After dazzling the room with an extravagant Child of Eden demonstration, designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi offers a far-too-modest appraisal of his "multisensory shooter." This level's still early, he apologizes, and the game currently shares no statistics upon completion. And sorry, but there's no Game Over screen.

It's like sitting down in an opulent, overpriced French restaurant and being told by the waiter that -- sorry! -- the kitchen isn't dishing out cheeseburgers and mini donuts tonight. Later, I ask Mizuguchi if Child of Eden, which he describes as a "feeling good game," even needs to introduce something so contrary like a Game Over screen. Does this mesmerizing mix of thumping music and abstract visuals really need an element of failure?