• FIRST OF THE LIST, I'VE BEEN COOKING: This may not be a big deal to most people but recently I have been getting my hands dirty in the kitchen. My mum has a reputation amoungst my friends, hers, Daniel's and families for being a great cook, it's mainly why my friends love to come over (apart from to see me) if to eat something my mother has made. I've always said that I have a lot to live up for when I leave home, and though I've expressed interest in cooking I've never really completed a whole recipe by myself or particiapted all the way through...until now. Mainly the reasons before if because by the time I get home from work (which is at least an hour before mum and Daniel return home) mum's already got it in the oven! Other reasons include previous times it's gone wrong and since mum is very sensisitive about cooking mistakes we tend to have arguements! But recently she's left me in charge of big meals and they come out as a success! This includes spagetti bolognese, lamb caserole, prok stir fry, sherpard's pie and chocolate cake, all make from scratch! It's improved my confidence quite a lot recently, especially since I've been iffy with food since I was poisened in America and am still suffering the consequences, I hope I continue to learn more and to enjoy it as well.
  
• LASTLY, I NOW CONSIDER SURVIVAL HORROR AS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE GAME GENRES: If you read my Haunting Ground review you'll notice that because of that game I've become intrigued by the genre known as 'Survivial Horror'. I'm not a stranger to 'horror' per sae, my first 'horror' based game was Shivers (a brilliant one at that!) for the PC as well as it's sequel; 'Harvest of Souls'. The only other title I've played that is considered to be 'horror' is 'Eternal Darkness; Sanity's Requiem', which is again, a fantastic title! But to me when someone said 'Survival Horror' the series 'Silent Hill', 'House of the Dead' and 'Resistant Evil' pop into my head, and as far as I was aware were simply shooting zombies, despite my friend Katy stating Silent Hill was more than that. I guess another reason I wasn't so interested was because 'horror movies' were generally of a low quality and weren't scary for me so why would a game be any different? I remember picking up and buying 'Haunting Ground' on a whim a whole year before I picked it up and played it, I also remember my heart pounding as I prayed the stalker wouldn't find out where I was! I like to play RPG games because they drew me into a new world I could imurse myself in and become part of the fantasy and action, the same happened whilst I was playing 'Haunting Ground'. I felt very frightened for Fiona and tried with every bit of my gaming spirit to get her out of that mansion as soon as possible, because hearing what the stalkers did to her body after she was killed sent a chill up my spine! The game also introduced me to another type of 'Survival Horror', other than just ones that shoot zombies constantly. I've bought and played Obscure and Rule of Rose now (reviews for both can be found below), I've also bought 'Silent Hill 2' (second handed) and 'Obscure 2' (new), both which I intend to play at a later date, I've also found a very informative site called "Chris' Surivial Horror", a site created by a game developer who reviews and talks about Survivial Horrors as well as has a database of them. It was thanks to this site that my love for Survival Horror has grown!
  So now I'm proud to announce that my top favourite game genres are; RPGs, Beat-em-Ups, Platform and Survival Horror!
   

 

Title: Rule of Rose

Genre: Survival Horror

Platform: Playstation 2

Certificate: 16+

Rating: 3.5/5

Rule of Rose is a funny old game, it’s one of the few titles that managed to hit the headlines in major game sites and newspapers before it even hit the selves. Not because it was highly anticipated, not because it presented any ground-breaking graphics or gameplay, but because it cause quite a controversy.

Before the game was available for pre-order, the game caused an up roar with its supposedly very violent gameplay involving children, under-age lesbian themes and animal cruelty. It became such a concern that several officials decided to not rest until the game was banned from their country! As a result, it was eventually withdraw from the UK, New Zealand and Australia; however it was released in other parts of Europe as well as America and Japan.

Was the ‘up roar’ over nothing? If anything banning a game just gives the game more publicity and surely a ‘game’ cannot contain such inappropriate themes? I can safely say they are not entirely correct; though there is animal cruelty and children being violent towards each other – it keeps it to the minimum and shields most of it from the audience (but just enough to in plant the fear into the player’s hearts). The underage ‘lesbian’ theme is only present in one small chapter, it’s not sexual, and it’s not part of the main story.

So did the ban make the relevant countries miss out on a great horror title? Or was the ban worth all the hassle?

The story of ‘Rule of Rose’ is set in 1930s England and revolves around Jennifer – a poor, unlucky 19 year old whose parents have passed away in an airship accident. She is sent away to an orphanage where she is tormented by the Aristocrat Club: a group of young girls who must be presented with a gift for each month in order to prevent any further torment. Can Jennifer find her way out of this nightmare?

The story is unlike any other title I’ve come across, unlike some games where the story is spoon fed, this game is quite cryptic. Not all of the major story elements are presented if you just play the game with minimal exploring, many hidden ‘documents’ plus some character interaction helps shred light in many grey areas that the game hides. Unless you invest time and energy into uncovering the whole story you’ll find yourself in the dark and very confused at the end of the game. This is not necessary a bad thing, sometimes being ‘spoon fed’ a plot can leave little to the imagination and patronising, unfortunately this brilliant story line is combined with many horrible game elements that will make many gamers not care enough to advance through.  

‘Rule of Rose’ has a decent size cast, all that contribute towards the horror the unlucky girl is forced to endure. The Aristocrat club consist of; Diane, known as the ‘strong willed princess’ and the Duchess of the club, Meg or known by her rank as ‘Baroness’, as well as intelligent but inflexible. Then there’s the ‘cold hearted princess’, Eleanor and Amanda, who was the lowest rank of the Aristocrat Club until Jennifer showed up! The enemies that Jennifer must endure are all children as well, many like zombies – being faceless and big eyes completely black. Others are animals that brutally attack you with weapons or children in paper bags. All of the characters personalities and the enemies play their own little role into weaving the terror into the game, also their need to reject, torment or kill Jennifer makes the player feel for the poor girl and create the surrounding that she is very alone against the darkness.

Welcome to the Aristocrat Club!

The layout of the game is quite interesting and will lure you in long enough to see its flaws, instead of basic narrating or character interaction, the plot is advanced by  small ‘storytelling’ blurbs on the screen, whether its before you speak to a character or before an action is taken place. For example when speaking to the character Diane, the blurb comes up and says;

“No matter what the unlucky girl said to her, the strong-willed Princess would only gaze lethargically. Asleep or awake, the girl was alone. What a sad, unlucky girl”.

