iOS finally goes modern (sort of), Sony wins E3

I haven't blog for a month now, which is pretty long I guess. It's been a busy time in my life, but I am planning to get back to blogging here slowly once again. Let's just say that house hunting in London is a little more overwhelming than we should have allowed it to be. I am pretty sure I aged ten years in these last couple of months.

I just want to put a few thoughts about the latest tech news and what I think about them holy hell, iOS 7 looks a heck a lot like Windows Phone doesn't it? I mean it still features a boring old grid design with static icons and inconsistent UX, but look at that multitasking page and flat(er) UI design! The drop shadows and fake 3Ds and textures mimicking real life products are all gone. It finally looks the bit of a 21st century OS. Barely.

O hai modern UI wannabee

Still, it's shift from skeuomorphism to something a bit more modern is something I can accept - after all I have been calling for Apple to ditch their 20th century design paradigm and follow Microsoft halfheartedly into the brave digital world. Even Palm OS, which you know, powered touchscreen smartphones way back in 2002, featured a slightly skeumorphism-less design and nobody had a problem using it. Depending on how Microsoft responds with Windows Phone Blue and how Apple will design the iPhone 5's successor, I might even consider an iPhone. Maybe...

Argh, colour gradient icons! Ew...

...or maybe not. Sorry Apple, must try harder.

Sony has proven again why it is the top dog when it comes to living room gaming with yesterday's E3 announcement. While Microsoft's Xbox One looks like an admirable effort (hardware wise, used games policy - not so much), Sony's new PS4 strategy has confirmed that I will be sticking with them through the next gen. I am no Sony fanboy but I have stuck with Sony and Nintendo for my living room console gaming. Nintendo appears to have gone wayward a bit, and I can't forgive them for the Wii's dire software library, but I can see a future where their consoles or games are still part of my life.

You hideous thing but I still want you

Back to the PS4. As the PS3 is still going strong, I will likely only enter the next gen gaming a year later, perhaps after the first PS4 price drop. This is a strategy I have been using for every console, and while £350 is a good price, we are in this whole house buying... I am also not too keen on the design of the PS4, but hei, it's a gaming device not a piece of decor. After all, the PS3 wasn't exactly a Red.dot winning product. And gaming is exactly what the PS4 appears to be designed for. Good job Sony. You almost lost it in the early years of the PS3 but you have done well here. Just keep all that 3D bullshit to yourself and we will continue being friends.

Sony Xperia Z launch party

Sony officially launched the Android-powered Xperia Z on Tuesday at a launch event in Victoria House, London. The event was designed to showcase the Xperia Z's unique feature, and included a ball pit where guests could jump into. Guests can then use the Xperia Z to test out its burst mode ability, which can capture up to 999 9MP image in just over a minute. Impressive? I thought so. If you have an active kid, or an active lifestyle, this may just be the phone for you.

In addition to the Xperia Z, guests were also shown the new Xperia SP, L and Tablet Z, which I had a brief hands-on with. The highlight of the evening were the combination of an art/tech installation and music performance by French DJ Madeon (who at 18 years old, is probably just about legal enough to attend himself!). As if to highlight their Skynet ambition, Sony had two robotic arms installed and made to pour paint over an installation. Combined with a brilliant lighting and laser effects, I thought it was a rather electrifying and vivid display of (loud) music, visual art and technology coming together.

Sony Xperia SP brief hands-on

Sony announced the Xperia SP and L a couple of days ago. While the devices slipped under my radar during the initial announcement (hei, my life doesn't revolve around phones), it was the chance encounter with the new devices at the Xperia Z launch party in London on Tuesday that finally made me notice.

Of the two devices available for hands-on, the SP was the most impressive due to its great value of money when it finally gets launched in the next couple of weeks. Featuring a Snapdragon SoC with dual core 1.7GHz Krait processor and Adreno 320 GPU, the SP is a cutting edge device for those not willing to fork £500 for a phone. It has a 8 megapixel camera with backside-illuminated sensor, all the usual wireless stuff associated a 2013 phone should have including NFC (which will work with Sony Bravia NFC remote controls) and LTE (model-dependent). It will be available in three colours.

