4 Pinoy Video Games Worth Checking Out!

As the world of gaming continues to grow, more and more gaming studios are coming up with amazing video games with a local flavour. Video games are becoming more than something you’d purchase from a store, but have become a stage for countries to showcase their own unique identity. Leading the South East Asia region, here are some talented Filipino Gaming Studios and games worth checking out!

Brawl Quest: Alice Brigade

 

Image from Mobile Mode Gaming

 
Brawl Quest: Alice Brigade is a critically-acclaimed beat-em-up mobile game by Thinkbit Solution based in the Philippines. A nostalgic throwback to older beat-em-up games such as Streets of Fury and Final Fight, Brawl Quest follows the same 2D frame by frame graphics. The tone is a unique blend of cuteness with similar street stylings of The World Ends With you.

Players can collect unique characters with their playstyles and special moves across 50 handcrafted stages. The game was in development for over three years before its subsequent release and has won numerous awards. This includes 1st Place at Big Indie Pitch GSTAR 2018, 2nd Place at GTR Pre-Acceleration Program BKK 2019, and Finalist at the SEA Game Awards Level Up KL 2019!

The game is available now on iOS and Android.

Vita Fighters

 

 

Image from TouchArcade

If you were a fan of Virtual Fighters, you’d love Vita Fighters. The game features a block style reminiscent of Virtual Fighters. Fighters in the game draw inspiration from various anime characters and emphasize natural fighting game mechanics, intuitive controls and a clean art style. Developed by Filipino game devs AngryDevs and published by Ranida Labs, the game started as a fan project which evolved into a unique fighting game with single or double button control.

Focusing on fast-paced action and streamlined controls (no swipe controls or cooldown dependent moves), the game features 15 playable characters with different fighting style, nine stages and epic boss battles. More characters and features are expected to be released in the future.

Vita Fighters is now available on both iOs and Android.

Gnome More War

 

Image from Hobbi Games

An amazing Tower Defence game that has made its way to the Nintendo Switch console from the mobile platform is Gnome More War by Hobbi Games, published by Keybol Games. This game lets 2 players engage in a war against invading gnomes and shoot them down before reaching the players base.

The game is an action-shooter slash castle defence game inspired by an NES game called Pooyan. The objective is not to let the gnomes get to your base and steal items you have in your barn. To achieve this, players will have access to a host of power-ups and upgrades to fend off wave after wave of gnomes. Players will also be able to enlist goblin friends who can provide support fire in siege weaponry, ranged attacks and traps.

Gnome More War has been available on the Nintendo Switch since its release in October 26, 2020. Alternatively, you can play the mobile version by downloading it on Android.

 

The Nam: Vietnam Combat Operations

 

Image from IGN Sea

A stand out from the list of games here is created by a single developer Tiger Yan from the Philippines. This fully fleshed-out RTS war game based on the Vietnam War took almost 20 years to complete.

The game features graphics drawn using MS Paint and programmed using an old game engine all by Tiger Yan himself. Three separate trips to Vietnam later, the game was released in September 2020, receiving high praise from users on game forums as well as YouTube channels.

The game enables you to command US Marines, Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army troops, plus the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The Vietnam War ended in 1975 when the North Vietnamese and Vietcong unified Vietnam under communist rule. The Philippines sent over 2,000 soldiers to Vietnam as part of the Philippine Civic Action Group Vietnam (PHILCAGV), which can be seen in the game.

While it can be downloaded online for free, Tiger Yan urges gamers to donate APOPO, a nonprofit organization working to clear deadly landmines in Cambodia.

YELLOW ROSE Philippine Premiere on January 29

I've heard of a Hollywood film about a year ago which had 2 Miss Saigons on its cast. It was like a theatre lovers dream to see our very own Kims Ms. Lea Salonga and Eva Noblezada be a part of it, let alone the stellar cast which also includes Princess Punzalan and a throng of other stars from the US. People behind the camera are of Filipino American lineage too, and the proud race doesn't stop there. Well for those who wanted a piece of it are in a bit of a treat especially if you are in the Philippines because it will finally be shown on KTX.PH this coming January 29th.

