By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

BAYER Philippines may be the first pharmaceutical company in the Philippines to ever use a Flash-based web game to advertise its product, particularly the men’s health supplement Rogin-E.

The game is largely an “advergame” wherein a brand is represented in an interactive video game, either as in-game advertising or as the main theme of the game itself.

In the case of Bayer’s Rogin-E Man, the player must control a male character along a maze and catch packs of Rogin-E capsules while avoiding enemies. Catching large packs of Rogin-E would strengthen the character and beat enemies by just approaching them. The game is similar to the arcade hit Pac-Man.

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By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

ANYONE who grew up in the 80s and had a TV set would surely agree with me: “Transformers” is the best American-made robot cartoon series ever. The series, as well as the subsequent toys and the VHS-only full-length animation film, made such an impact on the Filipino child’s psyche that it only meant to draw people to believe that another film would soon be made. It took another 20 years, but finally we have a live-action movie about gigantic alien robots that are disguised as normal-looking vehicles.

Luckily, the two who took up that responsibility are Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg, both legends in their own right. Still, many fans of the beloved robot series were afraid that, like many good TV franchises that went sour after being made into a movie, their version of Transformers would fall short of even the faintest expectations. They were happily proven wrong.

Bay and Spielberg’s retelling of Transformers is the best one yet, one that will not be easily forgotten not just by the fans of the series but also newbies who are not familiar with it. It would be such a hit that the DVD home videos of the Transformers would be sold out as soon as it is released. Even the toys are currently being lapped up by people who grew up with the Transformers and their kids who are about to be introduced to the Autobots and Decepticons. While Bay and Spielberg are to be thanked for making sure that the visuals and the action scenes are as stunning as they could get on film, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (both writers for sci-fi TV series) should also be given credit for creating a solid story.

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By Alex Villafania, hackenslash reporter
INQUIRER.net

LEVEL UP! Inc. CEO Jane Walker has confirmed the departure of Level Up! Chief Operating Officer Sheila Paul, one of the earliest employees of the Philippine online game publisher.

Walker said Paul stayed on with the company until the end of May and moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the middle of June.

“She wanted to move forward to a new industry other than gaming. It was fun working with her,” Walker said, adding that Paul was a business partner.

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By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

A FEW days before the opening of the Transformers movie, local merchants are all ready to cash in on the potential blockbuster of the year. On June 29, several companies will be introducing several lines of Transformer-themed products.

The launch of the Transformers movie merchandise launch will be held at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City. Most of the items would be action figures from the movie and from the previous cartoon series, clothing lines and similar items.

Apart from the merchandise, the event will also have several side events such as trivia contests, diorama exhibits and collections.

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By Joey Alarilla, hackenslash Editor
INQUIRER.net

I WAS at Borders in Singapore on June 16 with Hinge Inquirer Publications group editor Adel Gabot, GAME! editor in chief Howard Paw, and Emir Samonte, editor in chief of IP e-Games’ Content/Communications Group when one of the store staffers made an announcement. She said the members of the Fantastic Four would be making a visit, so customers should get their cameras ready.

Well, I certainly wasn’t going to miss that! I excitedly told Emir that it was meant to be, ‘coz what a happy coincidence it was that we just happened to visit Borders then, heh

Well, I was in for a disappointment. Only Dr. Doom and the Human Torch (and heck, you wouldn’t even know at first that he was meant to be Johnny Storm) arrived while we were there, and instead of a grand entrance the guys portraying these characters basically, um, skulked inside. As if they were ashamed — dunno why, heh.

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