Niko Bellic : Coming to America, remembering the past

Been playing GTAIV recently?

You should have heard of our leading man, Niko Bellic, a hero with a past that he does not want to remember. Coming to America to make a fortune with his cousin Roman, Niko has tried not to associate any past incidents of his life, while trying to make an attempt to survive in the ever changing Liberty City.

Now a new man leading his life, how will he survive the times in Liberty City, is all up to the player controlling our hero.

If you are interested in the past of Niko Bellic, how his times in the european wars has shaped the rough, yet comedic nature of his, check out Kezin’s.com biography of Niko. “Or is that short for … Nikolai?”

NOTE : Filled with Spoilers! Do not attempt to open if you do not want the story to spoil your gameplay!

Games Convention Asia Conference Opens Call for Papers

In year 2007, the first ever (GCA) Games Convention Asia was held at Hall 601 - 603, in Suntec City, Singapore, where industry professionals from the gaming industry converge at one location in the greatest display of gaming development and technology in South-East Asia. Companies from all over the world were at the Convention, to signify the status of the gaming industry in the Asia-Pacific, creating a mark that will not be forgotten in the times to come.

I was part of GCA, leading my own team under Asiasoft Online Pte Ltd in 2007, running a commendable display of product showcases for the general public.

The GCA is here again, for 2008, where new players of the industry will make their mark to establish a name in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as veterans displaying their latest gaming technology and products to business visitors, corporate clients and the general public.

GCA is inviting professional speakers and industry professionals to come and present, discuss, and exhibit topics that can contribute to the fast-growing digital entertainment and video game industry of the Asia-Pacific region.

Press the jump for more details.

Featured Reviews : it’s not always about being 10/10, just being honest.

As a gamer myself, I commonly look at reviews to get a rough idea of a game that I might want to buy, but when you visit websites that portrays a corporate image towards their consumers, you just feel that everything they wrote is crap and biased.

While reading reviews for quite a few months especially this time of the year, I find this man called Ben Croshaw always being legitimate, and honest about what games may feel to him. Although his tone is at times sarcastic, and his words are filled with explicit languages, you might feel that his words are true, and at times represents a community of gamers who might want to make a stand about flaws of a game. He doesn’t go on babbling about a 10 / 10 rating for games, where scores are subjected to bias and personal preferences.
In his latest video, he talks about hatemails directed at him for being too flawed on his reviewing skills for the Wii’s Super Smash Bro Brawls. Check out after the jump to find out more.

Upcoming Titles You Might be Interested In - May 2008

As you may know, game titles in Singapore are seldom subjected to the effects of holiday season sales, where countries like USA subject their consumers to only getting the game at certain periods of the year, to ensure top sales for their game franchises. Similarly, good games are sometimes released at unexpected periods of the year, so take a look at our list of games that you should look out for.

What we will be looking at now will be a few games to watch for in May 2008, which you can either purchase at a local retail store or import if it is not brought in with the expected release dates.

This section covers multiple titles spanning over the different gaming platforms of the latest generations.

Find out more after the jump.

Doom 4 Announced by iD Software

Ever been a fan of the horror-fest of the Doom Series?

If you are, be prepared as Doom 4 is currently in development by iD software, owners of the Quake and Doom franchises that are being sold in retail. Doom 4 will be a sequel to the ever-popular Doom 3, where graphics was consider to be at its peak in 2004, pushing personal PCs to their maximum capabilities worldwide.

The Doom series has been considered one of the few pioneers in FPS gaming, where it accompany other well-known FPSes like Wolfestein 3D and Half-Life.

To get more info on the coverage by Joystiq, click on the link.

At the same time, iD software is recruiting people to join its team, in the latest press release. Read more about the press release after the jump.

Does EA really feel that way? - The T2 Takeover 50 - 50 value

With the recent success of the Take-Two Interactive’s latest game, Grand Theft Auto IV, the hype has been building up for the industry. Is EA going to raise their bid, and successfully take over T2.

That seems to be the question right here, but with a recent article by GameIndustry.Biz, it seems like EA is denying any importance of buying over Take-Two Interactive.

Quoted from the article, EA VP of Corp Communications, Jeff Brown, is denying that EA should be feeling any sense of anticipation with the bid to take over T2.

“It’s always been mystifying as to why they thought it was important to wait,” Brown said. “Everybody knew [GTA IV] was going to be fantastic; everybody knew it was going to sell like crazy. So to suggest anyone was surprised by the success of the game, commercial or critical, is nonsense.”

Then again, he feel the impending approach of T2 towards the deal is making it weaker by the minute as time passes.

Pressed on whether he still expected the acquisition to go through, Brown stated: “I think at best it’s a 50/50 proposition.” However, he dismissed comparisons that have been drawn with Microsoft’s aborted pursuit of Yahoo!, arguing: “The big difference here was that a good search engine is a strategic priority for Microsoft. Take-Two is just not a strategic priority for EA.”

Brown rubbished suggestions that EA was undervaluing its target, whose GTA IV title has smashed sales records around the world, insisting: “The longer it takes to do [the deal], the less valuable it is to EA.”

Could EA be maintaining a two-face perspective towards the issue, or they have given up on the T2 franchise with the delay in the take-over deal?

Share your thoughts regarding this issue.

RetroSigns - Tetris Theme by Blowing Bottles

It’s always good to listen to old video game music, especially themes from popular classics like Super Mario Bros, Tetris and many others. As part of a blog initiative, I shall launch this section called RetroSigns to showcase amazing pieces of music done in interesting manners.

Watch the video above to see a rendition of popular puzzle game, Tetris, with its theme music being played with bottle blowing. Some commented that these people have too much time on their hands, but it’s good to see old classics being played on unique instruments. If you want to watch how a group of people replayed the whole super mario bros theme through using a RC car and one whole row of bottles, catch it at Gizmodo, where they covered the amazing stint.

Find out more after the jump with the embedded theme video.

Retrosigns : Tetris Theme on Bottles

It’s always good to listen to old video game music, especially themes from popular classics like Super Mario Bros, Tetris and many others. Watch the video above to see a rendition of popular puzzle game, Tetris, with its theme music being played with bottle blowing.

Some commented that these people have too much time on their hands, but it’s good to see old classics being played on unique instruments.

If you want to watch how a group of people replayed the whole super mario bros theme through using a RC car and one whole row of bottles, catch it at Gizmodo, where they covered the amazing stint.

Find out more after the jump with the embedded RC car video.