Online Poker

HERE is a sidebar to an article I wrote about a recent Asian Poker Tour tournament that I covered for Billionaire magazine, published by the same group that publishes the automotive trade publication, C! magazine.

Since a lot of people seem to be into poker these days, I thought this sidebar itself can stand on its own merits. I am not much of a poker person myself but let's just say that after this assignment, I did learn a thing or two about the game.

And yes, I have been practicing. Read on.

WHY PLAY POKER ONLINE?
By EDWIN P. SALLAN

IT’S not just a virtual game.

Yes, the rules are pretty much the same but playing poker online, whether only for fun in Facebook or for real money in online sites like Pokerstars.com is a different kind of experience altogether.

Since you’re not actually playing in a casino or a specialized venue like the Metro Card Club in Metrowalk, Pasig, there are no poker faces and body language to observe. Among other disadvantages, there is no way of knowing if you are even playing a human opponent or the same human players logging in under different account names in the same table.

But many of the estimated two million players playing online poker daily on over 300 websites (according to Poker-Tomorrow.com) swear that the advantages far outweighs its disadvantages, the most obvious of which is that it will make you a sharper poker player, whether you’re playing online or off.

Janice Jade Triste admits to regularly playing poker online from her own home. Her stunning runner-up finish in the recently concluded FPT Anniversary Tour is obvious proof that well, practice makes perfect. A few more reasons why.

Online poker is safe and fair. Most online poker sites are regarded as safe for the simple reason that by ensuring fair games, they stand to benefit and earn more from the rake that allows for bigger bankrolls and higher limits. Sites that do develop a reputation from cheating incidents are not likely to further attract more players and yes, online traffic from thereon.

Play more hands. Because cards needed to be collected, shuffled, and dealt after every hand, the average rate of play in a table is only around thirty hands per hour in traditional poker. Online, dealing and shuffling are instantaneous and thanks to what is called as “auto action” online poker tables average between ninety to one hundred hands per hour.

Play more tables. You can’t be at two places at the same time in the real world. In the virtual world of online poker, you can play in as rooms as you can. Depending on the site and the player's ability to make speedy decisions, a player can play several tables at the same time, viewing them each in a separate window on the computer display. If you’re playing for money, that can also translate to more winnings than real world poker.

Take a break anytime.  Enter and leave a table as you please, cut your losses and take a deep breath and try to catch your second wind, something you can’t do in real world poker. Online, you don’t just live to fight for another day, you also save on the usually expensive food and beverage that you’ll consume in casinos and yes, you don’t need to tip or give balato to the dealer and other employees on a winning day.

Players have similar habits. While you can’t see the eyes of your opponents or how he or she reacts to his starting hand and subsequent flop, you can still observe their hand selection tendencies as well as betting and raising patterns. For example, a player who raises instantly may not necessarily have a strong hand but may be only trying to bluff you while one who takes time to call your bet is likely to have a strong hand.

Get to know fellow players. Most online poker sites include forums and virtual communities where both novices and expert players alike can share their playing experiences as well as those all-important tips on how to become better players. Even when not playing, anyone who’s serious about the game stands to benefit from simply hanging out at these virtual communities.

Return Of The Killer Arcade Games

BACK in the middle of this decade, between 2005 to 2006 to be more specific, I was a regular contributor for the now defunct GamesMaster, then the best gaming magazine in the country. It was actually the Phillippine edition of a franchise that originated in the UK. Although I was also contributing to other publications, I had a lot of fun with this particular gig as it allows me to enjoy my passion for videogames while making money out of playing them. Let’s just say that it does give a special meaning to work and play.

Aside from reviewing games, of course, I also got a chance to write for GamesMaster’s other sections, notably RetroActive, where classic videogames are revisited and Game Over, the last page editorial on anything gaming-related, mostly something to wax nostalgic about.

Here’s a slightly updated version of what I wrote for the magazine’s Game Over section back in 2005. What do you know? It’s still relevant after all these years.

THE ARCADES STRIKE BACK
EDWIN P. SALLAN

THEY’RE back.

