Nintendo Wii Games Console Review

Despite lackluster showings in the past two gaming generations, Nintendo seems to be getting their momentum back, as the Nintendo DS dominates the portable community and their newest console, the Wii, is off to a flying start. Slim, slick, innovative and readily fun, is this wee little machine really bringing us the gaming revolution?

 

~~The Package~~

The standard Wii Package has a suggested retail price of £179, significantly less than the year-old Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. Exact figures vary as both competitors market 2 separate versions of their products, with the price difference ranging from £20 more for the Core 360, to £245 extra for the Premium PS3. It includes:
- Handful of glossy booklets
- Wii Remote and its 2 AA batteries
- Nunchuck controller
- Game, in the form of Wii Sports
- The Wii Console and its power supply, sensor bar and AV Cable. Also thrown in for good measure are, a Euro Connector Plug, 3 adhesion tapes and a couple of stands for the console and sensor bar.

***The Console***

In recent years, evolution in video games meant two things: Prettier and Bigger. Better graphics and larger, more interactive, worlds were the focus of most sequels and "clones" of successful titles.
As such, Microsoft and Sony doubled their efforts to cram every last piece of technology available in their consoles. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are true behemoths, assuring with their size that they are capable of tremendous technical feats. "Fight Night: Round 3" looks life-like. We've reached a point where trailers shock us using exclusively in-game footage, so, as far as beautiful expansive worlds go, just take a look at "Mass Effect" and "White Knight Story". Nintendo has decided to go in a different direction, figuring games have now taken the form they were imagining and it's finally time to revolutionize the way they are played. They came up with a small, stylish, affordable unit to do it: The Wii is slightly bigger than your computer's disc drive and more than 4 times smaller than the 360 and the PS3.
That's not to say processing power was neglected. The Wii is touted as being two and a half times more powerful than the GameCube, which has produced some terrific looking games. "Resident Evil 4" looked fantastic and "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess", principally developed as a GameCube title, is massive and has gorgeous character models.Inevitably, as the Wii's power is slowly untapped, even more impressive games will surface. They'll never rival the picture-perfect quality the PS3 and the Xbox have the potential of, but Nintendo hopes they won't distract you enough to overlook the undeniable charm Wii controls possess.
The trim, (24cm)x(1cm), sensor bar is to be positioned on top, or in front, of your TV and allows for the controller-magic to happen. Details follow in the next section, but the neatness of the concept starts becoming apparent right from the moment you first power-on your console.The other advantage of the slim machine is that Nintendo managed to keep the retail price at logical levels. The Wii is considerably-to-insanely cheaper than the competitive bundles, even with the inclusion of Wii Sports. In addition, unlike the 20 pounds pricier Core Xbox 360, the unit includes a hard-drive, a paramount feature for care-free save-game management and access to internet content. Said hard-drive contains approximately 2.200 "blocks" of memory and with game-data averaging at most 2 blocks, it becomes apparent that the only way to fill it up is to store pictures and videos, and download classic games.
What concerns me the most, a lot more than the graphical disadvantage, is that the Wii lacks movie playback capabilities. The 360 plays DVDs and the PS3 these next-gen Blu-Ray discs and, considering that the Wii is being marketed as the definitive entertainment system, enjoyable for the whole family, it seems odd that it can't cover your movie needs out of the box. Of course, a lot of people, including myself, already own a DVD player of some short, but the "it plays DVDs" argument was always used, when available, as I tried to persuade a non-gamer to buy a console. Wii is, however, backwards compatible, as all GameCube titles can be played without problem.Also, Wii is the only next-gen console not taking advantage of High-Definition Televisions, on the basis that not nearly enough people own HDTVs yet, as to warrant the higher production values. The included AV Cables don't take full advantage of the machine itself, with the separately sold RGB Cable, for "normal" TVs and Component Video Cables, for HDTVs, offering noticeably better output.

***The Controllers***

Smaller than your average remote and definitely less threatening than the 13-button, dual stick plus d-pad monstrosities gaming controllers have become, the Wii Remote is designed to get you into the game with the less fuss possible.
A glimpse of its abilities is caught as early on as the initial system configuration: The cursor for the system screens is a blue hand that points where you aim the Wiimote. I was caught a little off-guard when I noticed the on-screen hand rotating slightly to reflect my wrist's natural movement. Cute.The Wiimote has various tricks at his disposal and games like Wii Sports and Wii Play try to showcase the basic principals in which it works. The Wii can track the movement, speed, positioning and tilt of its controllers with impressive accuracy and all this information can be translated in-game to show your character swinging a bat, navigating a cow, or celebrating a knock-out. It's one thing to use the analog stick to aim and press a button to fire a pistol and quite another to aim with the Wiimote and rapidly pull the trigger. Pressing buttons, or weaving a stick might work in some games for throwing a punch, but actually doing the punching motions is on a whole different level.
Even though it was originally designed to work with a GameCube controller, "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" wasted no time in brilliantly using one of the Wiimote's clever features: the built-in speaker. Hearing the clang of a swordfight right in your hand is simply awesome and puts you that much more inside the game.An included accessory and essential in certain games is the Nunchuck Attachment. The nunchuck is typically used for moving your avatar around, but is, of course, open to more imaginative uses, such as the reeling of fish, or your boxer's left hand.
Wii games rely mostly in the motion-sensing and rarely require more than 2 buttons to be used. This makes it extremely easy for an agnostic to pick up and play, which is, after all, the basis of the Wii's appeal. The movements you are required to do feel very natural and a "steadyshot", akin to the one used in video-cameras, appears to be in place to keep the aiming fluent. This impressed me especially, as I found aiming much easier than I had initially expected, even if a few of my less hand-eye-coordinated friends couldn't hit the far side of the Mushroom Kingdom. It was nothing a little practice wouldn't fix and PC users should be naturals from the get-go.In all, an actual test-session can do a much better job than a few paragraphs in convincing you of the one sure thing: the controls are a blast. And, as a person who has spent a fair deal of time explaining controls in various games over the ages, I couldn't be happier with their simplicity.
As a side-note, the "Wii Shoulder" seems to be emerging as term to reflect the soreness felt after long Wii sessions. As my Zelda time-logs can show, rest assured that games that aren't supposed to be tiring, aren't. Titles like Wii Sports, however, that simulate sports or other rigorous actions, such as tossing cattle, affect you according to your fitness levels. As a rule, 3 days of relative rest allows for any sore to subside. Also, remember to always fasten the Wiimote's wrist-strap when playing, to avoid any real damage should you lose your grip.A Classic Controller Attachment is also available, to be used with Virtual Console and GameCube games. Thankfully, original GameCube controllers can be jacked-in for the same purpose, so there is no need to spend the extra £15, if you have one of those relics lying around.
For that matter, Wii Remotes cost £30 and Nunchucks £15. Multiplayer is a big part of the Wii so an extra Wiimote is only good sense. You might want to check out "Wii Play", hardly a 7 of a game, but a solid 9 of a deal, as it includes a free Wii Remote.The 2 included AA batteries last approximately 30 hours of play. Switching to rechargeables is strongly recommended. The same stands true for the 360 wireless controller, while Sony has the common courtesy to use a rechargeable battery for the PS3's SixAxis.

