The GunBound Philippine Mania

After a long, stressful day at school or in the office, there's nothing better to do than to unwind with a cool, exciting game of Philippine GunBound.

Amateurs, novices and professional gamers alike marvel at the ease with which one can play and become hooked in the game.

With realistically cute graphics, simple game controls, and a straightforward user-interface, the GunBound Philippine version has become the latest craze in online gaming in the country, the ultimate craze for adolescents and hardcore youth, as well as mature adults and business-minded professionals alike.

Initially developed as an international online computer game by the team of gaming companies Mobius and SoftNyx, GunBound has recently been modified to fit the Philippine lifestyle, particularly the youth, and sometime around 2003, a new and improved GunBound Philippine was introduced to the Philippine culture.

The latest version, GunBound World Champion, features brand new elements of the game, such as additional maps, wardrobe, mobiles and a more user-friendly interface.

The gameplay of GunBound Philippine version is easy enough to understand.

Posing as either a boy or a girl avatar, the gamer selects online opponents to battle with inside a prescribed waiting area.

While inside the waiting room, the player is free to select his vehicle, or "mobile" of choice. Each mobile is unique, and the player's creativity is harnessed through the various features and attributes of the mobiles he can choose.

Features range from a snowballing woolly mammoth, a spitting turtle, a fire-breathing dragon, an armored truck and a space buggy.

Every player has a favorite mobile, often mastering all its features and abilities and becoming a professional gamer using only that mobile all throughout.

The player can also choose the landscape or "map" the characters will battle in, as well as the number of people playing in a game, with as much as eight avatars battling it out at the same time.

After a match has been made and all the players are ready, the players move to the playing arena, a colorful, almost cartoon-like two-dimensional landscape with various seasonal themes.

The avatars are divided into two teams, and in a real-time simulation, take turns damaging their opponents with projectile ammunition from their mobiles.

They take aim by directing their mobiles to a certain angle and firing, taking note of the weapon's range, the direction of the wind, as well as random obstacles such as lightning bolts and tornadoes.

Accuracy, timing and speed are key skills to develop in emerging victorious in a battle in GunBound.

When all is said and done, the first team to effectively kill their opponents, in effect proving themselves more powerful and experienced, is declared the winner.

As an incentive to perform well, the winners of the melee in GunBound Philippine receive gold and experience points. These experience points are accumulated, and in time, increase the player's level and grants him certain privileges, such as access to restricted playing zones.

On the other hand, the gold collected by the player is used to buy wardrobe, hairstyles and accessories to dress up the player's avatar.

Part of the fun in playing Philippine GunBound lies in the creativity that players eventually develop in making their avatar as fancy and noticeable as possible.

This reflects the Philippine culture of preparing outlandish costumes and festive attires, with gamers trying to outdo one another with lavish headdresses and flashy accessories.

In fact, the Philippine GunBound version already includes added accessories such as the many Philippine and Katipunero flags, farmer hats, Imelda Marcos hairstyles, Barong Tagalog suits for boys and Baro't Saya dresses for girl avatars, carabaos, and flags with names of local regions, provinces and cities.

All these features add to a player's enjoyment and wry amusement, and in effect restore Philippine pride into something as simple as online gaming.

Probably another reason for the unprecedented popularity of Philippine GunBound is its easy connectivity and friend/buddy system.

The Philippine people are widely known for their hospitality and close family and friendship ties, and the game's graphic interface easily allows for conversations and discussions to be held anytime, anywhere.

When a player types anything and presses "enter", the words appear on the screen above the character in a little speech bubble.

Similar to chat rooms, Philippine players go online and log on to GunBound to talk to their friends, tell stories and meet new acquaintances.

This serves as an added incentive for Philippine gamers who love to chat, send messages and play at the same time.

All of this is in the name of patriotism and nationalism, as more and more of the Philippine people are getting hooked into the phenomenal craze that is GunBound.

So go ahead, register, log in and get addicted to the GunBound Philippine mania!