Gamer Girl Friday is slightly late today because I only started working on it this morning, can you believe? I don’t know how my week just gets packed without warning, week after week. It’s getting ridiculous, if you ask me.

But, busy or not, I need my weekly gaming fix so GGF will go up weekly no matter what!

We’re also seeing more and more gaming-related events happening in Singapore, which is great!

You guys know what to do! Support these events. Take part in them. It will pay back in the long run because it will help the gaming industry grow. It can only benefit us in return.

So don’t be a couch potato gamer. Get out there and party!

By the way, the best gaming party so far is still the Xbox 360 birthday party couple months back.

Let’s have more of that, then. Can we?

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Table of Contents

1. Sheylara is 12 years old
2. Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution trailer
3. Adidas invites you to be a UEFA EURO 2008 champ
4. YouTube finally acknowledges gamers
5. Adventures of Sheylara the Barbarian Part V
6. Playing PS3 on the silver screen
7. Ask Sheylara
8. Win an Xbox Live Gold Subscription Card!

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Sheylara is 12 years old

So says this random Age of Conan player.

Gamer Girl Friday got linked in another AoC forum, although this one didn’t garner as many responses as the previous one.

Here’s the highlight:

Love the PLZ DIE emoticon!!

Here’s the link.

Well, I could care less whether people think I’m 10 or 40. My age is not really the point. The point is I’m amused that Americans (mostly) still enjoy making a big deal of female gamers.

We know that they know that we exist. And in large numbers, too. And they know that we know that they know. And yet the charade continues.

People are too free! =)

Well, it’s entertaining, anyway, so I hope they don’t stop!

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Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution trailer

I’ve never played any Civilization games but I know the series is hugely popular and I’ve seen the Goonfather stuck to his PC for hours, playing the game.

He recently showed me this trailer which he downloaded from the PS3 network and I must say it’s got me hooked.

The trailer is very nice. It’s got lots of awe-inspiring quotes from great historical men, like:

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep, I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion. — Alexander the Great

The best part is that the game is coming out on the DS!!! I am so gonna get it. (Because, unfortunately, I seem to only have time to play the DS these days while commuting.)

It will also be released for the PS3 and Xbox 360, in July, if you’re interested.

Link: Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution official site

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Adidas invites you to be a EURO 2008 champ

Here’s a really cool gaming event you can be part of.

In fact, I’m going to be part of it. I’ve signed up for Adidas UEFA EURO 2008 tournament happening on June 28, where 128 players will pit their football skills against one another!

Come and see me get licked horribly!

(To be honest, I’ve never played a single football game in my life. Wait, I’ve never even played real life football!!)

There will be lots of wonderful, exciting prizes given out at the event for both contestants and passers-by.

So, even if you’re not taking part in the tournament, you can just come and answer questions or test your skills at the skill stations to win vouchers and knick knacks from Adidas.

For tournament participants, stand a chance to win a PS3 console, an official match ball of EURO 2008, customisable Adidas football boots, EA game vouchers and more!

DETAILS!!!

How To Take Part

Buy $80 worth of Adidas products at Adidas outlets in The Cathay, VivoCity, Suntec or Cineleisure. Check out the in-store promotional material for the rules and regulations.

Event Details

Date: June 28, 2008
Time: 12pm to 7pm
Venue: East Court, VivoCity

Spectators are very welcome! See you there!!

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YouTube finally acknowledges gamers

For the longest time now, I’ve had to file my gaming videos under the categories of either “Science & Technology” or “People & Blogs”.

Which is ridiculous. I can’t believe they never had a gaming category!

Well, they do now. Finally! I noticed it when I was uploading my CivRev video.

I actually did a double take and thought I was dreaming when I saw it. It was about 2 am when I uploaded the video and I was sleepy.

Oh, well, not that it’s very relevant to you. But it makes me happy!

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Adventures of Sheylara the Barbarian Part V

Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Sheylara was increasingly amazed at the divine help she’d been getting since being tossed into this violent new world.

First, she mysteriously acquired this weirdass power to throw white dazzling light at people to fry them.

Then, she got arrow thingies pointing the way to important places to pick up important objects (such as meat cleavers) to give to important people wanting them.

Smooth, thought Sheylara.

Gathering a meat cleaver and rolling pin and roll of leather in this way, Sheylara ran back to the old man to whom the items belonged.

“Oh, I say,” said the old man. “Awfully kind of you, my dear.”

He gave Sheylara a rusty piece of tin for her trouble.

“Here, that ought to buy you a lick of ale at the inn.”

“Yeeeeeeeeees!” Sheylara rejoiced and danced. “I have a tin! I have a tin!!”

The jubilant barbarian girl consulted her little arrow friend and found the inn in no time.

Then she tried to find someone who could help her get settled in properly.

“Excuse me…,” started Sheylara.

“Oh, alright!” complained the warrior-looking woman grudgingly. “You can have a quest.”

“Wha—”

“Go talk to the old woman up on a hill.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s all you’re going to get from me!” screeched the woman. “All you soft newbies always want clues! Hints! Walkthroughs! Power levelling! You are a useless bunch of nincompoops! Now stop bothering me and go talk to the old woman up on a hill!”

Refusing to be defeated, Sheylara tried another.

“Um…,” she said.

“Yes, I need an errand run. Go find a city guard and pass him this message for me.”

“But—”

“Be off with ya, then.”

Almost in tears, Sheylara retreated to a corner of the inn to try and make sense of things. She didn’t quite understand why everyone just wanted her to do stuff for them.

“Psst!”

