the mobile phone and gaming magazine www.phonicamagazine.co.uk
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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
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EDITOR’S LETTER Yes…Another issue again! Welcome. The Phonica Tower had been buzzing with excitement. Rumours of the an cipated shutdown the launch of the iPhone 4G is expected to cause has many stocking up on supplies: Granola bars, Coca Cola, iPad, PS3 with God of War 3 and Just Cause 2 and you’re well prepared in case you don’t make it past your front door on June 24th. Not wan ng to wait for own iPhone 4G I updated the so ware for my exis ng Apple paraphernalia like the geek I am envisioned to be. Oh…..my…..wow! Adrenaline should be manufactured and sold to those not fortunate to produce enough, if any at all. No telling, the Cuper no guys have struck again. Most, if not all, of the wonderful things we all asked ourselves why our Apple devices didn’t do they have managed to address. Headlining is the mul tasking func onality, which I do hope most app developers do hasten to update their apps so it (mul tasking) can be truly revered and appreciated….I mean you Skype. Now that I have finished my editor’s rant do have a look at what’s in this issue. From Nokia’s latest addi ons to the mobile device market (no ce I was careful not to refer to them as phones!) to the exci ng game reviews and features fi ed neatly in this issue….just like the HTC HD Mini. Check out the previews onf some of the gaming tles soon to be released as well. Enjoy reading Your Editor in Chief
Kevin Leonce
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NEWS
THREE UK ANNOUNCES DATA PLANS FOR iPAD WITH WI-FI + 3G Three UK recently announced it will offer dedicated data plans for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G, which began May 28. All data plans will be available without a contract, providing the freedom to ac vate or cancel a plan at any me. iPad allows users to connect with their apps and content in a more in mate, intui ve and fun way than ever before. Users can browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch HD videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more, all using iPad’s revolu onary Mul -Touch user interface. iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G models are just 0.5 inches thick and weigh just 1.6 pounds — thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook — and deliver up to 10 hours of ba ery life for surfing the web on Wi-Fi, watching videos or listening to music, and up to nine hours of surfing the web using a 3G data network. “Three is pleased to offer compe ve data plans for iPad with Wi-Fi + 3G in the UK,” said Marc Allera, sales and marke ng director at Three. “Our network, the largest in the country, has been op mized for the mobile Internet, ensuring our customers enjoy the very best mobile performance on iPad.” www.three.co.uk/ipad www.apple.com/ipad
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PREVIEWS THE EXILED REALM OF ARBOREA (TERA) PUBLISHER: EN MASSE ENTERTAINMENT DEVELOPER: BLUEHOLE STUDIOS PLATFORM: PC AVAILABLE: TBC
“SIGH, ANOTHER PRETTYLOOKING MMO”, I HEAR YOU SAY. WELL, THIS ONE SEEMS TO HAVE SOME SUBSTANCE TO GO WITH THE STYLE. HEAR ME OUT.
With six races and eight classes and no passive fac ons á la Alliance vs Horde for World of Warcra , players are encouraged to form their own allegiances, with both Player vs Player combat and Guild vs Guild combat to be an integral part of the game. However, unlike most Asian MMOs the focus is most definitely less on PvP and more on Player vs Environment – emphasised by the fact that enemies now have collision detec on, where players are unable to pass through other Crea ng an MMO from scratch is an incredibly enemies. This encourages strategy in order to protect risky business. Not only do you have to get hold of the more valuable, “squishier” classes such as healers quality developers and designers in order to put or casters with walls of heavy armour – something that the ideas you’ve amassed onto the digital screen, may become pre y common during the game. you’ve got to make it worth a customer’s me by
making it appealing. The second objec ve is made even harder by the rise and subsequent fall of a The biggest change that TERA has implemented is the number of highly-rated tles, and expecta ons combat system that now acts much like an FPS game. grow with each contender falling at the feet of Ranged classes are given a crosshair and hit targets none other than World of Warcra . TERA, however, is beginning to look like the real deal. Billed as the first “true ac on-MMORPG”, TERA has an incredibly experienced developing team made of former Lineage designers in Bluehole Studios, and the visual nous of these ar sts have not gone to waste, with excellent, if slightly cartoony, graphics. Asian MMOs are pre y well known for excellent graphics (with insane computer requirements tagging along) and TERA does its best to comply.
