Update 1.0: January 10, 2006
Written by: Starcade author
Publication: Starcade
Date published: January 10, 2006
First of all, Happy New Year to everyone out there. It was a relatively quiet Christmas season this year; no terrorist attacks, no great natural disasters, no rallies in the streets (in spite of evident political tension). Apparently, this was because half of you packed whatever game cafes were still open after Christmas afternoon! I can understand students from the province holed up in dorms, thousands of miles away from their families, but during Christmas and New Year's Eve, there must be more fulfilling and appropriate ways to spend the holidays than in front of a computer screen, people. And don't any of you say it wasn't you; I saw you. I was there.
Let's hit the headlines.
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Legend of Mir 2: The Three Heroes; Pangya Now in Open Beta
Firstly, a couple of new games have hit the open beta market. The first is The Legend of Mir 2: The Three Heroes, a traditional, oriental-set MMORPG and one of the biggest online games in China and Europe. Local publisher, Okey-Dokey Interactive Entertainment is providing additional incentive for gamers to join their beta testing: players can compete with each other within the game to win real life prize money ranging from P5,000 to P10,000 thousand, with one determined player walking away with the grand sum of P30,000 for finding the legendary Red Moon Sword. Players looking to join this quest can click on www.mir2.com.ph.
The other game is Pangya, a Casual fantasy golf game that has been a huge hit in South Korea and Thailand. Pangya means "the perfect hit," and publishers Hanbitsoft Inc. and Ntreev Soft Co. Ltd. are hoping the game will have just such an impact here in the Philippines. Gamers can purchase the game at all Netopia branches and most major internet café chains or download the game at netGames' Pangya site, www.pangya.com.ph.
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RF Online Commercial Release, January 10, 2006
Level Up's much-anticipated Rising Force Online, or RF (www.rfonline.com.ph) , which has been in open beta since November 18 of last year, will finally have its commercial release on January 10, 2006. Three races battle for control of the Novus Planet: the robotic Accretia, the magic casters of Cora, and the Bellato's tech-mech wielders. Level Up! is backing RF's commercial launch with a massive top-up promo where players receive twice the value of all topped up cards for any Level Up game.
---
Nintendo Famicom Classic, Battle City 2.0 Goes Online
This second new release of the week will certainly appeal to older gaming generations weaned on the classic 8-bit Nintendo Family Computer: the release of Battle City 2.0, a remake of the classic tank combat game that graced dozens of 50-in-1 cartridges back in the day. The game play of the updated version still allows players to commandeer a tank and defend their "brick" city by blowing up opposing tanks and obstacles. However, this time the game is online, allowing thousands of players to relive their Nintendo days in all its booming, brick-flying glory as they defend their cities against enemy tanks. Battle City 2.0 can be downloaded at www.battlecity.net .
---
Guild Wars Implements PvP Obs Mode
NCSoft and ArenaNet, developers of the smash MMORPG Guild Wars have fully implemented an observer mode for those wish to view PvP matches without having to get their virtual noses bloody. Matches involving some of the most prestigious and powerful guilds are available to all Guild fans, and observers can choose to either alter their viewpoint manually or let the autocam do it for them.
---
PS3 Teaser at 2006 Consumer Electronics Show
For console fans, the presentation of the Playstation 3 at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has further whet appetites, but Sony has been unwilling to spill any morsel. The company had initially denied that PS3 would play any part in this year's CES, and its surprise unveiling was accompanied by the unsurprising silence on its release date. The closest clue is that it may be this spring. I leave you with this.
---
RAN Online Wins First Place at Asia Game Convention
IP Interactive, a subsidiary of publicly listed IP Ventures Group (IPVG), which recently launched the country's first free-to-play online gaming portal (www.e-games.com.ph) , has won a top consumer award for RAN Online, their Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing game (MMORPG).
Ran Online won first place in the "My Favorite Game" competition of the 4th Asia Game Show & Digital Entertainment Expo Asia held last December 24 to 27, 2005 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The event represents the largest festival and public exhibition of gaming and digital products in Hong Kong.
According to Steve Tsao, Chief Operating Officer of IP Interactive, RAN Online topped the contest followed by Mabinogi at 2nd place, and World of Warcraft at 3rd place.
