ARTS editor Phil Hewitt is now counting down to the hours to the Tokyo Marathon...

Possibly my favourite marathon moment came in my second London Marathon, a mile from a finish which seemed never to get any closer.

I was at my lowest ebb, every step was agony, confusion had long since squeezed out whatever common sense I had left.

Maybe I had got the hydration wrong, maybe it just wasn’t my day.

But something was seriously up, and I knew I had to get help from somewhere. Or someone.

And that’s the glory of the London Marathon. There are plenty of people to choose from, hundreds of thousands of them lining the route that takes you to the finish.

My good fortune is that I chose exactly the right person, a little angel of a lad, resplendent in his St John Ambulance uniform, standing on the corner as you turn into Parliament Square.

By now I was in last-resort territory. That resort was to thrust my chest towards randomly-selected bystanders in the hope that they would shout out the name emblazoned across my chest.

And, boy, did I pick the right boy in that ghastly moment.

“Come on, Phil”, he shouted, right in my face, and who knows, that might just have been enough.

But the little sweetheart instantly added: “Phil! Phil! You can still win this!”

OK, a little tear still comes to my eye when I think about it ten years later.

It was the most absurd thing to say. Completely bonkers.

But it was also absolutely the right thing to say. I smiled, I laughed and I floated.

New energy in my aching limbs, I made it through that final mile and was still grinning as I crossed the line.

I was sickly blue in the lips, deathly pale in the face, but grinning from ear to ear.

The actual winner had won an hour and a half earlier, but the little boy had been right. In my own terms, I could still win it and I did.

Whenever (not often!) my love of marathons wobbles, I think back to that glorious moment – one which sums up not just the insanity of marathon running, but also its humanity, not just its horrible lows, but also its off-the-top-of-the-scale highs.

That little boy will never know what he did for me that day, but ten years on, this Sunday morning (February 26) as I stand on the start line at the Tokyo Marathon, I will be thinking of him, cherishing the memory of a moment right up there in the annals of my running history.

Tokyo will be my 26th marathon and will come at the end of an important week for me.

Last Friday, my book {http://www.summersdale.com/book/2/569/keep-on-running|Keep On Running} was sent off to the printers by the superb team at Summersdale publishing in Chichester.

Summersdale picked out exactly the right passage from the book for the blurb on the back: “Marathons make you miserable, but they also give you the most unlikely and the most indescribable pleasures.

“It’s a world that I love – a world unlocked when you dress up in Lycra, put plasters on your nipples and run

26.2 miles in the company of upwards of 30,000 complete strangers.”

And it’s that makes Tokyo on Sunday so mouth-watering a prospect.

It’s a place I fell in love with last October when I joined a group of journalists for a look at the course, courtesy of the Tokyo Marathon Foundation.

Japan is a country which hits you right between the eyes with the most vibrant, the most intoxicating mix of sights and sounds and smells.

Tokyo is a place which grabs you and gets inside you, fast, fascinating and above all friendly - a city built on respect and on the warmest of welcomes.

As guests of the Tokyo Marathon organisation, we were treated with every courtesy by hosts ever eager to please and confident in the knowledge that they have got a rare treasure to reveal: a city which makes you walk taller, lifts the spirits and leaves you drunk on its atmosphere.

Everyone was intent on telling us that Tokyo was safe.

I took them at their word, plunging down dark alleys and side streets camera in hand, exploring the bright glitzy neon streets and enjoying unmolested the beautiful tranquillity of an early-morning run.

A self-confessed marathon bore and a veteran of 25 marathons in ten different countries, I like to think I know a good marathon course when I see one: Tokyo’s is a cracker, kicking off outside the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building before heading off through the dazzling night club district.

Then it reaches the perimeter of the Imperial Palace Gardens before heading for Ginza, Japan’s number-one high-end shopping district.

After that you plunge into the old town before wending your way to the finish at Tokyo Big Sight – a challenging course, but an excellent one, very much created with the sights in mind but also one geared towards the runners themselves, as its impressive 97 per cent finishing rate suggests.

