Here are the details:

PopCap Games, the creator of hit games such as Zuma, Bejeweled, and Plants vs Zombies, is now recruiting beta testers for a new online game service. Initially available only in SE Asia, this service will let players experience their favorite PopCap games in a whole new way with a broad array of connected and social community features.

Interested players should visit http://comingsoon.popcap.com to sign up now for the chance to be among the first to check it out. Limited slots are available.

Check it out today!

Apart from being easier to navigate, one thing I like about the new site is that DataBlitz is finally showcasing its console games. Yup, you can now check out the store’s catalogue of games for the DS, Wii, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PSP, and Xbox 360.

After all, it really didn’t make sense that the old site only featured PC and Mac games when console games make up much of DataBlitz’s inventory.

So if you’re looking for original games, check out the DataBlitz site today.

Here’s an excerpt from the article.

1. Could you tell us something about yourself? How old are you? Where are you located and what are you currently engaged in?

I’m the Multimedia Head of the leading Philippine online game publisher Level Up! Inc. (http://levelupgames.ph). As head of the Multimedia department, I create and oversee the company’s strategy for online, video and mobile content and services. I’m also a tech blogger (http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/babelmachine) for Singapore-based CNET Asia. Prior to joining the corporate world, I was the multimedia editor of INQUIRER.net, handling, among other responsibilities, its gaming news site hackenslash.net.

2. When was the first time you actually played a video game? What’s the name of the game and game system? What or who made you play?

The first system I played on was the Famicom — yup, the Family Computer. I played Galaga and Road Fighter. It was my uncle who owned the Famicom and got me hooked on video games. I also played on the Game and Watch a lot — the titles I owned included Popeye, Octopus, Fire, and Lion. I mastered Popeye to the point that I played it with the Game and Watch turned upside down, much to my dad’s consternation, heh.

Read the full story.

Thanks!

Thousands of Filipino gamers will converge again at the World Trade Center for the biggest online gaming event in the Philippines. And of course the Multimedia team and I will be there to once more to live blog and live-stream the event.

Check out our new live blog page at http://liveblog.levelupgames.ph

Here’s a screenshot from the Level Up! Flickr page.

Not only, but we’re also going to providing social media coverage of LU! Live 2009 — and you can be part of it!

If you’re on Twitter, please place the hashtag #live2009 on all your LU! Live 2009-related tweets. For instance, maybe you want to plug your guild’s booth at LU! City.

You may also add the tag LIVE2009 on your blog posts, photos (for instance, if you’re uploading LU! Live 2009-related pictures to your Flickr accounts), and videos to share your Level Up! Live 2009-related content and make it easier for other Internet users to find them. We’ll also be able to send more people to your site because we’ll be showcasing posts with the LIVE2009 tag during the LU! Live 2009 live blog and on the Level Up! Portal after the event.

For more details, check out my Level Up! blog post.

See you at the World Trade Center on Nov. 7 and 8!

Then follow Level Up!’s social media coverage of RWC 2009.

Here’s an excerpt from my Level Up! blog post.

To get updates on the RWC 2009 results, become a fan of the official Level Up! Page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/levelupinc

Read the full story.

Good luck to Team Philippines!

You may follow us on Twitter @levelup_inc and on Plurk @levelupinc.

You can also become a fan of our Facebook Page.

Did you upload photos and videos from the Ragnarok Philippine Championships 2009 event held on Friday, August 21 at the SM North EDSA SkyDome? Go to our Facebook Page and post the links there so that you can share them with the LU! Community.

You can also read the entries from our blog coverage of the event by going to the RPC 2009 live blog page.

It was an exhilarating experience liveblogging and livestreaming the Ragnarok Philippine Championships 2009 last Friday, August 21, at the SM North EDSA SkyDome.

Congratulations to Influenza of New Chaos, which was crowned RPC 2009 champions after defeating El Cuerpo, also of New Chaos, 3-0, in the finals. With this victory, Influenza won the right to represent the Philippines in the Ragnarok World Championship 2009, which will be held in Yokohama, Japan on November 1.

Read the full story.

Here’s an excerpt from an article by my fellow CNET Asia blogger, birthday boy Iggy Javellana, who’s also my colleague at Level Up!

Today is my birthday… Just don’t ask how old I am. In a quick conversation with Joey, I told him, I’m not growing older… I’m ‘leveling up’. And to that Joey remarked, yes, you lose a point in constitution but gain a point in wisdom and intelligence. Yegads I love being a gamer geek.

Read his full blog post.

Happy 7th anniversary, Level Up! And happy 2nd anniversary, Perfect World, and happy first anniversary Crazy Kart!

Join the latest frenzy and get this Limited Edition: Lucky Star Box. Better hurry though as this limited edition: Lucky Star Box will only run in the Item Mall from July 24 to August 20 (11:59 pm).

Common Prizes

• Crab Dumplings
• 15 Slot Extender Stone (Sigil)
• Oracles
• 15 Immortal Stone
• Mysterious Chip Pack
• Phoenix Box
• Hercules Box

Uncommon Prizes

• Platinum Amulet
• Platinum Hierogram
• Level 9 Amber Soulstone
• Level 9 Crimson Soulstone
• Level 9 Mist Soulstone
• Limitless Soulstone
• Red-Eye Soulstone
• Blue-Sea Soulstone

Rare Prizes

• War Soul
• Pleasant Kylin Mount
• Little Dragon baby pet

For more details and to see screenshots of the Kylin Mount and Little Dragon baby pet, click here.

Hurry and avail of this great promo from July 24 to August 20.

Check out this trailer from GameTrailers.com. Halo Legends was unveiled at Comic-Con International in San Diego.

Or you could check out the clip on YouTube.

In fact, Microsoft has created a new division that will manage its Halo franchise, 343 Industries.

What do you think of the decision to use the anime style, instead of making it CGI?