“THE BIGGEST CHANGE THAT TERA HAS IMPLEMENTED IS THE COMBAT SYSTEM THAT NOW ACTS MUCH LIKE AN FPS GAME.”
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much like a shooter, while melee classes can only hit when their a ack anima ons land on their designated target. This goes both ways, meaning players can ac vely look to dodge and weave through waves of a acks, sidestepping smashes and arrows. The system begins slowly, with enemies making obvious visual signs, but later on players may need to memorise a ack pa erns and rota ons in order to not be there when the big mace swings through the air. Lastly, with a star ng level cap of 60 and a “poli cal system” that will influence and affect such allegiances made among players has been mooted, in order to make each and every server unique. TERA is set for release mid-2010 in Korea, with US and EU releases in early 2011. Paul Park
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REVIEWS
HTC HD MINI NOT ALL THAT MINI When you think of the word mini, you’ll probably think of something really small. There’s the Mini Cooper, a ny li le car that was an icon as both a road car and sports car; there’s Mini Me, Dr. Evil’s pocket-sized clone; and then there’s Mini Magnums, the ny ice cream that can be downed in one. All very small en ty’s that at the end of the day are... mini. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that the new HTC HD Mini is, well… quite big.
One gripe we do have with the Mini though, is the Windows Mobile system. Even in it’s hayday it wasn’t par cularly advanced, useable or appreciated, and now it’s drawing towards the end of its life, it’s not much be er. It’s a bit glitchy, apps are o en difficult to use and maintain, the menus look ugly and overall it’s not up to the standard of the iPhone’s excellent interface. That said, the guys at HTC have done a fantas c job in making it work, and like the geniuses they are, they’ve squeezed ever last drop of juice out off Microso ’s waning system.
If you’re wondering what the HTC HD Mini is like, and slightly concerned, then don’t be, as there is absolutely no reason for such desperate emo on. This at the end of day is a HTC phone, and as we’ve seen over the past few years with the Hero, Touch and HD2, HTC don’t make bad products. The Mini is superb, but as I can’t stop the review with that, let’s read on. And besides, there are a few niggles that are worth no ng.
One li le surprise that may go unno ced on the HTC HD Mini, are its blinding innards. If you pop the rear cover off the Mini, instead of finding a bleak and weary mix of cheap metals and warning s ckers, you’ll find a startling slice of yellow goodness. It’ll like someone’s filled the innards of the Mini with custard, just for a bit of fun. Not massively important in the overall context of the phone, but a nice surprise nonetheless.
The HTC HD Mini comes with a wide selec on of features, which includes pre y much everything under the sun and beyond. There’s a slightly smaller than expected but s ll perfectly usable 5MP camera, which can shoot both s lls and video. These self-captured images can be viewed via the beau ful screen, which it has to be said is one of HTC’s finest. There’s also the standard connec vity to WiFi and 3G, and there’s even an op on to turn your Mini into a WiFi hotspot, which is very handy indeed. Another feature that stands out is that the Mini is now more polite. If you have your phone on a desk, and it starts ringing at full pelt, causing a disturbance to your workmates. When picked up the ring volume will drop immediately, so you don’t cause anymore of a racket. I’ve got a feature like this on my phone, which I o en use when at work; it’s called an off bu on.
As expected, the HTC HD Mini is a brilliant phone that although maybe slightly handicapped by the Windows interface, is s ll right up there with the rest of the HTC crowd. But as I said at the beginning, it’s quite big for something that’s supposed to be mini. This is only a (no pun intended) small point, but surely if you’re going to make a small phone, make it really small, or at least half the size of the current Desire. OK, so it’s a bit smaller, but it’s not nearly as small as it should be, and to me a few grams and millimetres shaved off here and there doesn’t cons tute ‘mini’. They should have called it the HTC HD Marginally Smaller, of the HTC HD Lost A Bit of Weight For The Beach; at least that would have been more accurate. Sco Tierney
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