So, I beg of you, dear reader: be my little boy this weekend.

The marathon starts at 9.10am on Sunday, which is ten past midnight UK time.

If any of you happen to be awake at that time, and at any time in the next few hours, shout out (or even mutter into your pillow): “Phil! Phil! You can still win this!”.

I promise you that it will make the world of difference to me half a world away.

HERE we are again in the world of ANIME, this time it`s all about gods and mega beings, ASURA`S WRATH (sounds like something you get after a chilli cook off) is a new game from CAPCOM and CYBER CONNECT 2 .

Like I have said before this is a game that is for the ANIME enthusiast, if you’re looking for something conventional then this is not the place for you, instead this title is more of a movie with some gameplay thrown in for good measure.

The story revolves around a character known as ASURA, a rootin` tootin` kick bottom DEMI-GOD ,betrayed by his fellow gods (usual story, these god`s can`t be trusted) and is thrown out of heaven, losing his wife and child into the bargain, and is resurrected centuries later, by the force of his anger, seeing what a mess the world is in ASURA becomes more agitated (this guy certainly has some issues) and embarks on a series of outrageous mega battles with other deities, resulting in some spectacular fight scenes.

This all takes place over a period of 12,000 years and you can imagine after being “stitched up” by his mates, having his wife murdered, and daughter kidnapped, ASURA is not in any mood to relax and move on.

In fact he runs about ranting and raving like a madman beating the living daylights out of any thing that gets in his way.

ASURA WRATH like many of the ANIME type games is story driven, which of course means many drawn out cut scenes, which are beautifully rendered and thought out, intercut with what I would describe as “Boss battles” ,certainly not conventional but very ANIME.

The game itself is 18 episodes long, each one consisting of opening credits and some really nice illustrations which make ASURAS WRATH more of an experience rather than a game, and there is plenty of variety in the game play even though it is mainly 10 minutes of “cut scene” and 5 minutes of “Boss battle”.

If you are looking for a conventional RPG then this isn`t for you and I am sure many gamers will feel a bit cheated by the lack of actual gameplay. In fact the whole thing is only 6 hours long, most of which is “cut scenes“.

This fusion of Science fiction and Asian mythology has been done before and the really over the top battle scenes certainly are very spectacular, it’s just a pity that the game doesn`t have more game play.

Granted the story is interesting, but is this a game or a DVD? For the price I do think there should be more interactivity, and I can imagine that many gamers will be hitting the “skip” button often after a few hours of play.

There will be DLC sometime in the near future but will it be more “cut scenes” or gameplay?

The actual gameplay itself is good and I enjoyed it with plenty of variety and a selection of different moves.

There are a number of QTE`s (quick time events) in which you are prompted to press certain buttons at certain times, but these really have no bearing on the outcome, just on you ratings at the end.

ASURA`S WRATH is a great game, if you are into the whole ANIME, Japanese crazy over blown action genre, otherwise be warned that if you are willing to fork out forty bucks or so, and expect an normal RPG then you will be disappointed.

It is refreshing to see companies that are willing to try something new, and push the boundaries, that is a healthy thing in the industry, this is a great concept but the lack of game play for the price will put many people off, it certainly is a great experience to behold but it should have been released on download with each level as a DLC to keep the cost down.

Summary

ASURAS WRATH is a game like no other, rich in story and beautifully animated, it would work as just a movie in itself, but to non ANIME lovers it would just be a bit long winded and lacking in game play.

If you are thinking of giving it a go just be aware that you will be sitting around watching more than playing, and it is not a very long experience for the money.

I give ASURA`S WRATH 8 out of 10 because it is another ground breaking and original idea but the lack of game play is off putting.

Asura`s Wrath

Developer: Cyber Connect 2

Publisher: Capcom

Xbox 360©

Playstation 3©

Genre: Action

Age Rating: 18

Release Date: 9th march 2012

Review by Dayvid Ryan

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