Here’s another FIRST in online games and MMORPGs!

Level Up , the Philippines' first and biggest online game publisher in cooperation with the Philippines’ biggest telecommunications company, Smart, is proud to announce LEVEL UP MOBILE!

For Smart subscribers, just send an MMS text message and type LEVEL UP and send to 299 to download the Level Up Mobile Menu. With the service, gamers can do the following:

    * Link your MyLevelUp Account to your phone
    * Manage your account - balance inquiry, change password, etc.
    * Lock and Unlock (willingly ban) your accounts for added security
    * Download content like wallpapers, ringtones and logos
    * Get regular news and updates for your favorite games
    * Guildtext - send one message to all your guildmates (soon)

CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO TUTORIAL AND MORE ABOUT THE MOBILE SERVICE

I try to gather online gamer girls and feature them at this blog.

My latest feature is gamer babe Charlene. She’s played through almost all MMORPGs offered here in the Philippines.

Charlene is a 20-year old student taking up ES Electronics Communications Engineering. I took a little bit off my busy schedule to chat with her about, gaming, cosplay and other stuff that she enjoys doing. She’s also on the cover of COSPLAY magazine! Wow!

For the complete interview and MORE PHOTOS CLICK HERE

Whenever me, my fellow managers and even staff at Level Up Philippines discuss our current games portfolio, one of the issues that crop up is how to classify the games. A lot of talk and debate boils down to putting the dichotomy within 2 - casual and serious (hardcore).

When you look at it from the first “layer”, it seems innocuous. Casual are simple, “pick me up” games and are usually free. Serious games are games such as PW or RF. Again, that’s the “first layer”. Once we delve deeper into the analysis, the play of words become more tricky.

Now comes the hard part. So, we are agreed that RF Online is a serious game, right. Now, do you give a “blanket definition” and classify all players as “serious” MMO-types? But no… like I told you, it gets complicated. Now that RF is free, there is another layer of classification. Within the playing community, there are “casual” and “serious” players playing in a supposed “serious” game. The ‘oxymoronic’ nature is enough to make me want to pull my hair.

>> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY

There’s very little information about the up and coming Marvel Universe Online, co-developed by Microsoft and Cryptic Studios.

There’s a short blurb about it at the Cryptic Studios website. The wikipedia entry also states that the game is being developed for both the XBox 360 and PC/Windows Vista (of course, it’s Microsoft). Release date is a “To Be Announced” 2008.

Perhaps Mr. Gates wants to have something to augment the huge windfall of Halo 3.

>> READ MORE ABOUT THIS ENTRY AND SEE THE TRAILER VIDEO. CLICK HERE

A lot has happened to the MMORPG industry ever since the release of titles such as Ultima Online and Everquest in the late ’90s. Business models have evolved. One of the first was the subscription model, often being “pushed” by a free trial limited either by days or character level. In fact, that mode of business still reigns supreme as the 8 million users of WoW can attest.

Fast forward into the “now”.

Today, we can see more and more games that chose the “Free-to-Play” route. This seems an easy choice. But building the revenue on this kind of model is really all about the numbers.

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Want to have a reason to buy a PS3?

Here’s one - Metal Gear Online.

Kojima’s masterpiece is finally coming online via the PlayStation 3. IGN has put it bluntly; “you’ll be able to pretend to be Snake with a bunch of other Metal Gear nerds pretending to be Snake.” Hehehe.

Call it what you will, IGN. I’m excited about this thing. Having played all of the PS incarnations of Snake up against all his friends/clones/teachers/relatives, I think this is one title to look forward to.

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Valkyrie - Philippine Ragnarok Online’s Free-to-Play server is now up and running as of 6:30pm today. We’re having record numbers - more than the last 3 months!

From conception to reality, this project is more than 1 year in the making.

I just went inside the game. It’s been a while since I played RO (yup, too busy dudes) and it really is nostalgic to see all those novices in the training area. Trying to go through the “courses” to get novice gear and red pots.

The fields with the Fabres and Porings just outside the training castle is just crazy! There’s a gaggle of Novices all looking for parties and trying to level up.

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Noted MMORPG designer and legend, Richard Garriot , known for Ultima Online (and now, Tabula Rasa) wants to make a lunar trip and is willing to spend $30 million for it.

Reuters reports that Garriot wants to follow in the footsteps of his dad, Owen Garriot - a former NASA astronaut who spent two months aboard the first U.S. space station 24 years ago.

>> READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY

Here’s an attempt to copy The Tonight Show and David, with my own, original  “Top 10 Signs that you’re an MMORPG addict”

GM TRISTAN’S TOP 10 SIGNS THAT YOU’RE AN MMORPG ADDICT

10. When you see pets, you wonder what items they’ll drop if you kill them

9.  Dogs, if you kill them, seem to give higher EXP than cats

8. When your mom asks you to buy something at the store - you think it’s a quest

7. Your teachers or boss is considered to be a tough NPC

>> NUMBERS 6 to 1 HERE