***The Internet***

 The Wii features free Internet connectivity, provided you have broadband internet and the necessary equipment, with the most common solution being a wireless router. The Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is utilized, have been used successfully with the DS for more than a year.
Online, you have access to the Wii's self-explanatory News and Weather channels, as well as the Wii Shop. Using Wii Points, with the approximate conversion rate being 1000 Wii Points = 7 British Pounds, you are able to download the Opera Browser, game demos and, most importantly, Virtual Console games.Wii's Virtual Console allows you to download retro games for your enjoyment. NES games cost 500 Points, SNES's cost 800, N64's top the list at 1,000. Games from former rival consoles are also included, with Sega Mega Drive games costing 800 Points and TurboGrafx-16's 600, with more consoles rumored to be joining the line-up soon.
3.5 to 7.5 quid seems a fair price for some of the legendary classics, but a little caution should be exercised as not all games are top quality. As a lucky second generation gamer, I don't see an intriguing game I can't quickly fire up in its original system, but it's a nifty feature for those that missed out on them.Online Multiplayer is also a big part of Nintendo Wi-Fi. Players are able to compete against and cooperate with users from all around the world, with "Super Smash Bros. Brawl!" posing as the title most eagerly expected to unleash the multiplayer mayhem.
Last, but not least, the online package also features Friends Lists, Messaging and Patching. Interestingly, WiiConnect24 has the machine remaining perpetually online, even when it's powered off, which allows for the various updates to download while you are not busy playing.The Xbox 360 has the praised Xbox Live service for its online needs, which, however, requires an annual fee of about £35. PS3's online service is free of charge, but it appears a lot of developers may individually charge fees for a lot of game content and features.
It might be worth noting that the Wii can also connect wirelessly with the Nintendo DS, with certain titles like the "Pokemon" line offering exclusive cross-platform features.

***The Home Menu***

The Wii's Home Screen is actually a grouping of Channels, which give you a sneak- peak into the feature they are leading to when selected.The News, Weather and Wii Shop online channels were mentioned just previously. Each downloaded Virtual Console game also gets a channel of its own. Inserted Wii or GameCube discs appear in the first channel, aptly named the Disc Channel.
In the Photo Channel, you may upload pictures from a SD Card for your viewing pleasure. Some editing tools are available, which allow you to toy with a picture's colours, framing, captioning and the like. A cute "game" also exists, which shatters a picture of your choice into puzzle-like pieces and you are then required to piece them back together. It seems like a good distraction for kids.Quite more interesting, is the Mii Channel. Mii's are little caricatures of people that can serve as your avatars in certain games. You are encouraged to create a bunch of them in the image of yourself, friends, family and even of celebrities. There is a healthy variety of customization options and, considering they are comic recreations, they come up pretty well. You can view Miis other users have created in the Mii Parade and you can likewise allow some of your own Miis to travel to other systems when they aren't otherwise engaged.
While not a graphical marvel for sure, the Miis are a great concept. It allows for simple games like Wii Sports and Wii Play that would have been disasters if they used random such graphics in this day and age, to work pretty well, as you are seeing endearing figures stepping up the plate and taking a beating. Rather ingenious.System memory and settings can also be accessed from the Home Menu. Most options are configured the first time you start-up your new Wii, but remember to set-up the Internet settings or change the TV aspect ratios and outputs as needed.

***The Disc: Wii Sports***

Initially thought to be a technical demo, Nintendo surprised quite a few people by announcing that "Wii Sports" is an actual, marketed, game. Even more surprisingly, it is actually pretty good, tons of fun and an integral part of the recent Wii craze.
While showcasing the Wii Remote's creative uses, Wii Sports manages to create 5 interesting interpretations of popular sports:

--Wii Tennis-- [1-4 Players]

A great ice-breaker, Wii Tennis is one of the best ways to introduce someone to Wii controls. Your Mii moves automatically and all you are required to do is perform the appropriate tennis moves. Forehand when the ball is coming to your left, backhand to your right, smash when it's on top! Even spin can be added and although sometimes the timing counts more than your form, it is impressively accurate considering it is the first game for the Wii.
It only features "doubles" matches and its only fault is that two players can't co-operate against the computer. Controlling two Miis at once isn't terribly confusing, but it's certainly much better to control a single one. 4-player matches are hysterical, even in the limited space of my room.

--Wii Baseball-- [1-2 Players]

A pretty simple game, you either pitch or bat, with recoveries and runs covered automatically. Pitching has a few technical options and batting really demonstrates the Wiimote's sensitivity, but Wii Baseball relies solely on the novelty of their controls and virtually nothing else, so it can get old pretty fast.

--Wii Bowling-- [1-4 Players]

An excellent bowling simulation, I incredibly average my real-life scores for the most part. You act much like you would in reality, with the twisting of your wrist adding appropriate curvature. The only part that can be confusing to non gamers is that your grip on the ball is simulated by the holding of the trigger, but it's easily sorted-out after a while and it's all pretty fantastic. Provided you like bowling, of course.
--Wii Golf-- [1-4 Players]

A simple, fun approach to golf, the game is limited to 9 holes and 4 clubs. The controls are typically easy to understand and carry out, but surprisingly hard to master, which is a welcome difference from the other games.

--Wii Boxing-- [1-2 Players]

The only Wii Sports game to use the Nunchuck, Wii Boxing has the potential to be an awesome game and is definitely hilarious. Landing those exaggerated impact punches is awesome, especially when a familiar face is the hapless recipient. You clutch the controllers in your fists and, once again, act naturally.Jabbing, bobbing and weaving work like a charm, but hooks and uppercuts are rather flawed; trying to pull them off can be frustrating. If you stick to the basics, however, Wii Boxing is very fun.

--Extras--

Wii Sports also offers 3 training mini-games per sport, all of which are pretty good. The baseball mini-games in particular are far more enjoyable than the actual game and the "dodging" boxing training is my personal favourite.Wii Sports also uses a random combination of 3 mini-games to test and calculate your Fitness Age. Your performances are charted in Balance, Stamina and Speed and the results range from as young as 20 to as wise as 80 years old. It's a smart feature, that taps on the popularity of Brain Age/Big Brain Academy and can certainly intrigue anyone's vanity.
Wii Fitness can entice even the most technology-oblivious people into sacrificing a few minutes of their day to check their fitness age and it's a great way to get a non-gamer involved in the fun.Overall, Wii Sports is a great demonstration of the Wii's potential and I'd probably pay the full price of £35 for it. If anything, it got me anxious to see full-fledged games surface on the basis of these wee versions.

~~The Games~~

As important as a console's features, semantics and looks might be, they all take second place to the Game Library. The quality and quantity of titles offered is what separates success from failure and, interestingly, they aren't always related to the console's technical strengths and specifications. 

***The Nintendo Power***

 Even if Nintendo's plethora of systems haven't always been top-sellers or universally respected, there isn't any arguing that they all delivered a handful of unbelievably exceptional games. According to www.GameRankings.com, 5 out of the 10 Best Games of All Time have been developed by Nintendo. That is pretty amazing, even without considering the fact that of the remaining 5 games, only one of them was exclusively available to one platform.
This means that when you buy a Nintendo console, you can be absolutely sure that they are personally going to give you at least one true gaming masterpiece you won't find anywhere else. Wii already has "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" and the likes of "Super Mario Galaxy", "Metroid Prime 3: Corruption" and "Super Smash Bros. Brawl!" appear as very capable contenders.And let's not forget that the Wii's Virtual Console allows you to download most of Nintendo's staples for a reasonable price, as well as big hits from other systems of old.
As enormous as it is, however, the "Big N" remains only one company. As such, there are large waiting periods between each gem and even longer if we are talking about specific genres. Nintendo does its best to cover everything, from platformers, to shooters, to racers and RPGs, but people that are most interested in a particular type of game are often asked to be patient for more than 2 years until the next such installment. This is where Third-Party support comes in, as a solid line of separate developers is paramount to filling those gaps and keeping buyers satiated with a healthy influx of games. Unfortunately, Nintendo hasn't been too careful in this area and the past two generations may very well be headlined as...


