gamer girl

GGF#47: All these games and no time to play

- Sheylara 44 Comments

[Gamer Girl Friday]

This week, the Goonfather was supposed to help me review three games because they came all at once and I didn’t have the time to play them.

What came back to me were very brief write-ups of two games (Velvet Assassin and Plants vs. Zombies), and they looked more like blurbs than reviews. I could have gotten more information from Wikipedia.

I have published one of them for your reading pleasure.

For the third game (Patapon 2), he gave the lame excuse that it can’t be reviewed because it’s the same as its predecessor, Patapon, so he has nothing to say about it.

WTF.

My life is really tough.

All these games and no time to play.

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Table of Contents

  1. Velvet Assassin — Skimpy Porn Star??
  2. Monopoly Deal Card Game
  3. Time Wasters by Swordplay
  4. The zombie horde cometh!
  5. Exposed!
  6. Our favourite eyeballs are back!
  7. Results of last week’s contest
  8. Win 2 sets of Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker!!

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Velvet Assassin — Skimpy Porn Star??

I received a copy of Velvet Assassin yesterday. But because I was out all day and I had Xbox duty at night, I didn’t have time to play it. So I made the Goonfather play it and write a review for me.

Velvet Assassin

He was only too happy to oblige (the playing part) since it gave him a chance to test some new games on his new souped-up machine.

But the Goonfather is the kind of person who would, if he were a doctor and you came to him with a pain in the leg, suggest that you chop off the leg to get rid of the pain.

Velvet Assassin

In other words, he is the sort of gamer for whom brute force is the answer to every problem in life.

Obviously, you can’t get very far using brute force in a game of espionage. And you can’t write a decent review if you can’t get very far.

Velvet Assassin

Here’s the Goonfather’s review:

Velvet Assassin is a third-person shooter game which requires a lot of sneaking around to get things done. Head-on contact will most likely lead to death, unless you take a shot of morphine, which will transform you into a skimpily-dressed porn star.

While in morphine mode, you can run right up to the enemy without him noticing you and kill the ugly son of a bitch. Be careful, though. The morphine only lasts a short while.

After killing an enemy, you might want to drag the body away and hide it so that patrolling enemies won’t notice it. Otherwise, your cover will be blown and your enemies will go on alert mode.

This game is very much like Thief, except that it’s set during World War 2. If you like games like Thief and Metal Gear Solid, you might like this.

Velvet Assassin

Siiiiigh.

I’ll see if I can manage to get some time to play it next week.

Velvet Assassin is a stealth action game available for Xbox 360 and PC.

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Monopoly Deal Card Game

I recently received a complimentary set of this game, which is the card game version of the classic Monopoly board game.

I don’t know if I ever said this officially, but I’m an all-round gamer. I love games of any kind (except psychological mind games, haha), so I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to review a non-video game this week.

Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker

In this card game, your goal is to be the first person to own three full sets of properties. While getting to that goal, you can steal your friends’ properties, make them pay rent or make them give you money just because.

In short, it’s a sabo game!

I played the game with my friends last weekend.

Monopoly Deal Card Game

Haha… the Goonfather and I both had our netbooks up with Civony. (I’m not addicted to it. Not anymore, anyway. I just can’t stand resources and gold going to waste, or being stolen. Just like how I still collect my Neopets bank interest every day now even though I quit the game six years ago.)

I really enjoyed Monopoly Deal. Each game takes about 10-15 minutes. The rules confounded us intially but we were playing like pros by our third game.

It’s addictive, too.

Monopoly Deal Card Game

Halfway through the game, the Goonfather said, “What a stupid game!”

(He has a tendency to do that when he’s losing. But he doesn’t like to win, either. In our third game, when he had a chance to win, he refused to lay down his winning card for two rounds.)

The next day, when we met up with Unker Kell for dinner, he was, like, “Dude, let’s play Monopoly Deal later.”

You can never believe his words!

The Shuffle Shaker that comes with the game is just a novelty card shuffler. You pop the cards in the box and shake it violently to shuffle the cards up.

Not really necessary.

What makes this game great is that it’s very portable. You only need one deck of cards (leave the shaker at home) and you can conveniently bring it anywhere for quick-fix entertainment.

This game has a limit of five players. If you have more players, just buy another deck of cards to add to the original deck!

Fun fun fun!

Oooh, guess what?! I have two sets of Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker to give away this week. Check the contest section! ;)

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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.

