The Rebirth of Granado Espada: Renaissance v5.0

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Last Wednesday, gamers and bloggers were invited to the Granado Espada Renaissance Ball, which was held at The Lawn at Raffles Hotel. The Ball was organised to commemorate the launch of the fifth version of IAHGames' popular multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG) Granado Espada.

First released in Singapore in 2007, this game attracted many gamers with its beautiful graphics and ability to allow players to control multiple characters concurrently.

The Ball will include a sharing session by Francis Tan, who is a top gamer of Granado Espada.

And here's a picture of Francis Tan sharing his gaming experience, thoughts and feelings about his favourite game!

On the same night, I met up with some members in the high society of the Granado Espada community. These are the same gamers who have spent in excess of about $30,000 in this game! That's what I call commitment!

Some photos I took with fellow bloggers:

Hong Peng of hpility.

HP and his guest-friend

Cute and gentle emcee, Reiko

Night view at The Lawn, Raffles Hotel

Food we nibbled on - Olives & cheese!

Amidst the small talk, wine-sipping and photo-taking (the models and host dressed up as characters from the game), there was a charity auction. Gamers will auction for exclusive in-game items, and donations will go to the Habitat for Humanity Singapore - a non-profit housing organisation with a mission to eliminate poverty housing worldwide.

The seats started to fill up...

The organisers of the Ball had hoped to raise at least $3,000 for Habitat for Humanity Singapore. Would you like to make a guess of how much the auction had garnered? A whooping $7,720! I applaud the contribution by the gamers and organisers for their kindness.

This was the first auction that I've ever attended, and it was an eye-opener. I didn't expect to see so many avid fans auction for rare items (in the game) all in the name to contribute to a good cause. Each successful bidder will too, bring home a pair of limited edition crystal wine glass in appreciation for their support.

The ten auction pieces were:

1. Tiger pet (yellow) - Fastest looting pet
2. Tiger pet (white) - Pure divine protection buff
3. Tiger pet (black) - Sharp claws buff
4. Toshiba Portable External Hard Drive 640GB in Rocket Red
5. Camileo BW10 Full HS Waterproof Camcorder
6. Elite Le Noir (Musketeer)
7. Elite Le Noir (Wizard)
8. Elite Le Noir (Elementalist)
9. Elite Le Noir (Scout)
10. Elite Le Noir (Fighter)
11. ASOKA Collection 
12. Valeria & The Innocentio Stance Book 

Valeria is the newest Recruitable Non-Player Character (RNPC) in the Granado Espada. She's so pretty, I wanna trade for her doe-eyes and flawless skin! She is also the best supporting character due to her formidable healing abilities. It is now possible for players to obtain premium RNPC for free, by completing quests.

The fifth version of Granado Espada  is scheduled to launch TODAY! Some of the new features include a new map called Castilla Island, in-game aesthetics shift from the Baroque era to a more Renaissance-themed style, new quests, and a revamped medal system.

Granado Espada is an award-winning game for its graphics, check it out HERE (I've collated the screenshots and put them in my Flickr) to believe it yourself!

For detailed information on Granado Espada, you can find them HERE.

I've leave you wanting for more with their latest trailer:

PLUS! I'm giving away a Renaissance poster:

The poster looks like this! Looks awesome, no?

Take me home!

The person with the fastest finger will get to bring home this poster. To win, leave a comment on this entry and email your particulars - Name, Contact Number and Email address to sp.thiang@gmail.com!