The Invention of Lying - Louis Brennan

The Invention of Lying
We all know what this film is about. Ricky Gervais character Mark lives in a world where everybody only tells the truth, and for some completely unexplained reason he is the only person who can lie. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s a pretty damn good idea for a film. A lot better than a film about a man who can’t be faithful to his wife because he’s addicted to travelling through time. Who wouldn’t be?
This premise is what ensures the film remains watchable throughout. There are thousands of conversations we have all had that if played out truthfully would sound rather different, and I reckon the writers have got this spot on. A number of these will make at least one member of the audience turn to their friend and say “Oooh I can sooo relate to that! That is just so true!”
So what of Ricky Gervais performance? It’s a mixed bag. On the positive side he finally tries to play a character that isn’t just David Brent. In fact, this is probably Gervais’ most serious, straight-forward character to date, and he delivers emotional and thought-provoking scenes more authentically than would be expected. However, this is not that much of a compliment. Anything Ricky Gervais has said in the past has usually been followed by a drawn out, uncomfortable silence, and this expectation occasionally still turns what could have been genuinely brilliant scenes into a possible advert for Extras in America. Ricky and Jennifer together... are you ‘avin a laugh?
Therefore, much like Extras, it is up to a host of celebrity cameos to provide us with the memorable moments. Jason Bateman’s thirty seconds are amusing, Edward Norton’s five minutes are funny, and Rob Lowe is simply hysterical throughout. Stephen Merchant and BarryFromEastenders’ contribution is also quite a bit funnier than Gervais’ (also very similar to Extras...do I see a pattern emerging?). Jennifer Garner on the other hand is entirely pointless for the duration of the film. Never before has an actress been cast so obviously as pure eye candy.
The annoying this is, The Invention of Lying could have been brilliant. Maybe even a cult classic. When you see the film however you will know exactly what I mean when I say that there just isn’t enough depth. There just isn’t enough oomph. I still recommend seeing it, but coming out of the cinema you will think, “Yeah, that was funny. Anyway...”.

Ivy - Eunice Eke

Ivy

The last tear has fallen far,
far beyond this world,
far beyond your reach to console.
No need now for all my pleading cries.

You laugh at me, mock me, spit in my face.
But this isn’t your race.
You have not won. I pretend to know my place,
By your side.

You are a serpent,
The master of temptation,
A dragon out of his lair,
A bottle of poison awaiting its first try.

You are sleeping now.
I have all the power,
Do I take what I deserve.
Your life.
No.

Because it’s all in this poisonous flower.

Lytle hwile - a modern version - Rosie Simmonds

Oh leaf you are so green and true,
The sunlight shines and brightens you.
But you my friend are temporary
And my poem for you, contemporary.
For you turn shades or orange, yellow, brown,
As you catch the breeze, fall to the ground.
Yet what happens on your journey from here?
You mix with dirt and disappear.
A silent life, so sweet, so short.
A poem translated form a thought.

Darren Hodge - Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice Game Review

I have completed the game Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice. It is a brilliant game, enjoyable by all ages and it is the second instalment to the Pursuit Force series. It was a great plot along which is a lot different because the first one hasn’t got as big as plot as the first one, the first one is just five missions for each group. It has great action clips and game play. I thoroughly enjoyed every second I played it and I couldn’t put it down, it gets you hooked like you can never imagine.
The plot is that you are a police officer and you are working for a police force called Pursuit Force. You are accompanied by three recruits, each specialising in a different field of police work. All through the game your aim is to stop five main groups, four of them are called, the Raiders, the Syndicate, the Convicts, the Warlords (who have come back from the first one) and the fifth one is secret and you will have to find out yourself; I was shocked when I found out who it was, it is a great surprise.
You have a tremendous variety of guns, including close range based for humans, and long range for vehicles. It gives you an opportunity to think in situations and see what fits best to it. It feels like you get literally into the game, it has action and adventure.
The main character, which you are, has an enemy after someone who is very close to him is killed by his enemy and it adds a little minor story and in that he has to have revenge. It’s truly sad when the person dies and it is an action packed story and it can relate to real life, it is an intense and a thrill ride story. In fact the whole story is exciting; there are loose ends which leave you wanting to know the answers.
Anyone can play it and anyone can enjoy it, it is a superb game packed with explosions, shooting and totally unputdownable. It is great for people who are into first person shooting games who like a lot of action. It sets a whole new bar for other games, other games have a lot to compete with and will have to raise their standard because this masterpiece of a game has set the bar, sky high.
In conclusion I found this game as good as it gets and will not be one like this for a long time. I highly recommend it to everyone because I guarantee you will enjoy it as much as I have and hope that you found it as interesting and action packed!

Mars’ Wrath by Harry O'Neill

The milestone, hidden amongst the dwarf elder leaves, told us we were heading to Camulodunum.
“Left! Right! Left! Right!” The centurion barked.
We reached a bend in the road and out of the bushes a group of Celts with raving dogs ambushed us. I pulled my gladius out of its sheath and plunged it straight into the heart of a Celt, a massive dog with razors as teeth bit clean into my thigh. I managed to shake the dog off, but I was struck around the head and if weren’t for my helmet I could’ve died. I fell to the floor and a wild haired Celt rippling with muscle stood over me and was about to strike. Fortunately Marcus slashed the Celt across the face, hot, dark blood spattered across my arm as I covered my face with my hands. He pulled me up to my feet then a barbed spear came hurling towards us and plunged into Marcus’ stomach. Then in a flash of rage I pick up my gladius and stabbed a Celt in the chest, ducked a slash and cleaved into his leg.

After the devastation I ran to Marcus who lay in a ditch lying in a pool of his own blood. I was horrified to see Marcus dead, fourteen years I had been his friend and now he was dead. The gods themselves seemed to be upset as they turned the skies themselves a murky grey.

We piled the bodies into several pits and set them alight the stench was horrific but it would clear bodies faster. We took off, as soon the last pit was alight. We continued our march to Camulodunum with a lot less soldiers. There were three dead Romans to every one dead Celt.

Chapter 2 The Devastation

When we were around 3 miles from Camulodunum we could see black plumes of black smoke rising into the heavens. “Damned Celts burned the capital,” our centurion stated,
“Must have killed loads of their own,” Cleopas said
“They don’t care. They’ll do whatever they can to rid us, even if that’s killing their own.”
“They’re damn mental”

When we reached the capital we saw something worse than we imagined.
All of the Romans that were stationed in the capital were lying on the ground with their wrists and throats slit. We were split into parties and searched among the rubble to see if there were any survivors but as we expected the only people we found were the burnt remains of civilians and some unlucky Celts that weren’t fast enough. We were ordered to regroup, and the reports were that only two gladius’ and a single shield were repairable the rest were too damaged. Mars decided to punish us for letting the rebels do this and sent a huge thunder storm the rain started to turn to hail which pelted us; so I pulled my shield over my head to prevent my amour from rusting.

Chapter 3 The pain of battle

We decided to set up camp just next to a brook in the middle of an open forest. The willow stretched high and streams of the evening light shone through. There was a sudden rustling in a bush. We approached cautiously with swords raised but we were surprised when a severely wounded roman emerged and with no warning collapsed. We sat him down and asked what had happened and he explained that that the rebels had burst out from behind trees and ambushed his century and he was taken prisoner, they set up camp and beat and tortured him. He then told us on his last breath the location of the rebel’s camp.