Today’s Recommendation: Gray

Gray

Wow, today’s time waster is very deep. It’s not really even a game, but more a social commentary on humanity.

Half the people who play this will go, “Huh?”

The other half will go, “Brilliant! Let’s start a discussion.”

Which one are you?

Try the game if you have some time. It’ll take you about five minutes to get the message, if you get it at all.

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The zombie horde cometh!

Plants vs. Zombies is finally out. Remember I talked about it a couple of weeks ago?

I like the game trailer. It’s short, cute and funny!

The Goonfather got the game, so I asked him to do a review for me.

I think I’d better not ask him to do reviews ever again.

His review didn’t give a clue as to whether the game is fun or worth playing or whether he liked it the slightest.

He is the most infuriating person in the whole wide world. He will NEVER give you an opinion if you ask for it. But if you’re sitting there quietly by yourself, he will come over and browbeat you with one of his countless conspiracy theories.

Anyway, Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defence game with Magic: The Gathering elements. Sounds interesting, no? Read the interview with game designer George Fan.

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Exposed

Chong sent me this link. He’s in love with these x-ray photos of game system and controller innards.

X-Ray photo

Ooh, kinky.

This x-ray technician sicked his x-ray machine on all his unsuspecting gaming equipment. How very awesome for us.

X-Ray photos

Hmm, I don’t know. What do you think?

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Our favourite eyeballs are back!

I can’t imagine anyone not liking Patapon. Even a brute force guy like the Goonfather likes it. In fact, he was playing it on Wednesday night while we were having dinner in a Japanese restaurant, and I was, at the same time, Star Blog chatting.

It’s called Geek Multitask Dating.

Patapon 2

Continuing the story of Patapon, our cute eyeball heroes have set sail for new lands, only to be attacked by a monstrous kraken and tossed into a strange land where they find an enemy tribe they have to defeat.

If you have not ever played Patapon, OMG.

Please go now to the Patapon official site to play the mini flash game.

The game is so cute I could curl up and die. I love when you press a wrong combo and the patapons go, “Huh?”

While playing Patapon 2, the Goonfather alerted me that one of his Patapons got angry, threw down his spear and threatened to go home if he didn’t buck up and play the game properly.

How cute is that?!

Patapon 2

New stuff in Patapon 2:

  • Powerful hero attacks.
  • New mobs, units and classes.
  • New drum commands.
  • Mutiplayer co-op via PSP WiFi (up to four players).
  • More indepth customisation in levelling and equipment.

Patapon 2 is a PSP exclusive title.

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Results of last week’s contest

And this poster…

X-Men Origins: Wolverine game poster

… goes to…

PATA PATA PATA PON!

Patapon 2

Oh, wait. Wrong channel.

Hur hur.

And the winner is…

SpiritAngelo! =)

PATA PATA PATA PON!

Please e-mail me, thank you.

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Win 2 sets of Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker!!

Hasbro Singapore has kindly sponsored two sets of Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker, each worth $21.90, for this week’s contest.

Monopoly Deal Shuffle Shaker

So, I’m looking for two winners. Just post a comment saying something, anything, about Monopoly (can be the classic board game). Winners will be picked by random.

Please note that this prize will require self-collection (in a central area) because it’s a biggish package.

Closing date is May 14, 2009, 11:59 pm.

Good luck! =)

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I think I have mentioned this before somewhere, although I can’t remember where.

My cousin and I were Monopoly freaks when we were kids and, between us, we owned four different versions. One day, we invented Quadruple Monopoly, which is playing the game on four boards put together.

We dealt ourselves four times the amount of money, and we jumped from board to board via switched Chance cards. After four hours, we haven’t even gotten close to having a clear winner. (It was just the two of us playing.)

I miss the days when we spent whole afternoons playing board games and Nintendo games together. This cousin of mine just started a blog, too. Check it out! =)

[Gamer Girl Friday]

GGF#46: X-Men Origins: Wolverine

- Sheylara 12 Comments

[Gamer Girl Friday]

As I mentioned yesterday, I had some trouble uploading videos to YouTube this round. I had to re-upload two videos in total, which is a big deal when you consider that each upload takes around four hours, give or take.

And I love that I’m writing for my blog instead of a magazine because, like, you can’t complain about trivial stuff in a magazine.

But people kind of like it when you complain in a blog. I noticed that I get more readers and comments for my ranting blog entries.

You people are just weird, aren’t you?