Easy to learn and often hard to master, arcade games are short and sweet videogames that have no saved states, no extra lives and no second chances. It’s just you, the arcade stick and plenty of coins or in the case of places like Time Zone, a lot of credits. You have to be really, really good to master the nuances, earn replays and save money, if that’s actually possible, on these games.

I have to admit that arcades gave me my first taste of videogames. Having discovered them in the original Harrison Plaza, coin-operated classics like Pacman, Space Invaders, Galaxian and Breakout were mesmerizing in all their jagged and blocky glory back in the day. As games started to look better, I took to later titles like the Mortal Kombat, Streetfighter and Tekken series like fish takes to water. Ditto with racers like Daytona USA and the original San Francisco Rush and gun shooting franchises like Virtua Cop and The House Of The Dead.

Not that you can’t play these games at home. Ports of these titles and more in consoles like the Sega Megadrive, the Super NES, the original Sony PlayStation and the Sega Dreamcast were often just as good if not even better as their arcade versions. But as longer and more complex gaming genres like RPG’s, real time strategy and stealth games began to emerge, the lack of depth of arcade games were exposed and their popularity declined. It also didn’t help that a large segment of the gaming population are now going online (a word they like to throw around nowadays is “massive”) as even the increasingly rare home conversions of recent titles are no longer a big deal for game reviewers who mostly dismisses them as shallow time-wasters.

As an arcade gamer by heart belonging to a country where the following of such games did not really took a major hit, I am saddened by this development as it has come to a point where recent arcade releases are mostly no longer being ported to the current generation of gaming platforms. I can understand why as good as they are, musical games like Percussion Freaks won’t play as well as home as they would in the arcades. But given the chance, I’m pretty sure that even with its limitations, there’s still a lot of fun and thrill value in the Midnight Maximum Tune series as there is in the Need for Speed franchise, which incidentally has also recently hit the arcades. Label me that dreaded title of “casual gamer” but yes, I do want to play Virtua Cop 3 and other recent gun shooters like L.A. Machineguns and Ghost Squad at home. And oh, man, can it really be just a matter of time before the latest installment of that wacky Metal Slug game becomes arcade-exclusive only?

I hope not because if this is some kind of a battle line to separate the hardcore from the average gamers, then whoever thought of it has no idea how hardcore and real an arcade gamer can ever get. It takes a lot of skill and more than great reflexes to master the arcades. I’d like to believe that there is a strong market segment for these kinds of games, something that gaming developers for PC’s and consoles should be foolhardy to ignore.

I don’t know about you but I think it’s a great time to go back to the arcades. And if the recent arcade conversions of Guitar Hero and Street Fighter 4 are any indication, the game is certainly far from over.

Highstreet 5: Veni, Vidi, Videogame

POSTING a feature story I wrote last year for Wedding Essentials Beautiful Weddings. One of the magazine’s 25 Real Wedding Tales, this was about a couple who met, fell in love and got married while playing a popular online computer game.

While I personally believe everyone should view this thing called online dating with a fair share of skepticism, I also think that we should also not discount the fact that, well, there are more than quite a few experiences that do end up on a very happy note.

This is one of those stories.

FAIR GAME
For this online gaming couple, till disconnection do they part
By EDWIN P. SALLAN

MOST of us concede that love is a game. We play it to win the objects of our affections and hopefully, as fairytale endings go, emerge victorious with a happily ever after conclusion.

So it’s no big surprise to hear about people who spend most of their waking hours in cyberspace as they take the love game to a totally different level—as in finding the right matches, soul mates, love of their lives or whatever we want to call them. And we’re not just referring to social networking sites like Facebook and Friendster but also to addictive online games that give new meaning to the term “levelling up.”

But a virtual wedding that took place in a computer game to be later followed by an actual civil one? For Angelito Cayabyab and his bride, the former Athena Ruflo who are also known by their user names (or should we say, “love handles”) Pipezz14 and Siouxsie in the increasingly popular online game, Highstreet 5, there’s no such thing as a thin line that exists between fantasy and reality. Not in their case anyway.

