Souten Kouro

A slightly different Sou Sou (Cao Cao) comes to life in Souten Kouro. Based mostly on the Records of Three Kingdoms by Chen Shou and slightly on Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, the series is an ambitious portrayal of the most brilliant man in the chaos of the Three Kingdoms era in China.

Cao Cao, foster son of Cao Teng, is an ambitious young man with the brains and prowess to back it up. His ideas are far ahead of his time and he never fails to astound everyone even his closest friends and relatives. Merciless, smart, and witty, not only did he distinguish himself in the field of battle but in governance and literature as well. The ladies loved him of course and his friends adored him. Consequently, he makes enemies along the way but nothing seems to faze him, even the glory of the emperor.

This 26-episode series is fast-paced and covers barely half of what Cao Cao accomplished in his lifetime. It begins with a background of his childhood, his first experience in falling in love, and his rise to becoming one of the feared men China. His last fight in the series is with Lu Bu's (Ryo Fu) army.

Some people hate him for his overconfidence but he always wins in the end; not only because he is resourceful but because he has loyal followers. Despite Cao Cao's gifts as an administrator and leader, he has a weakness for women. Some strategists also find him difficult and dangerous. This serves as a balance to a seemingly invincible character. 

Viewers already familiar with the story will not drown in the information provided by a narrator and will certainly enjoy seeing familiar names when they are introduced for the first time in the series. The battle scenes did not disappoint. This is one of the few series that showed large scale fights, particularly siege battles. One on one fights may be exaggerated but I appreciate how it doesn't sugarcoat these life and death situations unlike the other adaptations of this historical event. The numerous supporting cast didn't take the spotlight from the lead character, a tendency I have noticed in most adaptations of the Three Kingdoms. The pace was okay in the first half of the series but in the last half Cao Cao's screen time lessened because of all the information that needed to be shown. Nevertheless, I think the story was executed well.

Before I started watching the series I was apprehensive about how they're going to take on an elaborate story with so many interesting characters and numerous battles. Newbies to the Three Kingdoms craze will certainly drown in all the information given at once even with the help of a narrator. The fans of Wei in particular will appreciate the spotlight long deserving of Cao Cao who is mostly portrayed as a villain. This 26-episode series is awfully short; ending in an epic standout with Lu Bu. Souten Kouro is bloody (literally) awesome.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Dynasty Warriors 7

This seventh installment of the Dynasty Warriors franchise has a lot of new things to offer. The game still follows the story of the three kingdoms period which succeeded the end of the Han dynasty. Wei, Wu, Shu emerged as the contenders for the unification of the land and hope to end the chaos. What happens to each faction is determined by battles (although the results are slightly altered in this game).

What's New?

Dynasty Warriors 7 features a new faction, Jin, led by the wily Sima Yi. It also includes the Conquest Mode where players can unlock different stages, characters, weapons, and others. Each character also has his/her own missions, called legendary stages, which consist of 2 to 3 stages. 

Each character can now use two weapons in the battles. The weapon's effectiveness is based on its compatibility with the character. The player can also change the weapons at any time of the game. Various weapons can also be obtained from the merchant and blacksmith.

The following are the new playable characters in DW7: Cai Wenji (Wei), Jia Xu (Wei), Deng Ai (Jin), Guo Huai (Jin), Sima Shi (Jin), Sima Zhao (Jin), Wang Yuanji (Jin), Xiahou Ba (Jin), Zhong Hui (Jin), Zhuge Dan (Jin), Ding Feng (Wu), Liu Shan (Shu), Ma Dai (Shu), Lian Shi (Wu), and Guan Suo (Shu). 

Story Mode

Four factions are available for the Story Mode and characters for each stage are pre-determined. Like DW6, a narration prior to the battle is given. Additionally, the player also gets to enjoy the pre-battle preparation. Conversations with other officers and soldiers are possible, making the game more interactive.

In DW6 it is possible to end one battle by directly attacking the commander. In DW7 however, the player has to fulfill all the battle conditions to get to the commander. Players are given scenarios where siege weapons (e.g., ballista, catapult, juggernaut, etc.) have to be used.