***The Third-Party Demolition***

 Sony battled Nintendo's "Greatest Games of all Time" with a simply staggering amount of titles for its PlayStations. Even if most of them aren't top class, their sheer number guarantees that some will be perfect for your personal taste.
Of course, the quality brands like "Square-Enix" and "Konami" bring into the fray shouldn't be overlooked; any unique title from these behemoths is money in the bank for Sony.Microsoft has picked up on that fact and has tried to cut as many third-party PlayStation exclusives as possible. Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid and Pro Evolution all eventually found their way to the X-Box, while GameCube owners watched on with their grim faces.
In contrast, the only excellent third-party game, except maybe Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, touted as solely available for the GameCube was Capcom's Resident Evil 4. Its exclusivity was short-lived, however, as it was ported to the PlayStation 2 before you could cry "zombie".Lastly, as far as games appearing in all 3 consoles go, the general consensus is they were inferior on the GameCube. Weaker graphics, clumsier controls and lack of online hampered GC's version of virtually all multiplatform releases.
In short, Third-Party Demolition.Things aren't expected to be much different in this generation, but the Wii's phenomenal appeal to non-gamers changes things up a little, as a lot of developers are enticed to capitalize on the newly formed demographic. Most of the games aimed at that market, however, will be casual and similarly themed.

***The Future***

 History tends to repeat itself and with all three systems now out, an educated guess is possible when discussing what games to expect:
- Nintendo will deliver a couple of masterpieces and a handful of great, universally-enjoyable, titles only for the Wii. There is going to be substantial time between each one, but it's going to be patched somewhat by the simpler, unassuming, family games like Wii Sports.- A lot of games available for both the 360 and the PS3 won't ever come to the Wii, including fan-favourites like Grand Theft Auto 4 and plenty run-of the mill games.
- The Wii version of games appearing in all three platforms will almost certainly be the weakest; the Wii's power lies in the controls and only specifically developed games can make full use of them. Splinter Cell: Double Agent and Marvel Ultimate Alliance are a couple of prime examples. Shooters might have a nicer transition to the Wii thanks to the Wii Remote, but Call of Duty 3 proves controls are not enough and it would be a crime to even compare Red Steel to Gears of War and Resistance: Fall of Man.- It's a whole other story, however, when it comes to party games, like Rayman Raving Rabbids. Wii's "fun for the whole family" theme, with low pricing and pick-up-and-play games, is rapidly gaining in popularity and a lot of developers will jump in the bandwagon and create fun, simple games for the emerging demographic.
So, excluding price differences and movie playback capabilities, examining only the gaming aspect, it all comes down to this: If you have the patience to wait and/or are perfectly happy with the casual, silly, games, the Wii has you covered. If not, both PlayStation 3's and X-Box 360's game libraries are going to be more appealing. Keep in mind, however, that most members of your household will enjoy the Wii more than all the other consoles ever manufactured.

~~OVERALL~~

More than an alternative gaming solution, the Wii is an ambitious leap towards an exciting new direction. Nintendo is a proven leader and, despite past mistakes, the chances taken this time are already reaping the rewards, as more and more people are drawn into video-games thanks to this generation's surprise package. Yet, the focus on innovation and affordability is not without its sacrifices, with the Wii not supporting movie-playback and coming up short in graphical prowess and game library thickness. These shortcomings should be swiftly overlooked, however, as the Wii is the most universally appealing entertainment system since the Pac-Man arcade and, as such, strongly recommended.

Microsoft XBOX 360 Games Console Review

Introduction

The Xbox 360 console is Microsoft’s follow up to the original Xbox which hardly pulled up any trees. Released in November 2005, the 360 quickly became a worldwide hit. The main reason for this was that Microsoft were able to build up their market share a full 12 months before Sony released the Playstation 3. Since its release Microsoft has continuously added extra content to the console including its magnificent Xbox Live Service in order to keep one step ahead of Sony.

Different Versions

There are currently 3 different versions of the Xbox 360. All of these are able to play every single Xbox game ever released but with the higher spec models you get a lot of extras which, as the console matures will be essential items to futureproof the console. All 3 versions allow for HD gaming via the HDMI port which give you amazing looking content.

Arcade

This is the baby of the family. The Arcade version is perfect for novice gamers who are finding out what the Xbox 360 console is all about. The Arcade comes with wired controllers and a 256Mb memory module. The Arcade does not come with a hard disk drive which means that playing online via Xbox Live is not possible on most games due to the amount of disk space required to save games and extra content. A hard disk can be added at a later time but if you think you might want to go down this path then I would recommend giving the Arcade a miss and moving on to the Premium.

Premium

Microsoft are currently phasing out the Premium console but currently, this is the best selling version of the 360. This console is white, like the arcade but boasts a 60Gb hard disk drive and comes with wireless controllers as standard. Originally the Premium came with a 20Gb hard disk so if someone offers you one of these, kindly decline as it will be very old stock and will be more susceptible to breakdown.

Elite

This is where Microsoft would like all their gamers to be. The Elite is the newest of the Xbox family and has been given a nice shiny black shell as if to convey its superiority. In real terms however, the only difference between the Elite and the Premium is that the Elite comes with a 120Gb hard disk drive. Up until recently, it also came with the HDMI cable but for reasons only Microsoft can explain, they stopped supplying this, meaning that you would have to buy this yourself or make do with the composite HD cable which comes as standard across the range.

In the box

Whichever version of the console you decide to go for, the contents in the box are going to be the same with the exception of wired controllers for the Arcade and wireless for the other 2 versions.
The main item in the box is obviously the console itself.

This fills a good 75% of the box and is expertly wrapped so as to avoid any kind of damage in transit. The console ships with just one controller , this will be the same colour as the console although there is nothing to stop you using black controllers on the white console and visa versa. Continuing the gaming theme, you also get a headset to allow you to communicate with fellow players while online or friends in a normal private chat. The headset plugs directly into your controller, meaning that you could actually buy extra headsets for each controller should you wish to although for this to work all users will need their own Xbox Live account.The power supply comes in two parts. The part which connects to the mains has a big power block on the other end, there is then a separate cable which connects from this into the back of the Xbox.

The final component in the box is the composite display cable. This cable can either be set to SD for older TV’s or composite HD for newer TV’s. Regardless of which setting you choose, this cable will always fit into a scart socket on your TV. Although the composite HD is better quality than the normal SD picture, it is not a patch on proper HD so I would recommend getting an HDMI cable, should your TV support it.The setup of this console is really easy and, allowing time for unwrapping all the components, you should be up and running with a picture on your screen within 15 minutes.

