By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

ENTERTAINMENT software publisher Asian Media Development Group has begun selling the Eye of the North expansion of the online role-playing game Guild Wars.

GW: EN will be sold through retailers nationwide or through the website GuildWars.ph at around P2, 200. The game continues the storyline of the Guild Wars series, whose first expansions included GW: Factions and GW: Nightfall.

The latest expansion, which will be made available worldwide starting August 31, is also the next step toward Guild Wars 2, set to be released in 2009.

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By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

FILIPINO game developer Anino Entertainment bested about 140 other game developers to get into the semifinals of the Indie Game Developers Showcase, an international competition for independent game developers.

Anino Entertainment’s Word Archery game is one of the 10 casual games that entered the semifinals. Anino is also the only Asian company in the casual games category, which is dominated mostly by US-based firms.

Apart from the casual games category, the semifinals also features the general category, which showcases games that have more development aspects.

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EVERYONE who’s finished Halo 2 knows that the ending was a real, um, cliffhanger (as in WTF?! This is the ending?).

So if you’re wondering what happens next, check out Marvel Comics’ four-part Halo: Uprising limited series.

Marvel has announced that the first issue has already sold out at Diamond afyer less than 24 hours.

Here’s the press release from Marvel.

Marvel Comics is pleased to announce that the hotly anticipated Halo: Uprising #1 (of 4) has sold out at Diamond (though copies may be available at the retail level) after only 24 hours! Featuring the Eisner-Award winning team of writer Brian Bendis and artist Alex Maleev, this limited series bridges the popular Microsoft video games Halo 2 and Halo 3. If you’ve been wondering where the Master Chief has been and what the Covenant have planned, this limited series has the answers! Retailers all over the country are reporting that like with Dark Tower, Anita Blake and The Death of Captain America, Halo: Uprising is attracting new faces and new readers to stores, seeking out this critically acclaimed series!

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THE LONG wait will soon be over! Singapore-based Infocomm Asia Holdings Pte Ltd, the exclusive regional distributor of the highly anticipated online game Hellgate: London, has confirmed that the game will be launched in Southeast Asia on October 31 — the same day that it will be released in North America.

Hellgate: London of course is the first title from Flagship Studios, the company founded by gaming legend and former Blizzard stalwart Bill Roper. I was lucky to meet Bill last year in Singapore during IAH’s “One Market, One Asia” launch and interviewed him for hackenslash and INQUIRER.net.

Here’s an excerpt from the press statement sent by IAH.

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By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net

UPDATE: Editor’s note: Added video clip.

COMPETITION in the online gaming industry is getting more intense even offline as game distributors employ young and sexy girls to up the ante. This time, Asian Media Development Group has tied up with record label Sony BMG to come up with the Game Girls.

The Game Girls project, which started promotions and auditions in May, aims to find five young girls who will serve as both Asian Media and Sony BMG talents promoting the products of Asian Media, as well as making a name of their own as an entertainment group.

So far, Asian Media and Sony BMG have listed 22 finalists for the five Game Girls slots. Most of the girls are between 17 to 23 years old.

Here’s a short video clip of the finalists:

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