We decided to leave at dawn so we could use the darkness as extra cover, the road seemed to stretch on forever and the stars shone brightly in the night sky. The camp was heavily guarded but it was nothing for our archers, as soon as the guards were killed we moved into to kill. We burnt, stole and slaughtered everyone and thing. The camp was alight in a few minutes with a luminous orange glow. Screams and howls from men and animals alike filled the air and the shout of victory from our men, we had won. Then the background through the trees English reinforcements! They charged down the hill and engaged us in battle; their chariots crushed our front lines, then a barrage of rocks hailed down upon us and one small boulder hit my temple and knocked me unconscious.

As I awoke I realised there were Celts around me talking quietly to each other in their barbaric tongue. I froze, hardly daring to breathe despite the awful thirst in my throat and throbbing pain in my head. One came close. I heard his foot land on the soft ground next to me. I was turned over but continued to play dead. I guess from the state of me after I saw my reflection in the pool I drank from later I looked pretty dead when they saw me. All my possessions had been stolen including my sword, armour and shield! The only thing they hadn’t stolen was my tunic, and I was able to sneak through the countryside and find my way back to the reinforcements that General Vespasian sent to relieve our legions.

A review of ‘Sniper One’ by Sergeant Dan Mills – Mitchell Hill (7/2)

‘Sniper One’ is a brilliant first-hand account of a ‘peace keeping’ tour of Iraq in 2004 and is written by the Platoon Sergeant of the Sniper Platoon, Dan Mills, of the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment.

Having served twenty years in the British Army Mills recounts that his regiment ‘never go anywhere’, when they are suddenly deployed to Iraq, ostensibly to keep the peace and to train the newly formed Iraqi Police. Being the consummate professionals that they are, the Sniper Platoon that he leads is elated. However, almost from the moment that they set foot on Iraqi soil they are shot at whilst on foot patrol, experience RPG (rocket propelled grenade) attacks on their vehicles and have the complex of buildings that serve as their base under daily mortar bombardment by the insurgents. Throughout the book the tension builds to the final battle where their base is under siege by a vastly superior number of insurgents and there is a very real danger that it will be over run.

Mills captures the humour, comradeship and cool professionalism of the ordinary British soldier wonderfully and as the story unfolds you can almost feel the tension, excitement and fear as he describes each attack. This is a good book, that keeps you turning page after page and I can thoroughly recommend it.
(to see the action that Dan Mills describes so vividly in his book, go to YouTube and view the clip ‘PWRR in Iraq’).

The peasant revolt poem - Thomas Enstone

The peasant revolt poem



The peasant revolt had a catapult they fought all day and night.

They had to work for the king or there was no dinner that night.

They worked and worked till they might choke,

if they wanted more wages they would get a poke.

The king made them pay more taxes so the bought more axes.

They had to pay for their wives so they got their knives.

They had to work double and that caused more trouble.

They refused to work because the king was a jerk.

And that's why the peasant revolt started.

Twilight or Potter Sean Thompson delves deeper...

Twilight is a tale of forbidden love, werewolves and vampires. Opening with a hundred questions then page by page those questions are answered. Bella throws herself into the depths of danger when she falls in love with the “world’s most dangerous predator”, a Vampire.
Harry Potter is a story about how a boy, with a disastrous start to life, is forced to battle the darkest wizard of all time as well as everything else that your everyday teenager has to put up with. Picking up friends and enemies along the way Harry shows courage, desire and compassion.

Both authors have written about a teenage predicament but they both focus on different aspects of that. In twilight Bella is torn between what her mind is telling her and what her heart so desperately wants. She has deal with constant staring and curious remarks from people at school whilst Edward faces the disapproval at home. After showing that no matter what people say or think they were not going to change their minds they start to realise the danger that they are putting themselves in. For Edward it is the fear of exposure and Bella is also in danger of dying which would mean the loss of the first person that Edward has love stronger than a brother sister relationship.

The Harry Potter tale is one with many twist and turns. Each book reveals more secrets, more questions but most importantly more answers. It is a collection that can read again and again and you will always learn something new. Harry has been brutally orphaned by Lord Voldemort but now has gone to Hogwarts where he has made friends in Ron and Hermione, has learnt advanced magic and found out the truth about the connection between him and Lord Voldemort, the truth about his scar and what the prophecy means. He now knows that he must kill Voldemort and accepts his mission with open arms as he is longing to avenge his parents. With his most loyal followers, Ron and Hermione, always be his side this incredible story shows friendship at its strongest. It is a true underdog story with a very important moral: Greed is not as strong as love and friendship.

My personal choice out of the two would be Harry Potter because of the sheer imagination of it. An unthinkable plot accompanied by humour and romance makes it irresistible to any reader.

The Unidentified- Chapter 3 Elliott Phillips

The Unidentified- Chapter 3

As Robert was ushered towards a battered-up taxi, a million questions popped into his mind. He was in a wave of total confusion. What was going on? He was just a tourist here. All he wanted was the holiday he had dreamed of for the past month. He realised that he needed answers, now.
The bulky stranger bundled Robert into the taxi, then made a fuss of getting into the drivers seat. The heat was even more intense in the car. It was enough to make you sweat just sitting there. It was like being in an oven and already there was perspiration beads forming on Robert’s forehead. The large African man now turned in his seat, revealing a large scar running the length of his face. Robert couldn’t see his eyes because of the man’s sunglasses, but he could sense them analysing him. Cutting up and probing the student sat in front of him. Then, as though he had made a decision, he spoke, again in terrible English.
“You come at a bad time, Grant. Things not normal at the moment. You shouldn’t come here.” the man mumbled.
Still completely baffled, Robert replied, “What are you talking about? I’m just a student from England. Well now I’m a qualified scientist, but… I’m just here for my holiday! I don’t understand!”
“Robert, bad things are happening here. Villagers disappear. We don’t know what is. All we know, that we are in trouble. Creatures steal humans in night. We call them ‘menslik diefs’. It means ‘human thieves’.”
“Look mate, all I want is a holiday. I don’t care about your little stories. I just want a break and your not helping.” Robert said slightly irritably.
“Whatever you say Mr. Grant, but now I take you to hotel. I am Abdul.” the man said politely.
“Err OK… nice to meet you Abdul, can you take me to my hotel now?” Robert asked.
Then, Abdul silently and solemnly turned back to the steering wheel. He choked the old, dirty vehicle into life and they set off. The air inside the car seemed to get warmer and thicker every minute.
Half an hour passed, and they were still driving. The roads were narrow, cobbled slums, now. The sides of the streets were clogged with refugees and small homeless children lined up. There seemed to be an endless amount of poverty here and after a few miles it still showed. Eventually after another ten minutes, the poor people seemed to fade, as though this very spot marked the end of their territory. Soon enough, in a much nicer looking area, the taxi pulled to a halt outside a luxurious hotel.
The hotel didn’t seem right in a place like this. It looked out of place in such a country. Everything about the place had a sense of apprehensiveness towards its surroundings. There were two bodyguards at the front door who waved Abdul past as Robert carried his hand luggage through the door. The inside had air-conditioning which Robert was very thankful for, but nothing could have prepared him for the inside of the hotel.
The reception had a very high ceiling with several chandeliers. All the furniture was a pristine white and the carpet was a thick burgundy colour. The walls were also a perfect white. Every factor of the place was truly amazing, yet almost too good. The price Robert had paid didn’t deserve accommodation this good. A hotel as nice as this didn’t belong here. It wasn’t right.
As the two approached the front desk, where a woman with immaculate uniform stood, ready to greet them, Robert whispered to Abdul, “What is going on? Why are we here? I know my hotel wasn’t as nice as this.”
“I was going to explain in car, but you were…” he paused to think of the word, “Impatient. We are here for reason, Robert. Your science knowledge is needed. There someone to meet you. Also, you been upgraded to this hotel.”
“I don’t understand! Who am I meeting? Is this to do with your silly stories about man-eating monsters?” Robert hissed.
Abdul left the question unanswered and silenced Robert with a flick of his hand. Then he spoke to the receptionist, received a key and led the way to a room a few floors up. There, in that room was the place where the unknown visitor would meet them.
The meeting took place several hours later. At around three o’clock, a man in a crumpled shirt burst in, drenched in sweat. He hadn’t shaved in several days and had deep blue eyes, filled with frustration. He was quite tall and handsome with jet black hair. He stood there looking from Robert to Abdul, as if he didn’t understand where he was. Soon however, Abdul introduced him.
“Mr. Grant, meet Mr. Nelson.” Abdul exclaimed.
“Please, call me Dave. Yeah I’m Dave Nelson.” Mr. Nelson said, his voice low and hushed, as though he was worried someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Err Abdul, why am I here to meet him?” Robert asked, suspiciously.
“Well Robert, the stories I said are true. Mr. Nelson will tell.
“Yes. Well basically, Robert, these “stories” are one hundred per cent real.” Dave explained.
“Whatever. I don’t care. I just want a holiday. How can a stupid human-stealing creature be real?” Robert enquired.
“Oh its real. I know its real from personal experience.” Dave said urgently, “Its real because I watched my best friend get devoured by the beast.”