Setting up

Once you have a display on the screen, there is still a bit of setting up to do. In order to identify different users on your console, you need to create individual gamertags. A gamer tag is what will identify you to friends and other in-game players whilst online. If you already have a gamertag from a previous Xbox or you have a Games for Windows Live account, you can recover these settings onto any other Xbox in the world. You would only do this if you had bought a new Xbox or you wanted to use your account at a friends house. It is worth mentioning that you may only have one Xbox where the gamertag is live, by recovering this onto one Xbox, disables it on any others where it may be active. I found this out to my cost when trying to transfer my gamertag to my sons Xbox. Although this worked fine, it disabled the account on my Xbox, meaning I then had to recover the account back onto my Xbox when I needed to use it again.If you are totally new to the Xbox then you can create your gamertag from scratch. As well as your gamertag, you can also create an avatar to represent you, much like a Mii on the Wii, this avatar will be how other Xbox members see you when browsing your profile. If you are setting up an account for the first time, you will be given one months free access to Xbox Live gold so that you can explore its potential before purchasing it in future.

Size

The Xbox 360 is a beast and completely dwarfs the Wii in its appearance. Weighing 3.5kg (the Wii is 2kg) and being 309 mm long, 83mm high and 258 mm deep (all these sizes assume the console is laid flat although it can be used on its side), you need to pretty much devote an entire shelf in your TV cabinet to the console.

When I first opened the box and saw the Xbox, it did surprise me as to how big the console was compared to my Wii. The Xbox however, is known for generating a lot of heat so it needs all the extra space to circulate the air in an attempt to stop it from overheating.

Dashboard

It is all very well having high tech hardware and mindblowing specifications but if the user interface is terrible, people are going to get frustrated with the system. The Xbox 360 dashboard is probably one of the easiest, intuitive interfaces you could find. It is split down into different sections, each giving their own unique content.

My Xbox.

This section shows you what game you currently have in your disk drive, this can be loaded from here. You can also see a list of the last 4 games you have played and get access to any game or movie you may have downloaded from the Xbox Marketplace. If you are using Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can stream audio and video from your PC to your Xbox. Whilst this sounds good, in my experience, this takes an age to synchronise and when it is finally ready, video playback is jerky. If you do want to try this out though, My Xbox is the place to do it.

Spotlight / Insight

These 2 sections are very similar and offer features on up and coming titles as well as special offers on downloadable content. Articles in these sections vary from on screen text to actual streamed video of gamer interviews or footage of games. Although these are not essential to the Xbox experience, I do find myself watching this content at least once a week.

Game / Video Marketplace

The marketplace is an area where you can buy extra content for a game or actually rent a movie for 24 hours which is then streamed to your console. Any content bought from the marketplace is bought using Microsoft points as its currency rather than actual money. Personally I don’t like this method as I think its complicated to work out how much you are are paying for things. It would be much simpler if you could buy individual items by credit card.

Membership types

There are two types of membership type for the Xbox. These are namely Silver and Gold. I am not going to go into any detail about these here as I have a full review on the merits of these membership types elsewhere on this site. If you haven’t read (and rated) this review yet, I’d appreciate it if you would take a look after finishing this one.

Red ring of death

If you have done any research into the history of the Xbox 360, you will no doubt have heard about the Red Ring of Death or RROD as it is commonly known. In fact, if you were to read the broken English, scammer reviews I talked about in my opening paragraph, you would be lead to think that the RROD was the only thing an Xbox ever did. In older Xbox consoles the RROD was a common occurrence after many uses, a technical flaw in the design of the console meant that certain components were overheating and it was the wear and tear from this which caused the console to break. This would then light up all four quadrants on the front of the console in red as a measure to communicate to the user that there was a problem.

Microsoft to their credit acknowledged this fault and to this day, they will repair any console displaying these symptoms free of charge.
Newer consoles tend not to suffer from these issues due to a change of power supply. Although nobody can guarantee the problem is 100% fixed, the likelihood of getting the RROD on a console bought in the last 12-18 months is very much reduced.

Game Library

Most games that come out on the Xbox also come out on the Playstation 3. There are however a few exceptions which in my opinion, make the Xbox a more exciting proposition. Forza 3 is the most realistic driving simulation you will ever find, you can drive anything from your bog standard city cars right up to formula one style cars. These cars are supposed to handle exactly as they would in real life making for a very exciting game.

Grand Theft Auto IV actually came out on both the Xbox and the Playstation however the Xbox is the only place where you can play the extra chapters of the story. The Lost and Damned came out in April 2009 as a downloadable extra for 360 owners who already had purchased GTA4 and it was released on disk in October 2009 along with the Ballad of Gay Tony, again exclusively on Xbox. Although the PS3 also has its own exclusive content, it is not in the same league as the licenses acquired by Microsoft.There are other titles that are Xbox exclusives but these 2 are in my opinion the biggest ones to be released in recent months.

Accessories

As with all consoles you can go over the top with accessories. There are some that I would describe as being essential purchases however.The Xbox doesn’t come with wifi built in for reasons only known to Microsoft. To get the best out of Xbox Live, you really do need to purchase a wireless network adapter. Although you can bridge a connection to your PC or use other unsupported methods, I have found this adapter to be a great buy. For more information on this, please read my review on the adapter.
As the controllers are wireless, inevitably they are going to run out of battery juice. If you were buying AA batteries every couple of weeks, it is soon going to become an expensive game. With this in mind, Microsoft have released rechargeable battery packs that can be charged whilst playing. These cost about £12 and take roughly 6 hours to charge while you are playing. Personally I prefer an offline charger. I paid £20 for mine which takes 2 to 3 hours to fully charge but you cannot use the controller whilst it is charging.

The future

The future of the Xbox is very exciting. Microsoft have announced that there are no plans to replace the current 360 within the next 4 years or so. Instead, they are going to develop a new way of playing games around the current system. The next generation of gaming will actually involve they player becoming part of the game, a little bit like the Wii but far more advanced. Project Natal (the codename for the work in progress project) not only recognises a single movement like the Wii but recognises movement from 43 parts of the body meaning that your entire body now becomes part of the game.

Add to this voice recognition and even face recognition for accessing your account amongst other things and its obvious to see why Natal is going to be the next big thing in gaming. Originally, this was due out around Easter 2010 but this has now slipped until the Autumn. Microsoft really do need to get this out for Christmas as I have a feeling that this could be the present to have next Christmas already. Although no price has been set, it is rumoured that this will cost around £200 so even though Microsoft are not releasing a new console for a while, you will still have to pay the equivalent of one to own this much talked about device.

Downsides

Even the most brilliant of consoles do have their downsides. On turning the Xbox on for the first time your first thought will be how noisy it is. Compared to the Wii and PS3 there is no denying that this is by far the most noisy console. This is something that you will soon get used too however and it wont spoil your enjoyment one little bit.As already mentioned, wifi is not standard on these consoles, I do think Microsoft are taking the goodwill of customers to the limit with this decision, especially as much of the Xbox’s marketing and selling points are geared to Xbox Live.

Verdict

My friends had tried to convince me to buy an Xbox for a good 12 months before I actually took the plunge. I had always used the argument that I was happy with the Wii and that the Xbox just had fancy graphics. When I finally bought my Xbox, I saw that I was far wide of the mark. Sure, the graphics are amazing, especially in HD but the gameplay is second to none. I am not one of these who gets into the habit of saying ‘my console is better than yours’. In fact, I think the Xbox and the Wii complement each other nicely as they both offer games for completely different audiences. With the imminent arrival of Natal, I think the Xbox could start to threaten the Wii’s uniqueness but that can only be good for gaming in the future. Personally, I would steer clear of the Xbox Arcade version unless you really are at the top of your budget, the Premium and Elite versions offer far better value for money and are essential if you want to take your console online. Games on the Xbox are almost identical in look, feel, and quality as those on the Playstation 3. Where the Xbox gets its plaudits is for the online play where it is streets ahead of anything seen up to now. A console that can attract almost a quarter of a million gamers online, playing the same game at any one time (Modern Warfare 2 just after Christmas) surely must have something going for it. If I were in to games whether it be an occasional player or a dedicated gamer, the Xbox 360 would be the console I’d go for every time. I’d go for the Elite version, only because the Premium is being phased out and the Elite currently offers some good bundles for around the £200 mark. Bear in mind though that to play online, you are going to need to add another £60-70 on top of this price for your wireless adapter and/or your Xbox Live membership. When all is said and done, once you are all set up and playing with this console, you’ll love it, I can almost 100% guarantee that.

