You might have noticed that GameAxis.com hasn't been updated as regularly as before over the past week and I do apologize for it. This has nothing to do with Mr. Toffee being sizzled out from E3, or Jimmy Wartooth going AWOL. GameAxis.com is presently undergoing an engine update as well as a retooling. A fresh new GameAxis.com will be unveiled soon and the usual ruckus will ensue. Stay tuned…
It was a Saturday afternoon, a hot Saturday afternoon mind you. But, then, when is it never hot in Singapore. While many gamers are anticipating next weekend's The Games Xpo to kick off, the NUS Students' Computing Club decided to run their own gaming festival. GameAxis snuck around Game Haven on the 27th of June in true Solid Snake style, blending into the background sans cardboard box, to take a look at how the 2-day Cyber Gaming Festival was being run. Of course, if you're reading this now (Sunday 28th), you're missing the last day of the featival where the competition finals are currently being held. So I guess it's your choice if you want to check out the festival yourself today, or read my second hand encounter.
So, Asiasoft's Yulgang MMO went into its closed beta phase last Thursday (25th June), and is probably one of the shorter CBT phases for such games since it will end on Monday (29th June) and the open beta starts almost immediately on the 2nd of July. I often wonder if anything is really being tested in detail or its merely a load exercise for the servers. The definition of closed and open beta phases seem to differ much between our western publishers, who often go through months of closed beta, closed being the fact that only selected beta testers are invited to join. Regardless of intentions, Yulgang's weekend CBT has been one that's filled with daily community events; from a grind to the first to hit Level 35, to a monster invasion.
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen opens in cinemas in two days time, and conveniently enough, there's a movie tie-in game that just happens to come out tomorrow too. What a fortuitous series of events! I had a chance to preview the game - it's much better than the first one.
UPDATE: Silly me, Garou: Mark of The Wolves is coming on XBLA, thanks to one of the commenters.
Saddle up, gamers and readers, as this week have giant robots, evil overlords, the art of pugilism and blazes of blue coming to your respective systems.
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Xbox 360, PS3)
"Hey, you got something in your eye. Let me use my razor-sharp living cloth to check."
The spiritual successor to the Guilty Gear series features the same robust and complex fighting system that hardcore fighters know and love. Steampunk world that has both science and magic mixed with each other? Check. Insanely detailed 2D graphics? Check. A 30+ hour story mode and online multiplayer support for the console versions? Check. A fighting system filled with terms like Revolver Action, Rapid Cancel, and a lot more complications? Oh hell check.
You don't need to be at E3 to preview some of the latest games. Last weekend, we held our second Play It First With GAX session for GameAxis members to test drive another pre-release title. This time, it was Ghostbusters: The Video Game. I've got to say you guys were a supportive group, especially with our prodding for a good video angle. Congratulations to Octopusprime, who won our 'Catch Slimer' mini-competition; another shoutout to ps3_maniakid and ianliow who came in their own Ghostbusters tees, plus many thanks to Game Haven for having us there and Atari for sponsoring the game and prizes. Here's to more Play It First events.