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Table of Contents

  1. X-Men Origins: Wolverine video gameplay
  2. Time Wasters by Swordplay
  3. Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
  4. Terminator Salvation game trailers
  5. Geek garage sale!
  6. Results of last week’s contest
  7. Win an X-Men Origins: Wolverine poster!!

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X-Men Origins: Wolverine video gameplay

The game of the week is X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which released yesterday, for PC and Xbox 360.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I’m rather pleased with it. It’s an action RPG not unlike Ninja Gaiden II, but it’s Wolverine! It’s Hugh Jackman! Superhuman regeneration!

Here, I made a video of the gameplay.

It might be hard to tell from the video, but the cinematics are awe-inspiring (although we really shouldn’t expect any less from action games these days). The gameplay is also fun and furious. I love how cut-scenes and gameplay merge seamlessly to give players a cinematically immersive experience.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The autosave points are frequent enough so you won’t have to tell your girlfriend/wife to give you 30 more minutes to finish up (but of course she doesn’t understand so she’s yelling at you to come to bed right now) and you have no choice but to quit the game with the knowledge that you’d have to replay the stage again later because you don’t want to get ear hell now.

Mini missions guide you along the way to completing main missions, which keeps everything fresh and interesting.

The only downside for me so far is that the game tips for new actions/combos/skills sometimes flash away too quickly, before you’ve even had a chance to read a word because you’re too busy trying to save your own ass.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

For example, if you watch my video, I had been mystified by spikes in the ground which I knew I could interact with but couldn’t figure out how.

It was only when I was editing the video and watching my gameplay in freeze frame that I saw the damn game tip telling me how to use the spikes. I never saw it when I playing the game.

But that doesn’t happen all the time, so it’s still within tolerance level.

Well, watch the video for more good stuff. Overall, I’d highly recommend the game.

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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.

Today’s Recommendation: Peasant’s Quest

Peasant's Quest

This is a super old-school TEXT INPUT game. It means you interact with the game by typing text commands.

Peasant's Quest

I don’t know what Swordplay is doing playing games like that.

I used to love games like this when I was a kid. But now, my brains will start a mutiny if I attempt to play such a game. It’s annoying when you can’t think of what command could advance the game because it could be ANY command in the world. It could be “lick toe” or “sing barney song” for all you know.

Still, this game doesn’t look half as bad because it’s part graphical and you move around using arrow keys.

Peasant's Quest

It certainly brings back memories. Especially that annoying 8-bit music that clangs noisily when you first load up the game. The moment I heard it I was, like, OMG turn it off.

But it is quite funny all the same, by virtue of it being so old-school you’d feel embarrassed playing it in a public space.

And I like the tone of fun and humour in the game.

Peasant's Quest

If you try it, let me know if you like it!

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Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

The Sacred series has quite a following, although it’s not really everyone’s cup of tea. It’s basically fun if you like killing and looting sprees, Diablo-style.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel

It’s been out for the PC for a while already, but it will be releasing for the Xbox 360 and PS3 on May 15.

Here’s an old trailer, which I’m showing because I love the song in it. Haha. It’s written and performed by metal band Blind Guardian specially for the game. The band even has cameo appearances in the game.

What’s good about the game

  • Huge variety of fun quests
  • Interesting variety of mobs
  • Great audio (music and sound effects)
  • Quirky sense of humour
  • Beautiful cartoony graphics
  • Variety of multiplayer modes (up to 16 players)

What’s not good about the game

  • Poor plot
  • World too massive with clumsy transport system
  • Bugs present

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Terminator Salvation game trailers

This is the month of blockbuster movie games! Terminator Salvation the game comes to us before the movie, so we can get into John Connor’s skin before we watch the real thing.

Here’s a game trailer. (I have another better one but it wouldn’t upload properly after two tries, so I finally gave up on it.)

Terminator Salvation releases May 19 for the PC, Xbox 360, PS3 and, can you believe it, iPhone.

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Geek garage sale!

A storeroom raid at the Playworks office recently turned up chests full of loot which has been sitting around being of no use to anyone.

If you’d like to buy any of the geek toys listed below, just turn up on Monday to bargain your way to a good deal!

Playworks Garage Sale
1 Stamford Road, #02-04
Capitol Building
Singapore 178884

Date: Monday 4th May
Time: 11 am to 7 pm

Playworks Garage Sale

Note: There are more items on sale than shown in the picture above because the lazy buggers didn’t take photos of everything.

