the mobile phone and gaming magazine www.phonicamagazine.co.uk
Issue 8
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phonica magazine uk
EDITOR IN CHIEF Kevin Leonce
GAMING EDITOR Sco Tierney
CONTRIBUTORS Rob Hobson Ian Duncan Paul Park Charles Thompson
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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EDITOR’S LETTER IT’S A BIRD…IT’S A PLANE… NO IT’S JUST THE IPAD! What a wonderful way to start off the first month of the year before a full moon. Those Cuper no guys sure know how to get our a en on, but are they going to keep it this me? The iPad, Apple’s latest innova on was launched a few days ago a er the grapevine gossip got the be er of many for the Christmas period. But what is it? An iReader, iBook, a superimposed iPhone or iPod Touch? I’d wait un l we get our hands on one before I reveal my opinion of this feminine sounding apple innova on. I wonder what’s next? iMoney? iWife? Drop me an email I look forward to hearing what you think they may conjure next. One thing for sure, they have done it again. The guys at Gamelo got wind that we were focusing on a few iPhone based games so they invited us for a sneak peek of what they’ve got in store for Q1. They did forget to tell us they’d have a first hand play of N.O.V.A on the iPad, which looks swell if I may add. This issue, as always we have a line up of interes ng reviews. Honestly, I can go on but I’m sure you’ve already flipped the page to start reading. Thanks for ge ng your copy of this issue and don’t forget to email your sugges ons for new Apple products. Enjoy reading. Your Editor in Chief
Kevin Leonce kevin@phonicamagazine.co.uk
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THE GUIDE
PHONICA’S 20 3RD-PERSON TITLES BEYOND GOOD AND EVIL
GIANTS: CITIZEN KABUTO
TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL
METAL GEAR SOLID 4 GTA 4
(Xbox, PS2, PC, GC)
(PC, PS2)
(Xbox, PS2, PC)
(PS3)
(PS3, Xbox 360, PC)
“The adventure is good, the gameplay is good, but the talking pigs are ace!”
“Silly. Very, very silly.”
“High-tech sneaking of the highest quality.”
“A superb slice of gaming, if you can stomach the draining cut-scenes”
“Over 10,000 pedestrians slaughtered and we’re s ll laughing!”
UNCHARTED 2
STRANGLEHOLD
NINJA GAIDEN
ASSASSINS CREED 2
FABLE 2
(PS3)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(Xbox)
(Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
(Xbox 360)
“A proper adventure game. They don’t make them like this anymore… wait a sec.”
“OK, it’s rubbish, but for brief moments it excels in it ludicrously. ”
“As hard as a coffin nail, but who said games should be easy?”
“Some of us s ll aren’t convinced, but a much be er product than the first.”
“U erly charming, and packed to the seams with silly Bri sh humour.”
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REVIEWS
SAMSUNG PIXON 12 SMILE AND SAY CHEESE, AS THE SAMSUNG PIXON 12 BEGS TO TAKE YOUR PHOTO These days, no mobile phone is complete without a camera. Even the most basic of basic models have some form of snapping accessory, regardless of the pixel size or quality. Well, Samsung have gone all the way with the Pixon 12, and added an absolute beast of a camera. But is it worthwhile having all this pixel-capturing power, and does it affect the phone, overall? Firstly, let’s look at the Pixel 12 on the whole, and come back to the camera later. Design-wise, it’s quite nice. Not as smooth or as elegant as the Blade, and the front bu ons don’t have the same ‘quality feel’ as other Samsung products, but overall it’s perfectly welcoming and neat. The interface is exactly the same as you’d find on the Blade, and we have to say it’s one of our favourites. It’s not as good as the HTC Hero’s or the iPhone’s, but it’s s ll excellent. That said though, the screen is a bit twitchy, and it doesn’t feel as smooth or precise as the Blade. Elsewhere on the Pixon 12 you’ll find the standard Samsung goodies. There’s the excellent Wi-Fi system and internet browser (perfect for watching Whose Line is it Anyway clips on YouTube!); the always trusty video and music players; a selec on of games and a few other pointless but entertaining bit and bobs. Add to the mix an impressive screen, good calling features, solid ba ery life and sturdy build quality, and the Samsung Pixon 12 looks to be a highly impressive phone.
