Atlus

With Demon's Souls nearing release, it's all things Atlus! We welcome Atlus USA's Manager of PR Aram Jabbari to the show. Localization strategies, digital distribution, aggregate sites, and much more are covered, and we take our best shot at getting you some Persona scoop! The back half of the show brings some of the most in-depth Demon's Souls discussion around. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Tim Spaeth" Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Atlus
• Shin Megami Tensei series
• Trauma Center series
• King's Field series
• Cubivore
• Demon's Souls Review

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Bring your demons to Show-and-Tell

HIGH The new updates (both in terms of gameplay and aesthetics) are amazing.

LOW The difficulty level can be brutal.

WTF Japanese teenagers are surprisingly nonchalant about interacting with the supernatural.

Ok, so if you read this blog even once in a while, it's pretty likely that you know I'm a pretty big Atlus fan. I'm not quite sure if I've crossed into full-blown Atlus whoredom, but I may be getting there. In any event, because they have a great upcoming lineup (and because I have no other blog topics this evening) here's a quick preview of four games coming down the pipe from the hardest-working developer in showbiz…

With the September release date inching ever closer, Atlus is starting to really dole out the goodies when it comes to their PlayStation Portable re-imagining of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona. Earlier in the week we saw website updates (with more promised) and now we've got a lengthy video highlighting how the game has been upgraded, what's been added, and how the experience has been streamlined from the original PlayStation version from the '90s.

How'd they get it to fit?

HIGH A very faithful Shin Megami Tensei experience in a teeny package.

LOW Lacking the typically-excellent and usually-plentiful Atlus voice work.

WTF The AI gets another turn... why, again?

More than a mouthful

HIGH Retains all the classic SMT elements dripping with style and polish.

LOW No voice acting for the dialogue.

WTF Why is the encounter rate set so high?