Well it looks like you've been pretty good this year so we're resurrecting a holiday tradition (please forget that we did not resurrect this last year).

Join us as we fly blind in cold weather: heady topics abound as we talk about the guy that looks like Justin Bieber in the UMVC SoCal Regionals Finals, the strangeness of Square's output during the PSX era, people who think James in Silent Hill 2 is a swell guy, the underwhelming amount of mystery in gaming, the overwhelming terribleness of Hard Corps: Uprising, the PSP Vita, the copy of NCIS: The Game: Based on the Hit TV Series that's still sitting on my desk, and much much much much much much more. Shit!

If you've payed even a scant amount of attention around here you've probably picked up on the general enthusiasm and fervor some of us have for From Software's "Soul" series: Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. We once did an experimental episode of the podcast which featured some footage of co-op in Demon's Souls, way back in episode 22.

Of course Dark Souls has been released since we did that, so in this episode we broaden the topic to include that game as well as its predecessor series: King's Field. This episode is about the appeal of these games, and what makes their experiences meaningful. We talk about the effectiveness of their atmosphere, the density of their combat, and the exhilarating ridiculousness of their PvP. Furthermore, someone will die at the end of this episode!