Director Diane Paragas says "This is like coming home. I've been waiting for this day for a long time and I've been excited for Filipinos to see it there, this is a great moment, it feels like coming home. It's loosely based on my time growing up in Texas, I played music too but not as close as Eva, it was my outlet, I felt like a square peg in a round hole. This is a fable, in a form of a documentary so I did research a lot about families. Yellow Rose is a Texan Rose, an old song that people know. They use that term as a derogatory one, Yellow as in Asian. The original song was about a mulatto girl, it was about her being mixed race. It means a lot of things and you find that out in the film. Lea sings Dahil Sayo, also Princess, a way to pass the culture down. It was something that was sung to me by my Mom and Dad, it was passed on to me and now I sing it for my daughter. I was referred to her (Princess), her acting style was so natural. I have auditioned a lot of girls, I've heard about Eva as she was cast in Miss Saigon, when we got financing to shoot the film, I saw her on Broadway to see the script. She blew me away, she had a magnetic presence, she had sincerity especially about the seriousness in music. She was Rose, on the spot. Eva was selected by Backstage, as among the best of the best. It's what actors read, for a Filipino to be in stellar Holllywood names, that's unbelievable. Joe Biden vowed sweeping immigration reforms on Day 1, we've had 4 years of disdain and we have been abused a lot. It's also a story of an artist, like a star is born, about her resilience and how music saves her."

 

Filam Director Diane Paragas

Ms. Princess Punzalan on the other hand has been sorely missed in the Philippines, but she's currently in the US and waiting out the pandemic although she's keen on doing more projects in the country soon. She says "There are a lot of people in the US and the international ones that have been able to see this. I see the struggles of Filipinos, who are undocumented, like sardines in one room. It's not an easy life. Here, I really feel the concern, the anxiety of what will happen to my daughter when I'm gone."

 

Lead star Eva Noblezada

We also got to talk to Eva Noblezada and she shares "The role is like your identity as Filipinos suddenly being invisible, it's nice to make the rounds, go through the finish line with a movie that is made for you. This is really a cool thing. I know a handful people who are undocumented but are very passionate. I watched my Mom and Dad break their backs, and go to North Carolina where people ask you "Who are you? Why are you here?" when you are trying to make a home for yourself. Miss Saigon was about a Vietnamese which I was not, I was lucky in those roles." 

 

 

 

She adds "We are chameleon in the arts, we talked about what that felt, I did that for 3 years. I was like... Seriously? you want me a young Filipina to play a young Filipina? It was about a young undocumented lass, she reached out to me, and honestly, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my entire life. She allows the actor to breathe, she had standards, she doesn't give you hurdles, you feel like you're the character. This allows the product authentic in a way. The fact that Yellow Rose highlighted an immigration story, it creates a divide that we hope as a film, would rip off that stereotypical, dangerous, anti patriotic divide in our country. These are people, these are human beings, extreme words that this past regime has used. Country music is like poetry, it's beautiful, to tell a story that is very young and have so much to do. That's what it is to me as a millenial. Getting to do this, it was all she had, hanging by a thread, to know that you are not alone and that you are protected."

I also asked her about racism and how she deals with it. I also asked the director about choosing "Dahil Sayo" which they interpreted in different ways and times in the film. Check out our interview with her this afternoon.

 

 Now make sure you get your tickets via KTX.PH and see the film on the 29th. If you want to see the struggles of a young Asian girl who only wished for freedom, for love, and an overwhelming passion for country music, go see Yellow Rose.

I will too.

 

Some Good Filipino Comfort Food from TAKAM

I was hungry as a bear so I made the decision and ordered a couple of things from TAKAM, a 24/7 Pinoy Comfort Food center in Granada, Quezon City. It's very near my place and they've packed my lunch pretty well. They have my favorite rice bowls and local congee (lugaw/goto) so it's quite perfect for rainy days. Something that you'll just sit by a window sill and curl up while holding their nice containers.

 

I kinda had it waiting on the dinner table because I had to rush and finish a few meetings, but because it's packed like these, I just popped it in the microwave and had it blitz for a few minutes. It was piping hot when I took it out (although it was still fairly warm when I did hold it up earlier since they are quite nearby). I had this CHICKSILOG which felt more like crispy Chicken karaage even if reheated. It's not too salty, just right, and they kept the egg a little runny for those who love sunny side up eggs.

They also have BANGSILOG which is fried to crisp milkfish marinated in different spices. This one was quite nice as it had a tangy, savory and very crispy. I guess the marinade really made the difference. Of course, I had to have vinegar and the atchara which I had on the fridge to make several perfect bites. I would love to also have this for breakfast. Then of course, my favorite comfort food is always congee, and TAKAM has some pretty good GOTO SPECIAL.

