knights and Archers along the way. You could run away from them because the tutorial doesn't care or you could let them drain your life completely and you'll still live because they are only fodder for the real battle that's ahead. Up the stairs and into the chamber you will meet Vanguard, the actual boss of the tutorial. Vanguard is a huge ogre with a huge axe about twice the size of you and it likes to swing at things. If you are unlucky one swing will kill you instantly, two if you are lucky. Most players will likely die on their first try because this stubborn beast takes more than several dozen blows before it goes down. Those who persevere will get to meet the aforementioned Dragon God himself along with some spoils that will be helpful to you in your next life!

Most recent blog posts from Jason Lew...
dj max portable 3 finally has a date! turning into an Android the gameplay is much better than Ys VI.

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	zigfried - October 31, 2009 (01:30 PM) Just two comments about the HTML -- 1) having italics, underline, and color in one sentence is a bit overkill 2) the quote that's in red would look better if the quotation marks were red, too I just picked this game up last week (well technically still this week) and I'm looking forward to playing it. //Zig
	jiggs - November 01, 2009 (12:55 AM) i made the necessary corrections. thanks! i read your post on the reviewing process and took a few cues from it. enjoy the game!