‘Counter-Strike’ sequel now available in RP

The Asian Media Development Group Inc. (AMDG), the official Philippine partner of Vivendi Universal Games (VUG), publisher of the world’s most popular PC games from Blizzard Entertainment (War-Craft, StarCraft, Diablo) and Sierra Studios (Half-Life and Counter-Strike), recently launched the eagerly anticipated sequel of Half-Life: Counter-Strike.

AMDG sales manager Ronald Aquino says Counter-Strike: Condition Zero offers for the first time, a single player campaign with over 25 missions, in addition to new weapons, 20 more maps, and better graphics and overall gameplay.

Perhaps, he says the biggest add-on to the game is the inclusion of "bots" which are artificially intelligent computer players, who can play either with you or against you.

Counter-Strike has long been the country’s leading LAN game; for over four years, gaming centers have thrived on its popularity and success. There is an estimated 10,000 gaming centers all over the country.

PC games have helped gaming centers and Internet cafés in the country flourish, with more and more Internet cafés incorporating gaming into their operations, making themselves cybercafés. Because of this, there are now about two million gamers in the Philippines.

The AMDG has been working closely with the National Bureau of Investigation in running after gaming center operators that are using counterfeit or pirated games.

The NBI has raided several of these illegal operators in the last several months and is relentlessly pursuing other parties involved in piracy.

Condition Zero can be purchased at 17 percent discount at the following outlets: Dataventures, Electro World, Macromind, Brochiere, Great Lakes, Comic Quest, Neutral Grounds, Silicon Valley, The Computer Authority, Gift Gate, PC Express and Star Apple in Metro Manila, and Thinking Tools, Junro, BCG, Q Solution, DC Tech, Digital Interface and Terla in the Visayas-Mindanao.