At first these story telling moments make the game move slowly but it’s very absorbing, it’s put together very well and brings forth an atmosphere not found in any other game. The game also incorporates small ‘fairy tales’ that reflect certain chapters of the plot, the kids handwriting and doodles combined with the disturbing story (often resulting in death) in each book is enough to raise some eyebrows, but it all plays brilliantly into the horror that surrounds ‘Rule of Rose’. Unfortunately due to the strong fantasy element, it’s very hard to actually get ‘scared’ at what you see. Sure, many elements are ‘disturbing’, it hits that barrier many times but never once was I scared or felt my heart ponding, considering its marketed as a ‘Survival Horror’ it’s a shame really.

The graphics…are like a cheap box of chocolates. At first they look nicely presented in a detailed box and the chocolate looks delicious. But after taking your first bite you’re left with a bittersweet after-taste. ‘Rule of Rose’ opens up with a beautiful opening movie, the characters come to life as you begin the game and the surroundings look very detailed, they bring out the 1930s England period well. However as the game progresses it’s not so flawless, including Jennifer’s weapon going through enemies and walls, Jennifer walking through her dog companion, characters moving very awkwardly and becoming less detailed as the game progresses – like as if the game designers got lazy later on in development. This game was released in 2006, the same year as Final Fantasy 12, and 1 year after Haunting Ground, yet ‘Rule of Rose’ fails to surpass any of them on the visual department. If you’re looking for a game to demonstrate the best PS2 graphical capabilities, this is not the game to pick. 

The music on the other hand is very well composed, consisting mainly of strings instruments and a piano on several tracks. Yutaka Minobe brings forth the emotion and a ‘human’ element to this title in a very intriguing way, the theme song ‘A Love Suicide’ is a wonderful composition to open up the game. Though some of the tracks can get slightly repetitive, along with the plot is remains one of the highlights of the game. In addition most Survival Horror titles tend to have ‘atmosphere’ tracks rather than actual music like ‘Rule of Rose’ provides, it makes a nice change.

The character voices are a pleasure to hear, all of the British accents are done very well and none of the actors slip out of character at all. However the game didn’t give them much of an opportunity to shine. Though there is dialogue in cut scenes, outside of them it seemed like they couldn’t make up their mind whether they ought to be used or not. For example speaking to one character, she’ll voice everything from the subtitles, speak to another and only the first line will be spoken, speak to someone else and the character will only make sounds to demonstrate the mood they are in (such as giggles, or angry sighs). It’s unbalanced for unnecessary reasons. 

The game’s major criticism comes from the game play itself. Who wants to play a game if they can’t actually play it? Even with an intriguing storyline no gamer would want to put themselves through tantrums, annoyance, anguish and frustration to see what’s at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately this game will deliver all of the above, even if you are known for having extreme patience, ‘Rule of Rose’ cannot hide the fact that the gameplay ultimately sucks.

Let’s start with the combat controls, or lack of them shall we say? It seems the developers, taking into account that Jennifer is classified as a ‘timid, poor, unlucky girl’, decided to play the ‘timid’ card too hard. Jennifer can use various objects from throughout the game as a weapon including forks, kitchen knives and pipes, she attacks by locking on using the R1 button and X to attack. At first you may think ‘did I press the X button at all?’ since Jennifer is SO timid that she winces when swinging her weapon and barely lets it leave her side. Even if you do get a decent weapon with a decent range and she manages to swing it, the next obstacle is to actually HIT the target. Too many times the weapon goes through the enemy or fails to hit it at all, or worst Jennifer aims at an enemy on the floor that’s no longer a threat to her, whilst the enemies can attack her from miles away and with a much higher accuracy! Considering that many enemy encounters Jennifer is severally out numbered, this is unacceptable. Sure not all enemy encounters are necessary to advance in the game, and the bosses are few and far between, but it’s the combat that will ultimately tear your hair out and will make you think twice before continuing if you happen to get killed (and believe me, you will!).

To contribute to this, many healing items are hidden, as are the saving points, and bosses tend to have a hefty amount of life points that require a lot of hits from Jennifer to kill. Ultimately it fails to conjure any fun; instead it draws the attention away from the ‘scary’ moments and motivating plot.

Even WITH a weapon, the combat is tiresome.

Other hiccups on the controls become apparent when the camera angle changes, the controls suddenly reverse. One point the camera is in front of Jennifer and pressing ’up’ makes her walk towards the camera; suddenly the camera’s behind her and ‘up’ registers her as walking in the opposite direction she was just going. Irritating if you’re to run away from the enemy and you instead end up colliding with them! 

The game is often compared to ‘Haunting Ground’, mainly due to the addition of a dog companion to assist the main character, but that is where similarities end. Your canine companion in ‘Rule of Rose’, Brown, is not used in the same way as Hewie in ‘Haunting Ground’. Hewie was mainly used for combat purposes and the main character had much more control over the dog. However Brown does not participate in combat, though he can distract the enemy in some situations, he mainly serves as a guide to help advance in the game. In order for Jennifer to find gifts for the aristocrat club, she must use items connected to it (in some shape for form) by using Brown to sniff the object and follow the trail to wherever it takes him. While it’s simple to operate and works well most of the time, it can get very repetitive, in fact all you need is for Brown to sniff on the item provided continuously and you can complete the game quite swiftly. However due to a lot of back tracking and very little skill needed, it’s uninspired.

Despite this the game replies heavily on Brown as he is also needed to find hidden items to unlock many extras in the game. Plus additional healing items for both him and Jennifer are hidden yet essential since the main game provides very few visible ones. However when finding hidden items, that’s when Brown’s mechanical flaws come to light, many times Brown has lead Jennifer to doors that are unable to access or unlock in that particular point in the game, or several times Brown has become ‘trapped’ in a loop where he either continuously leads Jennifer between entering one room into another, or he gets stuck in a particular corner of the room.

Also unlike ‘Haunting Ground’ you have very little interaction with Brown, with Hewie you could pat, scold and even shake hands, but Jennifer can only use the commands ‘stay’, ‘come’ and ‘find’. The end result is that Brown comes off with little personality and the game could still be playable if Brown wasn’t at the unlucky girl’s side. 

If you so happen to enjoy your first play through, there are many elements that call for a second try, including unlocking weapons, costumes, a sound test and a cut scene theatre. As mentioned above most are connected to finding hidden items via Brown within each chapter of the game, though the extra costumes are very different to the run-of-the-mill found in games, only those who were able to stand the gameplay first time round will have the stomach to try again.