The 4.6" 720p display is a clear step up from the Xperia S, and while the pixel density (319ppi) won't blow your mind, it will still challenge your eyes. Unfortunately, the viewing angles is limited again, much like on the Xperia Z. At 155 grams, the SP is rather hefty, but isn't too uncomfortable to hold. The design is a clear evolution over last year's NXT line, conservative and yet has enough design cues to stand out from the sea of Android me-toos. My biggest gripe with the Xperia S was its rather annoying touch-(in)sensitive buttons, which has been fixed here as the buttons are now part of the display.

Sony Xperia Z hands-on

The Xperia Z is one of the most awaited smartphone coming out this year. Sony's flagship ticks most of the boxes when it comes to what people want from a 2013 phone - a full HD 1080p 5" display, quad core Snapdragon S4 SoC, 2GB RAM, decent camera and expansion slot.

In case you miss that, yes, this is the first smartphone with a 1080p (that's a resolution larger than my laptop!) display to be marketed here. The pixel density of this 5" display is at a ridiculous Retina-destroying 441 pixels per inch, or 1323 sub pixels per inch! Truth be told, I am already spoiled by the 4.3" 720p display on the HTC 8X, but this is on a whole new level - and if I am being honest, I can't really tell the difference when it comes to sharpness. But higher is better, right?

The Xperia Z is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, with quad core 1.7 GHz Krait processors and the latest in GPU technology, the Adreno 320; 2GB RAM, 16GB of NAND storage, NFC, 13 MP camera with Exmor-R sensor and a microSDXC card slot. The phone is also water resistant (rated up to 1m deep for 30 mins) as well as dust resistant. Like the Motorola Defy, the Xperia Z features flaps over its ports to protect the innards from such electronic murdering thing such as moisture and dusts. However, unlike the Defy, the Xperia Z actually looks like a stylish flagship premium phone it is.

Sony Xperia Z with 1080p display goes on pre-order

Sony's newest flagship the Xperia Z has just gone on pre-order with Three UK. This is the first smartphone with a 1080p (that's a resolution larger than my laptop!) display to be marketed here. Read that again, that's 1080p - full HD resolution - that's more than double the pixels my sorry of an excuse television has (yeah, I am due for an upgrade)! In fact, the pixel density of this 5" display is at a ridiculous Retina-murdering 441 pixels per inch, or 1323 sub pixels per inch! If that doesn't get your geek heart fluttering, nothing will.

Not only that, the Xperia Z is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon S4 Pro SoC, with quad core 1.7 GHz Krait processors and the latest in GPU technology, the Adreno 320. Coupled with 2GB RAM, 16GB of NAND storage and expandable storage, this will surely impress your other phone geek mates. So if you are the sort of person who wants the top dog in Android smartphones, then be sure to get this.

According to Three, the Xperia Z will be available from £34 a month for an upfront fee of £69 over a two year contract. As if to further re-enforce the Sony's acoustic credentials, the first 1000 customers to pre-order this bad boy will also be receiving a pair of Sony MDR-1R headphones. That's a neat proper closed cup headphone that costs around £200 on Amazon, so you never have to worry about unpacking that poncy free headphones.

The water resistance device will also be available for £449 on a pay as you go plan, a snip over the original £529 price you have to pay sim-free. In fact here's a link so you can go pre-order now. I will of course be trying my best to get a copy to review, so keep an eye peeled.

Sony Mobile Xperia P review

Released just two months ago, the Xperia P is Sony's third 'NXT' Xperia smartphones to be released since Sony Ericsson folded as an entity. It is positioned as a mid-range device aimed at smartphone newcomers and upgraders alike. Despite having it for almost a month now, I have held back my review because I wanted to wait for Sony to release an ICS update. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened and it is doubtful that it will happen in the very near future.