Sheylara was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts.

“Psst! Little lady!”

Turning around, she saw a vision.

“You musn’t be discouraged, young one,” said a beautiful woman all dressed in white. “It is only through hardship and trials that we discover our destiny.”

“But I just want a cream soda. And a place to sleep for the night,” said Sheylara miserably.

“Come now, my dear. Sleep is for the weak. Why, there are some adventurers like yourself who do this continuously for 48 hours or more, stopping only for toilet breaks and to call the pizza delivery service.”

“Really?” said Sheylara doubtfully.

“Don’t fret, my dear. You will learn our ways and you will find your destiny. Here, this will help you.”

The woman in white handed Sheylara a hugeass hammer.

“I can tell that your destiny is to fry enemies with the light of Mithra from afar. But sometimes, those brainless mobs will get too close and that is when you’ll need to clobber them with this hammer.”

“But this is—”

“Seek an island south of the city. There, you will find further instruction.”

With that, the woman shimmered away into a mist of nothingness.

“Holy crikey,” breathed Sheylara.

Trying on the hammer for size, Sheylara the barbarian looked up into the night sky and marvelled at the strength and courage she suddenly felt infusing her.

She was now ready to take on the world!

(To be continued next week…)

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Playing PS3 on the silver screen

As you all know, a handful of readers got to attend the Cathay/Sony digital movie system launch event with me last week. (I hope you guys had fun!)

We played Tekken 5 Online in the cinema auditoriam itself. That was super, super cool.

Anyway, that’s the beauty of the new digital movie system. Now, we can watch or play anything in the movie theatre (only at The Cathay) without being limited to traditional 35mm film reels!

I want to play Rock Band in there!! Can you imagine what it would be like?

Me and Timothy took a picture in front of the big screen while people were playing the game.

It was supposed to be a tournament, but I think the organisers decided last minute that it wasn’t very fair because there was limited time and not everyone would get to compete, so they decided to lucky draw the prize of a PS3.

Some stranger got it, bummer.

We watched Don’t Mess with the Zohan after that. Well, this is technically a gaming column so I shouldn’t be talking about movies, but it’s a damn good show. I never knew Adam Sandler could be that sexy. He literally oozes charisma and sex appeal throughout the show.

Okay, I’m seriously waiting for someone to organise a Rock Band party or tournament in the movie theatre. It will rock serious ass.

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Ask Sheylara

Ask me any gaming-related questions! Post them in the comments or e-mail me, I don’t really care. I will try to answer all questions (unless I get like 500 questions a day).

Dexter Tiah asks an Xbox 360 question:

I encountered some problems when trying to connect to Xbox Live. How do you connect? Wired or wireless? Do u need some special hardware like Microsoft wireless adapter to play? And what if my IP is wrong or MTU has exceeded?

Sheylara Says:

You can connect to Xbox Live either wired or wirelessly. Yes, you need to buy a wireless device if you want to go wireless. As for your IP and MTU, well, you’ll have to understand that it’s a bit hard to troubleshoot such problems remotely.

I can direct you to a fantastic guide on xbox.com, though.

To learn how to set up your system, click here.

To learn how to connect to Xbox Live, click here.

aig asks a console comparison question:

I’ve read somewhere that the Goonfather ranks the PS3 above the Xbox360. Why is that? What are PS3’s greatest points? Thinking of perhaps getting one in the near future. Thanks in advance…

Sheylara Says:

The Goonfather ranks the PS3 above everything else because he’s a Sony fanboi. Haha. Well, the good things about the PS3 are the Blu-Ray player and the slightly better graphics, although I think the Xbox 360 Elite gives the PS3 a run for its money (haha the Goonfather hates this phrase).

But he’s getting very irritated with Sony now because the Asian market is largely neglected and there is virtually no support. For example, the latest download from the PS3 Asia network is some game trailer from last year.

I’d still stick with the Xbox 360 for its superior games library and unsurpassed Xbox Live experience and wonderful local support, all of which I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you about. ;)

Best, though, is to buy both! We do use both of them quite equally!

ryo hazuki asks a gender question:

Do you think more girls in Singapore would pick up gaming if it was advertised more? Or are there not enough games that are appealing to girls right now?

Sheylara Says:

The number of girl gamers is already increasingly at a respectable rate, I feel. Game developers are already doing their best to produce games that appeal to girls, so I think that area is covered. Maybe advertising is the key.

I think what we need is a girl gamer movement, some organisation that brings girl gamers together and organises activities that will appeal to girls. Make it something very exclusive and hip and happening, you know? Kinda like the women credit card campaign — the men don’t get it kinda thing.

Also, what we really need is for guys to buy games and gadgets for their girlfriends and pay for all their gaming subscriptions! =P

Yes, that will really help.

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Win an Xbox Live Gold Subscription Card!

If you’re never tried the Xbox Live Gold membership, here’s a great chance for you to get started and enjoy the full online multiplayer experience!

I have one 3-month Gold Subscription Card to give away this week.

Just post a comment saying you want it and I’ll enter you into the draw. Yep, lucky draw this time!

Closing date: June 25, 2008

Good luck!

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People always ask me, “What games are you playing now?”

My answer is, “I don’t have time to play games nowadays because I’m kept so busy writing about games and attending gaming events and writing about them! (Among other things.)”

I’m ashamed of myself. How can a gamer girl not play games?

I shall endeavour to game more in the coming weeks.

Well, you know what, I’ve got a Rock Band jamming session tomorrow night (after three weeks of not playing). I’m going to rock the house down.

Shut your windows and don’t call the police!