Taken as a whole, there is not enough ‘good’ going for it for light gamers to give a try, only hardcore Survival Horror gamers and those who favour a good story over playability factor will find something worth struggling through here. I do have a fondness for this game, and I do not regret purchasing this title on any level. Personally I would recommend this to anyone, however I know this game will not be for everyone. 

 

Film Title: Spiderman 3
Genre: Superhero, action, adventure
Starring: Toby Maguire, Kristen Dunst, James Franco
Certificate: 12A
Rating: 3.5/5

Synopsis: Peter Parker’s life has hit a high; he’s with the woman he loves, Spiderman is now loved by the public and things are looking up for the man who struggled in the past since he got his spidey powers. However his happiness is short lived when his past comes back to haunt him, his old friend Harry is out to kill him and things begin to slide with Mary Jane. To top if off, a mysterious ooze from outer space sets its sights on Peter!   

When I read reviews about this movie on the net, most of general public made the movie sound like it’s the worst Marvel comic based movie since Daredevil! But when I watch it, I thought it was far from it! The acting is still top-notch, the special effects are by far the best in the Spiderman series so far, the battle scenes have been beautifully constructed and the story – not without its faults – but is strong enough to carry the Spiderman legacy forward.
The plot could’ve been a winner in all aspects if it was the storyline for the 4^th movie or if it wasn’t so over crowded. There are 3 bad guys in this movie – a big increase from 1 in each of the previous films. The first we’re introduced to is Sandman, who we see form on screen and the special effects used for his ‘rising’ is gob-smackinly wonderful. His back story is linked to Peter’s past which works well, he seems to fit the movie plot most comfortably. The next baddie is “The New Green Goblin”, also known as Harry Osborn; he was hinted at the end of the previous film however his ‘baddie’ streak is very short lived. In battle with Spiderman he ‘conveniently’ looses his memory which paves the way for Sandman/Venom and the grand battle at the end. Here is where I think the plot could’ve been better used as a 4^th movie; the 3^rd movie could’ve been used to develop Mary Jane and Peter relationship as well as portray “The New Green Goblin” as a respectable baddie. Maybe add another enemy in the works to separate it from the 1^st movie, but Harry in Spiderman 3 came off as whiny and no where near the league or was as respectful as his father. The 3^rd enemy is Venom, considering he was the villain most shown in promotional material for Spiderman 3 – he gets very little screen time. Sure the special effects used for him were very impressive and portray the ‘creepy’ factor that was so brilliant about him in the comics and animation series, but the time he takes over Peter Parker is minimal. He shows at the very beginning of the movie, disappears for an hour and THEN inhabits Peter’s body. It would’ve worked much better is Venom inhabited his body early in the movie and the audience slowly see Peter become more selfish and self-involved. It would’ve been more effective, believable and stronger plotline.
Despite the flaws I still hold the Spiderman movie as the best Marvel Comic adaptations of all, sure it may not be as strong of a movie as its processors and my negatives above may have been longer than the positives but they don’t outweigh the good points in this film. If you’re watched the previous instalments don’t hesitate to put this into your DVD player!

Film Title: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Genre: Superhero, action, adventure
Starring: Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Julian McMahon
Certificate: PG
Rating: 3/5

Synopsis: Set 2 years after the first movie, The Silver Surfer comes to Earth and causes dramatic climate changes to the planet Earth. Mr Fantastic/Reed Richards and Invisible Woman/Sue Storm are preparing for their wedding but things don’t go according to plan when a strange phenomenon causes a huge blackout and the Silver Surfer makes contact with the heroes – to warn of the destruction of their planet! 

I didn’t particularly like the first film, sure it was ok to waste a couple of hours with, but it’s not exactly something I would want to watch again. I was hesitant to see this film but, same situation, mum had hired the film and I had time to kill. I’m pleased to say that it has improved from the first film, however it still has a long way to go to reach the calibre of other Marvel films.
The script is much better than the previous; there are quite a few funny lines as well as humorous situations, plus the characters do act like 2 years have gone by since the previous film by showing that they have evolved as characters and the chemistry between them is stronger. The special effects department succeed to show a flawless Silver Surfer and better portrayal of powers by the Fantastic Four. The film is made for a more family-friendly viewing so most of it is simple with no major plot complications and the enemies are not too dark to handle – but the way it’s been writing makes the story predictable, and the movie is also quite short. For example, I hold Julian McMahon, the actor who plays Doctor Doom, quite highly as I have seem him in Nip/tuck and Charmed and seen his good acting skills. Though he did perform well in the first film, the 2^nd treats him as a kids cartoon baddie – laughable and unrealistic. You know way in advance that he’s going to betray the Fantastic Four when he agrees to join forces with them, even a child could see the plot twist in advance! There are also many elements in the film that don’t seem to be there for any particular reason, such as the Human Torch trying to help the Silver Surfer in the final battle but he gets hit and doesn’t help at all in the end. Sure you may say “it’s the thought that counts”, but if the gesture doesn’t even last a thought what’s the point?
Whether you liked or hated the first film, this movie is worth a look since it does prove that bad movies can get better if they are given the screen time. The film is good for family audiences too.

Film Title: The Cat Returns
Genre: Anime, Fantasy
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Tim Curry, Elliot Gould and Cary Elwes
Certificate: U
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: Haru seems to be having a string of bad luck in life; she's late for school, gets laughed at for being late and the boy she likes is going out with someone else. However when she rescues a cat from being run over by a truck, the cat speaks to her and promises to pay her back. That night the King of Cats arrives at her doorstep to invite her to his kingdom and marry his son - Prince Lune - the cat she saved!

The animation is slightly different to the typical Studio Ghibli style, the eyes are slightly bigger and are a bit brighter but the magic is still there! I really enjoyed this film, it was light hearted and had a Disney feel to it - that it took you into this other magical world but wasn't filled with love stories and over the top meaningful messages. There are some wonderful and funny characters in this film, and as you can see above some brillant voice acting! My only complaint is Anne Hathaway who sometimes did the typical American slang (like 'whateva') when voicing the main character but she was great any other time. The only other thing I didn't like was that it was quite short compared to other Studio Ghibli films, I think a particular relationship was rushed at the end and could've been better if the film was slightly longer, but still, I loved it! I would recommend you see 'Whispers of the Heart' before watching this film, simply because this film was made because the main character in 'Whispers of the Heart' wrote a fantasy story and it was so popular in Japan that Studio Ghibli made it into a film! I also recommend this film to parents and teachers who wish to occupy their kids for about an hour and I'm sure they won't take their eyes off the TV!

