Hollywood: Pictures 7

Granado Espada opens up for Filipino Guilds

Freedom. Unity. Friendship. This trinity of virtues represents the very core of Granado Espada (G.E.), the newest MMORPG opus from legendary Korean game developer Hakkyu Kim, creator of Ragnarök Online—freedom from restricted gameplay with its countless innovations and unique features, unity with its revolutionary multi-character format, and friendship with its promising faction and colony systems. All of these contribute to this "Age of Exploration"-themed MMORPG's unparalleled gaming experience.

In line with this, IP Interactive, the official distributor of Granado Espada in the Philippines held its first ever Granado Espada (G.E.) Guild Event letting online game guild leaders and players try out a special game preview of G.E. The event emphasized the importance of factions in G.E. Factions are the guilds in Granado Espada, which are groups of families allied together for a common cause. This is the primary reason why players were invited to the event through their guilds.

"Although the MCC system is a great innovation that makes this game really stand out, we would also like to stress that the good old-fashioned guild systems are still very much welcome in this game," said Annaise Fragante, IP Interactive Project Manager for Granado Espada. "The game is loaded with very strong monsters that may overpower a single player so having an ally with you is really a big plus.” It’s essential that gamers ally themselves with other players to beat high-level monsters.

Future patches will highlight faction-only events, like the Colony Wars, which will pit factions against one another in a battle to take over a whole gamezone.

"This is one of the best features of the game,” said Ivee Feria, Product Manager for G.E. "It lets you explore the whole world by yourself but at the same time reminds you that alliances and friendships are equally important to survive. The game definitely lives up to its motto of freedom, unity, and friendship."

The game is currently at its International Closed Beta version, where the Philippines is only one of many countries interacting in the game in real time. Filipinos get to play with players from other countries, or even Filipino players abroad.

"At this point, you can say that we're bringing the Filipino gamer closer to the international community," says Fragante.

Filipina: Ehra Madrigal

Biography

Name: Ehra Madrigal

Nickname: Ehra

Birthday: June 25, 1985

Birth Place: Quezon City, Philippines

Showbiz Anniversary: November 29, 2004

Favorites

Hobbies: Going to the gym, Malling, Watching TV and movies, Surfing the net.

Movie: Passion of Christ, 50 First Dates, The Notebook, Troy, Spiderman 1 and 2 and a whole lot more.

TV Show: The O.C, Sex and the City, Fear Factor, Iron Chef, MTV, ETC Channel, Lifestyle Network.

Singers: Akafellas, Vince and Duncan of Southborder, Rico B. of Rivermaya, Bamboo of Bamboo, Ely B. of Eraserheads, Lindsay Lohan, Spice Girls, Usher, Beyonce Knowles.

Song: "Tanging Bituin", "Balisong", "Imposible", "214", and "With a Smile"Music: OPM Bands such as Rivermaya, Bamboo, Eraserheads, R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop, Chill-Out, Trance. As long as it’s not punk or heavy metal.

Book: The Notebook, Tuesdays with Morrie, Purpose Driven Life, The Alchemist, and Angels and Demons.

Author: Nicholas Sparks and Paulo Coelho.

Expression: Whatever, Kamusta naman yun and Pasaway.

Actors/Actresses

Local: Jericho Rosales and Maricel Soriano

Foreign: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Full Name: Geralyn Madrigal Gaspar

Adjectives that best describe you: Shy, down to earth, “koboy”

Fashion: I’m usually in jeans or cropped pants, tank top or vintage shirts and flip-flops or chucks. But when I go gimmick, I really dress up

Fashion icon: Lindsay Lohan

Most treasured item: My cellphone, ipod and pictures and letters of loved ones.

Pet Peeves: Mareklamo… Someone who thinks highly of themselves. And yung masyadong maarte.

Fears: Losing my loved ones. Not being able to achieve something. That people will just forget me.

Unforgettable childhood memory: Playing patintero and tumbang preso with my cousins in Bulacan. Sobrang riot yun. Ang kulit!Goals: To lose 10-15 pounds this year. To have more “rakets”. To finish my studies. To improve my acting abilities and to be able to touch other people’s life through my work even in a little way.

Role Model: My Mom