STE U8500 NovaThor SoC with dual core 1GHz processor
Mali-400MP GPU
1GB RAM
16GB Flash Storage
4 inch LCD 'Reality Display' with 540x960 resolution
8MP camera with autofocus, 1080p30 video recording
Quad band GSM
Dual band/Tri band 3G (depending on model) HSDPA 14.4Mbps
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1, NFC, USB On-the-Go
Android 2.3 Gingerbread with Sony TimeScape UI

Sharing a common design language to the flagship Xperia S and entry level Xperia U, the Xperia P sits awkwardly in the middle. With a specification far closer to the Xperia U but in a far more premium body, the Xperia P reminds me of the HTC Legend - where style and form wins over pure specifications. The Xperia P is by far the best iteration of the NXT design language thanks to the use of metallic unibody cover, one that even the more expensive Xperia S can't claim to have.

Sony Xperia P camera review

As a major player in the top end digital imaging industry for many years, Sony has always done well with adapting their technology downwards. Remember when Exmor back-illuminated sensors were exclusive to their high end Cybershot prosumer cameras? Now almost every smartphone on the planet has a Sony Exmor-R sensor, from the Galaxy S III to the iPhone 4S, and, of course, Sony's own Xperia S and P smartphones.

The phone I have in my hands currently is the Xperia P, which I will be reviewing here shortly (update: it's up!). Sony has been coy about the exact nature of the camera used by the Xperia P. All we know is that the sensor used here is a Exmor-R CMOS back-illuminated variety, which helps with low light photography. But we know nothing of its equivalent focal length or lens speed. It supports autofocus, 1080p30 video recording, face and smile detection, macro (close-up) photography and sweep panorama.

In addition to sweep panorama, the camera is also capable of capturing images in 3D format, including panorama 3D. Unfortunately I do not own a 3D TV or display so I have no way of testing this feature. The two-step camera shutter button is a little small and fiddly, but it does fire up the camera app from sleep in a couple of seconds. There is really no discernible difference to the autofocus performance between using the hardware button to the on-screen on. Speaking of autofocus, I found it to be rather temperamental, often having issues focusing on close ups.

The camera performs particularly well in areas with plenty of natural light, though it does struggle with dynamic range and colour. Despite looking great on the Xperia P's display, images generally sport the typical Xperia-look, with dull colours and average contrast dominating giving images a 'wash-out' look. While the camera was able to capture a good amount of detail, noise are evident even in shots taken in daylight. The lack of built-in HDR mode is disappointing, as it would solve the issue concerning dynamic range and contrast. Overall I thought the images produced by the Xperia P was slightly worse than the Xperia Arc and HTC One X, but still good enough for an everyday camera.

On the plus side, unlike Sony's (and Sony Ericsson's) previous Xperia smartphones, the Xperia P's camera is positioned away from the edge, so there is less chance to ruin your shot by accidentally blocking the camera lens. In any case, enjoy these image samples, thankfully, with no fingers in the way.

Sony Mobile Xperia U camera samples

I have been testing the Sony Xperia U's camera more and the conclusion I came up in my review of the device still stands. Images are good enough for posting on the web (like on here), Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. But upon closer inspection, details are lacking and often fuzzy in nature revealing an over aggressive use of post processing. The quality of pictures taken are just average at best, colours are dull and the dynamic range is poor. It isn't a fast camera as well, taking time to focus particularly when shooting close ups. So good enough for web shots but don't try to get it on paper.

Sony Mobile Xperia U review

The Xperia U is Sony's newest entry level smartphone aimed at replacing the demunitive Xperia Ray. For a small smartphone, it is rather well equipped with specs that would make more expensive and bigger phones blush with envy. However is a small smartphone now a handicap? Read on to find out. But first let's get those pesky specs out of the way, shall we?