Film Title: Grave of the Fireflies
Genre: Anime, drama, war
Starring: Rhoda Chrosite, J. Robert Jones, Amy Jones
Certificate: 12
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: Based upon a semi-autobiography of the same name; set in Japan during World War II, Setsuko and Seita are brother and sister trying to survive in the countryside with their relatives with little food, little shelter, air raid bombings and both parents deseased. Seita tries to live in his father's shadow by struggling to keep him and his little sister alive, often resorting to his life savings and even stealing...will the war ever end?

I heard much things about this movie before my collague lent me the DVD, I heard it has made many people cry after watching it and that it's one of the best war films of all time. Well it takes a lot to make me to cry and I'm not the biggest fan of war movies; but I still was intrigued. No I didn't cry but the characters were very well protrayed and developed perfectly. There were some very heart felt moments and the animation compliment them too.
One minor thing I was curious about was that the film look dated, other Studio Ghibli films have been remastered and put onto DVD in great quality, even the older ones, but Grave of the Fireflies looked and sound like it hadn't. It's quite obvious when the sound effects (presumably from the original Japanese soundtrack) sound tinny while the English voiceovers are crystal clear. However it's a 2-disk special with plenty of features to make up for it.
Obviously being a certificate 12 its not for kids, but if you love Studio Ghibli or want to see a darker side to Anime films, or love war films in general - make sure you pick this up!

Game Title: ObsCure
Genre: Survival Horror
Platform: PS2, PC and Xbox
Certificate: 12+
Rating: 3.5/5 

After completely finishing off Haunting Ground, I decided to search the net for something similar in the Survival Horror catalogue. After much browsing I came across a game known as “Obscure”, though gameplay and story wise it was completely unrelated to Haunting Ground – it also wasn’t like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Plus it was published by a European country, after reading a review on “Chris’ Survivor Horror Quest” site; I knew I had to find it. About 1 month later, in a small “pre-owned” games shop I manage to find it, after about 10 hours I completed my first run of the game. Was it that good I wanted to see it to the end as fast as my fingers could press the buttons, or was it really that short and terrible? 

One evening, in Leafmore High School, Kenny Matthews is in the changing rooms when his belongings are swiped. Following his thief, he is lead into an underground laboratory underneath the school, where students are being experimented on and horrible creatures lurk in the darkness! The next morning, Kenny is nowhere to be found, so his younger sister and his girlfriend decide to stay after school to look for him. Little do they realise what terror is out on the loose within their school grounds…  

The game allows you to control 5 teenagers, who all have their own special abilities to use on the field and have personal view on the games events. So when they examine items or when they enter a cut scene they add their own spin and dialogue into the situation. The player controls one teenager and can have another occupy them whilst exploring the haunted school, who is control by the computer’s AI. The AI controlled characters reacts well to all the enemies and surroundings (so reliable in combat) however you must supply them with weapons and heal them as they cannot heal themselves or you. Sometimes they get in the way when you’re trying to explore certain areas, especially small ones, but it’s forgivable since they tend to cover your back and strike the enemy before you’ve even seen it!  

The characters “special abilities” are very realistic, as in they don’t have ‘magic powers’ or anything that maybe out of the ordinary, so it keeps in tone with the whole “high school” theme. For instance we have Stanley Jones, a slacker and stoner who can pick locks on certain doors, Shannon Matthews who’s the bright spark of her school & can offer clues on what to do next, and Josh Carter, a reporter for the school paper who can tell if there are any hidden items left in a particular room. Although only 2 of the 5 teenagers are needed to actually complete the game, the rest are mainly to help in combat or provide variety to the gameplay but they are interesting to play around with and are portrayed very well.
The characters “health bars” are shown in the pause menu in the “school reports” section; if a particular photo of a student is clean, they have relativity high in health, if the photo is covered in blood; they have little chance of living the next enemy attack. The pause menu can also show maps of the area and where to head to next. 

Don't let the chest throw you off, she's one of the strongest characters in battle!

An interesting element to the gameplay is the 2 player incorporation that can be activated anytime in the game; a 2^nd player can easily plug in, pick up the control and control the 1^st player’s partner, controlling all of its actions! It’s easy to stay together since whenever a player moves into another room that requires a screen change, the other player automatically joins the first player.   

The graphics are ok considering it was released in 2004; the backgrounds are nicely detailed and the creatures themselves – although most of the time surrounded in darkness so are not clear to see – are detailed enough but still come off as “generic gruesome creatures” seen in most horror games and movies. The characters themselves are good but look a little stiff and in some of the cut scenes the graphics aren’t as smooth and polished as they could be.
The music seems to grab elements from several other horror game soundtracks and slam them all onto one disc, it’s a mixture of “atmospheric music” (random screaming, breathing and monster like sounds) mixed with up-tempo battle music (where appropriate) and Gregorian songs. All work well with the surrounds but the fading into one song from the next can seem a bit off.  

The controls are quite different to normal games that require combat, as they use the L and R buttons to access you inventory rather than through the pauses menu. Since you can combine weapons, holding both the L and R buttons down plus using the D pad can seem a little tricky at first but becomes easier as you go along. Using this system makes it seem more ‘life like’, since you’re wide open to attack whilst fishing out a weapon, and it’s also quite compact and sleek since both inventories are shown on bottom corners of the screens therefore not distracting you from your surroundings.
The combat has a small learning curve; it takes a tried & tested method and mixes it with something new. The enemies are protected by a ‘dark aura’ which makes the creatures nearly invincible to all forms of attack, to remove the ‘dark aura’ you need to combat it with light! This means breaking windows to let light in (always fun to do) as well as making use of flashlights, which you can strap to your guns (using tape found commonly in the school) and shine at the aura long enough to blast away at the creatures! This makes it more challenging than your normal ‘shoot everything in sight’ method of eliminating enemies so those who are fan of Silent Hill and Resident Evil should embrace this method of combat.
Weapons range from school based items such as bats to the reliable gun (which disturbingly can be found in the janitor’s closet and in classrooms!), healing items include fizzy drinks and first aid kits. Your save point are CDs that are scattered throughout the game, there are few and far between so you need to use them carefully and when appropriate.  

Let there be Light!!

Though the controls are explained certain other elements are not, or several game mechanics are explained too late to be taken into effect, therefore giving the player an unfair playing field. For example, when one of the teenagers dies, that’s it. You can’t bring them back, but you can continue without them. Though it becomes apparent that you can continue the game without all the teenagers, the game doesn’t say if they can be revived or you must restart again if you get into the situation where you need a particular character who has already died. And since healing items are few and far between as well as saving points, characters dying will not be a stranger to anyone playing this game.
In addition, in the early stages of the game, there are several situations when you are attacked by the enemy but you don’t have a torch to make the creatures venerable or your partner doesn’t have a weapon to back you up! You must run past them and search the rooms for the required items, something that obviously first time players will not know about.  