Tributes to Michael Jackson

Thomas Schofield:

Michael Jackson recently passed away and so this poem is made out of lyrics to his songs. Every other line contains lyrics to one of his songs with the exception of the last two lines. I hope you enjoy reading it!

He was an idol to us all, telling us,
It don’t matter if your black or white.
He was great at singing and he’d say,
I am the one who will dance on the floor in the round.

It all came to a sad end when he saw,
A sight that almost stops your heart.
The doctor then told him,
You’re fighting for your life.

People paid tributes saying things like
The way you made me feel.
He’s inspired many of us to,
Make a difference, make it right.

He will be dearly missed and we will
Remember the time
The king of Pop
Was hit by a smooth criminal.

This is it. The King of Pop has died. Although his music will live on.
Michael Jackson
1958- 2009
R.I.P

By Joseph Cassar :

Michael Jackson was born many places afar,
And you can see that from his birth he was born a star.
Michael Jackson singing from the age of 5,
Stood on that stage and brought pop music alive.

Immediately that superstar earns a number one,
And what everyone liked was his sense of fun.
The king of pop releases an album called off the wall.
Many fans could easily tell he was on the ball.

Don’t forget he can’t just talk the talk,
He can get on that stage and do the moonwalk.
Then he marries the daughter of the king of rock and roll,
And with that love he turns to his fans and touches them in the soul.


Suddenly from there, his life goes downhill,
But many fans believe turn his life around he will.
The news that he died was some of the latest,
But he will always go down as one of the greatest.

Stephen Gordon
ROCKBAND UNPLUGGED
Format: PSP
Price: £24.99

This is the new PSP version of the Music game, Rock Band. The adaptation of it on the PSP is tricky to get used to as you play all four instruments at one time. But once you get used to it, the controls are easy.

You play all four instruments (guitar, drum, bass and vocals) by using the L and R buttons. Once you have completed on part of the song on one instrument you can switch over by using the L and R buttons. For example you could do one part of the song on drums then switch to bass. But if you only want to play a single instrument is the training mode where you don't need to switch instruments.

The game has a lot of songs (41 at the moment) including some well know ones, like ABC (by the Jackson 5), Livin' on a prayer(by Bon Jovi) and Ace of Spades (by Motorhead). EA (the game makers) are planning to make more available via download so you never know there could be more songs you know.

This game is very addictive and once you start playing, you can't stop. There is a demo version available on the Playstation Store so if you dont want to buy the full game just that, the demo is here to tempt you.

I think this is a great adaption of the RockBand game for Xbox 360 and Playstaion 3 and is great for on the go, music game on the go.

Poem – F1 Racing Alex Risely

Poem – F1 Racing

Speeding down the track
At 200 miles per hour
No one can spot me
They are in a dust shower

Right behind in 8th
Trying to overtake
Swerving, turning, skidding
Scared to make a mistake

Just finished lap 50
Only one more to go
Giving it 100%
Can’t be going slow

Turning the last corner
Flat out through the straight
Overtaking some drivers
My car begins to shake

The finish is in sight
The chequered flag is waving
Will I be victorious?
The podium is waiting

Seasons

Spring, spring, leaves growing on the trees,
Then slowly appear the bees.
Temperature starting to increase,
But dark nights decrease.

Summer, summer, leaves on the trees,
Flying around are the bees.
Temperature high and hot,
Sun stays out for most of the day.

Autumn, autumn, leaves falling off the trees,
Then slowly disappear the bees.
Temperature starting to decrease,
And dark nights start to increase.

Winter, winter, leaves off the trees,
Flying around are not the bees.
Temperature low and cold,
Moon stays out for most of the day.

Sam Rose - Ode

Ode to the red dawn,
That can only mean death,
Ode to those soldiers, who were born,
And drew their last breath.

All in honour for a Nation they thought so great,
Filled with such anger and hate,
For those who tried to overrule,
A Country so powerful yet so small.

Of we fought them, although we were weak,
With limited supplies and food to eat,
Long in battles so horrific and bleak,
On and on we fought them, week on week.

However, we needed help from countries afar,
And with their help we showed them how strong we are,
We shot bullets at them from our guns like bees from a hive,
Ridding ourselves of them in 1945.

Dark Awaiting - Chapter ThreeDark Awaiting

Dark Awaiting
Chapter 3

Page 211. Blunt’s diary. Age 3.
...Blunt walks towards his mother. He cries insanely for he had banged his head on the wall. His mother picks him up and says, “Don’t cry, it will be fine in a minute”. His mother then kisses him on the forehead and then he stops crying. Blunt is put down by his mother. Blunt falls asleep and that is the last time he sees his mother.

I drift through the space around, with lights of all colours passing by. Despite the lights being there I have no vision at all. In fact I have no senses whatsoever. I just know they are there. Something of me tells me what is going on around me. It tells me I am moving to the left, then few moments later it tells me I am going to the right. It was a strange feeling but yet it was very useful. Otherwise I would not know what was going on. At once I stop, not knowing why. I then descended to what I was being told was water. I stand upon the water and do not sink. I then hear a deep, croaky voice coming towards me. “Greetings young one...we have been awaiting your arrival.” The voice said. “I shall now give you back your senses.” I was at once filled with energy and was now “human” again. I open my eyes and look around me. All there is is a dark murky water of which gently flows. Then once I get used to the sensation of standing on water. I look for the source of the voice that welcomed me. I turn round and see it. It was a shadow, a reflection, of me. It had streams of black smoke coming from its feet and looked as if it were pulsing. “What are you?” Blunt calmly says. “And who are you?”
“I am what you were, are and will become.”
“What do you mean?” being slightly scared now.
“I do not take this form to scare you, Blunt. For you see I am a part of you. A part of you that has been there since the day you had life. I am your mind, your conscience, your heart. I am the very thing that makes you who you are.”
“You are not me. There is only two parts to me of which I have with me right now.” Blunt now becoming impatient and upset.
“And what are those things, may I ask?”
“Something you don’t have, a body and a soul.” Blunt snarls.
“Ha, ha, ha. Do you not see it yet boy? I may not have a body or a soul but I tell you this. I am you, for I was the one that told you what to do throughout your life. I made you who you are right now.”
“That’s impossible no one can see their own mind.”
“Yes, that is true but, when you were killed, I was able to take on another form that was visible to you.” Blunt starts to walk around the place shaking his head in disbelief. The shadow moves his head to where Blunt is positioned. Blunt waits a moment as he thinks about what he just heard.
“So why can I think for myself right now then? Unless you’re talking to yourself. Not so smart now, are you?”
“By the way you just insulted yourself. But anyway I gave you a temporary self mind so we could talk.”
“Talk about what?”
“Your future, your diary.”
By Christopher Hewett

A Review of the Nintendo Wii Fit By Mitchell Hill

A Review of the Nintendo Wii Fit

The Wii Fit is a great game for people that are trying to lose weight and get fit with the advantage that it can be done in the comfort of their own living room. The game is an add on to the existing Nintendo Wii games console and consists of a balance board, which is slightly larger than a set of bathroom scales and a disc, which contains the Wii Fit game itself. The balance board communicates via infra-red signal with the sensor, which should ideally be positioned on top of your television.

