the mobile phone and gaming magazine www.phonicamagazine.co.uk
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phonica magazine uk
WHAT’S INSIDE VOLUME 1 ISSUE 11 2010
NEWS
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Skype available in Ovi Store for Nokia smart phones Nokia sues Apple…again! Nokia’s Ovi Life Tools launched in China Samsung Galaxy Portal now on 3 Microso Communicator Mobile for Nokia Debuts Atari classic set to return PC Games sales up worldwide in 2009 Valve launch new Le 4 Dead Content Unique Japanese Marke ng comes for Yakuza 4 Civiliza on 5 geared for 2010 release Infinity Ward and Ac vision s ll ba ling
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FEATURES WHERE IS EVERYBODY? Where have all the memorable gaming characters gone?
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FORGOTTEN GEMS: FAHRENHEIT It’s arguably on a par with Quan c Dream’s latest release, but has this li le gem been washed away in the downpour that is Heavy Rain?
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PREVIEWS
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Red Dead Redemp on Perfect Dark F1 2010
VIEWS Splinter Cell: Convic on Heavy Rain MX vs. ATV Reflex The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces Ba lefield 2: Bad Company
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THE GUIDE Games: Phonica’s 20 Suppor ng Characters Mobile Phones
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Kevin Leonce
GAMING EDITOR Sco Tierney
CONTRIBUTORS Rob Hobson Ian Duncan Paul Park
CREATIVE SERVICES & DESIGN Sco Tierney www.sco - erney.com
EDITORIAL editorial@phonicamagazine.co.uk
ENQUIRIES info@phonicamagazine.co.uk
ADVERTISING adver sing@phonicamagazine.co.uk
WWW.PHONICAMAGAZINE.CO.UK Become a Fan of Phonica Magazine UK on Facebook & Twi er Phonica Magazine Š All material in this publica on is covered by copyright. All rights reserved. No part of this publica on may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmi ed in any form electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, in whole or part without wri en permission of the publisher or the copyright owner. Please note that whilst every care has been taken to ensure that all the data in this publica on is accurate at the me of going to print, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, whether caused by negligence or otherwise, or for any loss, however caused, occasioned to any person by reliance on it; and hereby disclaims any liability for it. Opera ons and some features are network dependent; please refer to your network provider for full details.
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phonica magazine uk
EDITOR’S LETTER Welcome to another issue of Phonica Magazine UK. I’ve been si ing through emails and correspondence, all screaming to be read, when a scary thought formed in my mind. With all this convergence and the ability to use VoIP systems on your mobile what effect will this have on the mobile opera ng industry in five/ten years? Each month we see the addi on of services such as Skype and Nimbuzz making its way onto mobile devices. Great for us, the end user…but how does this benefit the mobile operator? In March this year we saw Egypt’s Na onal Telecommunica on Regulatory Authority enforced a ban on Interna onal calls made through mobile VoIP Internet connec ons a er no cing a sharp decline in Interna onal call volumes. Such services strike at the core of any mobile operator….so why do they allow this? What’s in it for them? I’d leave you to ponder on such thoughts. In the mean me I’m going to call my cousin…of course using Skype on my iPhone. Enjoy reading Your Editor in Chief
Kevin Leonce
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NEWS
LEGAL BATTLE BETWEEN INFINITY WARD AND ACTIVISION RUMBLES ON IT’S SUCH A BIG STORY, ITS GOT ‘GATE’ IN THE TITLE Everyone loves a scrap. Two school yard bullies, punching each other in the face while the rest of the pupils gather in a circle to watch the unravelling carnage. Great fun. But it’s not so much fun when you’re watching two friends fight over something you love. That’s (sort of) the case with the current ba le between Infinity Ward and Ac vision, as they ba le it out for who gets the Call of Duty series. Someone make them stop! The concrete details of the dispute are s ll unknown, with a lot of the true facts being hidden behind a veil of lawsuits and hear say, but a few leaks have been verified. Firstly, it is well known that Ac vision, the publishers/owners of the Call of Duty series, have been branching the series out to other developers, with Treyarch and Sledgehammer Games both working on tles for release this year. This may or may not have been the catalyst to a dispute between the original series creators, Infinity Ward, and Ac vision. On Tuesday 2nd March, following rumours that had circulated the previous day, Ac vision announced that major Infinity Ward developers Jason West and Vince Zampella have departed the company. The reason behind their departure is s ll misty, with allega ons of both developers being forced out over a dispute regarding unpaid royal es. Whatever the case, the following day both developers filed a lawsuit against Ac vision, demanding $36million in unpaid royal es, and claims that they own certain aspects of the COD franchise.