Sony Playstation 3 Slim Games Console Review

Sony rectified the problem with 2009's PS3 'Slim', a smaller and arguably sexier device. The Slim isn't just a cosmetic update however, it significantly ups the hard drive capacity, and is better for the environment too - using an estimated 34% less power when in operation. The latest version of the PS3 Slim comes in two formats - there's one with a 160GB hard-drive, and also a 320GB option.

PRICE & AVAILABILITY - where can I purchase my PS3 Slim from?

Currently, the 160GB PS3 Slim can be bought from amazon.co.uk for £229, whilst its higher capacity 320GB brethren retails at £269. Compared to the price of the Xbox360, the PS3 is the more expensive of the two machines - around £50 more expensive in fact. That said, if you're willing to buy a second hand PS3 Slim, then there are bargains to be had - from eBay for example, you can pick up a lightly used 160GB machine for around £170, which isn't bad at all. For the price you'll get a composite A/V input cable and one DualShock 3 wireless controller - unfortunately, if you want your console to operate in glorious HD, you'll have to buy an HDMI cable separately.

DESIGN & FEATURES - what does the machine look like, and what does it do?

In terms of its appearance, the PS3 Slim couldn't ever be described as glamorous - in fact it's fairly industrial looking with a moulded black plastic body and brutalist frontage. Discs are entered via a slot loading drive on the front right hand side, underneath which is a power on button, and an eject button. When you switch on the device, the menu system (referred to as Sony's 'XrossMediaBar') is really easy to navigate - perhaps not quite as user friendly and colourful as the Xbox360's, but it seems more grown-up, and there are more in-depth settings to tinker with. In operation, the device is very quiet (another improvement from the original larger PS3), so you can enjoy playing games or watching movies without a tumultuous internal fan noise.

CONNECTIVITY - hooking up the device to your other accessories

Handily, the PS3 Slim has an optical audio out port, meaning that you can easily connect it to your home cinema system and achieve Dolby 5.1 stereo surround (or Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD Master Audio for that matter). The front of the console has two USB ports - which to be honest probably isn't enough. I would have preferred an extra USB port at the back (the original PS3 had one), so you could plug extra accessories in without having a messy cable coming from the front of the machine - ah well, you can't have everything I suppose!

For connecting to your TV, there's the HDMI out port, and also a composite A/V out. In terms of the network capabilities, the machine has in-built WiFi for the internet and playing games online. Speaking of which, the PS3 lets you play games online for free, unlike the Xbox360 where you have to pay for the privilege.

BLU-RAY / DVD PLAYER - How well will it play my movies?

One of the main reasons that many consumers decide to purchase the PS3 over the rival Xbox360 is due to its ability to play Blu-ray discs. In fact, so good is the quality of the blu-ray playback, that the PS3 is often ranked up there amongst the top standalone blu-ray players. The 1080p system even has support for 3D blu-ray discs - so if you've got a 3D enabled TV you'll soon be raring to go. You'll achieve the best results if you've got a TV which supports 24frames per second mode - here films will flow with a cinematic quality and generally look great. If you're watching regular DVDs on the machine, you'll get a nicely up-scaled picture, meaning that (providing you've connected to your TV via HDMI and have an HD ready TV) you'll achieve a better picture than you would from a normal bog-standard DVD player. I would recommend getting hold of the official Sony Blue-Ray remote which can currently be picked up for £14.99, as this makes controlling your movies a lot easier than doing it with your gamepad.

THE GAMES - availability & graphics

Of course, it's all very well having a well designed and feature-laden console - but if the game developers don't support it, then it's deemed a certain failure. That said, I'm happy to report that the PS3 is an extremely well catered for system, with a plethora of games to choose from. To single out just one title, the recently released 'Gran Turismo 5' is simply the most comprehensive racing game to have ever been made, and it's available only on Sony. I would similarly recommend 'Little Big Planet 2' - this Stephen Fry narrated platformer really does push the boundaries of creativity in the genre. Powered by the Nvidia graphics processor, games have the potential to be visually superb - technically more powerful than the Xbox360, although you won't notice a massive difference in practice. Unfortunately, the machine isn't backward compatible - so if you own a library of Playstation 2 titles, then sadly you won't be able to use them (although strangely enough PS1 compatibility is still intact). This is one advantage that the Xbox360 has over the PS3, as it allows you to play the original Xbox games without any fuss.

THE CONTROLLER - Introducing the DualShock3

New PS3 slim consoles ship with one control pad in the form of the DualShock3. If you need another however, you can purchase one for around £35 from Amazon. These black plastic controllers are comfortable to hold, feeling nice and sturdy in the hand. Utilising bluetooth technology, the DualShock 3 is a wireless pad - well, it's wireless until the internal lithium battery runs dry, and then you'll have to connect it via the (provided) USB cable to the front of your console to charge.

Of course, the DualShock3 has a force-feedback feature (hence the 'shock' part of its title) - and this is pretty much spot-on, being frequently used to create anything from small vibrations to full on, large scale rumbles. From what I have described so far, the DualShock3 may sound like a magnificent controller - but I don't actually like it a much as the Xbox 360's offering, due to the positioning of the left thumb-stick. It feels like it's too far to the right of the pad, meaning that your thumb has to stretch a little over the D-Pad to reach it.
If you don't fancy forking out all that money for the Dualshock3, then the QuickAct controller (listed in the Argos catalogue as the 'PS3 Compatible Dualshock Controller') is really good for the price - it's only half the cost of the official pad, and it performs just as well (that's if you'll forgive the lack of motion sensitive controls). At first glance, it would appear that the Quick Act controller is identical to the DualShock3, and it feels just as comfortable in the hands - the four main Playstation 'shape' buttons are a little smaller by comparison, but they feel nice and solid to the press. The two thumb-sticks are excellent - feeling tactile and smooth to move around, so no issues here. The triggers are very good too - spongy, with a quality which is better than the low price tag would suggest. The controller requires three AAA batteries to operate, and these slot neatly into a section on the pad's rear - in my experience, the batteries last a reasonable amount of time before they need replacing which is certainly a good thing.

FINAL WORD - a must have, or a must avoid?

Basically, the PS3 Slim is the best console that you currently can own - the blu-ray player is excellent, and as a games machine it's truly superb. Although more expensive than the Xbox360, the PS3 Slim offers real value for money, and this is because it can be used as an all round entertainment system. There's even a BBC iPlayer app which you can select from the menu, allowing you to wirelessly stream direct from the popular TV catch up service. The PS3 Slim's capabilities are further extended If you decide to buy the excellent 'PlayTV' add-on (£35 from Amazon), which connects to the console via USB and enables you to use your PS3 as a Freeview+ enabled hard drive recorder. Yes, there are a few issues which I have pointed out in the review (not enough USB ports, lack of PS2 compatibility, and controller issues), yet these 'problems' are simply insignificant when the console is viewed as a whole - highly recommended as an excellent device.

ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL INFO

AV Output: HDMI Out x1, AV Multi Out x 2, Digital Optical Out x 1
Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM
Ethernet: X1 (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T
Bluetooth: 2.0 (EDR)
Blu-Ray Read Speed 2x / DVD Read Speed 8x
Dimensions: 290mm (W) x 65mm (H) x 290mm (L)
Weight: 3.2kg

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Mobile Phone Review

The first Samsung Galaxy Note quickly split opinion among phone fans, with many -- including us -- arguing that its 5.3-inch screen was just ridiculous. Others, however, were delighted at the extra screen space for movies, photos and web browsing and the gigantophone was a surprise hit.
Samsung is back to stretch our pockets again with the Galaxy Note 2. It's an even bigger 5.5-inch monster that offers the handy S Pen stylus, a wealth of built-in software and the latest Android Jelly Bean operating system.
With a blisteringly powerful quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM under the hood, is the Note 2 the ultimate mobile device or is it still just too big?
It's available now for free on two-year contracts starting at £31 per month, or £530 SIM-free.
A quick note before I go on -- the Galaxy Note 2 I tested did not have 4G. EE, the UK's only 4G network right now, has just announced it will be selling a 4G version of the Note 2 later this year, so if you want super-fast data with your maximobile, you'll have to wait a month or so.

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 2?

Before I answer that question, ask yourself one thing: is the Samsung Galaxy S3 too big? If your answer is yes, this really isn't the phone for you. It's barely even a phone at all. At 5.5 inches the Note is significantly bigger than the S3's 4.8 inches and blurs the line between phone and tablet even more than its gargantuan predecessor did.
The reason for its huge size is to provide a massive high-definition screen for watching video, looking at websites and -- obviously -- writing notes. Samsung's S Pen stylus might seem a tad old-fashioned, but it quickly won me over, thanks to the way it's integrated into most things you do on the phone in a really fun (and totally optional) way.
Bespoke software such as S Note lets you create magazine-style note pages on which you can pop down your photos, videos or map locations to annotate to your hearts content. Using the pen you can also activate commands with on-screen gestures, saving you having to jump into individual applications each time you want to do something.

Tiny-handed typists need not apply.

Samsung has also thrown in some helpful extras like the ability to watch video in a movable window while continuing to navigate around the interface -- helpful for quickly Googling something when you can't bear to miss a second of your film.
It's running on the cutting-edge version of Android known as Jelly Bean, which brings much smoother interface transitions as well as Google Now, the live information service that tailors info specifically for you, based on your location and search habits.
That's all powered by a monstrous quad-core processor that provided the best benchmark scores we've seen on a mobile phone. Rest assured this thing will tackle even the most demanding 3D games without breaking a sweat.
If your phone requirements start and end with text messaging and social networking, the Galaxy Note 2 clearly isn't for you -- check out a great value budget Android phone. If you want something just as powerful but a more manageable, pocket-friendly size, the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the smaller iPhone 5 are the clear leaders right now. In a sense, the Note 2 is a completely different kind of product.
If your phone is your constant companion and you use it all the time for work, as well as browsing the Web and watching video, I think you'll find the Note 2 very fine indeed. It's a beefy beast, yes, but it more than justifies that girth.

Design and build quality

The Galaxy Note 2 is, in a word, huge. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given the size of its predecessor, but it still caused me to do a double-take when I saw it in the flesh.
It measures 80mm wide and 151mm tall, making it slightly narrower and longer than the original Note. That extra length allows it to pack in the 16:9 aspect ratio screen and also makes it marginally easier to sit in one hand. It's also 0.3mm thinner than the first Note, a microscopic difference you'll never notice.

For such a huge device, it's surprisingly thin.

It might be slightly narrower than the Note, but make no mistake that this is still a monstrous phone. Holding it in one hand is fine for simply reading, but you would need enormous Hulk hands to stretch your thumb across for one-handed typing.
Sending a quick text telling your mate you're going to be late while trying to steady yourself on the bus is an awkward task. I found one-handed typing quickly became uncomfortable. I strongly recommend simply waiting until you can properly hold it in two hands before typing anything longer than, "I'm going to be late."
It'll slide fairly easily into most trouser pockets, but its whopping proportions mean it's likely to cause something of a bulge and doesn't sit as comfortably as a normal smart phone would. If skin-tight jeans are your thing, you might need to invest in a new satchel for it -- or at least consider switching to those cargo trousers with the pockets in the knees.
If it's just unmanageable for you, take a look at the Galaxy S3 instead. The S3's 70mm width and 136mm length is still a stretch for small hands, but it's much more practical than the Note. Among 4-inch phones, the new iPhone 5 is the clear leader, but there are many less expensive Android phones of that size too.
The Note 2, then, is best seen as a small tablet. If you do most of your serious business on massive touchscreens but need something easier to carry around than a 7-inch slate, the Note 2 will certainly come in useful. Holding it in one hand and the S Pen in another, like an old-fashioned notebook and Biro, is really comfortable and allows you to scrawl long handwritten notes -- very difficult on phones under the 4.3-inch mark.
Apart from its size, the Note 2 looks similar to the Galaxy S3. It shares the rounded back and silver edges, together with the plain white colouring (or a lined-pattern grey that's similar to the S3's Pebble blue option). I found my white review model to easily pick up muck and grease, and I fancy the grey model will hide everyday scrunge much better.

The stylus -- sorry, S Pen -- slots in down here.

Around the edges you'll find a volume rocker and a power button, both of which have been moved down from their positions on the first Note to make them easier to reach with one hand. There's also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top as well as a micro-USB port on the bottom.
The Note 2 comes with 16, 32 or 64GB of internal storage. 16GB isn't a massive amount, and if you're a serial app downloader and enjoy glossy games from the Google Play store such as Six Guns or Nova 3 you'll find you quickly run out of room to accommodate their enormous installation files.
You can pop in a microSD card, expanding the internal storage with an extra 64GB. That at least allows you to store all your photos, videos and music to the card, leaving the internal space for apps -- I found I couldn't easily install apps to external cards, a problem I also encountered on the S3.

Screen

The Note 2's enormous frame supports a truly vast 5.5-inch screen. That's marginally bigger than the previous model's 5.3-inch display, although that boost comes just from the extra length.
Its 16:9 aspect ratio -- meaning it's much longer than it is wide -- is designed to let you watch widescreen videos without any annoying black bars. It certainly did the trick with my two test videos, which were displayed full-screen, taking up every available pixel on offer.
So how does it actually look? In a word: stunning. Thanks to the Super AMOLED technology Samsung uses, the screen is not only searingly bright, but also provides incredibly rich colours and deep blacks for a strong contrast ratio. It made the blue skies in my favourite snowboarding film Art of Flight look intensely vivid against the snow-capped mountains.

That monolithic screen in all its Super AMOLED glory.

The extremely bold colours on Samsung's previous AMOLED displays have sometimes bordered on the oversaturated. The Galaxy S2's screen was particularly bold and looked a little unrealistic when put next to the iPhone 4's more natural colour tones. While the Note 2 is certainly vivid, I wouldn't say it's overly so, and there are colour balance options in the menu if you want to go for a more subdued look.
It offers a resolution of 720x1,280 pixels, making it perfectly suited for tackling 720p high-definition content. It's roughly the same resolution as the original Note, which was already incredibly sharp, so I can't complain that it hasn't been increased this time around. It's the same resolution as the smaller Galaxy S3, which means that in terms of sharpness, the S3 has the edge.
Although it has the same number of pixels, due to the Note 2's bigger size, those pixels are stretched over a larger canvas and fewer pixels per inch results in a blunter screen. If you put the two phones side by side and look really closely you might just be able to tell a difference, but they're practically the same.