The game requires the participant to stand on the balance board and starts by calculating your body mass index (BMI), by measuring your weight and putting this into an equation with your height that is entered into it manually. The BMI figure tells you if you are over weight or not and how much weight you need to loose in order to achieve an ‘ideal’ BMI for your height. A BMI of 18 to 25 is considered ‘ideal’.

The next step is a balance test where the participant has to move their body weight around the balance board in a series of tests that are designed to calculate your Wii Fit age. The results of this test can be quite shocking and it isn’t unusual for the participant to have a Wii Fit age far in excess of their real age, but don’t let this put you off as it’s quite good fun. You can even design a character from a drop down menu that is supposed to be you when you are doing the exercises and save your individual profile so that multiple users can use the Wii Fit.

The Wii Fit games themselves consist of balance games, muscle workouts, yoga and aerobic exercises where it is possible to achieve target levels for ability as well as a target weight loss over a period of time. It is suitable for all ages from 3 years and at £70.00 is great value for money as it’s far cheaper than the average gym membership and much more fun. However, be warned, this game is extremely popular and last Christmas it completely sold out all over the world.

By Mitchell Hill

Night at the Museum 2 - Joe Smith

This is a fantastic film with great actor Ben Stiller as the main actor following the sequel of the first ‘Night at The Museum’ film. The film also contains Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais.

Larry Daley is an average night watchman at a museum of natural history in Manhattan where, at night, the wax figures come to life! This all happens in the first film so I won’t go too far into it. At the beginning of the second film, all of the figures get shipped to a completely different museum. Larry therefore goes to that museum and attempts to get his friends back although the museum is about 3 times the size of the one back in Manhattan. There are many things that happen, which include famous figures for example: Einstein, Pharaoh etc.

But Larry is facing many problems; they include the tablet making more exhibits coming to life, exhibits trying to attack Larry (like Pharaoh with a lisp!) and the guards of the museum trying to stop Larry from escaping from the museum. Although these problems seem like quite a threatening experience, Larry gets on with it with assistance from some ‘good’ exhibits.

In my opinion, the last scene is the funniest because of the argument that occurs between Larry and Pharaoh and the war between the exhibits! Personally, I would submit a ★★★★ to the directors, creators and so forth because it is an all round funny film, which is good for families. If you get an opportunity to, please watch it.

The Sims 3 - Stephen Gordon

The Sims 3
Format: PC/MAC
Price: £39.99

The Sims 3 is the brilliant sequel to the previous Sims 2. The reason why I say it is brilliant is that you get so much freedom. Compared to The Sims 2 where you can only stay in one household. In the Sims 3 you can roam around the neighbourhood. Take over shops, do anything!

The graphics (compared to the sims 2) are also much better. Every little thing down to the tiniest speck of dust is detailed. The actual Sims themselves look better too. You can change more things like skin colour (you can change it to blue, red and many more colours) face shape and even nose length!

The interfaces are more simpler as well. You can choose which room you want to make and it will have it there for you, so example for a bathroom it will sort out the toilets, showers,sinks etc. If you dont like those screen you can just get the items you want e.g. electronics, appliances, miscellaneous etc.

There is also new things that weren't in the old Sims 2 . For example traits where you can decide if your Sim is lucky or unlucky, ambitious or a failure, you can even choose if they are popular or a loner.

To be honest The Sims 3 is the best God game I have ever played. If I had to sum it up in one word. The Sims 3 would be freedom. For everything in The Sims 3 is up to you.

Naruto vol 1 - Jack Chinnery

Naruto is a Japanese comic book that has sold more than 3.6 million books in the U.S.A. The story and art are by Masashi Kishimoto who works for the most popular Manga, Shonen Jump Manga.
What is the story about?
Naruto is about a boy that is in training to be the world’s best ninja. He has a sense for mischief that amuses his teammates, but also surprises people at how dedicated he is to become a ninja.
What Naruto doesn’t know that trapped inside him is a deadly spirit? 12 years before his birth the village hidden in the leaves (where he lives) was attacked by a nine tailed fox spirit who murdered Naruto’s parents. He has to go through four different stages to become a ninja. He has to fight whatever monster gets in his way, train hard, and protect his friends and himself, whatever it takes.
Because Naruto is a trouble maker nobody thinks he will get far in life, but when they see him fight they will always respect him. His friends Sasuke and Sakura are in his group to pass the rounds. He meets friends along the way, and keeps saying to everyone who offends him, I will become the next Lord Hockage. The Lord Hockage is the strongest Ninja in the world.
I think this is a great book, for everyone to enjoy and I give it a ten out of ten rating.
Jack Chinnery

The Unknown - Elliott Phillips

Deep in the water, where nobody dares go,
Live certain creatures which never seem to show,
They stick to the shadows to keep out of sight,
Searching for their meals, day and night.

There are many different colours, shades of blue and green,
This endless abyss is a whole world unseen,
Who knows what lurks in those endangered reefs,
Not above the surface, but far underneath.

All these things yearn for there is their next meal,
Some eat plants, but most must kill,
Just the swish of a tail and a drop of blood,
Alerts other species and in the predators flood.

The carnivore gives chase to catch its prey,
Bearing its splinter-like teeth in that threatening way,
Soon it takes hold, devours both flesh and bone,
Before swiftly returning to skulk down in the unknown.

