In Chain Of Olympus, you actually get to see early chapters of Kratos's life, of how he came to serve Ares and how he was being betrayed by this Greek god of war which leads to him being separated from his family. Kratos is as usual, very violent, and has no mercy for his enemies. But despite his ruthlessness, you will symphatise and grow to love this anti-hero.

There are 4 difficulties to choose from - Mortal (Easy), Hero (Normal), Spartan (Hard) and God (Very Hard). The God mode is indeed VERY hard, suffering 1 blow from the monsters could mean instant death. I would say the moves and weapons are pretty much similar to other GOW games. And like previous series, you need to battle through many areas and solve a bit of puzzles every now and then to advance to the next level. 1 sex mini game is incorporated in the initial part of the game, you don't get to see much but it's still something which makes the game complete - god, heroes, violence and sex made up the Greek legend. Some of the things you find in your way (e.g. pots, wood, stone...) can be broken to get red orbs. Other then that, chests are dispersed around for you to gain red orbs(for upgrade purpose), green orbs (for replenishing health) and blue orbs (for replenishing magic). There is 1 particular magic which I find very useful - the efreet which I would recommend you use on top of the other magic as it is very powerful. Upon completion of the game, you can try the 5 challenges, which prove to be very challenging.

The God Of War series has always been highly anticipated and Chain Of Olympus certainly didn't let me down. The visuals are stunning and I am totally in love of the way Kratos finishes off his enemies:) Too bad the game is rather short and the puzzles are easy to solve.

I give God of War: Chains of Olympus 8.5 upon 10.

Labels: Game Reviews

Helen Grace, a divorced woman, has to raise 3 children (Jared, Simon and Mallory) alone. Facing financial difficulties, they move into the Spiderwick Estate - a house Helen inherits from her aunt Lucinda Spiderwick. Strange things start to happen and Jared decides to investigate. Soon, the siblings uncover a world full of magical creatures. They eventually find out that the estate and their lives are in danger and its up to the Grace family to protect the secrets within.

This movie reminds me of Bridge To Terabithia but I prefer The Spiderwick Chronicles. A fun movie with interesting characters, although I wish that there are more magical characters. Actually my expectation of The Spiderwick Chronicles is rather high, the result however, doesn't quite match my expectation. The only things I like is the rather nice visual and humour.

I give The Spiderwick Chronicles 6.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

FBI agents, Kevin & Marcus Copeland fail in their assignment terribly and they were given one final chance to prove their worth. Their next assignment is to protect Brittany and Tiffany Wilson from a kidnapping plot. While sending the ladies to the hotel, they got into a minor car accident. The Wilson sisters refuse to leave their hotel rooms as they obtain scars in the accident. So as not to get into trouble again, the Copeland brothers disguise themselves as Brittany and Tiffany.

Brainless movie. This is how the Copeland brothers look like after dressing up:

How could anyone NOT see through their disguise?!?!
The story makes no sense at all.
Funny? Sometimes.
Disgusting? All the time.

I give White Chicks 3 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Marisa Ventura is a single mother who works as a housekeeper in a first class hotel. One day, she meets Christopher Marchall - a politician, whom thought that she is a guest at the hotel. They fall in love at first sight but when the truth about Marisa's identity is revealed, can they still be together despite their social differences?

A modern Cinderella story with a plot that only happens in fairy tales. All the aspects of the movie are quite dull, nothing too bad or good for me to remember.

I give Maid in Manhattan 4.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

A man stumbles out of the Amazon forest in serious health condition. Shortly after, he dies and is being identified as a former Special Force solider whom was sent into the forest on a scientific mission many years ago. What shocks everyone is the fact that he grows back an arm which was amputated in the past! In order to solve the mystery and seek the rest of the missing team members of the scientific mission, Nathan Rand is being sent in with other elites. The obstacles they are to face include those lay by an opposing team and by an ancient secret tribe...the Ban-Ali...

This book is GOOD! Like it better than Map Of Bones, which WAS my favourite James Rollins book before I read Amazonia. He managed to mix different elements well and transform them into an exciting, action-packed and nerve-breaking novel. The ideas presented are pretty interesting, fresh and offers you a new view on botanicals...shhhhh...shall not reveal anything further.

On the whole, I give Amazonia 8.5 upon 10.

Labels: Book Reviews

Oscar is a young fish who isn't contended with his job as a whale washer and being a nobody in life. His dream to be rich and successful is soon to be realized when he claims to be the killer of a shark (whom actually died of an accident). Gaining the title as a shark slayer, Oscar earns fame and wealth overnight. Little does he know that the father of the shark is the boss of the underwater world (Don Lino) and is out to seek revenge for his son. With the help of his bosom friend Angie and a vegetarian shark Lenny, is he able to seek peace and compromise with Don Lino?

Other than the beautiful environments, I would say that there isn't anything really interesting in this movie. Other than the sharks, I don't find any other characters very appealing to me. Especially the main character, Oscar, i find him kind of annoying. Fairly entertaining and ok to watch as a free movie on TV but I definitely won't pay to watch something of similar standard.