Yes, Angelito, a 25-year old single dad from Bulacan and Athena, the 28-year old proprietress of a network gaming computer shop based in Pasig met, fell in love and got married while playing as their characters in the game. Prior to playing Highstreet 5, Angelito was addicted to the first-person shooter, Counterstrike, certainly not the type of game where one meets a future partner in life, while Athena was playing a not-so-popular musical-oriented game called O2 Jam that neither had too many players nor the kind of community interaction that Highstreet 5 has.

For the uninitiated, Highstreet 5 is not your average online game that involves fancy costumes, castles, dragons, monsters or anything usually associated with medieval-like fantasy worlds. The game is all about a virtual lifestyle that pretty much mirrors our own real lifestyle as latest trends in music, fashion and street dance steps are among ts most appealing features.

“Apart from its fun and interactive in-game chat and in-game web cam view, HighStreet 5 also has its own social network community,” says Rio Rachel Encarnado, Marketing and Communications Manager for Eaglegame International, the local distributor of the game. “So by connecting both virtual and real worlds, the game becomes a gateway of several individuals to find their real life partners. Players, who started as opponents and unfamiliar with the other’s real personality become close and intimate both in-game and in real life as time goes by.”

That’s how Angelito and Athena were both drawn to the game. “A friend installed the game in my friend’s network gaming shop in August of 2008 and me and our barkada of seven just decided to try it out and the next thing we knew, we just kept on playing,” Angelito enthuses. “I met Athena or Siouxsie at the HS Dance Room of the game where beginners usually hang out. Right there and then, we did our first lover’s dance.”

“He was actually my very first friend in the game,” Athena fondly recalls. “There’s something about his character and his hair that attracted me. And since then, we would meet each other in the game and dance everyday. We would usually go online at around 11PM and finish around 3, 4, sometimes up to 5AM in the morning just playing and getting to know each other from within the game.”

And that was even before they actually saw each other via webcam which didn’t take place until one month later. Athena, who was then in a relationship at the time with a guy that's not into online games, grew fonder of Angelito as they kept on playing Highstreet 5. She eventually broke up with her boyfriend as a result.

Not knowing that Highstreet 5 has an in-chat and in-game webcam view feature, Angelito had to log-in from a friend’s Yahoo! Messenger account to get his first glimpse of Athena. Obviously not disappointed by what they both saw, their virtual courtship further blossomed until she finally agreed to be his virtual girlfriend on October 24. That was exactly one week before they would finally see each other in person at a Highstreet5 Halloween General Eyeball event in SM Megamall.

“He was suddenly very quiet when we saw each other,” Athena continues. “Parang na-torpe yata at ako pa ang salita nang salita.” During that EB, the couple did their first in-game “deep kiss” much to the cheers of their friends or “guild members.” After that, they were pretty much inseparable as an ensuing drinking session at a nearby bar was followed by a group sleepover at Athena’s place that lasted for two straight days.

“After that he went home to tell his mom that he has a new girlfriend,” she says. “Less than 24 hours later, he brought his clothes over and we’ve been together since, whether we’re playing the game or not.”

Angelito says that at that point, both of them could no longer imagine living life without the other. So they started to cement their, uh, connection and plan their in-game church wedding, complete with their own designed wedding invitations as well as their own immaculate white wedding clothes. The way they tell it, the in-game wedding that took place only last February 1 of this year had all the drama of a real-life nuptial.

“Our wedding was scheduled on 11PM but then we suddenly got disconnected,” Angelito remembers. “We had to find an internet café that was still open at the time. One owner was kind enough to give us a few minutes after I had to explain the urgency of our situation. So at around midnight, we finally got married with our friends and guild mates as our guests who were heckling, ‘DC! DC! DC!’ as in “disconnect.” Fortunately, there were no more disconnections.”

After the arrival of Angelito’s father, an OFW stationed in Libya, the couple finally tied the knot for real in a civil wedding that took place last July 4. Today, the couple operates GameBox, the network gaming computer store that Athena put up near her place in Pasig. “The store is now devoted for Highstreet 5 gaming,” she declares.