• STE U8500 NovaThor SoC with dual core 1GHz processor
• Mali-400MP GPU
• 512MB RAM
• 8GB Flash Storage
• 3.5 inch LCD 'Reality Display' with 480x854 resolution
• 5MP camera with autofocus, 720p30 video recording
• Quad band GSM
• Dual band/Tri band 3G (depending on model) HSDPA 14.4Mbps
• WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1

Part of Sony's new range of 'NXT' Xperia 2012 smartphones, the Xperia U features a similar design to the flagship Xperia S and Xperia P. Equipped with a 3.5" display, it is also quite a bit smaller, but with a resolution of 480x854, it is also pretty sharp. While the LCD screen does not perform well under strong sunlight and the maximum brightness isn't quite as bright as it should, it is powered by Sony's BRAVIA engine enhancing contrast and colour saturation.

Phone manufacturers, you are doing it wrong

In a survey conducted by HTC last year, the Taiwanese manufacturer asked customers whether they prefer their phones with great battery life or are willing to sacrifice that for thinness. Apparently the majority of customers prefer a thin phone with awful battery life. Armed with this result, HTC decided to cancel the production of phones with 3000mAh batteries to make the HTC One series, like the HTC One X, which I am currently reviewing.

The very thought that HTC shelved plans for a smartphone with 3000mAh battery greatly depress me. I am sure I am not the only one who isn't fond on the direction the mobile industry is heading towards. As much as I love the One X, its mediocre battery life isn't one of them. Thin 'superphones' like the One X needs large batteries. With a 4.7" display and quad core processor, you would think that a bigger battery would make sense. These days I always carry a wall charger with me whenever I am out, in case I have to make a pit stop at Starbucks to top up, as well as my Motorola emergency charger. I would rather not, but I have little choice in this.

Motorola, the only manufacturer that gets it

Now if you think I am singling out HTC for this, you are wrong. It just happened they admitted to using a survey to justify this awful decision that lead me to write this post. My current main phone, the Nokia Lumia 800, has a battery that wouldn't last a full day on power use (it isn't even thin!), as was my previous Samsung Galaxy S II. In fact the only device I ever owned that was capable of lasting a full day, and then a couple more, was my old Nokia E51. What a wunderphone that was.

So dear HTC, Nokia, Samsung and Sony, you are doing it wrong. We do not care if a phone shaves an extra 1mm in thickness, and we certainly do not care if it holds the title for world's thinnest whatever phone. We want phones with large batteries, and we want them now. Hell, if Motorola can even give us a slim phone with awesome battery life, why can't you?

Source: GSMArena

Sony Mobile Xperia S camera samples

Here are more image and video samples taken with the Sony Xperia S. For a camera phone, the 12MP Exmor-R sensor has really impressed me with the amount of detail captured. With an aperture of f/2.4, the lens is fast and offers almost no barrel distortion. There are issues with dynamic range, but all digital cameras with small image sensors suffers from this. Even my Nikon D7000 does.

Sweep panorama

Sweep panorama

Sony Mobile Xperia S sound quality review

The sound quality of a smartphone is something I have often ignored, but one I will revive for the Xperia S, mainly because this device is built by Sony, the creator of the Walkman and also the best DAP I ever owned, period. Because of the sheer size of the Xperia S, it isn't a device I would have used personally as a portable audio. The iPhone 4S and Lumia 800, in my opinion, are perfect digital audio players. Shame that the Lumia 800 sounds awful, and the iPhone 4S isn't actually mine.

Out of the box the Xperia S supports a variety of audio codecs. Because of the open nature of smartphones however you can easily download replacement music players with different codec supports. The one that I would recommend using is UberMusic, but there are other competent apps to suit anyone's different needs. For the purpose of this review however I will be sticking to the default music player by Sony. FLAC lossless is not supported by the player, and while this may disappoint a few people, the vast majority will carry on fine with listening to high quality MP3 files.