I give Shark Tale 5.5 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

It's 4:30pm, half a day has passed and not even a single message... The past 2 days wasn't like that, hpm... Nvm, must be you are busy or you wanted to give me a surprise or something. Shall wait & see @@

Labels: Love Affairs

In this remake edition, you play as Lara Croft, the sexy heroine with acrobatic and graceful moves. A relatively short game which consists of different areas that require you to clear through exploration and puzzles solving. Lara Croft has the ability to swing on bars and ropes, shimmy across ledges, jump to & fro or up & down, roll and swim. Ancient artifacts are dispersed around the levels for you to find. Of course, there are other things like weapons and health packs which you should collect so as to equip yourself during fights. Talking about fights, the enemies consists of mainly animals like tigers, gorillas, crocodiles, wolves, rats, bats, T-rex & monsters like mummies and the various big bosses. The fighting isn't that difficult as Lara Croft has acquired a new skill - adrenaline dodge, which makes combat much more fun and interactive. The more challenging part would be the puzzles solving. And of course, there's the croft mansion for you to explore with little stress.

I have been a huge fan of the Tomb Raider series and I must say that I am thrilled with Anniversary. The environments are huge and breathtaking. If you have been following the series closely, you will find many similarities with the past versions, just that in Anniversary, the sceneries are much more beautiful. Another point I like about TR is the fact that they inserted lots of save points, which is very good as this will save you the hassle of redoing a series of action over and over again. If there are bad points, it would be the camera view. At times, you might not be able to see your pathway and this will result in falling to your death very easily. And there is one level which requires you to kill some flying monsters. After killing them, you need to shoot the mechanic so as to activate it. The auto aim might frustrate you when you are trying to kill the enemies but instead Lara Croft is aiming at the mechanic. I supposed I have to switch target but in that particular level, I have no time to do so as I was attacked repeatedly. I only managed to pass through that part by luck.

Other then that, I am satisfied with TR Anniversary which I will give 8.5 upon 10.

Btw, I am so looking forward to Tomb Raider Underworld. Platforms available are PS2, PS3, PC, XBox 360, WII & DS. No PSP but that's all right cos I have PS2, HAHA!!! Here are some of the screenshots I got from IGN:















Wa, she can grab onto a ledge and shoot at the same time!!! First time ever in TR series. Exciting or not???!!!

Labels: Game Reviews

My dear will be away from home for 7 weeks. I'm going to miss him sooooo much... Was on the phone with him earlier on and I felt like crying cos I'm already missing him even on day 1. But he's away for a good cause and I pray that everything will turn out fine for all of us.

Labels: Love Affairs

Dave Buznik is a good natured man who is wrongly accused for assault due to a misunderstanding. He is ordered by the judge to attend Dr. Buddy Rydell's anger management course. The unlucky Dave met up with another incident which lands him in court again. With Dr. Buddy's help, Dave's initial sentence of a year in jail is changed to 30 days of intensive anger management therapy. For better efficiency, Dr. Buddy moves in with Dave so as to train him 24/7. But Buddy's eccentric training methods are driving Dave crazy and when he suspects that Buddy is involved with his girlfriend, Dave decides not to be a pushover anymore.

Jack Nicholson is so funny in this movie, much funnier then Adam Sandler. If you happen to be watching this movie, look out for a cat by the name of Meatball. It is HUGE and can anyone tell me if it's real or not. Looks quite fake to me but why would they want to use an animated cat?
The plot isn't that great since I find it hard to believe the contents (shall not reveal too much here).
But the anger management advice should be noted - it isn't about not losing your temper and be a nice guy all the time...it is about knowing when to lose your temper, to control it and not to be controlled by it.

I give Anger Management 5.8 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Managed to get a seat on the train today so I started playing my PSP happily.

Halfway through the ride, I noticed that there was a woman standing infront of me with quite a big tummy. She wore tight clothes and was slouching. So I thought that she might be just fat cos pregnant ladies don't usually wear such tight clothing and most of them don't slouch either. Moreover she looked more like she's fat. Imagine me giving up my seat to someone whom I THOUGHT is pregnant but in actual fact she's not, isn't it an insult to her?

So I continued with my game.

Then don't know for what reason, she stepped on my foot. I moved my foot and my leg brushed against hers so she made some noise while staring very fiercely at me.

And I said: "Step on my foot still dare to make noise..."

The grumpy woman replied silently: "Never let out your seat to a pregnant lady and still dare to make noise.."

Really lor! Even Thomas, who was seating beside, thought that she was fat as well. I really didn't know she's pregnant. And that's not the main point. Just because you are pregnant, does it mean I must let you step on my foot silently? Can't I even move my foot away?

Actually at times when I don't give up my seat, it might be because I'm really tired or I don't feel well or I just didn't notice.

This is the second time I got stepped on my foot and yet got scolded for it. What kind of society is this?!