S Pen stylus

The Note 2 wouldn't be complete without a stylus for writing the eponymous old-school reminders. Samsung calls it the S Pen, and you'll find it tucked into a little slot on the bottom right of the phone, the same place as it was before.
Its location may not have changed, but the pen itself has. The rounded barrel shape has gone, replaced with a flat edge and a fatter design, which makes holding it steady while writing much more comfortable. It's slightly longer too, so there's a little more of it to get hold of.
Samsung's styluses use very narrow, hard nibs that offer a much more precise contact with the screen than the various fat, spongey tips you find on third-party styluses. Imagine the difference between writing with a ballpoint pen and a felt-tip marker pen.

It's time to get down to business.

It means you can prod with much greater accuracy at small icons, which makes hitting those tiny links in your web browser much easier than using your own chocolate-covered fingers. Making hand-written notes is easy-peasy, and there's enough room on the screen to let you show off your arty side with drawing apps like Sketchbook Mobile Express (or cheat at Draw Something).
Helpfully, the screen is able to ignore the palm of your hand when the stylus is in contact. That means you can write as you normally would with the skin of your hand touching the screen without it drawing random smudges as you move your mitt about.

Sketchbook Mobile Express, a pre-loaded app, helps you get creative with the S Pen.

Bear in mind though that there's only one stylus included, and if you're anything like me, you'll lose that within the week. The Note does have a sensor that can detect if you're walking off and the stylus isn't in the slot, but if you're travelling home on a noisy bus, I have no doubt it would be very easy to ignore.
I'd recommend making absolutely sure you properly replace it every time you use it. Hopefully Samsung will offer replacement pens so you can stock up and stop worrying.

S Pen software

Samsung has also crammed the Note 2 with dollops of nifty software that makes the most of the pen. S Note is the main event: it lets you write notes, paste in photos, videos and map locations so you can turn a boring list into a magazine-style page or a colourful mind-map.

The S Note app is a flexible, useful tool for making richly detailed memos.

When you've finished, you can save the note as either a JPEG image or as a PDF document for you to share with anyone -- Samsung users or otherwise. It's a useful little tool that makes it easy to jot down an idea alongside accompanying images. I found it to be very handy in at least a couple of situations -- adding directions to an attached image of a map was particularly helpful for my visiting mum, for example.
Samsung includes example notes showing you how best to make use of it, from creating financial spreadsheets and scrawling notes on them to sketching out ideas of how to redesign a garden. Your own results will naturally depend on your own artistic flair, but it's mostly straightforward to use.

Evidently Samsung's team has rather more artistic talent than us.

Another helpful extra is the ability to hold the button on the pen and then circle an item on screen. This will take a screenshot of the circled area, letting you paste it into whatever app you please. It's a very handy way of communicating what's on your screen with others without pasting in an entire screenshot.

The S Pen makes it easy to select an area of the screen to copy and paste.

The Note 2 also brings a feature called Air View. When you hover the stylus over the screen, but don't actually touch it, it brings up a cursor. With Air View, when you hover this cursor over certain items, it can bring up more information without you needing to click it. With the video player, for example, if you hover over the seek bar it shows a thumbnail of that part of the video, letting you easily skip ahead to a specific scene.

Hovering the S Pen over the seek bar helps you quickly find the section you want to watch.

Over in Samsung's S Planner calendar app, if hovering will show you a list of all events taking place on a day, or more details about a specific event. The same goes for Samsung's email app, where you can hover over the subject line or email body preview to show more information. Sadly, this functionality isn't built into the Gmail app.

Air View also lets you quickly see details about a calendar event without having to open it up.

Air View might not be a revolutionary feature, but I found I didn't need to keep jumping in and out of calendar entries or emails to see what was going on. Sure, you're only saving a couple of seconds each time, but those seconds add up.

It's just as helpful in the Samsung email app too, but it doesn't work with Gmail.

Another neat little feature is called Quick Command. When on a home screen, press the small button on the S Pen and swipe upwards on the screen. That brings up the Quick Command box, a list of commands you can activate with the pen. If you draw the '@' symbol followed by a contact's name, for example, then assuming your handwriting is legible then phone will bring up a new email to that contact.
There's a bunch of other commands too, such as writing '!' followed by a location to do a maps search or '#' followed by a contact to call someone. It worked pretty well in my time with the phone and it rarely struggled to read my words, so long as I made sure they were relatively neat.

Quick Command lets you perform certain tasks just by drawing icons.

These extra bits of software individually don't make the phone a whole lot better, but together they do their best to save you several screen-taps and therefore time. It takes time to learn them, but once I did I found them surprisingly helpful.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

The Note 2 uses the latest version of Android known as 4.1 Jelly Bean. It might seem logical to assume that a new device would ship with the latest software, but even though Jelly Bean has been around for a while now, many new devices don't come with it on board. Brand-new phones such as the Razr i and Xperia T offer the older 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and promise an update to Jelly Bean at some unspecified point in the future. Its presence on the Note 2 is definitely a point in its favour.

The Jelly Bean interface isn't a radical overhaul from Ice Cream Sandwich.

Why? Jelly Bean isn't immediately much different from ICS, but it has a few neat tricks up its sleeve. For one, it increases the frame rate of the interface, resulting in very smooth page transitions and menu scrolling. It also allows you to block notifications from the drop-down bar when you're heading out on a date and don't want to be disturbed.
One of the key additions is Google Now -- a new service that tailors info based specifically on your location and your search habits.

Google Now shows information like the weather, nearby bars and your travel times without you even needing to search.

Google Now can be accessed when you tap the Google search bar on the homescreen, rather than the swiping gesture seen on the Nexus 7 tablet. You'll see a Google search bar, your local weather information and a set of cards showing nearby restaurants. The idea is Google Now will eventually learn your movements and habits and offer advice based on them.
If Thursday afternoons usually see you trotting off to a meeting, for example, Google Now will be able to bring up a handy reminder beforehand, complete with directions and traffic information to your location. It will inform you of the best time to leave in order to get there promptly, taking into account the traffic situation.
This works on the Note 2 in the same way as it does on the Nexus 7. I was cheerily informed of the London Underground line status between my house in West London and the CNET UK office in central London and how long it would take me to get there, including the time it takes to walk to the stations.

Google Now was easily able to understand my question and give me directions to St Paul's Cathedral.

It also works particularly well with voice searches when you're in a hurry. When I asked, "How do I get to St Paul's?" It immediately asked if I meant St Paul's Cathedral and then brought up driving directions from my location. It would have taken considerably longer to load Google Maps and type the search in by hand.
Other than that, the Jelly Bean interface is fairly straightforward. You get the usual multiple screens to fill up with app icons and widgets displaying live information. Any apps you don't want on your main homescreen are stored in pages of apps similar to the grid-style screens of the iPhone.
You have full access to the Google Play store to download your choice of hundreds of thousands of apps, as well as Play Books and Play Movies for your reading and movie needs.