Sony Mobile Xperia S review

This past couple of months has seen plenty of changes within Sony Mobile. Formerly Sony Ericsson, Sony has completed their buy Ericsson's shares from the company. I am sure they will be glad to see such distractions behind, but I have a feeling that the restructuring of the mobile unit will go on for quite a while.

The Xperia S is the new Ericsson-less Sony Mobile's first ever smartphone. While I wouldn't go far as to call it the first real Sony smartphone (development no doubt began more than a year ago), it is the first Sony branded Android device to hit the market. Like previous Xperia devices, rather than going all out brute force with big numbers and specs, Sony is counting on good designs and software differentiation to make an impact.

Sony (Ericsson) has improved tremendously over the past year offering devices that not only performed well despite the specs handicap, but also being more open to software updates and development. With devices like the Xperia Play and Xperia Ray, they have also successfully differentiated more than their Android OEM competitors have. Read on for the review of the Xperia S.

Sony Mobile Xperia S unboxing

It took its time, but Sony Mobile's flagship Xperia S has finally arrived at this HQ. I will spare you the unboxing of the frivolousness giant candy-filled box filled, that accompanied this phone courtesy of Sony PR. Instead, marvel at this most beautiful of Android smartphone, part of Sony's NXT line up, running on Gingerbread and its lovely 4.3" Bravia-powered LCD 720p display in the video unboxing of the retail box below.

Sony Xperia Ad is Powered by Tiny Robots

Were there any doubt that Sony would once again triumph when it comes to creative TV ads? Hardly. It seems that Sony has proven once again that when it comes to commercials at least, they know a thing or two. A couple of days ago I blogged about Sony's teaser of their new Imaginative TV ad for the Xperia NXT range.

For the new stop motion animated ad, Sony seek out a young kid and turned his imagination into an inspiration. It tells the story of small Iron Giant-inspired robots who work tirelessly inside each Xperia handset in order to bring it to life. It is a creative ad, lovable in fact and one of the best I have seen this year yet. Check it out below.

Sony Mobile's little Android campaign

Adverts? Who likes them eh? But I have always been a fan of good adverts that passes off as an art form. Take Fallon's excellent Sony Bravia 'Playdoh' or Walkman 'Project Music' advert for example. Remove any reference to Sony and these ads could have easily been submitted to Cannes' short film Palme d'Or award for consideration, or indeed any film. Adverts do not need scream buy me in order to be imaginative, it just need to be memorable. Why else do you think Cadbury's 'Gorilla' and the incredible and legendary 'Eyebrow' adverts, both which had nothing to do with chocolates, were so well received?

Now that Sony Ericsson has been bought by Sony, it is time to see what Sony Mobile can do. I have high expectations for Sony's new NXT device range but a good phone can only do so much by itself (even Apple has to rely on massive advertising campaign to promote their wares). Sony Mobile along with ad agency McCann Erickson, has recruited Wes Anderson of Fantastic Mr. Fox to direct a new stop-motion animation campaign. The TV ad will premier on the evening of Saturday 24 March, but they have released a teaser to explain their creation, which will tell the story of their little robot (Android, geddit?), through 37 handcrafted cyborgs.

Sony XPERIA NXT S, P & U hands-on

Last year Sony made clear their intention to combat Apple through a four screen strategy, by leveraging their services across four core product line ups - Bravia (TV), Xperia (smartphone), tablets and laptops - into a single integrated platform. We have already seen Sony rebranding their PlayStation Network (PSN) service to SEN where the ID can be used across their other services. With the rise of Samsung and cheap Asian OEMs, Sony has seen their market share eroded. Sony's strategy on winning back customers is clear: promote integration and make smartphones with memorable and distinctive designs.