Here’s also a not-very-complete list of stuff on sale:

Assortment of Xbox 360 games
Assortment of PSP games
Assortment of PC games
Assorted software (Anti-virus, backup, utlities, etc…)
Speed pad (Hard plastic mouse pads)
Orange box mouse mats
Everglide mouse mats (Big and small)
Everglide mice
Microsoft mice
Microsoft keyboards
GXL Rings (3 sizes)
Plantronics headsets with mic (USB or Audio jack)
Mini speakers
2.1 speakers
Assorted bags, cases, pouches
Wireless Multi-Function Routers
DLink ADSL Eternet Routers
Assorted Loreal beauty products (wtf?)
Knick knacks paddywack give a dog a bone

Check here for updates.

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Results of last week’s contest

Today, Mr Randomiser smiles upon the number 9.

Ah, Mr Randomiser, but who is number 9?

We would all like to know, because number 9 just won himself/herself… THIS!

Saitek optical wireless mouse

Well, lemme give you a clue.

The winner is… someone who is orange with black stripes and growls and sometimes eats people.

LOLOLOL.

Must be your birthday luck shining on you, whaddya know?

Will the winner, and you better know who you are, please e-mail me? Thank you.

Oh, and congratulations!

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Win an X-Men Origins: Wolverine poster!!

I know some people like collecting posters, so I’m giving one away this week!

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

This poster measures about 16.5″ x 23.5″. And it’s also a little bit dented from being knocked about when it was rolled up. Hope you don’t mind. It looks pretty decent if you don’t scrutinise it close up.

Okay, if anyone wants it, just drop a comment before next Friday. You know the drill!

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In closing…

Just had a thought that today’s a nice day for this song.

Happy long weekend!

[Gamer Girl Friday]

My Gadget3 interview and behind-the-scenes photos

- Sheylara 6 Comments

I totally forgot all about this! I said I would post up my interview after the magazine is off the shelves, but it seems I’m a month late.

Gadget3

Gadget3

Gadget3

Click to enlarge interview page.

For those who can’t view graphics on my site for whatever reason, here’s the text version of the interview:

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An Xpert Opinion

One way that Microsoft is helping new players get comfortable with their online gaming service Xbox LIVE is the introduction of the Xbox Xperts. The first Xpert unveiled by Microsoft was the bubbly Sheylara, a gamer who made her name in the blogging community. We took her aside to ask her a few questions about being an Xpert.

What’s the role of an Xbox Xpert?

Think of us as something like community leaders. When new users join the world of Xbox LIVE, they might feel shy or not know what to do next or how to join in multiplayer games. So we’re there to welcome them, help them get settled, answer their questions and introduce them to the Xbox community.

What’s Newbie Nite?

Newbie Nite was something I came up with to ease new Xbox LIVE members into the multiplayer gaming scene. Many people join Xbox LIVE and face either of two problems immediately: They don’t have online friends to play games with, or they join a random multiplayer game and get thrashed by expert players who have been playing the game for ages. That can be quite unpleasant for some people and doesn’t give them a chance to experience everything that multiplayer gaming has to offer.

So, in Newbie Nites, I get a bunch of new members together and arrange gaming sessions for them. This allows them to make friends with people of the same gaming level. We have fun together online once or twice a week and it’s my hope that lasting friendships will form from these weekly sessions.

Do you feel like you’re a teacher, of sorts?

Haha, don’t call me a teacher! I think I’d prefer the word facilitator or, like I mentioned before, community leader. Sure, I’ve had to answer countless questions about Xbox and Xbox LIVE, but I don’t teach so much as share what I know. I like to think that, in the online world, we’re all sharing information and having fun together.

What’s the Xbox community like?

Like any other community, the Xbox community has all sorts of people in it. We have hardcore gamers and casual gamers. We have shy people and rowdy and fun-loving people. But, basically, it’s just a community of people who love gaming and who love gaming on the Xbox 360.

I’m also very heartened to report that most people in the Xbox community are very friendly and sociable. They love welcoming new gamers into the community because it means there are more people to play multiplayer games with.

Who are the new folks joining Xbox Live? What are they normally like?

They could be anyone, really. Some are people who have been playing on the Xbox for years and just recently decided to join Xbox LIVE. Some are people for whom an Xbox 360 was a birthday present, so they join Xbox LIVE as total newbies, maybe out of curiosity. Some of them learn about Xbox LIVE through the ads that Microsoft runs regularly through the media.