RAN Online features a modern-day, fully 3D oriental style campus setting where students have to defend their school against dangerous supernatural creatures as well as rival campuses.
RAN Online is now the top MMORPG in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, and the fastest growing MMORPG in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Tsao announced that e-Games has successfully completed the closed beta testing for RAN Online, which puts the company on pace for its commercial launch within the first quarter of 2006.
Let's hit the headlines.
---
Legend of Mir 2: The Three Heroes; Pangya Now in Open Beta
Firstly, a couple of new games have hit the open beta market. The first is The Legend of Mir 2: The Three Heroes, a traditional, oriental-set MMORPG and one of the biggest online games in China and Europe. Local publisher, Okey-Dokey Interactive Entertainment is providing additional incentive for gamers to join their beta testing: players can compete with each other within the game to win real life prize money ranging from P5,000 to P10,000 thousand, with one determined player walking away with the grand sum of P30,000 for finding the legendary Red Moon Sword. Players looking to join this quest can click on www.mir2.com.ph.
The other game is Pangya, a Casual fantasy golf game that has been a huge hit in South Korea and Thailand. Pangya means "the perfect hit," and publishers Hanbitsoft Inc. and Ntreev Soft Co. Ltd. are hoping the game will have just such an impact here in the Philippines. Gamers can purchase the game at all Netopia branches and most major internet café chains or download the game at netGames' Pangya site, www.pangya.com.ph.
---
RF Online Commercial Release, January 10, 2006
Level Up's much-anticipated Rising Force Online, or RF (www.rfonline.com.ph) , which has been in open beta since November 18 of last year, will finally have its commercial release on January 10, 2006. Three races battle for control of the Novus Planet: the robotic Accretia, the magic casters of Cora, and the Bellato's tech-mech wielders. Level Up! is backing RF's commercial launch with a massive top-up promo where players receive twice the value of all topped up cards for any Level Up game.
---
Nintendo Famicom Classic, Battle City 2.0 Goes Online
This second new release of the week will certainly appeal to older gaming generations weaned on the classic 8-bit Nintendo Family Computer: the release of Battle City 2.0, a remake of the classic tank combat game that graced dozens of 50-in-1 cartridges back in the day. The game play of the updated version still allows players to commandeer a tank and defend their "brick" city by blowing up opposing tanks and obstacles. However, this time the game is online, allowing thousands of players to relive their Nintendo days in all its booming, brick-flying glory as they defend their cities against enemy tanks. Battle City 2.0 can be downloaded at www.battlecity.net .
---
Guild Wars Implements PvP Obs Mode
NCSoft and ArenaNet, developers of the smash MMORPG Guild Wars have fully implemented an observer mode for those wish to view PvP matches without having to get their virtual noses bloody. Matches involving some of the most prestigious and powerful guilds are available to all Guild fans, and observers can choose to either alter their viewpoint manually or let the autocam do it for them.
---
PS3 Teaser at 2006 Consumer Electronics Show
For console fans, the presentation of the Playstation 3 at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas has further whet appetites, but Sony has been unwilling to spill any morsel. The company had initially denied that PS3 would play any part in this year's CES, and its surprise unveiling was accompanied by the unsurprising silence on its release date. The closest clue is that it may be this spring. I leave you with this.
---
RAN Online Wins First Place at Asia Game Convention
IP Interactive, a subsidiary of publicly listed IP Ventures Group (IPVG), which recently launched the country's first free-to-play online gaming portal (www.e-games.com.ph) , has won a top consumer award for RAN Online, their Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing game (MMORPG).
Ran Online won first place in the "My Favorite Game" competition of the 4th Asia Game Show & Digital Entertainment Expo Asia held last December 24 to 27, 2005 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. The event represents the largest festival and public exhibition of gaming and digital products in Hong Kong.
According to Steve Tsao, Chief Operating Officer of IP Interactive, RAN Online topped the contest followed by Mabinogi at 2nd place, and World of Warcraft at 3rd place.
RAN Online features a modern-day, fully 3D oriental style campus setting where students have to defend their school against dangerous supernatural creatures as well as rival campuses.
RAN Online is now the top MMORPG in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia, and the fastest growing MMORPG in Thailand.
Meanwhile, Tsao announced that e-Games has successfully completed the closed beta testing for RAN Online, which puts the company on pace for its commercial launch within the first quarter of 2006.