Sony announced two new Xperia NXT, the Xperia P and Xperia U smartphones at Mobile World Congress a couple of days ago and today I had a chance to go hands-on with the new devices at a press briefing in London. Available for hands-on are the Xperia P and Xperia U, alongside the previously announced Xperia S. With these new devices comes a new design language, and boy did Sony finally get it right. The translucent bar that separates the main device with the antenna gives it a floating frame view. It may serve no purpose, but it gives the devices a unique look among the sea of boring Android phones.

Do check out my hands-on preview here. In the meantime I will be getting a Xperia S review unit soon so do hit me on Twitter if you have questions.

Sony Clié PEG-UX50

Back in 2003 I was a PalmOS-toting fanboy. I had a Palm Tungsten T3, but what I wanted really was the Sony Clie PEG-UX50 Personal Entertainment Communicator. Sony was in the process of exiting the PDA market, no doubt to concentrate on their Sony Ericsson partnership (which resulted in the Symbian-powered P800 the year earlier), but not before unleashing a couple of really desirable hardware (the TH55 was another one). Sadly the UX50 was too expensive, retailing at around £500, but then it had specs and features that were unheard of back then. In fact the 480x320 high resolution screen found on the UX50 was so advance that even Apple was still using that screen resolution on their iPhone models until 2010.

Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350 review

An early proponent of ebook readers, Sony was the first company to release an electronic device with E Ink designed for book reading: the LIBRie - released in 2004 long before Amazon copied the design for their Kindle series of ebook readers.

While ebook readers has since steadily improved, the core design remained similar with the majority of devices consisting of an  E Ink display. Some manufactures include colour LCD, but these have impact on battery life and usability. E Ink has the advantage of not using power when the screen is turned on as well (most ebook devices equipped with e-ink have a maximum battery life of thousands of page turns) as improved visibility outdoors. It is more comfortable to read on for longer periods of time. On a downside, E Ink displays have low refresh rate, lacks a backlight component and is currently limited to grey scale.

KILLZONE 3 review

Remember the original Killzone on PlayStation 2, the game that was hyped up by the gaming-press, as a Halo-killer? Well upon released it was quickly put in its place. Killzone 2 was similarly hyped, this time by Sony with the infamous target-render E3 video, but at least the game delivered. Gamers and critics loved it with equal measure. Can Guerrilla continue the momentum they started with Killzone 2?

As a review that focuses extensively on the single player campaign of Killzone 3, I will be forced to focus on the story. Story hasn't been the strongest point of developers of first person shooter games. Well with the help of Wikipedia, I am caught up with the world of Killzone and how the Helghan forces were wronged by the ISA at first, then decided to get revenge by invading a planet that was rightfully theirs only to be repelled and invaded by the ISA. Killzone 3 is a continuation of the story left from Killzone 2.

Killzone 3 has flying pests this time round

You play a character called Sev who bears much resemblance to a typical clichéd version of a video gaming marine, with a ridiculous haircut. This Sev person is accompanied by his marine grunt called Rico who swears a lot like a kid who just learnt cussing. Sev and Rico are kinda interchangeable in that both talks tough and prefer to shoot first ask questions later. Both are on the side of the ISA. While you control Sev during the entire campaign, Rico is almost always by your side if only to give you the medical help you sometimes need. Perhaps rather worryingly and annoyingly, you can't kill Rico off permanently, though you can injure him enough so he would not interfere.

Killzone 3's storyline is only there to serve the gameplay. The story is plain ridiculous and character development almost none existent. Despite six hours of pretty average story telling, the developers has even managed to reward the player with an abrupt and most unsatisfactory ending. Even the voice acting is bad, though perhaps this is also the fault of such an average script. Killzone 3 is one of those video games that makes me think why some developers even bother trying to tell a story. If developers like Valve and Naughty Dog (yeah, I know they don't make FPS games) can mix good stories with good gameplay, why can't Guerrilla?