Most of the time, they’re pleased that there are Xbox Xperts onboard to welcome them and they do respond positively. In fact, I’ve made a lot of fast friendships with these new folks and we communicate regularly via Xbox LIVE messaging.

What’s it like to work with the new members? What are typical first impressions of the Xbox Live service?

It’s always a joy for me when I initiate contact with new members and they respond with a friendly message back. We don’t only talk about gaming and Xbox LIVE. Members also share with me about their lives, what they’ve been up to, and their other hobbies. It’s very rewarding for me when they treat me like a friend instead of some distant personality.

I think most of the really new users are surprised to have someone welcome them to Xbox LIVE and that encourages them to explore more. Some will feel overwhelmed initiatlly. That’s why the Xbox Xperts are in place to make sure they’re getting the full benefits of this service!

How does it feel to be an ambassador for the Xbox?

It feels great, of course. I feel truly honoured and touched. Yes, touched, because gaming is one of the most important facets of my life. I’ve been gaming since I was five. To be endorsing a product that is, basically, the very essence of me, means the world to me. It’s the most exciting and fulfilling thing that’s happened to me… so far! Having the honour of being a Gadget3 cover girl comes close! ;)

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Okay, that’s the end of the interview. Now, photos!

Gadget3 shoot
Larry (makeup artist) does my makeup while Sharon (stylist) does my nails.

Gadget3 shoot
Ash (hairstylist) blow-drying my hair, although I don’t know why he wet it in the first place.

Gadget3 shoot
Dressed for the cover. Larry touches up my makeup because the photographer said it wasn’t heavy enough.

Gadget3 shoot
Ash decides to tease my hair some more since I’m sitting there anyway.

Gadget3 shoot
Posing for the cover.

Gadget3 shoot
The cover shoot is an endless series of posing while different people come up to fix different things on me, like hair, makeup, clothes, prop, pose, etc.

Gadget3 shoot
Sometimes more than one person is fixing stuff at the same time.

Gadget3 shoot
Kelvin (photographer) shoots while Sharon stands by in case anything needs fixing.

Gadget3 cover
The final product of all that hard work!

Gadget3 shoot
Preparing for the next shoot (for feature spread). Hair and makeup have to be redone!

Gadget3 shoot
Group photo with the crew. If you find my face looking a little pasty here, it’s because makeup for professional lighting doesn’t show up well in compact cameras.

I have some photos I took of myself after this shoot, just to see how I look in my camera with the heavy professional makeup. Maybe I’ll post those up tomorrow.

I need to think about it because they look scary. Haha.

GGF#42: Everyone has slitty eyes in Chinatown Wars

- Sheylara 8 Comments

[Gamer Girl Friday]

The game of the week is Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. I was quite surprised to see poster ads of the game at various bus-stops in Singapore.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

This is the first time I’ve seen ads for a DS game in Singapore. So it must be quite something, huh?

Maybe it’s because the game features a Chinese main cast and all the characters in the game have slitty eyes. And Singapore, as everyone knows, is in China.

Not.

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Table of Contents

  1. GTA: Chinatown Wars first impressions
  2. Time Wasters by Swordplay
  3. Singapore’s Biggest Halo Fan (video)
  4. Funny quests in Guild Wars
  5. Results of last week’s contest
  6. Win 5 boxes of Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition!!

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GTA: Chinatown Wars first impressions

I’m happy to get a new game for my Nintendo DS. I’m tired of playing Puzzle Quest on it. (Playing Puzzle Quest on the Xbox 360 is a lot cooler.)

So, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars shall be my new MRT companion for the next few months. Yeah, it’s probably gonna take me at least that long to complete the game because I don’t take the MRT a lot, these days.

First impressions of the game: Excellent.

Everything you love about Grand Theft Auto is there. Well, except for a few little things, such as graphics. But this is a DS game, so if anyone wants to complain about the graphics, I will shoot him in the legs and run him over with my Rhino.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Yes, you can buy all kinds of funny vehicles in GTACW.

Even a hearse. LOLOLOL.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

And a go-kart.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

A bulldozer!! Hahahaha.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

I’m sorry. I just find this very funny.

Of course, there are tons of speed demons you can buy, too.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Unfortunately, I’m only 3.6% into the game right now and can’t afford to buy anything. I have, like, $350. Most of the vehicles are still locked at this point, anyway.