Labels: Miscellaneous

Remy may be just a rat but he is not contended to live in sewers and eat scraps for the rest of his life. Inspired by his idol - the late Auguste Gusteau, Remy's wish is to become a chef. One day, while escaping attacks by an old lady, Remy finds himself in the restaurant of Gusteau. Carried away by his excitement, Remy is discovered by Linguini - the new kitchen cleaner. They become the best partners with Remy hiding under Linguini's hat and directing his movements by pulling his hair. The combination of Remy's culinary skills and Linguini's help to put Remy's directing into action conjures the finest cuisine ever seen in Gusteau's restaurant. But their secrets are soon found out by Skinner who is willing to do anything to destroy their dreams.

Superb animation with characters that leave deep impressions in my mind. Inspirational message that is worth pondering over. Despite his size and status, Remy is not afraid to live his dreams.

I give Ratatouille 7 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

You get to choose 1 out of the 4 characters available, all of which are furry and cute. Objective is to recover The Wand Of Wishing from the bad guy and return it to your owner. Along the journey, you will find many different kinds of weapons, potions, food items, clothing, armours, spells, neopoints and even pets (these pets can increase some of your ability). You will also meet other characters which require your help. If you succeed in completing the allocated quests, they will reward you accordingly. To further enhance your abilities, you can enter battles and train yourself. If so happens you require certain items, you can purchase them at shops. You may sell the items you hold as well. The enemies you meet are mostly not intimidating except for the final 2 bosses.

You play the game in bird eye view and there's a map at the corner of the screen which can help to guide your way. Save points are spread throughout the areas and some of these points can bring you back to the previous town you came from.
If you search carefully, the items you get along the way should be enough for you to survive till the end of the game. But perhaps you may wish to buy some powerful weapons at the shops to help you complete the game more easily. However, take note that there is a limit to the amount of inventory you can hold. Due to this limit, I would suggest you sell off items you deem unnecessary at the shops.
As mentioned above, the enemies you meet are mostly easily defeated. But at times, when some of the smaller enemies cluster together and attack you at the same time, you may lose your health very fast. But do not use up the health potions too quickly as you require a significant amount of them during big boss fights. Another way to replenish health is to find a safe corner (so long as you stand a distance away from the enemies, they will not attack you) and wait for your health to replenish by itself. But this will take quite a long time so I would say, to complete the game, you have to be patient. When you are surrounded by many enemies, lure one of them out of the circle and attack it elsewhere. When you are done with one, use the same method on the others. The initial few big boss fights can be won without using any health potions. Just walk in circles and when there is a chance, just turn around and cast a spell on them until they are dead. As for the final few big boss fights, I use the whack and hack method. Load yourself up with many health potions and just whack them with all your strength. Once your health is almost used up, quickly replenish with one of the equipped potion. Continue till the boss is dead.
I strongly using your neopoints to get yourself trained. This helps alot in the gameplay but I feel that you only need to train till a 14 to 16 points in each and every aspect.

This game is loaded with many cute characters. The different areas are quite interesting as well. But as I say, to complete the game thoroughly, you need to be VERY patient. Apart from the lengthy fights I mentioned above, you need to speak to almost all the characters spread throughout so as to obtain and complete the mini quests. This is quite a tedious job and you may find yourself wandering around for quite some time before you can find the correct character. During fights, the hero's movements seem to be abit sluggish and health replenishment may lag also. This can be quite frustrating. Remember to save whenever you can as this can at least lower your frustration a little when you die while struggling with the controls.

I give Neopets Petpet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing 5.8 upon 10.

Labels: Game Reviews

Maya Dolittle inherits from her father the ability to talk to animals. Because of this special skill of hers, Maya is not very popular in school as everyone thinks that she is a weirdo. Her mother, Lisa Dolittle decides to send her to Durango (a ranch) to do some soul searching. Initially, Maya has difficulty adapting to the new lifestyle but as time goes by, she gradually make new friends. In the end, she even use her special ability to save Durango from being bought over by another Ranch.

Another family movie. What can I say? Seems like family movie tend to fair badly in terms of rating. Predictable with humour that triggers your laughter because of the animals ONLY.

I give Dr. Dolittle Three 5.3 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews

Rachel Carlson is a well known writer. Her husband Brian wishes to be as successful as her but his effort is not being recognized. One day, while writing a new novel, Rachel's son (from her previous marriage) drowns in a lake at the back of the house. A devastated Rachel decides to divorce her husband and move to a Scottish village. Over there, she meets the lighthouse keeper Angus McCulloch and they fell in love one month later. Rachel invites Angus to a birthday party but he did not appear. From there, she finds out from the villagers that Angus McCulloch is in fact dead for seven years! On top of that, the constant appearance of her dead son drives Rachel to mental breakdown. She seeks her psychiatrist and best friend's help but what she is about to discover is the conspiracy plotted by the people closest to her.

What I like about this movie is the presentation of certain scenes. They often show two sides of the story at the same time. It could be things happening at a different place or different dimensions, watch it and you will understand what I mean. The shortfall would be the ending. Although they try to add in a twist to the story but I predicted the ending right at the start of the show. The story makes the movie neither here nor there. The horror factor is not strong enough to thrill you very much, the romance factor is not overwhelming enough to touch your heart very much, the flow of the story is not powerful enough to excite you very much.

I give Half Light 6 upon 10.

Labels: Movie Reviews