Since then, it’s been back and forth between Infinity Ward and Ac vision, like a dirty game of swingball. Ac vision have said that the allega ons are unfounded, while the developers have come back with a 16 page filing, sta ng that they had an agreement with the publishers regarding crea ve control. It’s all very messy and unpleasant, and it doesn’t look like ending any me soon.
“WITH INFINITY WARD LOSING GRIP, IT LOOKS LIKE THE SERIES IS GOING TO GET SPREAD AROUND, WITH EACH TITLE POSSIBLY GETTING THINNER AND WEAKER.” So where does this leave the Call of Duty series? Well, in this call we’d have to side with the developers at Infinity Ward, as with Ac vision sending out the COD franchise to other external developers, it looks like we’re going to see a lot of cash-in tles. With Infinity Ward losing grip of the crea ve control, it looks like the series is going to get spread around, with each tle possibly ge ng thinner and weaker. This isn’t guaran ed to be the case, and we may see some great tles, but the COD name looks set to be damaged, or at least lose some credibility. Who knows, in 5 years me, we may look back on Modern Warfare 2 and see it as the last great Call of Duty game? Whatever the case, let’s hope that this lawsuit and legal ba le finds a resolu on quickly, without any harm coming to the series. Sco Tierney
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THE GUIDE
PHONICA’S 20 SUPPORTING CHARACTERS MASS EFFECT 2
WORLD OF WARCRAFT
BLACK AND WHITE
BALDUR’S GATE
DIABLO
(Xbox 360, PC)
(PC)
(PC)
(PC)
(PC)
MORDIN “Hilarious dialogue, singing, advice about sex and jokes about nukes – best sidekick ever.”
OVERLORD SAURFANG “You HAVE to be awesome if you get Chuck Norris-type jokes devoted to you. No ques on. Or he’ll cleave you.”
ANGEL & DEVIL “By far the best “good cop, bad cop” rou ne you’ll see on your monitor for a long, long me.”
MINSK AND BOO “Great bit of comic relief but also being fleshed out in the typical Black Isle way.”
DECKARD CAIN “A stalwart and a font of wisdom throughout, Cain has been there for us all the way.”
HALO
ONIMUSHA 3
PORTAL
BIOSHOCK
THE SECRET OF MONKEY ISLAND
(Xbox 360, Xbox, PC)
(PS2, PC)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(PC, XBLA)
343 GUILTY SPARK “Can you trust him, should you trust him? Whatever, he’s the closest thing to HAL you’ll find in a game.”
JACQUES BLANC “Leon definitely wouldn’t have ended up like that if he’d had a demonpowered whip.”
GLaDOS “One of gaming’s truly great unreliable narrators.”
SANDER COHEN “Infinitely creepier than Fonteyn... the world’s second fully func oning homicidal ar st.”
STAN “A divine checkered jacket and the best wobbly arms this side of the Caribbean.”
THE GUIDE
DEUS EX
RATCHET & CLANK
MEAN ARENAS
STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC
(PC, PS2, Xbox)
(PS2, PS3, PSP)
(PC, Amiga)
(PC, Xbox)
(PS1, PS2, PS3, PSP, PC)
PAUL DENTON “The only character I’ve ever replayed a game to save the life of.”
CAPTAIN QWARK “He’s a sort of science fic on Homer Simpson, which is undeniably awesome.”
BUZZ MCCLOUD AND BOB BULANSKI “A simple double (act - one clever, one dumb) but brilliantly acted and s ll funny today. Oh, it’s broken…”
HK 47 “Inhuman killing machines aren’t usually camp enough. HK-47 shows them how it’s done.”
OTACON “Earnest, whiny, no luck with women... bless him. ”
HALF LIFE
GTA IV
ICO
SAM AND MAX: SEASON 1
HALF LIFE 2
(PC, PS2)
(PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
(PS2)
(Wii, PC)
(PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
G MAN “A truly unnerving character, with a mysterious past that’s just begging to be unlocked. Always just beyond your reach.”
ROMAN BELLIC “Crass, naughty and an incompetent fool, but s ll lovable. And he does love a big American pair, which is always a plus.”
YORDA “She’ll slow you down and just be a nuisance, but you’ll love her all the same.”
HUGH BLISS “We’d all like to live in the world Hugh Bliss imagines. He can change colour to!”
DOG “He doesn’t say or do a lot, but man is he strong! Actually, is he a he, or is it an it?”
METAL GEAR SOLID
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