In any case, the GTA series started off as having crappy graphics in the first place, so this DS instalment is no major infraction against the franchise.

It takes a bit of getting used to the top-down view, though, if you’ve been spoilt by the next-gen versions which last stopped at GTA4.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

But the gameplay is as top-notch as you could want.

As in GTA4, you start off as an out-of-towner brought to Liberty City by fate. There, you unwittingly get entangled in a life of crime. Before long, you start to lose all morals because its so easy to steal cars, kill people and make a fortune being a criminal.

All the usual GTA goodness.

In Chinatown Wars, you play Huang Lee, a Chinese dude possessing the Western stereotype of Asians with slitty eyes and a funny forehead, but speaks with Western wit and sarcasm.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Most of the time, you use the D-pad to move around and fight people. Occsasionally, you get to enjoy the touch-screen capabilities of the DS.

For example, jacking a car requires you to poke at your screen to hotwire it.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

To progress missions, you’ll sometimes be required to use your stylus (or your nails, if you have very sharp, pointy ones). One of the first things you’ll get to do, for example, is tap at a car windscreen to smash the glass and make an escape.

All that is rather cool. Who doesn’t love touch-screen? But I do find it mildly annoying having to pick up and put down my stylus repeatedly over the course of a game. (GTA games require a lot of coordination to drive vehicles or fight — there are even combos moves for combat — so it’s better to put the stylus down altogether when you don’t need it.

What’s great about GTACW, compared to other GTA games, is that you can teleport to a location if you’re doing a mission for the second time. That means, if you fail a mission and want to redo it, you can skip the cutscene and the travelling, and zip to the needed location instantly.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

That saves a lot of time.

Oh, another thing different. When you get cops on your tail, you can lose your wanted level by ramming into police cars or forcing them to crash themselves, effectively taking them out of the picture so that there’s no one left to chase you. Then you’re off the radar.

Well, I can’t say a lot more about the game since I’ve only spent maybe two hours on it. Reading some of the reviews out there, there’s a lot more fun stuff I haven’t uncovereed. But what I’ve seen so far is already good enough to keep me going.

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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 find and recommend one fun and simple web-based game each week.

Today’s recommendation:

Cursor Chaos

Here’s a schizophrenic little game that will give you a few minutes of insane entertainment… if you’re good.

If you’re clueless, you’ll die within 42 seconds.

In Cursor Chaos, you’re given a series of simple tasks to do using only the four arrow keys and spacebar. You have to complete the task within about six seconds (which includes the time you need to spend figuring out what you need to do to complete the task).

If you fail, you lose one life. You have seven lives to get through 42 levels.

Cursor Chaos

If you die prematurely, you get insulted by the game.

Cursor Chaos

Haha.

My best score for now is 459. Can you beat my time? (Lower score = better.)

Cursor Chaos

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Singapore’s Biggest Halo Fan (video)

Here’s the video I said I would make a month ago. =P The finals of the Singapore’s Biggest Halo Fan competition. See what each of the five finalists did to convince us that they’re the biggest Halo fan in Singapore!

I thought they were all equally impressive but, as in all competitions, there can only be one winner, so.

Click here for more photos.

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Funny quests in Guild Wars

I’m really surprised at how good Guild Wars is. I was never so impressed when playing the beta in 2003.

What I like most is the rich story and the way the game makes you feel part of it. At strategic points of main quests, you’ll get cutscenes in which you’re the leading character.

Guild Wars

Guild Wars

Whatever your character is wearing (or not wearing) at that moment is reflected in the cutscene, giving you a real sense of belonging in the story. If you’re grouped up with friends, you’ll see your friends in the cutscene, too.

The quests and dialogues in this game are actually worth the time reading. In fact, no other game has actually made me feel something for the NPCs and want to find out what happens to them next.

I also love the humour.

There’s this quest where I was supposed to help a city officer dispatch aid to homeless villagers.

Guild Wars

He gave me a bunch of mirrors and made me look for three homeless villagers to give them to.

My first beneficiary wasn’t too grateful.

Guild Wars

LOLOL. Ultimate funny.

The second villager said:

Guild Wars

And the third:

“I appreciate you delivering this, but can you not see we have no need for such things? All of us have basically given up on the ministry when it comes to matters of survival. Thankfully, the emperor is much more attuned to the people and manages to provide for us.”

That’s not the end of it.

I went back to the officer to report my mission and he said:

Guild Wars

Haha!

