The Licence2Play gaming and electronics fair at Suntec this weekend from 22nd to 24th May may have been touted as the 1st consumer electronics fair offering wholesale prices to the public (no trade buyers and wholesalers allowed), but as a gamer I was far more interested in the gaming than gadgets.

After all, we already have tons of different IT shows already every quarter like Comex, Sitex, and IT Show, and we’ve grown used to cheap electronic fairs — it is part of our Singaporean geek psyche. This show is also a lot smaller than the previous IT Show, occupying only part of floor 6(Hall 603) on Suntec, whereas IT Show covered 5 floors.

Gadgets aside, however, the gaming aspect of the show is rather fun. It may not as big and established as Games Convention Asia — Licence2Play, set up by SPH subsidiary Sphere Exhibits, is running for the first time this year — but the atmosphere at the fair when I was there yesterday afternoon was buzzing, and there looked to be a roster of fun events running throughout the three days.

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Cryptic Studios – the makers of City Of Heroes – is back with Champions Online, an MMOG where your hero is a superhero. I managed to get onto the beta and have played for a few hours. So far, the game looks pretty cool.

Unlike COH, you don’t have to stick to a class – like a tank or a dps type – you can choose from a whole range of skillsets from fire to ice to dual swords to pure might to sorcery and more.

You will probably have a base skillset, say like ice, but there is nothing to stop you from choosing secondary skills from might and more. Each hero also gets to choose a travel power – from super jump to flight to teleport and more.

What is really interesting however is the likelihood that this game will be a cross-platform MMOG. The PC version is scheduled to launch June 14 and there are signs that an Xbox LIVE version is on the way. …

There has been some discussion lately about Dawn Of War 2 and how it is sucky becoz we have to install Steam to play the single player campaigns even. Here’s something I wrote recently on this issue.
IT JUST does not make sense that a single-player PC game, which you play on your own, would require you to have an Internet connection for you to play against the computer.

However, that is exactly the case with the just-released Dawn Of War 2 (DOW2).

As I was tearing the shrinkwrap off the box of this THQ-published title, I was surprised to see these words in red: Internet Connection Required.

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What’s a geek to do before Christmas? Buy a Techgoondu-approved gift to make others – and ourselves – happy of course. Granted, this year-end is shaping up to be more austere than the past few with the financial downturn already upon us. But austerity driving shouldn’t mean no giving for Christmas, right? So here’s a list of diverse geek gifts mooted by us, and we promise it is a cool one:

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“The finish line
is just around the bend
I’ll pause this game
so our love will never end…”

An “emo” love song about the red plumber, his perpetually kidnapped princess, and go-karts, this destined-to-be-classic YouTube video has racked up more than 1.5 million views since it’s release last month. I got this through viral word-of-mouth — a friend who emailed me the URL link coz’ he thought I would love it. And he’s right.

It’s strange yet touchingly sweet – a brilliant concoction that has brought a wistful smile to this gamer’s face.

It even spawned this equally excellent video response. Always had a soft spot for Bowser. Go villains go!

So good, both have been converted to mp3s as part of my music playlists.

Old school gamers, enjoy.