And now we get onto the main selling point of the Pixon 12; the almighty camera. As mobile-based cameras go, it doesn’t get much be er than this. Image quality is outstanding, with photos appearing crisp, bright, colour correct and clean. The video camera app isn’t quite of the same standard, but if you need to take photos from a phone, this is the one to go for. It’s superb. But the main problem we have with the Pixon 12 is, surprisingly, the camera. It’s an outstanding piece of kit, but we’re not happy with the way it’s been built into the phone itself. Most mobiles have the lens cra ed into the body of the handset, so all that is seen is a small hole or ny slot. But on the Pixon 12, the lens s cks out like a rampant wart. This totally affects the quality of the overall aesthe c design, and makes the Pixon 12 feel cumbersome and ungainly. You know when you put a cup of tea down on a table, and there’s a bit of biscuit crumb underneath? The mug doesn’t sit right, and it wobbles around in a disconcer ng manner; that’s what it’s like when pu ng the Pixon 12 down on a desk. That lens is great, but it gets in the way of everything else. To sum up; the Samsung Pixon 12 is a great camera phone, and a great phone all-round. We’re s ll not happy with the wart-like lens, but at least it’s there for a reason, and when it’s called into ac on, you’ll thank it for being there. It may be trumped before too long, as we’re bound to see top cameras being added to phones like blades to razors (the more the be er apparently, but why do barbers use cut-throat razors?), but for now, the Pixon 12 is the best bet for all those wanna-be snappers. Sco Tierney
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FEATURE
ARCADEWARFARE – FLASH GAMES GALORE MORE GAMES THAN YOU COULD SHAKE A FLASH-BASED STICK AT! There are lots of flash game websites popping up across the internet, and arcadewarfare.com is no excep on. Filled with a huge variety of pick-up-andplay games, it fills all of those 5 minute breaks you take every so o en in front of the computer, a er slogging it out on Excel. Nicely presented and with a great selec on of flash-based games that range from your usual stuff along the lines of punch-em-ups, shoot-em-ups, sports variants and card-based games to the more niche games such as the good old Pacman and Arithme c Challenge, Arcade Warfare is perfectly designed to take your mind off things with concentrated gaming goodness.
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One slice of the gaming pie is a par cularly sophis cated side-scrolling game called Thing Thing 3. Developed by Diseased Produc ons, Thing Thing 3 is the third in a mini-franchise of games based around the Madness collec on, where ragdoll effects are used to extremely good and gory fun. Playing a character codenamed Project 154 who was an experimental weapon that was being developed, you are given the task of escaping from a city at first, figh ng off wave a er wave of similarly designed enemies with a fairly complete AI, following you around the pla orms and shoo ng brazenly at you. Thing Thing 3 quickly descends into a bloody mayhem as you blast away with rocket launchers and M16s, trying to gun through walls of increasingly tough and smart enemies that are put in front of you like cookies out of an oven. Good fun is had but some people may find it a bit excessive (my laptop began to lag a er I killed roughly 40 enemies on the screen at the same me, no complaints from me though) or rather tedious a er a while.
FEATURE
“ARCADEWARFARE IS FAIRLY NEW ON THE INTERNET BUT HAVE QUICKLY AMASSED A VAST COLLECTION OF FLASH GAMES FOR ANYONE’S ENTERTAINMENT, ALONG WITH A RATHER LARGE MEMBER BASE IN SUCH A SHORT SPACE OF TIME.” Another li le dbit I managed to sample generously is Power Driving. Stuck inside an American muscle car and racing against computer AI, Power Driving really is the essence of flash gaming – a quick race before you start work with all that adrenaline from having beaten that pesky Ford Mustang right at the end with a nitrous burst; then another quick dose of fast-paced goodness by comfortably thrashing everyone across the board a erwards. Repe ve yes, but when you consider its simplicity and ease of play it’s a beau ful one hit wonder that can have you coming for more with terrifying ease.
Arcadewarfare is fairly new on the internet but have quickly amassed a vast collec on of flash games for anyone’s entertainment, along with a rather large member base in such a short space of me. For those who are looking away from the usual websites for fun, this is certainly one li le hideaway amongst many from the likes of Facebook and Twi er. Paul Park
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