Okami, Again, in HD

So I met Amaterasu, "origin of us all that is good and mother to us all", again.

This is one of my favorite game on Playstation 2 (PS2) and to my surprise and delight, was release in PS3 in HD.

The game revolves around the goddess Amaterasu  (nicknamed Ammy in the game), who is incarnated as a wolf to rid of the evil that plagued Nippon, Orochi.

If the names are somewhat familiar to you, you may have encountered it via Japanese Comics or Manga as it is popularly known. Amaterasu and Orochi are Japanese Myth.

Ammy's ability is to use Celestial Brush to execute different skills based on what you draw. On PS3, you may now use the PS Move in order to "rollout" a piece of paper and draw lines in order to execute Ammy's skills. The PS Move is quite a nice touch to the game as it makes you actually feels that you are drawing the lines.

When I played this on PS2, I was stunned with the way the game is presented graphic wise. The Japanese painting style presentation is quite nice to look at. Now imagine my reaction when it is now shown in HD.

Also, the game is quite long, making it worth the buy.

Oh, and now it also has trophies to achieve.


13 Celestial Brush/Celestial Brush

Unwind

What if you can 'abort' your child before they reach a certain age if you realized you don't want to keep them legally. That all it takes is signing papers and then your child will be no more. That you can do this without guilt knowing that you did not really 'killed' them as all of their parts will be used by other people as spare parts when others need it.
Does using all of their body parts counts as not killing them?
This is the way of life in the book Unwind. Where unwanted children, orphaned and some being born as thirds are to be 'unwind' or 'chopped up' so that all of their parta can be used.
Connor, an unwanted son, Rachel an orphaned with no one to support and Levi, born as thirds are to be unwind. The lives of the three crosses as they face being unwind and to try to continue living until they reach the age when they can't be unwound anymore.
This book has been recommended to me by a good friend. I had a copy of this for quite sometime before deciding to read it. Good thing I did as this is a great read. Pacing is good and there is almost never a dull moment.

5 claps/claps

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (999) is a cross between puzzle game and a digital novel. The game let control Junpei, the protagonist, who wakes up in a triple decker bed in a room he doesn't know where. From there, he must find a way out by solving puzzles with clues left for him.
There are 8 other person, each having a bracelet marked with numbers 1 to 9, in a place that very much looks like Titanic ship. Together they must find a way out by helping each other or betraying one another, in this 'Nonary Game' they are forced to play as losing means death.
Its been a long time since I played a game in DS without setting it down as much as possible. I even swapped it to bring to office instead of books I usually carry with me. The game have 6 endings, only one being the 'true' one, but other playthrough to differentt endings lets you have deeper understanding of each of the characters background.
I got hooked with this as it feels like reading an ebook, or a comics if you prefer, and the story is really compelling. Although there are still some part of the story I don't quite grasp, I still find it a great game.
9/9 doors

Harry Potter

It's been years since I followed the series, and now it has really come to an end.
I got hooked when I saw the first movie and from then I borrowed books just to be able to read the series. It is quite a great read that I read some of the books from the series more than twice.
Now that the last movie has been shown, for me the series has come to an end. As when the last book was published, there is still the movie adaptation to look forward to, now, there's nothing left. Its not that I'm complaining, as I think it will not be that enjoyable anymore if the series has more than 7 books. I think 7 is enough.
The only thing I need to do is to complete the book (yes, I finished the series without having a single book bought). Now I have some moolah to spare, I intend to buy the remaining books I still don't have and read again from the start.
I wish there will be another series as great as Harry Potter, or let say close to.
I've talked too much.
P.S. I still can't get over the character Snape, I hated and loved J.K. Rowling for making Snape as he is. One heck of a turn around, that one.
10/10 golden snitch for the series

The Lost Hero

A spin off of Percy Jackson series.
If you had liked Percy Jackson series you would probably like this new series as well. It has the same formula and feel from the former series.
Riordan did a good job of creating another story that continues what had happened from the Percy Jackson, adding another myth to the mix. Now referring also to Roman gods and godesses, the story revolves around the gods having two personas, one from Greek another from Roman, thus, having offsprings or demigod as it is referred to in the seires differs from the two personas.
Characters from the Percy Jackson are all in the book, well most of them, and it seems that only a few characters have been added, albeit the new enemies.
But I can't shake the feeling that there are things in the Lost Hero that contradicts things in Percy Jackson series but I can't quite pinpoint it (I am too lazy too refer to the Percy Jackson books to double check).
Still, I find the book quite a read as I am fascinated with Greek and Roman Myths. I just feel that the new characters are quite powerful than the original casts.
4/5 drachmas

Mysterious Benedict Society

Another trilogy for me.
This one is a light and fun read.
The story is about a group of people recruiting gifted child. And by gifted, I mean, really gifted.
There are four main character, they were selected by Mr. Benedict by administering a series of test to special children.
One of the character has a knack for puzzles and riddles. Another with photographic memory. One athletic girl with special ability to measure distance accurately just by looking. And a very stubborn girl that likes to make rhymes.
The four of them are tasked to stop an evil plan by a person that most people trusts.
I recommend the book although there maybe times that the story seems to drag on and the children are quite lucky.
4.5/5 riddles

Atherton Trilogy

It was just a need to buy a book. I asked someone from a certain bookstore and she recommended me this book.
The first book of this trilogy is the House of Power. This book sat in my bookshelf for quite sometime until I have to read a book written by an author with last name that starts with a C.
To my surprise, I enjoyed the book.
The story is about a makeshift place to live as the earth we know is dying, Atherton.
It was created by a mad genius who had gone missing and disconnected Atherton to the Dark Planet (as the earth is called being dead and all).
Little did the people of Atherton that Atherton is changing. The highest level known as the highland where the House of Power and rulers and elite lives in is falling to Tabletop, the place where people who serves the Highland lives.
The once 3 layers of Atherton, one on top of the other will be no more. And along with it the changes that the people of Atherton must face and overcome, in the middle of this, is Edgar, a boy who was able to climb to the highland and knows the change that will happen.
The ending of the book is a cliffhanger that I decided to buy book 2 and 3 as soon as I was able to.
In book 2, there is yet change to Atherton that no one knew, except for the missing creator of Atherton.
As of now, I am reading book 3 and so far I am still enjoying the series.
On a side note: I think Atherton is an anagram of 'Not Earth'.
Book 1 and 2: 4.5 figs/ 5 figs