Monsoon Season

This is a common problem with Malaysians. Having their modem (and sometimes even more) fried by lightning during rain and thunderstorms, thanks to our tropical location! More so during the monsoon season now which rains almost everyday! So much so some companies like Aztech (and now Belkin) are known to replace your modems or routers should they get struck by lightning, since many new users are unaware they should remove their phone line from their modem or router during thunderstorms - as phones work just fine! However, it does help if you live in a location with tall structures around you, as the lightning will go for those instead of you!

New Header Bars!

After being almost a year in existence, we at BrickGamers have now begun to change our header bar (that's the first image you see at the top with all those minifigs trading in a market!) to reflect themes based on current times. For our first theme, we're going with the Fallout 3, so for our next update, maybe we'll do a Christmas one, or another popular game - we'll see how it goes!

Brick Gamers 27 - Malaysia PlayStation3 Launch

The below comic might be too small to read because it has been converted from a print publication (GameAxis - see our box on the right). Hence clicking it will load a larger image.

While this happened sometime back, it was nevertheless a hallmark event in the Malaysian gaming scene to have Sony finally launch their much-awaited cheap Blu-ray Disc (BD) player PlayStation 3 console which was already being enjoyed in other places around the world. So it was expected that gamers would make a line (pun not intended) for the launch, so much so many even camped overnight for it in teams so someone would always be in line!

Of course, that wasn't the only reason people came for the launch. It would be expected of Sony to have CosPlay girls as well, in-line with all things Japanese and Anime, and indeed there were!

Lego Counter-Strike

We know Counter-Strike is a pretty old game, but the fact remains it's one of the earliest user-generated game content that started the Web 2.0 phenomenon where users began creating what they wanted with a platform that was given to them. In homage to a fan who asked us about a Lego Counter-Strike in our Chat Box on the right, we present to you, for your viewing pleasure:

Toys Flea Market!

That's right Lego fans! There's a Toys Flea Market (and Collectibles as well as Crafts) happening this weekend (29th and 30th Nov 2008) at the SoHo (Solaris Hot-Spot) KL (a new mall), located along Solaris Road, Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, from 12PM to 9PM. It's called the Joujou and Shugi (Joujou is French for Toys, while Shugi is Japanese for Craft), and it's run by The Kraft Store. Click the image below to see a larger version of the map on SoHo's site for directions there (will open a new window/tab):

It's open to the public but if you're interested to open a table there (there's 30 allocated and 10 have been booked so far), the charge is RM100 per table (6 by 3 feet) for the weekend (both days, RM50 per day). UPDATE! Unforunately there will only be those 10 booked tables this round due to lack of space to offer more for now.

We're not sure if anyone will be selling any Lego there, but there might be, so if you're free and keen to check it out, do go and let us know, as this flea market aims to be a monthly event, so it might turn into a popular spot to both buy and sell Lego (in the Valley at least)!

Contact them at joujouandshugi@gmail.com or visit their site at joujouandshugis.blogspot.com

BrickGamers was contacted by Joujou and Shugis Toys Flea Market about this event. Have a Lego or gaming-related event you want us to shout about? Contact us at bricklives@gmail.com (also available on our profile box on the right) but do mention our post on your side as well - with a link if you have a Web site.

Fallout 3

Fallout 3 is probably no stranger by now, being a popular game this period to be played by console (both Xbox 360 and PlayStation3) and desktop PC gamers. While the hardcore and Fallout 2 gamers might have reasons to hate F3, due to the change from a CRPG to mostly FPS (with exception from the VATS mode), there are gamers who welcome F3 as well.

These gamers could be either new to the Fallout series, or they're enjoying the fun and mayhem they can have in F3 which they couldn't in the previous Fallout series. Although, it's worth mentioning you can't kill kids now in F3, which, unless you're a kid hater, there's probably no real reason to hate F3 for this!

Regardless of which, or even if it may be an "Oblivion with guns", F3 is still one of the strong games this busy gaming season, taking its place next to titans like Dead Space. Best of all, where else can you blow off someone's head with just a standard gun?

Virtual Tour Guide

When you travel, it's advisable to listen to a tour guide, unless you've been there before, or you like unexpected adventures. This applies to the virtual world of online games as well, especially in MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), as our Lego Mini-Fig will illustrate below...

Yes we're sure you can recognise Uberhammer Online is referring to Warhammer Online, but BrickGamers doesn't want to open itself to being sued by Mythic Entertainment, and so let's hope you gamers reading this out there are smart enough to understand! After all, if you don't get it, then you're probably not a gamer! Nevertheless, there's always a chance to start being one!

Boss! I'm sick! Cannot go to work!

Okay, how many of your gamers here are guilty of this? Relax, BrickGamers won't report you to your boss! It's no news that the common excuse used by Malaysians not to come to work is that they're sick, and so they have to take an MC (Medical Certificate to apply for leave).

However, this used to be for other issues - not gaming. Are gamers using the same tactic now?

Obama in Lego and Games

With all the hype and hope for Barack Obama (Democrat Party) to be the next President of the United States of America, both for Americans and the world due to how America is the sole Superpower, it's no surprise to find him in games as well as Lego.

In tribute to his success in winning the US elections, and proving that the world has indeed changed - so that things can change - BrickGamers wanted to highlight the game Mercenaries 2 - World in Flames, by Electronic Arts, which has both Obama and Sarah Palin (Republican Party Vice President candidate) as playable characters in an update by EA in this Third-Person Shooter game:

As for Lego, nothing better captures the situation other than this scene by David on Flickr:

Sources : G4TV and BroBrick

Brickboy Toys Forum Update!

For all you Malaysian Lego fans who have been a part of the Brickboy Toys Lego Forum and wondered what suddenly happened to the forum one day (not to mention the local Vig contest!), take heart that we have contacted Alan for Brickboy Toys, and due to some problems hosting with the previous server, the forum went down.

Since it's not owned but only managed by BrickGamers, we are unfortunate that we couldn't do much to salvage it. Nevertheless, we're working on a new forum, and it'll be up and running soon, on a new server, and this time there'll be improvements like better protection against spam/junk! Stay tuned and we'll let you know when it's up!


In the meantime, this is also a double-post to announce that you can now contact BrickGamers (that's us!) at bricklives@gmail.com. Our contact is also available at our profile box on the right.

Lagging?

Sounds familiar? Especially if you game? Hey if you're not a gamer then what are you doing here? Just kidding! BrickGamers welcomes gamers and non alike! After all, you don't have to be a pro gamer to be a gamer! Playing Bejewelled makes you a gamer too!

With slow Internet bandwidth connections, especially here in Malaysia due to monopolised domination by Telekom Malaysia, most gamers have to share their online gaming experience with other users, and if others do too much Internet bandwidth-demanding activities, like video streaming (like YouTube), then expect your game to be a slow experience - or worse, be cut off!