Samsung software

As well as all the S Pen software discussed earlier, Samsung's also chucked in a few helpful little extras.
On the homescreens you'll spy a couple of dedicated widgets for playing videos and music as well as a big S Suggest widget. S Suggest is Samsung's own app store and it attempts to recommend apps tailored for you. I mostly found it useless -- it showed me mainly apps I already had, or games such as SongPop Free that it would have no reason to think I would like. Still, it's a simple task to get rid of that widget.

Samsung pops some of its own widgets on the homescreens, but you don't have to keep them there.

You also get access to Samsung's various shops. The Music Hub lets you stream and download music from 7 Digital's catalogue for £9.99 per month or buy individual tracks for 99p. I'd suggest the Spotify app with a premium subscription gives you more for the same price, although it doesn't let you buy music.

Samsung's Music and Games Hubs don't offer much over the Google Play store or Spotify.

There's also the Games Hub for fun stuff and the Readers Hub for books, for which you'll need to sign up for a Samsung account. None of these services offer anything over using the Google Play store, so really they're just cluttering up your phone.
Much more useful is Pop-up Play. This is a feature we first saw on the Galaxy S3 and the Note 10.1 tablet -- it lets your video pop out of the player to float above the interface as you go about your other business. You can move it around so it doesn't get in the way and is a very handy way of quickly googling something without missing a second of your film.

Pop up Play lets you view your video in a window over the top of the Android interface.

You can also add notes onto the back of your photos. Head into your gallery and flip over any image saved there and you can scrawl some info about it using the S Pen.
A key use that sprung to my mind for this is to be able to write the name of someone you've met on a blurry night out and taken a photo of -- it could save the embarrassment of admitting the next day that you don't remember a thing about them. (Just be careful with that S Pen.) All your photos with notes attached display a little fold in the top corner, so it's easy to see which ones you've doodled on.

Photo Note lets you write on the back of all your photos -- a genuinely useful little touch.

Just like on the Galaxy Note 10.1, the Note 2 is able to show two apps side-by-side on the screen. For example, it allows you to have the Chrome browser open -- perhaps looking for restaurants -- while you're simultaneously searching for their locations in Maps.
Pressing and holding the touch-sensitive back button next to the physical home button brings up a list of apps for you to choose from. You can then pop them down next to each other on the screen. It's a little fiddly to do but if you regularly have to flick back and forth between apps to check information as you type you'll probably find it extremely useful.
At the moment there aren't many apps that can take advantage of it -- the essentials such as Facebook, Chrome, Twitter, Maps and YouTube are there though -- but it's likely that more apps will support it if it becomes a standard feature on all Samsung phones.
If you've bought a Note 2 really early then this feature won't be included as standard, but it is available immediately in a software update. It will however be preinstalled on all Note 2s sold from now on.

If you frequently flick back and forth between apps, you'll enjoy being able to use them side-by-side.

Other features you'll find on board include Smart Stay, which stops the screen from dimming while you're looking at it, Direct Call, which lets you hold the phone to your face when a contact is on screen to phone them, and Flip to Mute, which is pretty self-explanatory. Those are all present on the Galaxy S3 and work in exactly the same way.

Performance

Under the hood of the Note 2 is a 1.6GHz quad-core processor backed up by a meaty 2GB of RAM. That's a spicy lineup of specs and slightly outstrips the recent Galaxy Note 10.1, which offers a 1.4GHz clock speed. I found that to be extremely potent so I had very high hopes for the Note 2.
To see how it compared, I fired up the Geekbench benchmark test and hit a score of 1,998 -- the best score on this test I've seen from a phone. By comparison, our rooted Galaxy S3 only managed to achieve 1,116 on the same test and nobody would call that phone underpowered.

The Note 2 gave the best performance I've seen from an Android device on the Geekbench benchmark test.

A similarly impressive performance was forthcoming on the Quadrant benchmark test, where it clocked up a whopping 5,987. The S3 gave a lesser 5,289 on this test while HTC's One X only managed 4,904. Clearly, the Note 2 is packing some ferocious power inside its enormous frame and it's immediately evident that power is put to good use.

It also gave a stonking performance on the Quadrant test.

Swiping through the home screens is responsive and free of any kind of lag, nor is there any visible delay when opening the multi-tasking bar to swipe through currently running apps.
For most tasks, like social networking or reading your emails, you really don't need that much power. It definitely makes photo editing a far snappier affair, however, and helps it tackle high-definition video without breaking a sweat -- even when it's popped out and you're scooting around your homescreens at the same time.
It's also well poised to handle demanding 3D games from the Google Play store. I booted up Antutu's 3D benchmark and the Note 2 gave a score of 4,044, almost doubling the 2,304 achieved by the Galaxy S3. In my own use, I found it was able to easily handle the games I threw at it, maintaining smooth frame rates even in the more graphically demanding sections of 3D shooter ShadowGun.

Battery life

With such a humongous screen and a super-charged engine under the hood, you'd be right to expect the battery to be stretched to its limits. Thoughtfully, Samsung has included a particularly capacious 3,100mAh battery.
I found the battery to be easily capable of surviving a full 12 hours of use, even when I was playing numerous videos and downloading apps over our office Wi-Fi. I haven't been able to run our usual battery benchmark tests so I'll have to update this review with a more scientific verdict soon, but it's certainly looking promising.
If you're particularly worried about battery life, Android makes it simple to conserve juice. In the drop-down notifications bar you'll find a power-saving button that can limit the power of the processor, use a lower power level for the screen and turn off haptic feedback -- all of which should help squeeze out a little more life.
Turning down the screen brightness and turning off Wi-Fi and GPS services also greatly improve battery life, and are also easily switched off in the notifications bar. Plus you can carry around a spare battery, something you can never say of the iPhone.

Camera

On the back of the Note 2 you'll find an 8-megapixel camera with an LED flash. That's the same camera spec offered by the S3, so I was expecting similar results, but I was a little let down by its efforts. It's a big old unit too, so you may feel a little self-conscious taking it out for a quick snap with your friends, although it's not quite as bad as those weirdos who take photos with their tablet.

This scene was exposed fairly well, but it lacked the clarity I'd hope to see on a high-end smartphone camera (click image to enlarge).

When shooting the famous CNET UK pool table, the Note 2 was able to accurately expose for the scene, keeping the bright building outside the window under control while still keeping the darker shadows in the foreground in plain view. The scene lacks definition overall, however, particularly when you look closely at the vending machines and the blue wall behind.

This disreputable looking fellow had the gall to make fun of me for "taking a photo with a tablet" (click image to enlarge).

I took the phone to a grimy Southwark pub to test its low-light performance and, like my subject, I wasn't exactly thrilled. While the overall exposure was fine, the image wasn't particularly clear and suffered from noise in the more shadowy corners. It also struggled to accurately focus on several occasions and has resulted in the normally devilishly handsome Nick Hide looking uncharacteristically out of focus.

Conclusion

The Galaxy Note 2 will divide opinion in the same way as its predecessor. While one person might loudly argue that it's too big and "looks ludicrous", another will appreciate the extra screen space for video and work tasks.
Whether or not the Note is right for you depends on which of the above camps you fall in. If you currently struggle with the 4.3 inches of the Galaxy S2, for example, it's not the phone for you. But if you basically want a more portable tablet, it's top of a list of two: this and the original Note. I was really won over by how useful the stylus turned out to be, and while some of Samsung's apps are pointless, much of its included software features are genuinely useful.
If you do plump for the Note 2, rest assured you're getting a searingly powerful piece of kit, ready and willing to tackle all sorts of creative and admin tasks on the go. Just make sure you've reinforced those suit pockets before you cram it in.