I love Guild Wars!

Guild Wars

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Results of last week’s contest

I guess the haiku contest was a little too tough. Only one person managed to do it correctly so, like, I didn’t have to do any judging~!!

Thanks, RN1209, for doing it correctly, and writing a pretty witty one, too. As a reward, you get an Xbox 360 laser pointer LED light keyring! Congratulations!

Xbox 360 laser pointer LED light keyring

Here’s the winning entry:

No loot, you say, girl?
I suppose that’s no surprise…
Sneaky you are, yes?;)

— RN1209

I’m overlooking the smiley. And the dig. Cos it’s kinda funny. lol.

Please e-mail me about your prize! Thanks!

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Win Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition!!

WOAH WOAH WOAH!

I have FIVE boxes of Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition to give away to five savvy gamers, courtesy of Symantec!

Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition

From protecting gold earned in MMORPGs to keeping malware at bay, Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition is designed specifically for gaming. It’s fast and light on system resources, and never compromises the gaming experience.

How cool is that? An anti-virus software made specially for us! Each box has a commercial value of S$65, which is quite a reasonable price for one year’s worth of protection.

Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition

But, hey, you don’t have to pay even that because we’re giving it to you free! If you pass the tests, that is.

FIRST TEST

Answer the following questions correctly.

1. At the German Games Convention 2008, 16% of participants said they’d had a game account stolen by hackers.

a) No way!

b) True.

2. What exactly is Gamer Mode in Norton AntiVirus Gaming Edition?

a) The opposite of a younger brother: Won’t bother you while you’re in the middle of a game, but keeps you protected throughout.

b) Something that automatically suspends updates, alerts, and other background activities when the system goes into full screen mode.

c) All of the above.

3. What did I give the homeless villagers?

a) Mirrors.

b) Tin cans.

c) Food.

SECOND TEST

Prove that you’re a gamer.

I don’t care how you do it. Use words, text, image, video, sound or whatever you can think of. I’m quite flexible. Just do it!

THIRD TEST

Post all your answers here by April 2, 2009, 11:59 pm.

Five winners will be picked and announced next Friday. Good luck!

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YAy! It’s done!

[Gamer Girl Friday]

GGF#34: A WINNER IS YOU

- Sheylara 42 Comments

[Gamer Girl Friday]

While surfing around randomly, I stumbled upon this old article listing 15 senseless video game quotes.

Game quote

They’re funny, even if many are nothing more than dodgy Japanese English which we’ve all come to love.

Game quote

Anyway, “your fists of evil are about to meet my steel wall of niceness” so make sure you read everything in GGF and don’t just skip to the contest!

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Table of Contents

  1. Upcoming games in the next two weeks
  2. Game-themed red packets for CNY
  3. Xbox console for $339
  4. I’m a speed demon
  5. Results of last week’s contest
  6. Win a limited edition Halo Wars cap!!

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Upcoming games in the next two weeks

I was going do a quarterly list. Then I realised I had a list as long as an airport runway, even after striking out the weird titles, so I decided to do a monthly, instead. In any case, looking forward to games too far in advance is bad for your health, so this is for your own good.

In order of release dates (North American):

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The Lord of the Rings: Conquest
PC, PS3, Xbox 360, DS
By Pandemic Studios and Electronic Arts
Release Date: January 13

The Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Checking out the official site for the game makes me feel like… watching the movies. lol. When you first load the site, it screams at you:

Middle Earth stands on the brink of destruction
You will unite to save it or destroy it
Each race is bound to this one fate
Choose your allegiance

Then you choose Good or Evil and the rousing LOTR theme song booms at you. (If you choose evil, you get some eerie music, instead.)

Funny, I don’t feel like playing the game as much as I feel like watching the trilogy again.

But it does look promising, especially the multiplayer co-op (4 players) and versus (16 players) modes. You can even play 4-way split screen on the Xbox 360’s version. A tad squeezy, I expect, but should be fun.

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Imagine Fashion Party
Wii, DS, PC
By UbiSoft
Release Date: January 20 (Wii) (Already out for DS and PC)

Imagine Fashion Party

Woo, I can just see all you blokes rushing out to get this one. Check out the game description:

Players can star in a TV show and compete in a series of challenges to show the world that you are the best fashion designer! Use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as scissors, hair brushes, makeup applicator or other styling and design tools.

Imagine Fashion Party

Doesn’t it get you all pumped up and ready for action?