While they hope to have their own church wedding very soon, Angelito and Athena are building their lives as they continue to share the same interests. Who would have thought that playing an online game can result in a win-win situation for them? As the gaming couple found out for themselves, sometimes truth is not necessarily stranger than fiction.

Gaby Dela Merced for CK2RBO

EXTENDED remix of a news item I wrote for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin.

LEVEL UP! GOES TURBO-CHARGED WITH NEW ONLINE RACING GAME
By EDWIN P. SALLAN

WITH no less than celebrated race car champion Gaby Dela Merced as its brand ambassador, Level Up! games recently launched the full commercial version of the latest evolution of what company executives now say is their “most played online game.”

Crazy Kart 2: Race Battle Online or simply CK2RBO picks up where the very popular Crazy Kart left off, this time with a slightly more serious racing look-and-feel that recalls gaming franchises like the Need For Speed series. Previously available in closed and open beta versions, the commercial version of CK2RBO features improved graphics, increased levels of difficulty and more action-packed gameplay, among other new features.

“With this full version, players can navigate across 5,000 kilometers of varying tracks with hair-raising twists and turns and more challenging maps,” says Jeff Paulino, Level-Up brand manager for Crazy Kart and CK2RBO. “There’s a boss chase battle, race-team formation and quest systems and a driver evolution systems.”

Paulino says the game’s launch also coincides with the introduction of a new Cyber Racing League scheduled for eight legs in eight SM CyberZone branches all over the country. “This tournament is open to all players from Baguio to Davao City where the best players from each SM CyberZone branch will get the chance to vie for a slot in Level Up! Live 2010, the prestigious online gaming event where they can also win cash prizes and the honor of being named the first ever CK2RBO Cyber Racing Champion,” he enthuses.

The brand manager added that Level Up! has also been promoting both CK2RBO and the original Crazy Kart in corporate offices via team-based tournaments. “Many office workers find the game to be a terrific stress-reliever and a wonderful way of improving office camaraderie,” Paulino points out. “For us, it’s another wonderful way of promoting the games.”

For her part, Dela Merced, who also became a household name after a memorable stint as a housemate in Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Edition, admitted she was initially invited by Level Up! in casual gaming get togethers says accepting the company’s offer to be the game’s brand ambassador is a no-brainer.

“I have been playing motor sports video games since I was a kid for different gaming machines like the NES or the Family Computer, the Super NES and the PC Engine,” she fondly recalls. “Actually, you could say that racing games are my first driving lessons, at least that’s how I fell in love with cars and motor sports in general.”

Dela Merced says being part of CK2RBO is her “own personal way of encouraging Filipino gamers to live their dreams.”

New From E-Games

EXTENDED “remix” of a recent news item I wrote for the Infotech section of the Manila Bulletin.

E-GAMES ANNOUNCES NEW ONLINE GAMES FOR 2010
By EDWIN P. SALLAN

EVEN as it maintains its dominance in the field of online gaming in 2009, IP E-Game Ventures, Inc. or simply IP E-Games, the number one-ranked online gaming publisher in the country announced the launching of more new titles for 2010.

During its recently concluded Road To Dominance IV event, E-Games Chief Operating Officer Gil Edeza announced these new online titles namely Dragonica, a side-scrolling adventure game, Bandmaster, a music band game and OP7, its newest massively multiplayer online first person shooter or MMOFS will be available by the first quarter of next year.

Edeza says Dragonica boasts of RPG elements and an eight-way side-scrolling system in full 3D that provides fun and intuitive gameplay even for first time players. “Dragonica has the potential for bringing all kinds of gamers together in one game,” he points out. “Its easy-to-use interface and gameplay system will appeal to casual gamers and first-time MMOG players, while the game’s RPG elements, combo system and PvP battles will also attract veteran players.”

Heidi Mendita-Garayblas, Vice President for e-Games, adds that the game’s appeal widespread appeal is rooted in its uniqueness. “Dragonica, though side-scrolling, is the first to use 3D graphics to enable more freedom of movement. With its humor and use of pop-culture references, it’s easy to have fun while playing this game.”