Dark Awaiting Chapter Two - Christopher Hewitt

Dark Awaiting
Chapter 2
Drip...drip...drip... The noises I hear. My eyes open to the dark room. All I see is darkness, that’s all, darkness. So I just wait there not knowing what to do except listen. Drip...drip...drip...The thought of hearing that noise for the rest of my life feels disturbing. The drips echo through my mind as if it were a tunnel bouncing back the sound to all known places. It obliterates all feelings to the point where you feel nothing and are nothing. But yet it continues. Drip by drip I still stay there doing nothing. Not even breathing as I just had realised. And so I do nothing as I am hooked onto the drip.
Some time later the drips become a faster pace. Dripping and dripping nonstop driving all those of a weak mind to breaking point. I am beginning to struggle to keep myself together as the drips circulate through my head. I feel my head bulging and my ears stinging. I grit my teeth and grab my ears to try and stop the drips entering my ear. But no good, sound still finds its way in and I feel as if I am about to explode. Veins rise out of my head, jutting out all over. Then after all that I finally could not take any more so I screamed. My screams cloaked the drips making them disappear from existence. I screamed for at least a minute until I finally was out of breath and so stopped. The drips had subsided and something else had subsided as well. The darkness turns to light of which was almost blinding.
I finally saw what was here. Trees of all shapes and sizes cover the landscape, with flowers and plants sprouting at their roots. A river flowed gently down to the left of me. It twinkled within the light it was exposed of. The sky was a dark purple colour that was filled with shooting stars and planets of which loop around each other. To the right of me was a bed, but not just any bed. It was my bed. It was my bedroom. Everything was there that was in my bedroom except there was no walls. I see on a table leather bound book. It was quite a tatty book that was curled up on the edges and had ripped up pages sticking out of it. It was darker than the blackness I was in a few minutes ago. There was something bad about this book and part of me believed the book was evil. I then saw it had an engraving in it. It said Blunt’s diary . This diary was mine (My name is quite odd I know).
I was intrigued by it seeing as I have never seen it before. I pick it up and feel a surge of power rush through me, but afterwards I did not feel any different. I opened it slowly. It smelt horrible. It was like really smelly cheese that’s gone off and made it smell even worse. I looked at page one. I read out to myself what it said in quotations “This book shows of the darkness that arrives to the name of which is inscribed onto the front of this book. To that who reads it shall only be the owner of it and when that person chooses to read it, that person’s life will have it taken away for it to fulfil its destiny.” I was deeply shocked to read that and was also terrified of reading any further. I was still alive even though I read that first bit so no harm done...yet. I look at page 2. This page is illustrated. It had three skulls placed in a triangle all separated by three lines. And in the centre was text of a language I do not understand it was all in numbers. 1a7kne55 await5 you young one. I read further being very wary. I was now very scared. The diary detailed every single aspect of my life from the day I was born. Everything I have said and done was in here. Word for word it described my story. I turn to the end and see the words “...and darkness claimed this person’s life.” I was about to shout but something grabbed me. Something that is indescribable for it is non-existent in your world. But it blocked off my lungs and I struggled to be free. The worlds light disintegrated into darkness once more and at that it happened...I departed from this world.

Fantastic Ferrari - Alex Risely

Recently Ferrari has announced that they are unveiling a brand new F142 V8 sports car this year to replace the old F430. It now has a 5.0 litre 32valve V8 engine and with its new seven speed gear box can go from 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds and has an estimated top speed of about 200mph! It has been stripped down and is much lighter than the F430 so can achieve greater speeds. But with a price tag of $225,000 I don’t think that anyone can afford to go that fast!
Ferrari is one of the most successful car manufacturers and I hope that this car will go down well with all of the critics. I think that it looks really good and it is an excellent car.

In 2004 Ferrari brought out the Enzo. The Enzo has a six speed gearbox and a 6.0l V12. It can go from 0-60 in just 3.14 seconds and its top speed is 221mph. It holds a hefty price tag of $643,330 and is much more expensive than the new F142 which is surprising. Only 400 Enzo’s have been produced in 4 years. After celebrating its first world championship of the new millennium Ferrari built the Enzo and named it after Ferrari’s founder Enzo Ferrari who died in 1988.

The Ferrari F430 is the base model for the new F142 and doesn’t have many differences. It has a 4.3l V8 with a six speed gearbox, this engine has been used in many other Ferraris that have been made in the past and present. It began sales in 2004 just like the Enzo. It costs about $227,000 and can produce about 483bhp. The F430 can reach a top speed of 196mph which is quite slow compared to the other models. In 3.5 seconds it can reach 60mph. On Top Gear on the 17 July 2005, The Stig achieved a Power Lap time of 1:22.9 which was only 0.89 seconds less than a Lamborghini Murciélago!

Wicked the Musical - BY OLIVER SHARLAND-HARRIS

The story on Wicked is based on the novel by Gregory Maguire and the hit film wizard of oz and Screen play by Winnie Holzman, It tells the story of a green girl and a very popular blonde girl and how before Dorothy changed the history of Oz, how the wizard isn’t wonderful as he says he is, how Elphaba became wicked and how Galinda became good.
I went to see Wicked in the West End on the 20th of December 2008, it was honestly the best West End show I have seen. I made a BIG fuss over having to see a particular person playing Elphaba, she is called Kerry Ellis, I made a fuss because my friends that have seen it both in Broadway and the West End think that Kerry Ellis is the best Elphaba they have seen. At the stage door I saw the actor of Boq (that is not a typo he’s a munchkin) and Oliver Tompsett as Fiyero (also not a typo he’s the boy that both Elphaba and Galinda fall in love with) I didn’t talk to them - just saw them.
The story is set before, in and after the Wizard of Oz and as some of the people that made Wicked say “it’s like while filming the Wizard of Oz and the camera man has turned the camera around to show you what is really happening”
WICKED FACT FILE!
Did you know ? Elphaba sister was called Nessarose (the wicked witch of east)
Did you know? Nessarose’s death was a trap to capture Elphaba
Did you know? Elphaba does not die it’s just a trick
Did you know? Elphaba turns Fiyero into the scarecrow
Did you know? Elphaba turned Boq into the tin man
Did you know ? The lion is cowardly because Elphaba wouldn’t let his own battles when he was young
Did you know? The Wizard was never wonderful as he said he was
Did you know? Nessarose was cripple but Elphaba put a spell on her to make her walk
Did you know? That Fiyero knows that Elphaba still lives
Did you know? That the story has two follow ups in book form called: Son of a Witch and A Lion Among Men
BY OLIVER SHARLAND-HARRIS 7/2

The Ring - Darren Hodge

THE RING BOOK REVIEW

I finished reading The Ring about a week ago. I highly recommend it because it is an exciting and enjoyable book to read. You get so into the plot that you can’t help yourself from reading, it is highly addictive. It was written by Koji Suzuki, he is Japan’s answer to Stephen King.
Koji Suzuki was born on May 13th 1957 in Hamamatsu in Japan. The one I read was published by Harper Collins on March 7th 2005. He lives in Japan where the book sold 2.8million copies which continue to Spiral and Loop, the Ring was then made into a Japanese film called Ringu and a Hollywood film called the Ring.
Now onto the book itself, I will give you a brief version of the actual plot. Asakawa is a newspaper reporter and his niece has recently died of sudden heart failure, he also gets a cab on the way back home and his taxi driver says that another person died of sudden heart failure at exactly the same time. He thinks this is a bit weird and looks into it a bit more, he then visits his friend and he mentions a young couple dying of sudden heart failure in a car at the same time.
He realises that the two girls went to the same school and the boys went to the same school so that must be important, he learns that they all spent some time in a villa log cabin, so he investigated to see what they might have done. All he finds is a book with comments and one of them from the people said “don’t watch it,” and he finds a tape. Asakawa watches it and all it contains are abstract and real images for example a real one is a volcano erupting and an abstract one is an old woman predicting someone would have a baby. At the end it says these words “those who have watched these images are fated to die exactly a week from now, if you don’t want to die follow these instructions,” then the tape cuts to static and has been taped over by something else.
After he shows it to his friend they set out to find out how to live. It really is a good book, it is advisable from year 7 up, all ages will enjoy. The tension rises rapidly which has been done excellently. It sends shivers down your spine; the plot is laid out excellently. There is also a major twist at the end, just when you think you know it all and changes it completely. It ends with a cliff hanger ready for the second book Spiral.
I hope you are interested in this book as much as I am, it is truly a stunning read!!

Silverstone - a Few Thoughts from Year Seven

Thomas Bigden writes:

Silverstone is where the British Grand Prix is held and has done so for many years. Many grate cars and drivers have been round this circuit some of the more resent drivers are Jenson Button Lewis Hamilton, Rubens Barrichello and the 2009 Silverstone champion Sebastian Vetteli who won with a grate victory and was only 7 seconds behind last place.

I was so lucky to have gone to Silverstone 2009. most people think that Silverstone is just a Grand Prix racing that just goes on over the weekend but those people are wrong. Whilst we were there it was exhorting but it was worth what we saw. We saw many races such as old fashion race cars, Porsches and Rally cars as I said it wasn’t just cars they had the Red Arrows and one of the most amazing planes on this planet known as a Typhoon (Euro Fighter). This plane reaches the same amount of G’s as an Formula 1 car witch is around 6 G’s witch is 60 times as fast as we go in a normal ordinary day car.

