the mobile phone and gaming magazine www.phonicamagazine.co.uk
Issue1
HTC HERO SAVES THE DAY
THE NOKIA N97 IS HERE!
OUR VIEWS:
WOLFENSTEIN CAN IT LIVE UP TO THE HYPE?
VODAFONE’S EXCLUSIVE HTC MAGIC
EDITOR IN CHIEF Kevin Leonce
CONTRIBUTORS Kevin Leonce Jaime Luis Tagle Sco Tierney
CREATIVE SERVICES & DESIGN Sco Tierney www.sco - erney.com
PUBLISHER Kevin Leonce
EDITORIAL editorial@phonicamagazine.co.uk
ENQUIRIES info@phonicamagazine.co.uk
ADVERTISING adver sing@phonicamagazine.co.uk
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EDITOR’S LETTER We’re back again! Welcome and thank you for ge ng your copy of our first UK issue. We decided to listen to our readers and launch a UK issue, minus the Spanish. What are you wai ng for…..have a read and tell us what you think! So the Apple media monopoly is receding and I have my eyes on Vodafone’s exclusive HTC Magic…loving the design and tempted to ditch my berry in exchange for this magician. But let’s check the review and decide. The an Apple fans might want to skip a few pages as it was hard to resist checking out what the Cuper no guys have done once again. And what’s the deal with everyone going green? Ask Sony Ericsson with the launch of their GreenHeart products. Round of applause for INQ and their launch of two 3G social mobiles! Apple, Nokia and the lot….betcha didn’t see that coming huh? We’ve also added more game reviews (well we were le to fill the void the Spanish transla on le so hey….happy days!) with a new feature taking a look at forgo en gems of the gaming world. And fresh of the press we see Ubiso is gearing up to release Just Dance on Wii. Learn the favourite dance moves to your all me favourites. Can’t wait to try MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This”. And no I would not post it on YouTube or Facebook; some memories should always be kep private. It’s been an exci ng me preparing for the launch; look out for the team intro very soon. You can also check our Facebook Page (Phonica Magazine UK), join us for tweets (@PhonicaMagUK) or browse our new website, www.phonicamagazine.co.uk You’ve talked, we’ve listened. Enjoy
Your Editor in Chief Kevin Leonce kevin@phonicamagazine.co.uk
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VIEWS
iPHON
WHEN WE THOUG GET BETTE
Apple has clearly bombarded the Mobile Industry in 2007. Steve Jobs introduced for the first me a iPod with touch controls and a breakthrough The whole world was shocked; Apple has set a n similar to what the iPod did on the portable musi more, so in 2008 he presented the 3G iPhone: fa the price. Almost perfect, but it
Now in 2009, Apple presents its upgrade, the iPhone 3 part remains exactly the same. Regardless of the inn devices. The sad truth is that the fruit company self-proclaimed doze
BUT IS IT THE BES THAT DEPENDS BEC NOKIA N97 AND ANDRO HAVE A LOT TO S
The new iPhone 3G S has a built-in compass, so yo storage is now 32GB, a more powerful processor (t camera with video recording –sorry, s ll no flas recorded video directly from the device. And on an cipated release of the iPhone firmware 3.0 w search, tethering and copy paste as some of the internal power rather t
Wrapping things up, the iPhone 3G S is a so Its powerful processor, higher quality camera ( improved hardware that provides 2x faster loa firmware make this the best iPhone eve That depends because Palm Pre, Nokia N97 say in this war for the throne in the mobile the expecta on of an improved cosme protagonist for f
Jaime Lu
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E 3G S
VIEWS
GHT IT COULDN’T ER…IT DID
y the past two years with its iPhone. It all started a new revolu onary mobile phone, a widescreen Internet device; be er known as the iPhone. new standard for high-end mobile phones. Very ic player industry back in 2001. But Steve wanted aster, with GPS, 3G, be er performance and half was missing some key features.
3G S. This me, all changes are internal. The cosme c nova ons, Apple keeps adding “new” things into our knows what we want but has decided to be the er of our technology.
ST PHONE EVER? CAUSE PALM PRE, OID-POWERED PHONES SAY IN THIS WAR
ou can always know your direc on, the maximum he “S” in the name stands for speed), 3 mega-pixel sh-. A nice extra feature is the ability to edit the n top of all, the launch matches with the highly which includes mul media messaging, spotlight key features. Now we see how Apple focused on than external changes.
olid upgrade from the previous 3G version. (with video recording), a nice 32GB of storage, ading mes and app performance and the 3.0 r created. But is it the best phone ever? and Android-powered phones have a lot to industry. Also, some of us will remain with e c look. We hope this factor can be a future releases.
uis Tagle
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THE GUIDE
PHONICA’S 20 RECOMMENDED SHOOTERS THE ORANGE BOX
CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE
GOLDENEYE
LEFT 4 DEAD
TIMESPLITTERS: FUTURE PERFECT
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(N64)
(PC, Xbox 360)
(PS2, Xbox, GC)
“Five excep onal games for the price of one, including the best game ever made, Half Life 2.”