Another new title, Bandmaster is actually a game to be published locally by X-Play Online Games, the joint venture company of IP e-Games and GMA New Media Inc, the digital media arm of GMA Network.

Developed by Dyson (Piper Games), Bandmaster is easily patterned after popular console franchises, Rock Band and Guitar Player as it allows each player to choose between six different instruments and battle with other players in a concert-like atmosphere where each participant will match the beats of their chosen instruments in rendering an outstanding musical performance.

“With the advent of technology, the music industry has evolved to a point where the artist can present their music directly to the public. Bandmaster takes this one step further, offering the opportunity to display artistic talent to their peers within a virtual setting,” beams George Royeca Chief Operating Officer of X-Play.

And then there’s OP7, which already began its closed beta and open beta testings during the last quarter of this year. The commercial version, set to debut next year will have better gameplay dynamics and will also feature new maps, the best of which is the Dust Map which is closely based on De Dust, the most popular map of FPS game, Counterstrike, as well as a Clan System that promises to bring players to work more cohesively as a unit.

“These new improvements and adjustments will make OP7 run better and provide an even more improved and balanced gameplay,” says Sonny Carlos, Product Manager for OP7.

In addition to these new games, E-Games also announced the closed beta testing period of Runes Of Magic, a game that started its Alpha testing last October. Developed by Taiwan-based Runewaker Entertainment, Runes of Magic is a new fantasy MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role playing game), using a popular Western-style high-fantasy backdrop complete with heroic quests, crafting, incredible creatures and monsters to defeat.

“Runes of Magic aims to break online gaming conventions,” Edeza enthuses. “With a big, immersive world, veteran and beginning players are in for a surprise. And just like all other E-Games titles, it is free-to-play.”

IP E-Games is a subsidiary of IPVG, a company recently nominated as IT Company of the Year by the I.T. Journalists Association of the Philippines in its recently concluded 2009 Cyberpress Awards. 

Updated Game Review: Unblock Me FREE for the iPhone

LAST month, I wrote a short piece about this addictive puzzle game for the iPhone. Well, the recent update was so significant, I decided to update my mini-review.

Developer's Notes:

Unblock Me FREE is a simple and addictive puzzle game inspired by Nob Yoshigahara. The goal is to get the red block out of the board by sliding the other blocks out of the way. Unblock Me FREE comes with 800 puzzles pack in the Beginner and Intermediate levels to keep you challenged for hours. Features:- 400 unique puzzles in Beginner pack- Two game modes, Relax Mode and Challenge Mode- Keep track of all the levels you've cleared.

In its early incarnation, UnBlock Me FREE gives you 400 reasons to play it for hours. Now as reflected in the developer's notes, it gives you eight. But wait! The game now includes 400 more puzzles in the newly-included Bonus level. That's about 1,200 levels of puzzle addiction and lots of lots of time to kill.

In addition, you can now choose between two Block types so yes, it doesn't get old quickly. Even if you lose track of your progress and suddenly find yourself in a level you already completed, solving that puzzle is not exactly a piece of cake the second time around. It's not easy memorizing completed levels and you go to have a very good memory or high IQ to even try.

Puzzle fans, casual gamers and everyone in between should enjoy UnBlock Me FREE. There's more than enough in the free version to keep you preoccupied without even thinking of getting the full version that you can purchase at the iTunes Store.

And like I said before, if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch and, this is a must-have. In my book, this is a nice and well-made game that should be right up there with classics like Q-Bert, Tetris and Bejeweled. Go download it already.

TIP: Just keep moving. Don't think too much. Just keep moving and the solutions will present themselves.

Unblock Me FREE is developed by Kiragames and can be downloaded directly from iTunes Store. For more info, visit www.kiragames.com.

And here's a YouTube review of the game:

Tekken 6: Finally Ready To Rumble

THIS month will finally mark the official worldwide release of the much-awaited home version of Tekken 6 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable or PSP. As fighting games go, the Tekken franchise has always been a personal favorite.

