RIGHT now, I’m checking out the casual games at Level Up!’s Be There portal, which is now open for beta testing.
Have just started playing, but one of the games that my daughter Sam and I find interesting is Miam!
Here’s a screenshot.
Anyway, check it out for yourself 
By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
AFTER successfully completing a two-week beta test, game publisher IP e-Games has set June 12 for the commercial launch of their latest online role-playing game Cabal.
In an interview with hackenslash, IP e-Games product manager Mark Ng said they have switched on a fourth server to accommodate the influx of players when the game goes commercial.
The servers are named after planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter, with the latter being activated just recently.
Ng said they will launch the game at the Glorietta Mall, to be followed by several provincial launches.
He mentioned that one of the launch activities is the Grind Fest program wherein the first players who reached level 30 during the beta test would receive special in-game items.
Likewise, they will also have raffles for players who reach level 30 and 50 by June 21, with Apple iPod Shuffles and iPhones as prizes.
Tournaments are also slated after the launch, as well as guild recognitions and video making contests.
Ng said the new in-game item shop, the Cabal Cash Shop, has already included 20 virtual items, and their target is 50 by the end of the year.
By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
PANDAS are not always seen as funny. They’re just cute, something you’d like to take home as a pet. However, if the panda is Jack Black, then he’s not just funny but extremely hilarious and in the latest computer animation flick from DreamWorks, you’ll wish a panda could actually be your pet.
This writer has tried to keep spoilers to a minimum in this review, but stop reading if you don’t want anything spoiled for you.
The movie uses the tried and tested zero-to-hero formula, which is common in many children’s cartoons so as to teach kids to believe in themselves and conquer all obstacles. The movie’s solid storyline, written by Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, is predictable but again, this kind of script formula works just fine with younger viewers.
Likewise, there are many elements from Japanese anime and even Hong Kong martial arts movies in terms of story progression, dialogue and most especially the fight scenes. In fact, those familiar with the old Jackie Chan flicks and the new Stephen Chow movies will find some script and comic references. There are also some philosophical ramblings that seem to target children. Some martial arts buffs and anime purists might not like the nearly copycat plot because of the lack of originality. Incidentally, it has almost no reference to pop culture, which is often the staple of computer graphics animation films like the “Shrek” and “Toy Story” movies.
By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
THE WORLD Cyber Games Philippines 2008 Final is still a month away but the competition is heating up for some of the game titles that are part of the tournament.
Some players have already made the cut to become finalists in WCG for the games Command and Conquer 3 (C&C3), WarCraft III: Frozen Throne, Defense of the Ancients (DotA), Counter-Strike, and the Xbox 360 game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
The finalists for each of the games will be bearing down on each other in July.
Meanwhile, there will be tie-breaking competitions on June 7 and 8 at the SM Megamall to find out who else would be moving to the finals at the SM Mall of Asia.
The top four finalists for C&C3 are Edsel Ramos, Kevin Chung, Aldyn Belgica, and Bernard Garcia, who beat eight other players in the game.
The WarCraft III finalists are John Benedict Cruz, Frederick Pe, Tristan Solee, and Ariel Escolano. Solee was the previous WarCraft III Philippine representative to the 2007 WCG Grand Final in the US.
The DotA teams that will move to the finals are Pag-ibig, Mineski, BS, and Flow, which was also the Philippine representative in the Asian Cyber Games in Singapore in 2007. It was Flow that brought the Philippines its first medal in an international gaming competition in 2007.
The top five Counter-Strike teams who will face off at SM MOA are Kinky, Horsemen of the Apocalypse (HOA), WK, What’s New B, and Wanted. Team HOA has been the consistent Counter-Strike Philippine representative for the past six years, though team Kinky is closing in for this year’s tournament.
Meanwhile, the Guitar Hero III finalists are Rafael Formoso, Jose Antonio Cruz, Luis Benesa, Nino Tanseco, and Robin Molas.
Michael Vinluan, general manager of eSports, which is organizing the WCG, said that they have reserved spots in the finals for Cebu and Davao players of CS, WarCraft III, C&C3 and Guitar Hero III.
The semifinals for Need for Speed ProStreet and Virtua Fighter 5 will be held on June 7 to 8 at SM Megamall.
Editor’s note: Video showing Counter-Strike and Defense of the Ancients players duking it out taken by INQUIRER.net community evangelist Alex Villafania.
UPDATE: Editor’s note: Reposted to make corrections.
By Alex Villafania
INQUIRER.net
A NEW game publisher has joined the online gaming fray in the Philippines. Eaglegame International Limited will be based in Ortigas Center in Mandaluyong City and will focus on online casual games.
In an interview, Eaglegame marketing and communications manager Rio Encarnado said the Philippine office is a subsidiary of interactive entertainment firm NeteLusion Hong Kong Limited, which focuses on gaming, media and fortune.
NeteLusion also has offices in Singapore, Malaysia and China and is expanding its business in the US, some European countries and other Southeast Asian countries.