At the Grand Prix people think that it is all cars and planes but they have much more for example merchandizing, the army with weapons and a huge concert but the most spectacular thing was the amount of crowd whilst we were there, there were over 300,000 spectators filling every seat thought the entire circuit.

This was my review on Silverstone so if it is there next year I advise you to try you’re best to get tickets because it is amazing.

Severed - Ruble Francis

Brilliant, great, magnificent, no other words can describe this book. This is certainly a Simon Kernick thriller, one of his best and probably better than his bestselling book relentless which is also a fantastic, fascinating book. The blurb attracts you towards the book. “you wake up in a strange room on a bed covered in blood. You have no idea how you got there. Beside you is a dead girl, your girlfriend. The phone rings, and a voice tells you to press play on the rooms DVD machine. The film shows you killing your girlfriend. Then you’re told to go to an address in east London where you’re to deliver a briefcase and await further instructions. Theres no way out. If you’re to survive the next 24 hours, you must find out who killed your girlfriend, and why. Before they come for you……..
So it’s a bout a man who doesn’t know what happened to him the night before, the only thing he does know is that his girl friend “Leah Torness” is dead, and that her killers have set you up, or is Leah not real. After all her name if you fiddle about it makes “she’s not real.” With a lot of trouble heading his way he has to find out who killed Leah and why.
Other books like relentless will also capture your mind because of the way Simon Kernick has written, the newly written book “Target” is also said to be great, well that’s what Mr Robinson said, anyway I would think the same since Simon Kernicks the one who wrote it, so I would guarantee to anyone that that is a great book.
See doesn’t that just lurk you into the path to buy it, certainly, if you don’t like this book then seriously you are totally mad. This is the kind of books which will live up to its standards and will not disappoint you. When you start its like you can’t stop, this is the kind of book you’d like, trust me.
AUTHOR: Simon Kernick
PUBLISHER: Transworld publishers
ISBN: 978-0-552-15313-3
Price: £6.99

Gordon Brown loses votes - Matthew Scott

Gordon Brown outvoted?
Gordon losing votes!!!

Prime minister Gordon Brown is currently losing his popularity and is losing people’s votes, people are asking themselves “Should we vote for a losing Prime Minister?” Gordon Brown quoted, “ Many are turning against me, but I am confident that I will gain back the favour of many others.” An insider in parliament, who asked for no name to be printed, though said he was for labour party, had quoted. “Gordon is going down, and will lose the general election. This is a sad time for us in the labour party, but will allow others in the labour party to govern as Prime Minister later on.” A reminder that the next general election is on Thursday 3rd of June 2010, so then you can vote who suits you. And that the one’s you can elect are, for the labour party, Gordon Brown, for the conservative party, David Cameron, and for the Liberal Democrat party, Nick Clegg.

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore - Matthew Brown

Recently, I read The Recruit by Robert Muchamore, and I thought it was fantastic. It is the first book in the CHERUB series and shows how a boy in care ends up being a secret agent.

James Choke was a normal teenager: he hated school and slumped around playing the Playstation. One day he found his mum, who ran a shoplifting business, dead on the sofa in his flat. James was soon rushed into care with his sister Lauren. James was sharing a room with a lad named Kyle. After a few days James was taken away in a van, drugged up and found himself awake in a strange building. He managed to find the place he needed to go to, and it was the head of CHERUB. CHERUB is an organsiation that trains children from the age of 10 to become secret agents. James was totally bemused when he was told this, but took the induction test. He passed with flying colours, and was soon undergoing basic training. But first, he had to change his surname, so he went for James Adams. Basic training at CHERUB was said to be the toughest experience of your life, and James was about to find out. It certainly was tough, and didn’t James know it. There were bruises all over his body, and every limb in his body was aching. After 1100 grueling days, James and his training teammates finally completed the basic training regime. They were now allowed to go on missions, and were given a grey shirt. The shirts were a sign of progress, so if you did well in many missions you would get a black one. James then spent life in and out of the CHERUB campus, either on missions or practicing his Karate.

Overall, this is a really good book for any boy. If you are starting to get bored with Alex Rider, you should try this as it is as realistic as any fiction book you can get.

Couriers of the Void continued...

Chapter 1

On the other side of town, a man sat watching the storm from the study window. This man was no older than seventeen, so in theory, he was still a young adult. However, as you will soon realise, age and time are meaningless in this story. They are merely figments of life. This mans name was Leonardo Vigil, or Leon for short. His parents were extremely wealthy people and so he lived in the biggest house the entire city. Whilst he sat in his fathers study watching the rain fall from the heavens, he daydreamed. He dreamed of playing football at university with his friends. He dreamed of life after education, and what he would do with his life. He had passed all of his GCSE’s. Astonishingly he had literally mastered the exams with A* for everything. He had amazed the teachers and had received many rewards from the Mayor and the Prime Minister for highest marks in the country. Leonardo was an extremely talented artist too. He had painted for the National Art Gallery in London, and had recently been in contact with the world-renowned Louvre in Paris. They had previewed his painting and were considering buying it. Now before the story goes any further all readers must understand. You may think,
‘Yeah’ right, as if that guy has had all of those things happen to him. His life is perfect!’
You are wrong. Leonardo was obviously a very clever young man. He was talented in all subjects and was additionally gifted in the Musical and Painting Arts. However, his life if far from perfect. Nothing is perfect, His life will soon be altered and damaged beyond repair. He will be a completely new person. He will still have the same skills, but he, as a human being, will be different. He will see life in a completely different way. Only once he has been ‘transformed’, for want of a better word, then, and only then, will you see the true meaning of perfection.
He dreamed of girls and money, and all the things he would do when he was ‘older’. He was thinking ahead, thinking of the future. He snapped out of his daydream and was still for a while whilst his eyes re-focused into this world. He then stood and moved to the study door and opened it. He walked through to the Piano Room and shut the door behind him. Leonardo played the Piano five times a day, for about three hours at a time. At this particular time, he sat down and rolled his knuckles thinking of all the possible pieces of music that he could play. He settled on ‘Claire de Lune’ by Debussy.
He began to play. His fingers were so adept at pressing the keys that it looked as though his fingers just floated across them. As the song progressed, he began to play more fiercely and more beautiful than ever. Due to the fact that he was playing so loudly, he did not notice his mother enter the room behind him. She closed the door softly and stood in the corner to watch him play. As the music progressed even further his mother began the get tears in her eyes. The music was so beautiful that it was astounding. Little did he know that one day, he would be playing this same piece of music, but in very different company. After the three hours of playing had ceased, he stood and cracked his knuckles. His mother had left shortly after she had entered, but he was oblivious to this as he was unaware she had even been in the room. From there he went to the library and sat in his favourite armchair with his favourite book. He got himself comfy and then began to read. There was nothing compared to reading in Leonardo’s opinion. The concept of reading something that someone else had written and creating a mental image of this persons story was amazing. What he was unaware of was that he would read this book again in the near future, but he would read it in a way that he had never read it before. He would be looking for something different. He would be creating a different mental image, one that may save his life.

Approximately twenty-eight miles south of his house, the vampires had made their second kill. This time a young woman, not long turned twenty-one. She had had so much life ahead of her. But the vampires were not interested in that. They thirsted for her blood and would not stop at anything to get it. The had now embedded two souls into the Void. Into the void from which they could never return. Little did Leonardo know, but his destiny and those of the vampires were very soon to be entwined. They had guided another spirit into the darkness. The night was soon going to come to an end, when the creatures of night would vanish, where no one could ever find them. But before that time, the hunters of darkness had one more victim, one more spirit to escort into darkness. One more mortal to banish into the Void.