As much as there are things I love about the Streetfighter, Mortal Kombat, Dead Or Alive and the Soul Calibur series, Tekken is the one that I prefer the most, not just because of its more engaging characters and their respective storylines but also because its tournament style has always reminded me of my favorite Bruce Lee film, Enter The Dragon. So yes, I'm very excited about the upcoming home version releases. It's certainly one reason to finally consider getting a PSP.

Actually, Tekken 6 has been here for quite a while. Videogame arcade fans have been playing this to death (pardon the pun) at Timezone arcades for quite sometime where it remains a very popular game. I've had the chance to play the arcade versions myself and yes, while the game is still pretty much the floor-breaking slugfest that its recent incarnations well, it also looks awesome in those huge widescreen LCD monitors.

But it is much less the button-mashing fun that it once was until Tekken 3. The AI in this game is both excellent and yes, frustrating at the same time. Your opponents don't just know how to block or parry your attacks but also your holds and I haven't gotten past the fourth opponent (be it Heihachi, Marduk or Nina Williams) in my few attempts. To be really good at this game, you really have to learn and study the combos as well as your opponents' moves.

Apparently, a lot of Tekken arcade gamers did, judging from the good number of them that joined Timezone's recently concluded Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion Tournament where it only takes a measly P150 registration fee to pick a fight and win the top prize.

After the elimination pre-finals tiffs that took place at 12 participating Timezone branches, the qualified fighters slugged it out for five straight hours at the National Finals held at Timezone Trinoma.

And with his amazing reflexes, dazzling combo moves and knockout blows, Jeffrey Jordan Gonzales of Timezone Market! Market! bested last year's winner Carlo Racela from Timezone Eastwood along with 22 other finalists for a shot at representing the country in the upcoming Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion International Tournament this October 25 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Jeffrey also won US$500 pocket money for his upcoming trip, P10,000 worth of Timezone Gift Certificates, an Apple iPod Touch, a Tekken CD, album and binder, a Zeenote, a trophy and other special prizes.

Not a bad return for an initial investment of only P150, huh? Ngayon, sinong gustong bumili ng away, ha?

And here's a look at what took place at the pre-finals Tekken 6 tournament at SM Megamall:

Midnight Rendezvous: TV5's Late Night Trip

WELL, if you think you got nothing better to watch on TV on late nights, then you might want to consider pointing your remote to TV5 and check out its late night offerings. Since The Network Formerly Known as ABC 5 decided to reinvent itself last year with a new name (TV5, of course) and a new identity, it has continuously expanded its programming horizons by coming up with local shows that has fared well in the ratings game against shows by both ABS-CBN and GMA.

Pat Marcel0-Magbanua, the station's Marketing and Communciations Head said that since becoming TV5, the station now ranks third behind "The Big Two" in overall ratings and is even rated number one on certain time slots.

Which is probably more than enough good reason for the station to uh, "shake-up" its weekday late night time slots by introducing seven new shows during its Late Night Trip launching event at Mag:net Cafe in Bonifacio High Street. Also coinciding with its Happy One Year celebration, the new late night offerings each have something for everyone from humor to music to travel to cars to food to games to yes, girls, girls and more girls.

Here's how the shake-up shakes down:

Urban Tribe. Airing Mondays on 11:30PM, the show is hosted by the Fiesta House Band called Tribomanila that features Stefano Lowenstein, Alvin Cornista, Danger Sanchez, Marcus Maguidad and actor Minco Fabregas, the show is all about what men like, and not just women but also music, traveling, partying and I guess, everything in between.

Promdi Chef. As its name suggests, this is about a Visayan-based chef who takes viewers on a tour of the best places to eat in the region. Except Chef Jomi Gaston is no ordinary chef. An alumnus of the Culinary Institute of America, this Bacolod native also owns an Italian resto and a cafe that specializes in Asian and European cuisine. Tuesdays, 11:30PM.

Stoplight TV. This show is more of a "bagong lipat" than really bago. Yes, it's the same one-stop motoring program you've been watching for years. Featuring the latest motoring and motoring sports-related material from all over the world and I suppose, the world wide web, the show is hosted by DJ Matt Montoya and Eggay Quisada with Stoplight Angels Love-Love Tioseco, Ardge Barbaso and make-up artist Mayone Bakunawa to keep the guys tuned in. Wednesdays, 11:30PM.