The game requires to explore the school and solve some puzzles in order to advance in the game; the puzzles range from finding appropriate items to open a particular door and others simply require exploring; such as finding alternative means to enter a room when the door is blocked. None of the ‘puzzles’ are hard enough to put off anyone from replaying but are too simple to but considered puzzles in the first place!   

The unlockables are actually quite varied from stuff you can use in-game, to material you can sit back and watch. ‘In game’ extras include new weapons and new costumes, whilst ‘out game’ include music videos from SUM 41 and SPAN, a “making of” video, galleries (character and background artwork) and a “Special mode”. Some are only accessible after completing hard mode, but this again like normal mode will not take you long.  

The major faults for this game range from big to small; the biggest being the actual length of the game, which you can tell from my finish time above that it’s rather small for your average game. Despite very few saving points, few healing items, several small puzzles, limited ammo and loads of monsters to tackle – this game doesn’t have what it takes to keep a player going for more than a few play-throughs (and that’s if you really want to play all the various difficulty modes and really desire to unlock everything).
The game itself also provides most of the plot in the first 10 minutes of the game, and there’s little development afterwards. The story itself is predictable and plot twists are portrayed whilst playing the game rather than given a cut scenes to truly appreciate it, the story could’ve easily been an hour long episode of “Buffy” or of a similar series. Though the game tries to add more depth with the papers and documents sprawled across the game that add information on the creatures and history of the students/school, these aren’t required to complete the game and some are too long to read, if you’re in a “kill all demons!” mood you not going to want to sit back and read a 5 page document on your TV screen!
One other small fault is shown depending on which character you use to activate certain scenes, if you use a particular teenager to activate a cut scene involving a conversation, the character used can actually overlap the other voices, and since the subtitles change quickly you end up missing some of the dialogue. If you’ve played “Sonic Adventure 2” you’ll get exactly what I mean. Though this can be avoided, it’s a shame for a game that obviously has lots of recorded dialogue get wasted like that.

All in all I did enjoy this game; it may have been predictable, small and only somewhat original, the game originally costs £20 brand new – you can’t really complain! If you’re a horror fan and want something to waste away a few hours, give this game a go. This game is also fun if you have a mate around to play with since it’s relatively short. If you’re hoping for something groundbreaking, this isn’t the place to look. This game was interesting enough to make me want to put the sequel, Obscure 2 (now available in selected stores) on my Christmas list! So if you see a copy in your local second hand shop, it’s worth a few quid! Plus with the names Stan, Kenny and Mr Garrison in the game – who can say no?

Title: Princess Ai (Manga Vol.1)
Present From: Andy
Genre: Romance, fantasy, gothic
Rating: 3.5/5

Summery: A mysterious beautiful blonde girl falls to Tokyo with no memory of her past or where she belongs. All she has is her name and her heart shaped box, fate intervenes when she meets Kent – a handsome student who provides her shelter, and eventually ends up with a recording contract after performing at Club Cupid. However while trying to uncover her lost memories – evil forces are set on disposing her for good…
More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Ai

• I've experienced my first yearly relationship anniversary
• I've gone on holiday with my boyfriend for the first time!
• I had a party for my 18th, the first in a while, and had a wonderful time
• I've suffered the loss of my grandmother and a collague who was very close to my father
• I've made new friends, inside and outside of work
• My mum now knows I'm no longer a virgin...
• I have suffered a lot family wise, mainly caused by my father; but from the series of unfortuneate events, it has brought me, my brother and mum very much closer together
• I've gone from loving work, to hating it, to neutrally enjoying it: all within a space of a year
• I've built up my confidence in myself alot, still need to work on it and not worry so much but all in good time
• I've learnt that more people are on my side that I'm aware of...
• I've learnt that I'm too negative, and need to change that

I've developed a lot as a person within this past year, I'm sure where I'm heading in my life at the moment, or what I have in store in the next few months - but I plan to accomplish the following within 2007:

• Tone up: No not lose weight, but...get fit more importantly. I'm sick of walking up the stairs at Waterloo East station and feel to out of breath at the top! I've been walking up them for over a year I shouldn't feel that way everyday!
• Do a part time course: I don't where I plan to go with this, but I either wish to do like an evening or weekend course that they offer at the Royal Academy of Radio and Television to learn editting or camera work. Just to built up my skills. Or even do an A-level media course...like 2 evenings a week, just so my qualifications don't just conceive of drama, performance and dance...not exactly the qualities television companies look into a employer....
• Build My friendships: I may have built distance (travel wise) between my soul mate and my best friend, but I shouldn't let that affect my relations to other people. I wish to develop stronger bonds with those who are in my life that I haven't shown much appriciation before, or was blind to. So socialising and going out are entitled, time to stop being scared of getting hurt and spread my wings out a bit. 
• Join a club: Karate? Fencing? Archery? Japanese classes? I don't know! But maybe getting out there and doing something will make me more actitive and meet new people. I admire Andy when we spoke on saturday, saying he was trying the likes of Tai Chi & a form of Japanese theatre...I want to try out different things...see what's out there. Do something I enjoy. I used to do swimming lessons consistantly before, I was top of my game and I adored it and one stage. What else can I do and enjoy at the same time?
• Get a Job: I wanted to leave GMTV back in June/July, but I didn't look till October/November period; there was nothing out there and didn't apply for anything. I have a 6 month contract now, after that I plan to move on and see what's beyond kids television
• Grow Up: I had a word with my boss Mark Francis. Asking for an evaluation of the past year, how I've performed and how I can improve. He's very impressed with my work and looks forward to working with me in the new year. He wants me to develop in my confidence, to stop worrying..and grow up.
  Not in the sense that I act immaturely within the office but to continue to develop as a human being, for he has seen to devlelop and grow wonderfully in just a space of a year. Which is what I want, everything is changing around me. I haven't really thought about my future since I'm unsure of my place in the now. This is what I intend to find.

I understand that this whole 'discovering myself' & 'self evaluation' phase and all this crap is quite common in my blogs at the moment. Sometimes I laugh at myself and wonder what made me type it up in the first place. But I presume everyone goes through this at some points in their lives. Maybe not in a blog, maybe not as deep in thought. But I want to look back at what I've written about myself, and see how people reaction to me has changed over the passing time, and say that I've accomplished something. Besides: new year is approaching, if you can reflect that past year at the end of it when can you?
Besides I try to pad my blogs out with other topics too....