Swap assault rifles for a rampaging mech? Don't mind if I do

As a friend of mine said, first person shooters aren't about the story. I disagree - I think they can have a good story - it's just that most mainstream gamers do not expect them any more. But moving on from story, has Killzone 3 changed my mind about console FPS gaming in terms of gameplay? Yes indeed it has. Controls were fluid, aiming was simple and while they were moments of inaccuracy, for much of the game I felt in total control. The only issue I have is the cover system, which isn't at all helpful. The game also supports Six Axis motion controller, but fortunately are only limited to a very small portion of unnecessary gameplay. Sony's PlayStation Move controller is also supported, but I've no such peripheral to test the game with.

There are plenty of weapon to choose from. You can only carry three weapons, a pistol, rifle and some special really awesome big ones like the WASPS rocket launcher which secondary fire can destroy tanks, or if you want to, bombard a large group a Helghast enemies together. Each weapon is as satisfying to fire as the next. My highlight is probably the bolt gun. Hit an enemy with one and they fly away and get stuck to a wall, blood splattered all around the body. Killzone 3 is an incredibly violent and visceral game. The brutal melee system in particular provides the player with a gruesome detail on how to kill an enemy combatant.

There is plenty of satisfaction in firing a WASPS rocket launcher

I found the A.I. of the enemies to be impressive. They hide whenever they spot you. If you do not time your grenade throw properly, they will scatter away to safety. During gun battles, they will attempt to sneak up behind you if there is a route, or flee to a better cover spot. Shoot that cover spot away and they will find another one. Your war buddies are equally clever, though they sometimes charge up at enemies without thinking ahead. However for most of the campaign they hold back, take cover measure and will even attempt to revive you if there is a chance. Some NCPs can not be killed, but you can always delay reviving them especially if you decide they are getting in the way rather than helping.

Despite the mediocre storyline, it keeps the pacing well in checked. Levels are divided into chapters with a suitable variety of locations to keep the average gamer interested. You get to play as a gunner of a tank, hover ship and space fighter (all on-rails); and control Exos, a mech exoskeleton. In one level Sev also gets hold of a Helghast jetpack. While the jetpack created some interesting set pieces, it was slow and I was glad to be rid of it. The jetpack is also available in a multiplayer map. There are no boss levels in Killzone 3, apart from perhaps the one with the gigantic MAWR. In one level the gameplay pace changes to that of stealth, though there is no stopping you if you wish to charge in.

Environment is stunningly detailed

Visually Killzone 3 is easily one of the most stunning games I've played on the PS3. Despite the environmental effect, hundreds of bullets wheezing by and explosions, the game hardly stutters. Frame rate is consistent apart from the few odd moments. Locations from nuclear wasteland, to the arctic landscape and alien jungle were all beautifully rendered. Cover areas can be shot at and thus exposed, and the tiles and plasters on pillars stripped away but as a whole Killzone 3 does not feature destructible environment. Despite the attention to detail, there is hardly any time admire the fantastic artwork when shooting at wave and wave of enemy troops.

Killzone 3's multiplayer support includes local splitscreen co-op (which I was unable to test) and typical traditional multiplayer components. These includes Guerilla Warfare (classic team death match), Warzone (objective based such as capture, search and assassination) and Operations (defend and assault). Players can choose from five classes: Engineer, Tactician, Infiltrator , Marksman and Field Medic, all of which have their own abilities. For example Medics can treat team members who are close to death while Engineers will come in handy in repairing broken turrets. Infiltrators on the other hand has the ability to disguise themselves as so on. You get to unlock new weapons for the class of your choice using skill points earned while fighting in the said class.

I've not played a game with such intensity and epicness as Killzone 3 in a long time. If you are a first person shooter fan and is willing to excuse the forgettable plot, this may just be the game for you. With local co-op and extensive multiplayer component, Killzone 3 represents great value for those looking for pure action and fun.

7/10 (single player score) 8/10 (overall)

Killzone 3 is available now for PlayStation 3. Buy it from Amazon UK or Amazon.com and you will be supporting this blog.

Thanks to Sony Computers Entertainment Europe for providing us with a copy of Killzone 3