Wei

Conquest Mode

The Conquest mode is the replaces the Free mode in the previous game. It has different difficulty levels and also has legendary stages for specific characters. Not all stages involve fighting however. Cities can also be explored and the players can use its facilities (e.g., earn and choose a sworn ally, guardian animal, purchase or make weapons) or just talk to residents or soldiers.

Leveling Up

Killing hundreds or more than a thousand soldiers used to give extra points for leveling up. In DW7, earning skill points or acquiring growth items is possible only by defeating the officers. Each character has a set of unique skills. The player is also awarded fame points and gold which can be used to purchase items.

Jin

Characters

Sima Yi has been molded into a sort of villain here although when one looks more closely at his character based on the writings, he just happened to be a lot smarter, and luckier, than the others. On the other hand, characters like Dong Zhuo, Lu Bu, and the others have lesser importance here and are mere annoyance in the early stages of the story mode.

I will not go into detail about the new characters but I have noticed that characters from each of the four factions usually conform to a theme unique in Wei, Shu, Wu, and Jin. Some characters also have parallels in other factions.

Wu

What I Love/Dislike About the Game

Previous games focused more on individual character stories but I see a lot of emphasis here on the story of the three kingdoms based on Luo Guanzhong's historical fiction novel. Notable are the scholar questions in Conquest mode and the three kingdoms story in the encyclopedia. Also, while waiting for a stage to load, a short description of a random character is given. I've encountered some players before who do not know from which book or historical event the game is based on.

The Conquest Mode is more immersive than the free mode in previous games. There is more interaction with other characters through the sworn allies feature as well as more involvement in the selection of weapons. There are various stages that I enjoyed, particularly those stages where the player has to overcome specific types of characters or characters who use the same type of weapon.

Voice acting has improved. The correct pronunciation of names of the characters has been given emphasis here. I also like the feature where I can change the background music before I begin the battle.

Some characters use the same weapons and therefore have almost the same moveset. There is less variety for so many characters that it tends to become tedious trying to unlock or level up all the others. I'm also not a fan of the two-weapon system and the option to equip or change them at any time of the game. It makes the game a lot less challenging that way.

The art is superb as usual. My favorites would have to be the Wei characters' outfits. The terrain of various stages also add to the difficulty level of the game. Some stages are easier while some maps are understandably confusing.

Shu

Overall the game is still enjoyable. Yes it's repetitive, after all it is based on a specific period in history, but the familiarity of the characters is also what makes this game popular. It is fun to see characters acquire new weapons, outfit and others in every new game.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Cao Cao

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

This version of the world's oldest military treatise is translated and annotated by Lionel Giles. Giles provided not only a translation but also included the different interpretations of various commentators in explaining the passages.

This version begins with an introduction of Giles' work. Sun Tzu, the commentators of his work, and The Art of War's influences are also included.

The comments from the translators may be a bit distracting but without them, some parts will probably not make sense to the modern readers. Moreover, the commentators also give their interpretations of Sun Tzu's maxims as well as cite examples of battles and historical figures.

The Art of War is divided into thirteen chapters. In the introduction of the book, there is a mention of speculations on how many chapters the original manuscript was made up of.

The following are the 13 chapters of The Art of War:
I. Laying Plans
II. Waging War
III. Attack by Stratagem
IV. Tactical Dispositions
V. Energy
VI. Weak Points and Strong
VII. Maneuvering
VIII. Variation in Tactics
IX. The Army On the March
X. Terrain
XI. The Nine Situations
XII. The Attack By Fire
XIII. The Use of Spies

The contents of the chapter may be unclear to the reader, however, the translator and the commentators provide interpretations. Although Sun Tzu is fond of figures of speech, his statements are straightforward. Readers might also find repetitions but keep in mind that they are usually for emphasis or  support a closely connected statement.

I'm giving The Art of War a 10 out of 10 rating.

Cao Cao

Posted this on my deviantArt: http://fav.me/d4i8lgv