Coming up next week - Couriers of the Void, Chapter 2

Don’t miss it!

The creature of the night will be watching, waiting in the shadows, until they are satisfied that no one can see you.
That is when they strike.
You couldn’t’t possibly outrun or fight them.
They are they ultimate predators…
And guess what… you’ll be next!

Charlie Hine - Chapter One

Michael winced, he had been on the coach for hours and his teachers kept on passing by telling all the screaming rabble of his classmates to calm down but that wasn’t the problem.
He had been experiencing sharp pains in his head all over half term and had not thought to tell anyone but he didn’t want to think about it he was now going to the aquarium for a school trip and wanted to enjoy it, even though he was surrounded by a screaming babble of hormone crazed baboons.
Michael was one of those children that every body ignored not in a bad way but just ignored, he was an average height, age, speed, and looked rather normal that’s why he was ignored sucked into the crowd if you will. The coach pulled up next to the blue towering structure Michael thought about how all the sea creatures were alone.
No maths, no annoying classmates, no school,
Michael was jealous of their lives and would (he thought) be very happy to switch places, but that was impossible.
As the teachers tried to sort out the sorry excuse for his classmates Michael sat and thought and he did the same on the way in and at the reception desk.
Michael found the aquarium slightly boring and decided to sneak away, so as the maths teacher he waited until one of the teachers was chosen to look after Michaels group, it was the maths teacher Michael got very bored in maths so when the teacher turned away to pick his nose Michael sneaked away, away from the boring barnacles to where the cool fish were kept, Michael’s teachers wouldn’t miss him,that’s what comes of being ignored. Michael gazed at the sharks and jellyfish and all the cool fish and after a while wandered into a different room.
The octopus room there there was all manor of different species of octopus, colourful ones, plain ones, small ones and… the biggest of them all the main attraction of the aquarium, Gigantor the worlds biggest octopus spanning over a whopping 200 meters of rubbery tangled tentacles. But Michael couldn’t see him but there was some scaffolding from a new exhibit being kept next to the overly large octopuses cage. Michael was in his teens and was good at sport so he easily climbed the large sheets of scaffolding; now Michael could make out the gigantic deep red eyes staring right at him.
This was odd; in the picture Gigantors eyes were yellow…
Suddenly Michael lost his balance and plunged head first into the freezing cold-water filling Gigantors cage Michael was terrified and started to flail around in the freezing mass of liquid but not after a gigantic tentacle started to snake its way towards him…

Hoodlums - James Pettit

Chapter 1
The three grey hoodies jumped over the wall silently and with ease, their leader in front. They ran across the yellow and green clean cut grass to the back window of the small house; running along the patio towards the French doors they stopped out of sight of the other gardens on one side of the doors.
The leader nodded to another, “Go.” He said silently.
Straight away a hoodie was picking the lock with a coat hanger, in seconds there was a resounding click, and the door gave way.
“We’re in!” Said one hoodie with a huge grin on him.
They could breath, they had nothing to worry about for a while; their nerves had gone.
Almost.
Because a growl from inside inset the curtains gave them something else to worry about.
A dog. And not just any dog but a massive Rottweiler baring its teeth, growling and giving a hard stare.
Not taking his eyes off the dog the leader whispered to a smaller hoodie, “You staked out the house! You didn’t tell us there was a dog!”
Also not taking his eyes off the dog, the smaller hoodie whispered, “I did; there was no sign of any stupid dog.”
As if it knew he was being insulted the dog gave a sharp bark. This was bad; if the neighbours heard this they may call the police before they got the chance to do what they were here to do.
The third hoodie put his hands in his pockets and took out a small medicine bottle; he opened the orange translucent bottle with his black gloved hands. He used these gloves, the gloves that he would soon have to burn, in case of evidence, to tip three small pink pills.
Another grin spreading across his face he threw the pills in front of the dog on the carpet flooring. The dog momentarily stopped staring as it sniffed the pills. The dog stopped, as in mid thought, then lapped up the pills.
Now the distraction was over, the dog returned its attention to its intruders, he gave one heavy growl, and ran at them.
Only the hoodie that threw the pills stayed; the other two fled.
“What are you doing? Run!”
But before he could run the dog jumped up, teeth bared… and…. and…
Nothing.
The dog stopped there and just slumped, asleep on the floor.
The two that fled breathed a sigh of relief. But the pill hoodie turned his head towards them and gave a big grin. “Sleeping pills. They work wonders.”

To Be Continued

Christopher Hewett - Dark Awaiting

Chapter 1
Flames flickered around me. Back and forth they waved as if moving to a rhythm. They were mesmerizing as my eyes were fixed upon them. My fingers tingling as the flames were licking them. My mind bulging as it tells me “No more! Run!” but I couldn’t. My body motionless as if a statue just standing there. The sky filled with sorrow and hatred stared down upon me and it was disturbing. The ground was dust as if it was a centre of inheritance but has been destroyed to the point where it has become baron. Nothing living was here but me. The flames intensify around my body to the point where I was no longer visible from the outside world. My mind roaring at me to run, run anywhere, anywhere that’s away from here because this place is not right. My body burning slowly, turning to dark black ash. But despite the flames everywhere this place had something else here. It was observing me. I could feel it, passing around me. It turned cold. The flames died down and I was free. I fall to my knees in disbelief.
My eyes sharply pain me, feeling as though they are still burning. They were closed for those few moments and I was at peace. I lift the lids of my eyes so that I am able to see the ground before me. A puddle of a dark silvery liquid that was so still it was as good as a mirror. I saw my face through its reflection; it was dark, very dark. My face, it was corrupt, it was evil. My pupils, wide and round as well as being a pure colour of scarlet red. I smelt a most dark and alluring smell within the air. It was the smell of death. The smell disintegrates into a sound of terror and fright. The sound was whispering, words that I could not make sense off. It was coming from my left I could just sense it. The world around me morphed from one thing to another. The sky changes from black openness to a ferocious flame. The ground darkens and softens to a horrible gunk. The ground shimmers and eventually roars in a shake. I then saw ruins of ancient civilised buildings rise around me, forming a curved path into the distance. The sound rise in temper and are now at a talking level of noise. But yet still I still had no understanding of what it says.
I got myself up on to my feet. I could hardly keep my head up as I had become extremely drowsy. I tried to walk forward, I went everywhere. Side to side back and forth, I was only just able to keep myself up. My sight was blurry. But I did make out something... A burst of light up ahead along the path. I followed it, even if it was a struggle to move. The sounds were becoming more and more impatient as I moved closer to my objective. The sounds are screaming now, but were now becoming clearer, but not clear enough. The light was now only about 10 yards away. Light now dominates my surroundings and I cannot see a thing. I reach the source, an orb of some strange and mystic power. I am tempted to touch it but what could be the consequences of it. Despite this my arm moves up with no thought and touches it. The orb sinks into the ground as if it were a water droplet falling into a puddle. The ground ripples and then cracks. It falls to form an endless hole. The sound for once I can make sense of it. It said... darkness... awaits you .I was then drawn to the dark oblivion and well... I jumped. It was as if I was in nightmare. Nightmare... Indeed, it was a nightmare.
I awaken.

By Christopher Hewett

E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo - Christopher Hewitt

What is E3
E3 Stands for electronic entertainment expo and was held in many different places until a few years back it was just held in Los Angeles. This is mainly were gaming developers can demonstrate upcoming games to others. This expo is held every year from 1995 and is still going on.
E3 2009
This year’s E3 conference ran from June 2nd to June 4th in Los Angeles Convention Centre. This year about 216 products were demonstrated in E3. Through this article I will talk about some of the things that were shown there.