How 'Bout My Place Tonight? In this culinary school for TV, celebrated chefs Fernando Aracama and John Cu-Unjieng teaches us how to cook "glorious food" the quick and easy way. The show also features guest prominent personalities, tourist spots and their signature delicacies, OFW's sharing their international discoveries via phone patch (really?) and many more. Thursdays 11:30PM.

More On Gaming TV (or Simply MOG TV). Produced by E-Games, distributor of popular online games, RAN, CABAL, Granado Espada, Dance Battle Audition, Runes of Magic and more, the show is all about games and appeals to hardcore and casual gamers alike. Hosted by Magic 89.9 jock Sam YG, the show features reviews, mods, strategies, cheats and yes, sizzling gamer girls. Fridays, 11:30PM.

Jojo A. All The Way. Is he our very own Letterman or just a poor man's Conan O' Brien? No matter what you want to call him, Jojo Alejar has the late night talk show schtick down to a science. Even with the not-so-good signal on the UHF station where he first started this, Jojo A. has managed to create a niche for himself that has grown exponentially to merit a major network transfer. With a better set, better gimmicks, better signal and yes, funnier jokes (hehe!) and side comments on the issues of the day, the laughs should come aplenty every midnight on weekdays.

Insomnia. Airing right after Jojo A. All The Way at 12:30AM on weekdays, this informative, humorous and sexy show has live music, interactive games, music videos and three alternating sassy hotties chatting the morning away. Unfortunately, only one among Chai Lontoc, Diane Medina and Mica Abesamis is here to stay. All three are up for the scrutiny and judgment of viewers who will decide who among them is the Ultimate Insomnia Hottie.

And that's all she wrote. So are these shows worthy of our thumbs ups, or for that matter, high 5's, pun intended? With the exception of Jojo Alejar's show which in my opinion, has improved by leaps and bounds and therefore a must-watch on his time slot, I'm not in a position to say anything about the other shows. Yet. But do visit this blog from time to time. If I do get the chance to catch any of them and I hope I do, I will share my thoughts here.

In the meantime, watch this YouTube highlight reel of Jojo A. All The Way:

The Beatles Rock Band: Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

From its Wikipedia page:

"The Beatles: Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the third major console release in the Rock Band music video game series and, like other games in the series, it allows players to simulate the playing of rock music by using controllers shaped like musical instruments. The game consists of 45 songs by the British rock group The Beatles spanning their career, along with virtual depictions of the band members performing the songs. Future downloadable content for the game will feature additional songs and full albums from The Beatles, such as the entirety of Abbey Road (1969) shortly after the game's release."

The game was released internationally on 9 September 2009 to coincide with the release of the new, remastered CD versions of The Beatles' albums. I don't know about you but if you only have enough money for just one (more) game and you also love both The Rock Band game and The Beatles, then this one's a no-brainer. Judging from the trailer below, the game does look and sound like it's a lot of fun.

All you need is love...and a PS3 or an Xbox360 or a Nintendo Wii, maybe a PC and (fingers-crossed) a Mac sometime in the near future, too.

UPDATE: According to my good friend and former GamesMaster magazine editor Ed Geronia, The Beatles Rock Band is now available in Data Blitz. Complete set including instruments is around P20K while the game disc itself will set you back by P2,400. Go get it already!

And here's the trailer of the game taken from its MTV Press Conference:

Game Review: Unblock Me Free

SIMPLE LANG PERO ROCK

Even with the fancier graphics of other games for the iPhone, this is the one game I keep coming back to. Play and you'll know why.

From the iTunes app store description:

Unblock Me FREE is a simple and addictive puzzle game inspired by Nob Yoshigahara. The goal is to get the red block out of the board by sliding the other blocks out of the way. Unblock Me FREE comes with 400 unique puzzles pack in the Beginner level. Plus 200 unique puzzles in the now included Intermediate level as of last update

Hours of playing pleasure even as the higher levels become increasingly challenging. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch and are big on puzzle games, this is a must-have. Okay, just one more level...just one more level.