Such as my personal life:
On the 9th December I went out with friends for the first time in awhile: Hannah and Amanda to London. We had a lovely lunch in China town and did some needed christmas shopping in forbidden planet, disney store and all the jazz. My feet were killing me by the end of it, we left forbidden planet quite late and started walking towards the Disney store in Oxford - not really 100% aware where it was and how far it was located. Big Mistake! The streets were crowded, we could barely move! I felt like one amoungst millions of lemmings just wondering the streets of London! Amanda was a little frightened, she the youngest of out us and hadn't been to London so busy and late in the day. But we had fun, and fell that I'm starting to built stronger bonds with Amanda and Hannah, I only really got to know them within the past year. And proves myself that I can built friendships with other people despite Katy being far away in Uni. 

Performed By: Billy Mack (Bill Nighy)
Song: Christmas is All Around
Album: Love Actually Original Soundtrack

 

Mother, why
Does there come a day
When we ourselves have to destroy
Even those things that raised us?

As to why I can't throw away
a scattered collage
My hands can't connect to anything
Even when holding your hand...

Be my last... Be my last...
Be my last... Be my last...
I beg of you, Be my last...

Being unaccustomed to one another
We really did our best, didn't we?
We were part of a mistaken love
But it wasn't a mistake

My hands aren't able to hold on (to you) 
How far were we dreaming?

With my hands With my hands
With my hands With my hands
With my hands Be my last...

So that we may one day be connected
Tonight, I want to meet you for one hour

My hands aren't able to hold on (to you)
Who was the one trying to be the adult?

Be my last... Be my last...
Be my last... Be my last...
I beg of you, Be my last...
 

Japanese Lyrics

Kaasan doushite 
Sodateta mono made
Jibun de kowasanakya
Naranai hi ga kuru no?

Barabara ni natta koraaju
Suterarenai no wa
Nani mo tsunagenai te
Kimi no te tsunaida toki datte...

Be my last... Be my last...
Be my last... Be my last...
Douka kimi ga, Be my last...

Narenai doushi de
Yoku ganbatta ne
Machigatta koi wo shita kedo
Machigai de wa nakatta

Nani mo tsukamenai te
Yume miteta no wa doko made?

With my hands With my hands
With my hands With my hands
Watashi no te de Be my last...

Itsuka musubareru yori
Kon'ya ichijikan aitai

Nani mo tsunagenai te
Otona butteta no wa dare?

Be my last... Be my last...
Be my last... Be my last...
Douka kimi ga, Be my last...

 

Game: Kingdom Hearts 2
Genre: RPG
Platform: PS2
Rating: 5/5

In the beginning, (1923), there was Disney. And from Disney, came a long line of magical characters and legends retold in the style of unique animation that no one had seen before. Many years from then Disney still dazzles many young hearts with its cartoon magic.
In 1987, the first Final Fantasy premiered in Japan on the Nintendo's Famicom Disk System, even the console was long forgotten, Final Fantasy lived on for many generations. It change the vision of RPG games forever and brought a long line of unforgettable games into the world of man.
Then in 2002, upon the selves of Japanese games stores, came a clash of Walt Disney tales and Square Enix fantasy characters combined. It shook the world of gaming and brought upon 2 sequels, much mechandise and fanfiction aglore!

The story follows 3 young teenagers; Sora, Kairi and Riku, who live on their secluded home of Destiny Islands. They long to explore the world beyond their home, unfortunetly for them their wish is granted in the darkness way imaginable. A evil breed of creatures known as the 'heartless' conquer Destiny Islands and swallow it whole, leaving the 3 friends scattered across the universe in different worlds.
The game mainly focuses on Sora, who with his magical keyblade and new found comrades: Donald and Goofy, he must save the worlds from the heartless and fight whatever evil tries to stop him. Thought the game left on a cliffhanger, Sora's adventures continued in the gameboy game: 'Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories' - where he climbed Castle Oblivion in order to regain his memories from his past. His mission to save the worlds from the heartless is not over yet as he now trails onto the beautifully and wonderful made Kingdom Hearts 2.

The main characters, from the left: Riku, Kairi, Sora, Donald and Goofy, artwork is from the first Kingdom Hearts game

As you can probably tell from the mentioning of characters, the appearance of Disney characters make the game appear to be light hearted fun and even 'child's play'. However the storyline in KH2 is much more in depth and darker that its presecor, with the appearance of new eneimies such as 'Organisation XIII' and the return of new threats such as Malificent, the game travels deeper into the darkness that was lightly uncovered in the first game. New mysterious that were once shadded reveal themselves and a long difficult battle awaits, not only will Sora need physical strength but emotional and mental strength to defeat what lies ahead... 

Even though the story’s darker, they are many comical acts pulled by the main characters in the cut scenes, as well as optional extra worlds that provide light hearted fun to balance the game out. Such as Atlantica, where the main tasks are to perform button combinations as Ariel sings songs from “The Little Mermaid”s original soundtrack.

The first game was very 'repeativitve' in game play, it was pretty much: battle, battle, cut scene, boss battle, battle, battle, cut scene, boss battle and so on. However this has been dramatically changed in the next installment. Though random battles and cut scenes are still the most frequent, many 'mini games' and missions are put in to breakup the game and make it much more enjoyable. For example; in Christmas Town, where you meet once again the loveable Jack Skellington, you must help San Claus make prezzies by shooting presents into the appropriate boxes. While also trying to avoid the antics of Lock, Shock and Barrel from stealing the presents for themselves. Most of the games are well thought of and provide up-beat fun, in comparisons to most of the battles and sections of the storyline.  

As well as new adventures with new characters, many old faces from the previous game return for more action, as well as expansions to their roles. For example, the first game introduced us to Hercules and his Olympic collisium. KH2 sees the return of Hercules and his world along with characters from the original movie (e.g. Meg and Peguases) and opportunities to explore the underworld where Hades reings.

What gives the game the 'human' touch is character development between Sora, Donald and Goofy. At the start of the first agme they only just met, and of course at the beginning of every relationship you have your rocky and your positive moments. This continues and grows within KH2. You can tell from the start of the game they are closer friends than thye were previously, they tease each other, have the same reactions to situations, they work well together both inside and outside of battle. It's those little scenes where Sora, Donald and Goofy talk amoungst themsleves that not only are the most amusing to watch, but they also bring the humanity in the game, making certain people such as myself who have friends who I hold dearly in my heart, relate well with the main characters.  

