It’s a pretty large issue today, so I shall not say anything here.

Just… thanks for staying with Gamer Girl Friday for over a year now! =)

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Table of Contents

1. The Secret of Monkey Island
2. Time Wasters by Swordplay
3. PopCap makes fun of Evony
4. Engage in real-life FPS
5. Win an Xbox 360 Pro + Halo 3 Legendary!
6. I want this: DJ Hero
7. Results of last week’s contest
8. Win three NERF N-Strike Recon CS-6 Blasters!!

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The Secret of Monkey Island

I’m shocked that I never played a single Monkey Island game.

I vaguely heard of it back in the 90s but the title never interested me enough. I mean, like, monkeys on an island? An island full of monkeys? No magic or elves or dragons?

Yawn.

But the recent remake, The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, got me.

All thanks to the Goonfather, who made me spend my last Microsoft Point card to download the game on Xbox LIVE. He said Monkey Island is a must-play because it’s, like, “the funniest game ever”.

He had played the original and apparently laughed his ass off. (He’s still looking for it today, last I heard.)

So we downloaded the game, then he spent 15 minutes playing it, then he started to fall asleep.

(Of course, I must state for the record that it was past midnight and past his bedtime. And the game does start out pretty slow.)

That was two weeks ago. After that first play, he never touched the game again. Instead, I took over because I realised it was kinda fun.

I love old-school adventure games filled with puzzles every step of the way, forcing you to try out all kinds of silly things like load yourself into a cannon to fire yourself onto an island.

It does get annoying when you get stuck in games like this, which is why I love Monkey Island. I don’t know if this was a feature in the original version, but this one gives you hints on demand.

Press and hold X (for the Xbox 360 version) when you’re stuck and you get a subtle hint. If that doesn’t work, do it again for a stronger hint. If you’re a bit thick in the head and need the solution to be hammered into your skull, ask for a third.

It will say something like “Go to X and grab Y to do Z” and you’d be, like, doh!

I try not to ask for hints if I can help it, but they are quite helpful for a busy gamer who doesn’t have time to try out a zillion solutions in situations where anything could be possible.

When I can’t have the satisfaction of solving a puzzle myself, I derive joy from the humorous dialogue and funny plot twists.

In this remake, diehard fans of the original version can get nostalgic by switching to original old-school mode with the press of a button.

New:

Old:

The transformation is actually entertaining to watch. Fancy graphics morph seamlessly into 8-bit graphics, even mid-animation. Even the music morphs, two versions fading in and out of each other, and you can play the entire game in either version.

Besides the spruced-up graphics and music (with added voicovers), everything else remains the same.

New:

Old:

Maybe that’s why I feel that the game gets a bit draggy at times. Requirements change over time. Gamers now want more action and less talk. So, now, we have a spiffy-looking game with a 20-year-old storyboard. The game characters talk too much.

You could fast forward dialogues, but you’d miss out on the story.

To enjoy the game, You’ll really need to appreciate puzzles and figuring things out, witty dialogue, voice acting and random English humour, in order to overlook its outdated gameplay.

One of the random funny things: A grog vending machine that looks suspiciously like a Coca Cola machine.

The Secret of Monkey Island is a pretty short game. I haven’t completed it, though. It took me about four hours to get to 66%. But I tend to go AFK… uh, AFTV… quite a lot because my PC constantly distracts me with e-mail notifications and whatnot.

But, according to talk around the Internet, the total play time averages six hours. It could be more or less depending on how fast you solve the puzzles and whether you skip through dialogues.

That’s pretty decent for a game priced at 800 MS Points (about $16). I’m not sure about the PC version, though. I just love playing games on my Xbox 360 because of the achievements!

Oh, yeah, in case you’ve never heard of Monkey Island, the game follows this pirate wannabe called Guybrush Threepwood (lots of jokes about his name) who accidentally gets caught up in battle with a fearsome ghost pirate who wants to conquer the world or something like that.

Classic hapless hero kind of thing.

I think I might have enjoyed it more back then, than I’m enjoying it now.

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Time Wasters by Swordplay

Swordplay is my pesky li’l bro who spends all his time playing time-wasting games. To make him a little bit more useful, I’m sitting on him and making him recommend one fun and simple web-based game each week.

This week: Bunni Game: How we first met

This was how it happened:

Then I tried loading up the game but somehow it wouldn’t load up for me. Swordplay tested it again and it was fine.

So, I don’t know. How about you try it and tell me if it works and if it’s fun.

Swordplay says something risque happens near the end of the game.

How about that for a teaser?

