[book review] Daughter of the Empire

Title: Daughter of the Empire
Author: Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts
Book 1 of the Empire Series

This is the book I'm re-reading currently (24th of August 05) and it's one of my favourites by REF. It's full of political intrigue, a touch of action and a lot of strategy.

Book Blurb:
Magic and murder engulf the realm of Kelewan. Fierce warlords ignite a bitter blood feud to enslave the empire of Tsuranuanni. While in the opulent Imperial courts, assassins and spy-master plot cunning and devious intrigues against the rightful heir. Now Mara, a young, untested Ruling lady, is called upon to lead her people in a heroic struggle for survival. But first she must rally an army of rebel warriors, form a pact with the alien cho-ja, and marry the son of a hated enemy. Only then can Mara face her most dangerous foe of all--in his own impregnable stronghold. An epic tale of adventure and intrigue. Daughter of the Empire is fantasy of the highest order by two of the most talented writers in the field today.

This is the first book in the acclaimed Empire Series, and takes place during the same timeframe as REF's book "Magician" (another favourite of mine). It explores the Tsuranuanni culture more thoroughly than Magician has time for, and puts a lot of the nuances of the books of the Riftwar saga (Magician, Silverthorn, Darkness at Sethanon) in dealing with the Tsuranuanni homeworld into context.

A thoroughly enjoyable novel and the entire series is a worthwhile read, regardless of whether you have read any other books by REF you would enjoy this.

Available for purchase at your local bookstore, or try these websites.

Galaxy Book store - Sydney Australia

HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Amazon.com

Rating: 10 out of 10

[news article] Why 'good worms' are a bad idea

Why 'good worms' are a bad idea - Soapbox - Opinion - Technology - smh.com.au

An excelent article as to why there is no such thing as a "good worm" to patch against viruses and suchlike.

Amusing and informative.

[movie preview] FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN

FINAL FANTASY VII ADVENT CHILDREN

While this hasn't been released yet, this is something that I'm eagerly anticipating. This is a direct sequel to the best Final Fantasy game released (though I do have to admit I love FFX and FFX-2).

The big change is that this isn't a game sequel, but a movie sequel (shock horror!!). A very interesting idea, and I really hope that it delivers. While I wuold have liked another game, having FFVII - 2 would have been a bit silly. If they had done it at the time, good idea, but now would be a bit redundent especially with the changes in the platform and game capabilities. Additionally, I think the world setting had been thoroughly covered and a sequel game wouldn't have added a great deal. A sequel movie can focus on other things, such as a damn good action movie, which is what it looks like from the trailers on the official website.

As a note, the trailers are only available on the official website. Square has asked for all other copies available on fan websites to be removed.

The movie will; be available on the PSP (Playstation Portable) and also on DVD (thank goodness). I was actually considering buying a PSP just for this, but am glad I won't have to and will be able to watch it on my trusty DVD player.

I originally bought my playstation just so I could play the original Final Fantasy 7 game, after good ol' Hecatonchires played it in front of me for about an hour. After that hour, I was hooked, and after beating him unconscious was able to play for a short time on his copy of the game before he regained consciousness.

This movie contains all the old favourites, Cloud, Tifa and the gang. It's set 2 years after the end of the original game. Cloud now leads a solitary life traveling the Planet as a transporter. The office of Strife Delivery Service is located in 7th Heaven, which also functions as an orphanage for children stricken with Geostigma.

A non-contagious disease known as Geostigma is spreading across the Planet, with people claiming that it is due to Jenova’s cells working hard in the Lifestream. Children tend to show signs of Geostigma first, though adults are susceptible to the disease as well.

How this relates to Sephiroth (yay yay) returning, I have no idea, but it's shaping up to be an awesome movie.

Released in Australia on Wednesday, 26 October 2005

[PC game review] SimGolf

SimGolf - It's a Sim gamer, and it's all about Golf.

This is a very basic strategy game revolving around creating your own golf courses. That being said, it's a great deal of fun and you don't even need to like golf to enjoy this game.

If you've ever played Rollercoaster Tycoon or games of that nature, this is what this game is like and about.

You begin with $100,000 and can buy a course. This can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $1,000,000, and obviously there are some courses that are more desirable. Courses have varying terrain, objects and amounts of land. If you're looking for one course in particular there is a "Reset World" button that randomly changes the amount of land and the price for the courses available.

Once you have a course, you can then start creating your holes. This can be as simple as putting down a Tee and a Pin. Once that's done, you can open your hole. Adding more greens, freeways, sandtraps and suchlike simply makes it a better hole.

Adding in more holes, landscaping and staff simply makes the course more enjoyable and customers will soon join your club. You will quickly win awards as well.

By achieving objectives, you can increase the stats on your personal player, so that you can then enter your player into tournaments and win more money for your course to expand.

Graphically it's a moderate type of game, and sound wise is pretty simplistic. But the gameplay makes up for any shortcomings in these departments.

For anyone who likes Strategy games, this is an enjoyable little game.

Score: 8 out of 10

[PC game review] Grandia II

Grandia II is the game I'm currently playing.

It's the closest thing to a Japanese RPG console game on the PC that I have played so far, and it's a very decent port from console to PC.

The story is pretty basic so far, though I've only played about 2 hours worth. I'll update this post with the storyline once I get a better feel for it. Currently, the main character is a Geohound (hired sword type character) escorting a beautiful songstress from a small church to the main cathedral, after a failed ceremony seems to have infected her with darkness in her soul (and some funky wings).

The graphics are pretty standard for this type of game, with a bit of nice 3D work. The camera view is able to be rotated, but can't be zoomed in or out, which is quite frustrating.

Sound is good, with decent quality and some character voiced soundbits here and there. Most of the character interaction is through text boxes though, standard RPG fare.

Combat is quite good, a bit like the standard Final Fantasy, but with a bit more movement thrown in. For those who have played the more recent Final Fantasy X-2, the combat is very similar, with characters moving around quite a lot.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10