Aquanaut's Holiday - PS3

Sony have just announced that the game previously known as Aqua, has been renamed the Aquanaut's Holiday. The title originally appeared on the PS1 in 1995, and was one of the first games I owned for Sony's system.

It was an underwater exploration game, where players discovered ruins and interacted with sealife by singing to them using the controller's shoulder buttons. It was possible to build a coral reef and as it grew, new species would be attracted to your creation. The game made a refreshing change from the usual driving games and beat 'em ups.




Until this announcement, the only other underwater exploration game available was the fantastic Endless Ocean on Wii. And although details are still sketchy, this looks to be quite similar. Endless Ocean looked gorgeous on Wii, but Aquanaut's holiday looks incredible. A mixture of high definition graphics and soothing music, this could be another unmissable, chilled-out experience on PS3.

Aquanaut's Holiday is due for release in Japan on September 25, and it already looks like a must-buy.

Okami: The Complete Works

Capcom's Okami is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable adventures ever to grace a home console. The Wii version has been out for a couple of weeks now in the UK, and if you search around, you should be able to unearth the older PS2 version - and probably for a good price, too.

The story in each game is exactly the same, and the only differences between the two is that the Wii version features 16:9 widescreen, plays in 480p and includes obligatory Wiimote control. In my opinion, however, the PS2 version is the better looking game, especially if you are playing it upscaled through a 60GB PS3.

The game's stunning visuals are clearly inspired by Japanese watercolour paintings, in particular Sumi-e (black ink painting) and the background story is steeped in mythical Japanese tales and legends.

To celebrate Okami's breathtaking art design, Capcom have released Okami: Official Complete Works, a beautiful 288-page book, crammed with illustrations, sketches and concept art from the game. The book has been available since February in the UK, but it's taken me until now to get my hands on a copy.




Not only does the book feature some stunning artwork, but the development team have added their comments, with each page featuring descriptions explaining the thought processes behind the artwork.

Anyone who treasures Okami and wants to take a closer look at the game's development process, should definitely check this out. It costs around £20 and is available from most UK shopping websites.

Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 - PS3

This was one of the first games I bought for my PS3. I was intrigued after watching a video clip of the game, and, as it seemed to have elements of Nintendo's Animal Crossing, I just couldn't resist.
    The game places you in control of a young boy named Boku, who is staying at his aunt and uncle's farm in the countryside of Hokkaido, Japan, for the summer.
    Arriving by train, Boku gets to spend the whole month of August exploring, swimming, and playing in the areas surrounding the farm. He'll get to meet and interact with other characters, and the aim of the game is to allow Boku to have a memorable and fun-packed summer holiday.


It's all very laid back, and you are free to spend your time as you see fit. For example, you could wander down to the local river and dive in, searching the depths for collectable bottle tops, grab your bug net and collect beetles, butterflies and insects, help out on the farm, slide down the surrounding green slopes on a tray, do a spot of fishing, or play your friends at beetle sumo - what you do is entirely up to you.
    Of course you'll have to be back in time for dinner and if you don't hit the hay before 11pm, you'll sleep in and miss morning exercises with the rest of the family the next day.


    Boku no Natsuyasumi looks beautiful. From the hand-painted backgrounds to the clean, fresh look of the characters and interiors, every screen is a joy to look at. The gorgeous style of the game really drives you on to explore new areas, as you never know what will be around the next corner.
    There are also a few options to customise Boku's look. You can download dozens of colourful T-shirts from the Japanese PlayStation store for free and more customisation is also possible thanks to the T-shirt design tool, which is also available for free from the same source.
    The Japanese audio and text can throw up a few problems, but as the game is so laid back, it's almost impossible not to find something to keep you occupied, even if you don't understand the many conversations. There's also little point holding out for a western release, as previous games in the series (for PS1 and PS2) have never been translated into English. So it's just as well the PS3 is region free, so importing isn't a problem.

Tori no Hoshi: Aerial Planet - PS2

When Japanese software company Nippon Ichi release a game, it's always worth taking a closer look. After all, they are the team who brought us the excellent strategy RPGs Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories on PS2. Not only that, but they released Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness on PSP earlier this year, while Disgaea 3 is set for an autumn release Stateside on PS3.

Tori no Hoshi on PlayStation 2 doesn't seem to have anything in common with their turn-based RPGs, instead it focusses of the beauty of flight. Taking contol of Hugo, you make your way over a watery planet courtesy of your glider, and explore a variety of islands. It looks as though there are plenty of places to discover and stormy conditions to avoid as you hop from island to island.

It certainly has shades of the Nintendo classic Pilotwings, and in the absence of any next-gen version of that particular franchise, this could well fill a gap in the market. However, there is no word yet if Nippon Ichi will release the game in the west, so importing it from Japan is your only current option. Look out for more information in the coming weeks.

Shiki-tei - PS3

I've been playing around with the wonderful Shiki-tei over the past few days. Essentially a gardening sim, Shiki-tei (Four Season Garden) is currently only available from the Japanese PlayStation 3 store and costs 1500 yen.

There are five basic gardens to choose from, from traditional Japanese to a more contemporary design. Once you've chosen your basic garden, it's time to get busy.

Objects such as trees, plants, flowers, tables, chairs, lights etc can be placed anywhere around the garden. Initially there are only a few of each to choose from. However, by placing new objects and planting trees and flowers, new items are unlocked - from gazebos and benches, to trees, flowers and water features.



Holding down the 'X' button speeds up time, allowing your plants to flourish (although they will eventually die), while holding down 'O' does the opposite and rewinds time. For best results it is best to leave the garden to do its own thing.

If you leave the game alone for two minutes (default), you'll get a gentle fly through your garden, with the camera focussing on objects of interest.

It is a beautiful looking package, and the lighting effects are gorgeous. A bright, sunny afternoon can quickly change to a blustery evening, snow can fall in an instant and gentle rain can leave your garden looking green and lush. There is also a day/night cycle in place, so stars peek out from behind the clouds, while the moon slowly arcs over the horizon.



As you plant, place and grow, animals of all shapes and sizes visit you idillic little patch. The first to arrive is a koi carp (if you have water, obviously) but he's soon followed by owls, ducks, and starlings. That's all I've encountered so far, but I'll keep you posted as more creatures come my way.

As you would expect, the music is suitably soothing, although there is the option for custom soundtracks, which is a welcome addition.

Then there's the camera mode, which allows you to save pictures of your garden to your PS3's hard drive - pefect for desktop wallpapers. There is also the option to upload your pics on to the Shiki-tei server and you can browse through other people's creations via the in-game menu screen.

There's no word of a UK release yet, however I'm confident that Shiki-tei will eventually make it to these shores sometime in the future.