The music is absoluetly enchanting; composed by the same genius from the first game - Yoko Shimomura - he brillantly captures the essence of each new disney world and brings each scene to life. On top of that, in the re-visited worlds, he takes his original compositions and brings forth a modernised version of them. Most of the music heard within the game will be inspired by the original disney soundtracks, however his own works, such as the beautiful piano piece "Dearly Beloved" - played during the title screen, show off Shimomura's talents and just by listening brings upon over-whelming emotion. He's certainly is a composer I'll look out for more in the future.  

Battling the enemy has never looked so slick, cool, brillantly done…or even over-whelming…
             The original battle system composed of simple sword fighting techniques, magic abilites, summoning of disney characters to come to your aid and trinity moves which used the party’s collective talents to unleash a devestating attack upon the opponent.
All of the above has been revamped, upgraded and jam-packed with new weapons so huge and powerful it can maybe frighten new RPG customers!

Sora and his comrades prepare to battle the heartless

              In KH2, Sora gains the ability to ‘transform’ into various “Drive” forms early in the game; which not only powers him up but allows him to access new abilites, a new costume and even at times use 2 keyblades instead of one. Making him almost unstoppable in the 5 forms that are accessable within the game. You can even level up each mode so that they can become even stronger.
              A new selection of spells as well as the old ones allow more varity within battle, as well as new summons to come to Sora’s aid. Summons include the return of the lovable genie from ‘Aladdin’ and everyone’s favourite experiement – Stitch.
              Reaction commands is the most subtle yet helpful battle technique; within battle the player can tap the triangle button when instructed to, allowing them to use the enemy as a ‘weapon’ against it’s allies, or prevent the enemy’s advances and use it against them. Example Sora can use a heartless to project laser beams in a circular motion, destroy surrounding enemies. This gives the game a much faster pace and makes the battle simulations more believable, since using surrondings is what a true warrior would do in a real life situation. This also allows the player to be experimental in battle and have fun in random battles instead of getting stuck in a repeatitive attack sequence.
               Limit commands, like in the first Kingdom Hearts, allowed Sora to join forces with his comrades and unleash combined powers towards the enemy. Now not only can he activtate this with his regular comrades (Donald and Goofy) but with other allies who join in th eparty depending on which world you visit; such as The Beast, Jack Sparrow, Simba and Jack Skellington.
              Potentially, the variety of options can confuse new players for several reasons; not only because of the different choices but also the fact that the drive forms and summons require leveling up to get most out of the forms. And the reaction commands can be finkiy…you have to tap it quite quickly and even repeativity to get the best results, if your timing is off it can result in death quite easily. And off course leveling up takes time, and 2 of the same commands use up the same 'energy bar', making it difficult until much later stages into the game to get the most out of all the summons and drive forms.  

Small techical faults, althought not noticable at first, can take away small portions of the magic from the game; such as lacking of sound affects and background music. Many scenes, mostly in the hidden and extra missions, no SFX or music is used - making the scene slightly bland. Such as when Pooh bear is chucked into the air when he's pulled out of Rabbit's home; no sound effects are used when he's pulled out, when he flies across the sky or even when he lands! It doesn't feel natural and seems silly that such a noticable fault is not taken care of by the producers of the game.

What's mostly disappointing, for the lack of commited actors from the previous game who failed to return for the 2^nd installment.
The voices for the 3 main characters, thankfully, stayed on and continued the magic of the game, and many of the Disney characters (from frequent used Donald to the one off Mulan) had the same actors from the 1^st game or the original movie they are best known for.
                    However many of the original Final Fantasy cast and other actors did not return. The likes of David Boreanaz (the voice of Leon from Final Fantasy 8) and Billy Zane, who gave a stunning performance as the main villain of the previous game – Ansem, sadly didn’t grace themselves with their talents once more. Even though the replacements captured the essences of the characters and performed well, it was still a disappointment for dedicated KH fans.
                      The most disappointing was Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, Will Turner and Captain Barbossa – also known as the characters from “Pirates of the Caribbean”. None of the actors from the original movie appear in the game, even though the impersonations tried their best the world felt ‘stale’, and didn’t reach my expectations all the way through.
A welcomed change in voice actors however was the Final Fantasy 7 characters; they used the actors for the same characters from the movie FF7: Advent Children in the game. This brought a refreshing homely feel to the game as well as loyalty towards FF fans. 

So.
Is it the greatest game of all time?
Is it a marking of a new race of RPG?
Will the magic continue in a possible sequel?
I don't know.
I haven't finished it yet!
But, being biased now, possibly yes for all of the above!
In other words:
You'll be missing out on soooo much if you don't buy it!   

For all the KH games; the multi-millionaire, j-pop artist, beautiful and talented - Utada Hikaru. Best selling solo artist of Japan and not only has the ability but also the talent to conquer world wide!

 

Kingdom Hearts 1 had the pleasure of Utada's vocal talents with the songs "Hikari" and it's English counter-part "Simple and Clean", both same in melody but completely different in lyrics. The same scenerio reflects Kingdom Hearts 2 main themes: "Passion" and "Sanctuary". "Passion", heard on the Japanese version of the game, the full version is present on Utada's new album: 'Ultra Blue', while 3 different mixes: 'opening version', 'orchestral version' and 'after the battle version' are present within the game.

 

The same applies to it's English counter-part; "Sanctuary" apart from the 'full' version does not exist.

With haunting yet beautiful unique melodies, as well engineered reverse english lyrics, it's a master piece and delight for the ears.

The reverse lyrics are present in italics, backwards (duh) and in purple so they stand out to readers...

If you wish to know more about the Japanese song 'Passion' as well as lyrics, please visit here:

http://wiki.theppn.org/Passion_(Utada_Hikaru_song) 

For the stunning music video for 'Passion' please go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmGQZfXEKIc 

The lyrics and picture below are courtesy of http://wiki.theppn.org/

 

Cover art for the single "Passion"

 

Song: Sanctuary

Artist: Utada Hikaru

Album: Kingdom Hearts 2 OST (International Version)

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

 

(Chorus):

In you and I there's a new land,

Angels in flight

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah

Where fears and lies melt away

Music inside

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

What's left of me

What's left of me now

 

 

I watch you fast asleep,

All I fear means nothing

 

(Chorus):

In you and I there's a new land,

Angels in flight

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah

Where fears and lies melt away

Music inside

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

What's left of me

What's left of me

(snwod dna spu ynam oS)

My heart's a battleground

(snoitome eurt deen I)

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

(snoitome eurt deen I)

You've shown me how to see,

That nothing is whole

and nothing is broken

(Chours):

In you and I there's a new land

Angels in flight

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah

Where fears and lies melt away

Music inside

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

What's left of me

What's left of me now

My fears, my lies

Melt away...

(wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I)

 

Before I go, I would appriciate it if readers would comment on my Anime Music Video, I made it a few weeks back but haven't posted it until recently. I used Final Fantasy X and X-2 clips, song details can be found at the end of the video. I've posted the video on youtube and google video - but google has much better quality.

I would appriciate it if comments we made about it, I put a lot of work into, and quite proud of it - and yes I have asked a few times on myspace for the same thing, this will be the last time...I promise!

I wanted to paste the video onto this blog entry, but it doens't seem to be working.

 

To view the video on google video click on the link below:

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-2501271779075821858&q=%22without+you%22+final+fantasy 

 

 

This is me, over and out, to play Kingdom Hearts 2...

Hello fellow readers

Sorry for the long ovedue update - I've had lots on my mind, life and amoungst other things, I never had the energy or time to update till recently.

The past week I have spent in Oxford Street/Oxford Circus - the reason? Work experience with Nickelodeon. I've been workig for 1 whole week with the props department for the kids morning show "The Crunch". Within the week I've bought and made several props, made several TV appreences (WEARING EXTREMELY SILLY WIGS - can be seen in photo album) and work my arse off. My legs were hurting and my feet were bleeding at the end of it - btu I learnt lots and it's something new to add to my CV.

I've spent a lot of time with Andy recently, including staying over his house - which was fun, I learnt how to play many card games with his family including Rummy and Hearts (or also known as 'Chase the Lady'), I'm not too bad on either games, I felt like I really bonded with him and his family which is always a good thing.

We've been exchanging a lot of phone calls and text messages lately too, its sweet and I like that I feel close to him - makes a change to feeling down that he's moving away soon and thta people are hesitant to believe that a long distance relationship can work...but we won't go into that...

Next week happens to be bank holiday week, his parents are away and we plan to...well...you get my drift...

As well as seeing Andy I saw my good friend Katy last weekend, she stayed over for dinner and we also saw Silent Hill movie. It was ok, not as bad as previous movies who have tried to mimic other video games. I was glad that they kept the same music from the Silent Hill series. The acting was ok, at times, a little annoying, interesting storyline though, and the funniest quote form it was:

Reaper: I am the Grim Reaper

Woman: What do you want?!

Lmao!!!! A Classic!!!!

We also have an anime fest (organised by Hannah) on bank holiday monday so that should be fun.

Many of you would have probrably heard of: www.youtube.com

Basically it's a website where you can view videos that other people have loaded onto the site, mostly the site is great for loading music videos and concert takes - but it also happens to be wonderful for finding anime!

If you look hard enough you can find episodes of your favourite anime, anything from Chobits to Fake to the original Japanese episodes of Pokemon! For my personal tastes - I have found something that I never thought I'd fest my eyes upon: Sailor Moon: The Live Action Series!

Sailor moon stars a 14 year old blonde-heared cry baby named Usagi Tsukino (Bunny in the manga, or Serena in the english translation). The series starts with Usagi discovering that she is a "sailor senshi" - a soldier with magical powers, orginally born in a previous life on the Moon - and one of the many soldiers who protected the Princess of the moon kingdom. Along the way she discovers other girls amoungst her school and neighbourhood who also are sailor soldiers named after planets in the solar system (Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, etc).

The TV and manga series were extremely popular in Japan, the success is proved with countless albums, 3 anime movies, musical theatre, video games, DVD releases, millions of merchandise and also lead to the release of the dubbed version in the UK and USA. Unfortunely when the USA got their hands on it they wanted to make it into a children's television show: therefore removing nudity, swear words, lesbian relationships, transvestites and male rock stars transforming into women....

The dubbed version wasn't popular with either the children or anime fans, however the series still managed to get translated into at least 5 different languages, and even if you're not an anime fan you've probably heard or seen Sailor Moon some point in your lives.

Then in 2003 - Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon was released on Japanese television, with 49 episodes as well as several 'special' acts and extras released with the DVD version.

When I first saw the series, my first reaction was "Power Rangers". With the karate action (slow motion, 'high-ya' noises, kicks that don't seem like they are 'actually' hitting the target and the stupid 'ugly monster' costumes that the enemy wears). If the series was a few years older then I could understand but from the view I'm protraying here you can tell that it's not taken seriously at first glance. The outfits do look a but 'unnatural' on the actress, but you get used to them later on.

Also, the male actor who plays one of the bad guys - he looks so ridiculous in a blonde wig! But over a period of time you get used to these comic antics and see for what it actually is.

It stays quite true to the actual manga storyline up to a certain point: after Sailor Jupiter joins the series the series goes it own direction, and the characters take on differet personalities compared to both the aniem and manga version. Sailor Venus is a much more serious character, Usagi isn't such a cry baby, etc. To me this makes it quite original and enjoyable. Sure many fans would probably prefer if it stayed true to either the anime or manga storyline - but there's nothing wrong with trying to go something different - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but you never know until you try!

The live action series seems to me more believable than the anime series in some certain levels. E.g. the relationships between the characters are more clearly defined in the live action series, at the beginning they don't always like or trust each other, but as certain situations occur you see that the friendship begins to slowly develop - unlike in other anime series the characters already seem to be "best mates" from the moment they first see each other.

Also: in the anime series Usagi (Sailor Moon) is blonde with a hair style like "meatballs" (as pictured)

When she transforms into Sailor Moon, she still has the same hair style - the only thing thats changed is the outfit shes wearing - yet her family and friends cannot tell its her, even though the hair style is not exactly that popular. However in the live action version its different: the girl who plays Usagi (also pictured above) has natrually black hair, and its only when she transforms that she develops blonde "meatballs". Which makes it seem more like a disguise and hard to tell to the people that sailor moon knows - so this aspect also makes it more realistic. 

I do enjoy the series since I am a long-term fan of Sailor moon, I'm going to continue watching it on youtube.com, I'm up to episode 28 so I might as well! But despite this series being appealling to me, my simple conclusion for it is this....

NO LIVE ACTION COPY CAN REPLACE ANY ANIME YOU CAN NAME!!!! NOTHING CAN REPLACE ANIME!!!!! NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY!

LONG LIVE ANIME!!!!!

 Boy that was fun.....I'm going now....bye! x

p.s. (Incase anyone asks this song is from the Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Soundtrack)