“Solid gameplay, great set pieces, but most importantly a seminal online experience. ”
“The defining Bond-em-up, and the essen al shooter for the N64. Who could ever forget the golden gun ”
“Completely reinvented the zombie shooter genre with its co-op mode and lightning fast gameplay.”
“The original had its flaws, but this version was fast, furious, yet agreeably precise.”
XIII
UNREAL TOURNAMENT
BIOSHOCK
RESISTANCE 2
F.E.A.R.
(PC, PS2, Dreamcast)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(PS3)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
“Another game that has ended on the scrapheap in recent years, but it s ll has its charms with fast, dynamic mul player gameplay.”
“Creepy, intense and features some of the best architecture you’re likely to see in a game.”
“The original was a decent launch tle, but the sequel raised the bar. Great variety of weapons and addic ve online co-op.”
“You’d bite your nails to the bone, if you didn’t have to hold the controller.”
(PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, PC)
“Simple combat, limited weaponry but a unique take to the FPS genre.”
VIEWS TOM CLANCY’S
H.A.W.X. (XBOX 360, PS3, PC)
When you think of a film, book or game produced by the seminal American writer, Tom Clancy, the same collec on of descrip ons immediately spring to mind. Accurate, clinical, technical, detailed, precise; these words are all synonymous with the tles bearing the Tom Clancy seal. But one adjec ve that’s rarely appropriate when summing up any of his projects is the word ‘fun’, and Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. is no different.
Taking flight in the worlds’ fastest and most advanced fighters; you play the role of pilot, David Crenshaw, who a er ending his service in the US Air Force is employed on a freelance basis by Artemis, a Private Military Company that salutes no flag, only the dollar. In working for Artemis, your missions take you around the world at supersonic pace, from ba lefields in Chicago and New England, to Rio, Chile and the Middle East to name but a few. As the game progress you’ll be granted access to new planes (of which there’re over 60) along with be er and more destruc ve payloads, such as air to air missiles and big fat bell-bo omed bombs, ideal for destroying the horde of enemies you’re bound to encounter.
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Graphics wise, H.A.W.X. is presented to a high standard with an extremely sharp picture and some highly detailed maps. The planes look terrific, and although you’ll never see another plane other than your own due to the ligh ng speeds of the dogfights, they’re well represented for the brief glimpses they’re in sight. Although not spectacular, and maybe lacking a certain ar s c flair, H.A.W.X. is a solid experience on the eyes and ears, and for a game as fast and as detailed as this, the frame rate rarely encounters any problems, providing smooth gameplay throughout.
VIEWS
“ALTHOUGH NOT SPECTACULAR, AND MAYBE LACKING A CERTAIN ARTISTIC FLAIR, H.A.W.X. IS A SOLID EXPERIENCE ON THE EYES AND EARS” H.A.W.X.’s controls are what you’d expect from a flight sim, with the majority of flight control maintained through the one joys ck, your viewpoint available from the other and weapons fired through the main bu ons. This may be nit picking, but you get the feeling that the central flight controls could have made be er use of the Xbox 360 and PS3 controllers, as although you always feel in total harmony with your plane, the controls feel a tad basic and underdeveloped. But as I say, I’m picking the nits off a nit. A control mode that is not nit covered though is the ERS system, that enables you to switch off all the computer aids and perform some mind-blowing daredevil maneuvers. While in ERS mode, the camera switches to a 3rd person view, giving you a be er idea of what your plane is doing and where the enemies are in rela on to you, which is ideal for those ght and tricky situa ons. It takes a bit of ge ng used to, but overall it’s a welcome addi on that breaths a bit of life into an otherwise repe ve gaming experience.
To be honest, the opening 3 levels which cons tute the first 90 minutes play me are lackluster at best, with hardly any notable ac on or excitement to speak off. But don’t let this put you off, as H.A.W.X. improves from here on in, and your reward for si ng through the dour start is a terrific mission over Rio that’s worth the price of the game alone. As it goes along the story and ac on slowly pick up pace in tandem, but sadly there’s just isn’t a peak in excitement worth no ng, rendering the plot of H.A.W.X dull and trudging. The gameplay though, even if it may not be the best we’ve ever seen here at Phonica, does have its moments, and if you’re a fan of flight sims you’ll enjoy H.A.W.X. But as I’ve men oned, H.A.W.X. is just like any other Tom Clancy project; superbly well made and precise in every detail, but always lacking that spackle of magic that makes something special. Although games such as Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six, Endwar and now H.A.W.X. have been enjoyable to play and by no means bad, they’ve just never been able to do that one thing that a game should do; put a smile on your face.
OVERALL
6.5/10
Sco Tierney
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