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Star Ocean: Second Evolution
PSP
By TOSE and Square Enix
Release Date: January 20

Star Ocean Second Evolution

This isn’t a new game, per se. It’s a remake of a 10-year-old game (Star Ocean: The Second Story for the PS1). I think it would be nice because it’s an old-school RPG with a modern skin. Wait, does 10 years old count as old-school? I don’t know, what the heck?

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Skate 2
PS3, Xbox 360
By Electronic Arts
Release Date: January 21

I’m not a huge fan of skating games. Scratch that, I’m not even anywhere near being a fan. But this seems like a good title for suicidal freaks. I mean, just watch this video.

(But don’t watch it if you’re an impressionable kid. I hold no responsibility for your delusions of immortality.)

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Afro Samurai
PS3, Xbox 360
By Namco Bandai
Release Date: January 27

Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai started off as a Japanese manga series, then later became an anime starring Samuel L Jackson’s voice. Now, it’s a video game, still starring Mr Jackson, who will entertain you with badass commentary while you throw punches.

Afro Samurai

The music is an invigorating hip-hop-kungfu-tribal fusion. I likee.

Afro Samurai

There you go. I’ll do a February list in February if I feel like it.

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Game-themed red packets for CNY

IAHGames has released a set of Granado Espada red packets for this Chinese New Year, except that only one out of the six designs is actually red.

But it’s still a good thing. After all, red packets are mostly given to kids, so why shouldn’t there be more kid-appealing game-themed, uh, multi-coloured packets produced?

Granado Espada red packets

You get these free with every purchase of GE 70K Gpoint game value cards, or you can buy a set for $2. Available at IAHGames iCafe at Funan DigitaLife Mall. (Game cards also available at authorised retailers.)

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Xbox console for $339

If you’re in the market for a console, the Xbox Arcade is the best value console you can get right now.

For $339, you get an Xbox 360 Arcade console (256MB memory with HDMI output) and a free Platinum Hits game, Gears of War!

Xbox 360 Arcade promotion

Make sure there’s a redemption sticker on your console box. You need that to redeem your free game at this website.

This promotion lasts till March 31, 2009, but don’t wait too long because the free game is while stocks last!!

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I’m a speed demon

Still playing Grand Theft Auto IV. I found a quiet rich neighbourhood which has a good selection of Ferraris and Porsches. The owners just leave them in open driveways, unlocked, so I just jump into them and drive away.

The best thing is… the cars respawn!! After I crash and burn one, I just go back there and grab another. Hur hur. It’s like free-flow fast cars. The downside is that the neighbourhood is in an extreme corner of the map so it’s pretty far to get to.

I recently received a street racing mission, where you have to come first out of six racers. I failed twice because, in my excitement, I kept driving into pillars and mailboxes. So I threw the controller to the Goonfather and said, “Eh, play for me.”

He took the lead within 10 seconds of the race and just leisurely cruised all the way to the finish line. FREAKING SICK!!

Anyway, he helped me win this baby.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV

Not that you really need to win a car since you can steal any car you fancy as long as you can find it but, still, owning one legitimately feels nice.

The next day, I gave that street racing thing another go and realised that it’s actually chicken feed. I’d just let my excitement get the better of me the first time.

This is what happens when you drive too fast and you get too excited.

Grand Theft Auto IV

Thank goodness for Pay N Spray. Brand new car in a brand new colour in seconds!

Grand Theft Auto IV

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Results of last week’s contest

And the survivor of the pot of boiling sludge is… JaS!!

JaS wins this from last week’s contest!

Mouse

Awesome!

Please get in touch with me about collecting your prize, JaS. Thanks! :)

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Win a limited edition Halo Wars cap!!

Halo Wars will be coming to us only on February 26, so why not show off your leetness by wearing this cap first?

Halo Wars cap

Halo Wars cap

This is a super exclusive cap because it has been worn by Sheylara for the purpose of taking the above photo! No, seriously, it IS a limited edition cap, so grab it grab it grab it!!

To win it, just tell me why want it. The most convincingly needy person will get it.

Closing date is January 22, 2009.

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I love doing GGF. It gives me a legitimate reason to dream about games all day.

It gives me a legitimate reason to play games, in fact. People complain, “You always say you’re too busy for this and that but then I realise you’re always playing games.”

But I have to play games. I’m Gamer Girl Friday.

[Gamer Girl Friday]