What's even better is that when they sent this over is that they've got the toppings packaged separately with the actual congee. What that means is that your crispy pork bits remain absolutely crispy, and not soggy because it has been in the soup too long. That's really smart of them to do and honestly, I could have this alone as a meal (sans second servings). I like my GOTO SPECIAL hot so I did blitz this a few minutes in the microwave oven, but you can opt to heat this up in a small pot because again, they've had it in separate containers. You won't burn the toppings if you had it mixed up like usual food places do. As far as the taste is concerned, it's actually very nice, you get that gingery broth with the rice so it feels quite comforting on a cold rainy night.

I also like the toppings because aside from the crackling pork, you've got crunchy garlic bits, chives, tripe, and those heavenly strips of tendon. Those fatty elements just feel like a human hug. So if you're up to no good, or simply just hungry in the wee hours of the morning and think you can't order comfort food like these, think again. They also have other silogs on the menu, Sisig, Pares, Bulalugaw, Arroz Caldo and serve em in different kinds of rice.

TAKAM Pinoy Comfort Food is also available 24/7 and you can call them via 0922 879 9264 or order via GRAB Food and Food Panda too. They have branches in Timog Avenue and Sucat so for those who are in other locations, you're covered!

Writing about this just made me hungry. :( LOL

Leading Digital Adoption: Unionbank Celebrates 39th Anniversary

 

 

Digital banking has made the challenging days of the pandemic a little bearable. AI and block chain has also been useful to transform this all as Unionbank leads the way for the digital adoption of the Philippines. They are currently celebrating their 39th Anniversary and with this, they continue their mission to spearhead digital banking technology with you their customers in mind. They are also making good headway.

Mr. Henry Aguda the SVP and Chief Technology and Operations Officer + Chief Transformation Officer for Unionbank says "Exciting things are happening with Unionbank as we celebrate our 39th anniversary. Our celebration started with the Unionbank SME Business Banking app. We currently rank 2nd in Instapay which means we are second with regards to usage among other companies. This allows our SME's to have banking capabilities just like the big boys. We also launched BUX and it has already 50K onboard. We also launched SeekCap and Sentro so SME's can get capital and sell bulk as they scale products into the market."

They also addressed Senator Sherwin Gatchalian's case and said "We value the privacy of the good Senator and we have made warnings for our other clients. These hackers prey on emotion, use other sites or emails, use and copy Unionbank's logo to do phishing. While we cannot disclose details, we are working with authorities to run after them. It is not a security hack. We have the transaction details and logs and we are not resting til they are held accountable. We are working on it til now. We ensure the processes are logged to protect our clients. It's a shared responsibility of both us and our clients, so make sure you use different emails for online banking and the regular work. "

"Are we ready? Yes, we have the support of our regulators and a framework that requires us to report incidents like these. There are a couple of bad actors/criminals that make this difficult but we do not succumb to them. It has increased the awareness of our customer base, we are becoming vigilant, to more digital transactions with multiple validations. They will only prey on the weak, but everybody is coming together to push out these criminals out of the banking industry."

"We went through this digital transformation 4 years back. We made sure we prepared for AI. We created the organization to aggregate more information and curating them with other agencies and corporations in  compliance with the National Privacy Commission. It's a long journey but now we are here. We are going to tailor fit customer products that are most relevant to our customers. This also protects transactions going to the bank. From laundering, to fraud, this is anticipated as patterns, all of which are in the initial stages. Our advocacy is to be more sophisticated than criminals, AI is helping us with that. We are now at 170 institutions and continue to scale up, Unionbank has launched PHX. We hope to share this with the government and our corporate clients."

When asked about education campaigns for less tech inclined customers, he says "The best awareness campaign is making the app as easy to use as possible. We took a look at our GSIS customers and worried they won't be able to use the app, our program "Convert" taught them to use the digital platform. Now they can bank at the comforts of their home, but most of them still prefer to go to the branch. When we got them onboard though, they became our ambassadors."

Their mandate today is to move the Filipino into the digital space. Their platform made it possible to reach a lot of people. They are one of the most successful banks in the ASEAN and this transformation has driven them to do it til now.

Unionbank is excited to continue to advocate digital banking services. The end goal is where their customers would move to. Nobody gets left behind. They could move much faster but they have customers who prefer the personalized service is. They are still there servicing customers during the pandemic, the branches have been able to accommodate seniors. They are letting their customers grow with them, and that's a good thing.

You'll see more of that.