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PopCap makes fun of Evony

Remember last week I talked about the Evony girl shedding clothes?

For weeks now, Evony has been receiving a lot of flak for its ultra-aggressive, irrelevant marketing campaign.

This week, PopCap one-upped everyone by actually creating a parody ad for Plants vs. Zombies and running it for real.

Undead Forever. Absolutely brilliant!

[via Destructoid]

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Engage in real-life FPS

Tag or be tagged! Says the tagline of the upcoming NERF Tournament 2009, the first to be held in Singapore.

Looks like it’s gonna be pretty fun. Suitable for kids and adults (8 – 55), the tournament will pit teams of four against each other in capture the flag missions, using NERF blasters and NERF darts. Points can also be scored by shooting opponents or at target boards.

Up for it?

I’m giving out three pieces of NERF N-Strike Recon CS-6 in this week’s contest! Get some practice shots before the tournament!

By the way, you don’t need to own a NEFF Blaster in order to take part in the tournament. Participants will be issued stock blasters.

I didn’t know there was a NERF community in Singapore. I kinda found it by searching for photos of the blaster cos I was lazy to take photos of my own, lol.

Well, how cool is that?

The NERF Tournament 2009 will be held on Aug 29-30, 2009, at Downtown East D’MARQUEE. Interested participants can sign up here.

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Win an Xbox 360 Pro + Halo 3 Legendary!

Whee! To celebrate the anticipated release of Halo 3 ODST, Xbox Singapore brings you two delicious deals!

The first being the sale of a bundle set including an Xbox 360 Pro and a Halo 3 game for only $499.

The second being WIN AN XBOX 360 JUST BY ANSWERING A SIMPLE QUESTION.

And it’s not just a console.

If you win, you’ll get an Xbox 360 Pro and a Halo 3 Legendary set which comes with the game and a Master Chief helmet!

What could you possibly lose by trying? Click here to join the contest!

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I want this: DJ Hero

Activision’s DJ Hero, which will launch late October this year, is tempting me with its Renegade Edition, which comes with an exclusive all-black turntable and a damn cool carrying case.

As well as a 2-disc CD set featuring unreleased tracks from Eminem and Jay-Z, which you’ll also get to spin and scratch in the game itself!

I am actually attracted to the case more than the turntable and the CDs. Shelling out US$200 for just a case is kinda dumb, I suppose. But I so want!

DJ Hero offers over 100 songs from different genres and featuring artists like Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Justice, Marvin Gaye, Beastie Boys and N.E.R.D.

Apparently, the game supports a guitar, too. That would be interesing. DJ vs. Guitar showdown!

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Results of last week’s contest

Someone was apparently psychic last week because he said, “I am so gonna win the contest :)!”

And he did!!

My, my.

Last week, I got readers to suggest actresses to star in video game movies, playing famous video game characters, to win this:

Mr Randomiser Dude picked plankton to win despite plankton kind of cheating in his entry by casting Amy Whitehouse in three different potential zombie game-movies.

Here’s his entry:

I want mouse! Here’s my epic contributions:

Resident Evil, Zombie —> Amy Winehouse
Dead Rising, Zombie —-> Amy Winehouse
House of the Dead, Zombie —-> Amy Winehouse
Lego Batman, Cat woman —-> Jocelyn Wildenstein

I am so gonna win the contest :)!

He also linked this photo of Amy Winehouse.

Okay, he didn’t really cheat. I said: “Suggest names, any number”, so one would have done it.

But I question his sanity for suggesting Jocelyn Wildenstein for anything.

Jocelyn Wildenstein is an obscenely rich socialite who is famous for having spent over US$4 million on plastic surgery over decades. She has been dubbed “The World’s Scariest Celebrity.”

This is her. In one of her better-looking photos.

Anyway, congratulations, plankton!

Maybe you deserve it.

Will you please drop me an e-mail to claim your prize? Thank you.

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Win NERF N-Strike Recon CS-6 Blasters!!

So, who wants one of these babies?

Hasbro and Sheylara.com are giving away three pieces, each worth $46.90. We want you to get excited about the NERF Tournament 2009 and sign up for it!

To win, just post a comment and convince me to give it to you! It’s up to your creativity and imagination how to convince me.

I will pick the three most convincing entries to win!

Winners will have to self-collect their prizes at a convenient location. Convenient for me, lol. Okay, it’s not that bad, really. I’ll tell you where after you win.

Closing date is August 6, 2009, 11:59 pm.

Post away!

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YESSSSSS! I made the deadline!

Hur hur. Five minutes to Saturday.

Happy weekend and happy gaming, as always!