Xbox 360
Project Natal
Project Natal is a motion sensing device for the Xbox 360. Project natal monitors your movements around your whole body so it can be incorporated into the gamming environment. As you are using your body to control the game there is no need for any controller. Project natal also includes a built in microphone through which you are able to speak commands or speak to in game characters. This seen in game built for the Natal called Milo or Kate, which is made by Lion head studios. Within the game you are able to interact and talk to a person named Milo or Kate (At the E3 only Milo was demonstrated).
Project Natal is to come on sale late 2010 only for the Xbox 360.

Playstation 3
Playstation Motion controller
The Playstation Motion Controller is an upcoming motion sensing device that you hold in your hand. A Playstation eye is needed as this tracks the movement of the controllers. The finished version may not look like the controller in the picture as it is still in development. But the controller does have a very high accuracy rate but it does not track the whole body as the Natal does. The Motion controller has a ball of light on the top of which the playstation eye follows. It is not yet known when it will be released as it is still in development.
Wii
Wii vitality sensor
The wii vitality sensor is a pulse oximeter that will read your pulse and other things on your body. It was revealed at E3 but not a lot of information was given nor was any product shown.
PSP
PSPgo
The PSPgo is the next instalment in the PSP series. Unlike other PSP’s the Go has no UMD drive at all instead it features a 16 GB internal flash drive for storing games, movies ect. Games will now have to be downloaded of the internet off the playstation store. It was also said that future games may come with a disk and a digital copy depending on which PSP you have. The Go is now 45% lighter than the original PSP and is 56% smaller than the original PSP. The Go also features Bluetooth so you are now able to tether your phone to it or use a Bluetooth headset with it.
The Go is not going to replace the PSP 3000 as both PSP’s are going to be on sale together. The Go is going to be released October 1st 2009.

Ds
No big announcements were made for the Ds apart from a few games to be released.

Its over for a year
What I have just gone through were some of the bigger announcements. There were many over things but so many I could not fit them all in. E3 may be over for this year but it will return next year in 2010 with much, much more.

Final Fantasy XIII - Jean-Marc Ah-Kye

Final Fantasy XIII
Profile:
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: RPG
Release Date: 2010

“One of the most anticipated RPG ever!”
First announced at E3 2006 final fantasy XIII is a game with high standards.

What’s it about?
The plot focuses on the fal'Cie, beings created from the crystals residing inside them. The people marked by the fal'Cie for a greater purpose are named the l'Cie.Some thirteen centuries ago, a fal'Cie constructed a paradise for humanity. The shell-like city of Cocoon was created to float high above the surface of the world now known as Pulse, both maintained by their own fal'Cie. Cocoon's fal'Cie created life forms and machines for its inhabitants to use, and humanity flourished. Over time, the people of Cocoon began to fear for the safety of their world, and were worried that it would be cast down from the sky.
In present day, the wilderness of Pulse has strange effects on people, and the theocratic Cocoon Sanctum quarantines and exiles anyone who has been influenced by Pulse from the city with the help of its mighty army, PSICOM. A former soldier of that army, a woman codenamed Lightning is chosen by the fal'Cie against her will to become a l'Cie among others, and with that to be an enemy of humanity and bring about the downfall of Cocoon.

What I think of it and info about it
I think this game is going to be execellent because of the mind-thrilling graphics and touching storyline. I have played final fantasy 12 and final fantasy 7 :crisis core which were both execellent. The game is going to have a new battle system which apparently makes the flow of a battle very smooth. The game will be released for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. It was originally announced as a Playstation 3 exclusive but in 2008 this was changed. All in all this game seems like it will go down as a classic in RPG gaming or even in general gaming .

Review: Eagle Day - Elliot Phillips

Review: Eagle Day By Robert Muchamore

I recently read the Eagle Day, a book by Robert Muchamore. It is the second in the Henderson’s Boys series by this author. Robert Muchamore also writes a series called CHERUB and The Henderson’s Boys books are set in World War 2. They show the lead up to the formation of CHERUB. I am going to explain briefly the plot and say what I thought of the book.

CHERUB:
CHERUB is a secret services branch. This organisation is based at a campus somewhere in the English countryside. All of the agents working there are aged between 11 and 16 years of age and are normally orphans. The name CHERUB stands for Charles Henderson Espionage Research Unit B and was originally formed during WW2 by Charles Henderson. This division is designed to give an edge over the enemy because you wouldn’t suspect children and teenagers. The CHERUB series is going to be twelve books in total and Henderson’s Boys will be three.

The Plot:
The Henderson’s Boys series goes back to the early days of CHERUB back in WW2 and follows Charles Henderson, the last British agent in German-occupied France. Along with him, he has, Marc Kilgour, Rosie and Paul Clarke and Philippe Tomas Bivott (shortened to PT). Paul is 11, Marc is 12, Rosie is 13 and PT is 15 and they‘re all orphans. In this book, the boat PT and the Clarke’s had used to try and get back to England was destroyed. Henderson soon reunited with them along with Marc too. PT is new in this book and tagged along with Henderson. They then went with another new character named Maxine, going to different places in France. They moved north and Henderson got a job as a translator. In the book, they had been choosing whether to travel to Spain or go north to sabotage invasion plans of Britain. They stayed in France, went north and lived on a farm. Henderson’s translating job was for a high-ranked German, so he became friendly with lots of Nazis. They sent Morse Code messages to England and had explosives dropped in. They targeted all the main harbours. Along with some other help, the harbours were all destroyed. They then got back to England where Henderson got permission to use children as agents and formed CHERUB.

My Opinion:
In my opinion, this book had a lot to live up to after the first, but in my eyes, it was much better than I thought it would be. There wasn’t too many new characters and the storyline was accurate. It was full of action and kept you wanting more. I thought it was a great book and would definitely recommend it. It was miles better than the first and showed you what life could’ve been like back in WW2. It not for everyone, but I think most people would really enjoy it.

Alex Riseley - The Earth

The earth is like a giant bowl
With leaves like crispy cornflakes on a cool morning

The grass is like a miniature forest for tiny creatures
That crawl around in search of food

The sea is like a giant puddle waiting to dry up
The tide going in and out every day

The sun is like a burning lamp
That is turned off by the dark, blue moon

Lightning is like tongues reaching out
It is almost as if God is speaking with us

The clouds are like balls of fluff floating in the sky
When it rains they are being squeezed like a sponge

Review - Thomas Schofield

At the moment the charts have some of the greatest music on it we’ve heard in a while. I am doing my review on one of the songs that is top of the charts at the moment. The song is “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. This song has rocked the charts and I don’t know about you but as soon as I hear this title I can’t help but start singing the song. It has even been used by the Britain’s Got Talent winners Diversity in their performance in the final of the show.

The hip/hop song really makes you wants to get up on your feet and dance to it. I think this is because of the great beat and catchy rhythm. The lyrics fit excellently with the beat of the song and this is one of those songs that you can imagine being played in clubs and discos a lot.

This is one of these songs that you either love or you hate. Those of you that like dance music and hip/hop then you’ll probably like this song. Others of you may well completely disagree with the first part of my review and hate the song. I think that you have to hear this song more than once to really start to like it. I will have to admit the first time I heard this song I wasn’t to keen on it. Although after the second or third time I heard it I really started to like it.

So maybe this song isn’t some people’s cup of tea but I think that most people that are into dancing, going clubbing or just generally like listening to dance and hip/hop music then you’ll thoroughly enjoy listening to this song.