New Game !!

Call Of Duty Ghosts preview :

Call Of Duty Ghosts marries Activision’s traditional blockbuster action with a palpable sense of restraint. The Gadget Club took a closer look at E3...

Fans of the Call Of Duty are used to seeing the world blow up. Ever since Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the sheer spectacle of this series’ action set pieces has been enough to make the shenanigans of the entire eight seasons of 24 seem plausible.

To wit, COD fans thus far have witnessed the Vietnam War, a nuclear bomb detonated in the Middle East, the destruction of the cities of LA, Paris and New York and World War III. Call Of Duty: Ghosts, then, looks remarkably restrained by comparison. T3 got an exclusive first look at COD Ghosts back when theXbox One was announced, and this time we've been out to E3 for a closer look.

Call Of Duty Ghosts: Plot

The pitch for Call Of Duty: Ghosts is that it’s set in a world where some cataclysmic event has put paid to the USA’s status as a superpower. Players take on the role of some ‘Ghost’ operatives, an elite band of special forces soldiers who are waging a guerrilla war against invading enemies who have landed on what’s left of the USA’s shores.

In the E3 demo of the game, there was no action set piece of the size seen in either the COD Black Ops or Modern Warfare entries in this series. Instead, Call Of Duty Ghosts intimated at the harrowing price the USA had paid in its game with the stunning back drops of smashed highways, crushed buildings and, in one underwater section of the demo, submerged highways filled with rusted cars.

Call Of Duty Ghosts: Dog

In the first part of the reveal, which was named No Man’s Land, we got to see the much-touted gameplay involving the canine member of the Ghost Unit. Players can control a dog named Riley, who can be used as an attacking weapon and a scout.

According to the developers Riley is based on real life SEAL unit dogs that are in the field of war today. He comes a equipped with a  vest that has a camera on it that feed back into a tablet carried by the Ghosts, and he has an ear-piece and a collar with motors in it, so the Ghosts can guide his movements.

Call Of Duty Ghosts: Gameplay 

The other two segments that Infinity Ward demoed at E3 were set in a skyscraper in Venezuela with Ghosts rappelling down the side of it and underwater in the Caribbean.

In all three segments, the most immediately noticeable aspect was how sedate and restrained the action was. Rather than steaming into the fight guns blazing, the Ghosts mostly utilised stealth to obtain their objectives.

Their entire MO revolved around staying hidden, sneaking through their environments and tactically picking off enemies using silenced firearms. In a way it makes sense; after all, in this alternative universe the USA is on the back foot and its troops are in no position to tackle their enemies head on.

It’s a bold move for a franchise that made its name through super-sized action-packed set pieces and over the top firefights.

Call Of Duty Ghosts: Verdict

That sort of high-octane action hasn’t vanished altogether; at one point the Ghosts were seen fleeing from a skyscraper that was shaking with internal explosions. As they made their way across an office foyer, the Ghosts were sent tumbling as the building began to topple like a felled tree.

But for the most part Call Of Duty: Ghosts looks and plays like a stealthier, calmer and altogether more tactical entry in the series and we’re genuinely interested to see how this approach pays off when it’s released.

Call Of Duty Ghosts release date: TBC

Call Of Duty Ghosts price: TBC

Oh yeah ios 7 !!

Apple unveils iOS 7 

Latest version of mobile operating system sports new flat-design; released later this year 

Apple has unveiled iOS 7 after months of speculation.

"iOS 7 is the biggest change to iOS since the introduction of the iPhone," said CEO Tim Cook, introducing iOS 7. "It's packed with amazing new features, and a stunning new user interface."

The latest version of Apple's mobile operating system represented the biggest change to the look and feel of iOS since the first iPhone launched in 2007.

As anticipated, iOS7 sports a flat-design, with the skudeomorpism of the previous design done away with.

"We wanted to take an experience that people know very well and add to it," Ive explains in a video shown during the keynote event. "We see iOS 7 as defining an important new direction ... and in many ways, a beginning."

The redesign of iOS has reportedly been underway for the last six months since Craig Federighi took over software development for the mobile platform.

Very little of the new operating system resembles the old version of the software. Almost every part of the software has been redesigned.

Among the new features are multiple pages within folders and the introduction of a today view for notification centre.

Apple also showed off its new Control Centre, which offers a quicker and simpler way to control many of the most used settings.

Another major change includes the introduction of a revamped multitasking interface, which is part of the Control Centre. Instead of icons, iOS 7 displays a preview of the screen. It is also smart enough to recognise when you use an app a lot during the day – such as Facebook – and devote more power and processing time to it to keep you updated.

iOS also introduces a raft of small, but all the same useful features, such as a Flashlight built into the device, and AirDrop, allowing you to share files and photos without needing to send them via email or text.

Other small features introduced in the latest version include FaceTime audio, per app VPN and perhaps long overdue, the ability to block people from calling you on the phone and via FaceTime, and sending texts via Message.

Siri sounds more human like in iOS 7. It's also smarter and faster – very much needed with the superior processing available via Google Now. Siri also now has Twitter, Wikipedia, and most interestingly, Bing support.

Apple has also beefed up security on the device, enabling enterprise single sign on support for those of you who used your iPhone in the workplace, and a revamp of find my iPhone that locks the device until you sign in with your Apple ID and password.

Apple has said that the software is still under development at the moment and will be released later on in the year.

PS4 hands on :

Sony PS4 review: Hands-on

The Sony PS4 has made its debut at E3 and T3 was there to get our grubby mitts on it for a game or two. Here are our initial impressions...

Deep in Sony's bunker at E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, T3 spent a good few hours investigating the veritable might of the new PS4.

In a series of demos, we got to grips, quite literally, with the new DualShock 4controller, the PlayStation Camera, the companion iOS and Android app, and a smattering of new titles such as DriveClub, Killzone Shadow Fall and Knack, plus a Play Room demo.

Sony PS4: Controller

The controller itself is sturdy and reassuringly weighty in the palm compared to the always-a-bit-light-for-us DualShock 3, which is interesting as the Xbox Onehas slimmed down just as Sony has homed in on heft. It's not bulky though, and its sleekness is married to an almost textured coating on both the base and dual sticks that helps grip.

Xbox One vs Sony PS4: Next-gen showdown

The dual sticks feel stiffer compared to the PS3's, and while this initially jars, we found with more exposure to them we actually preferred it for accuracy, though it takes some getting used to.

The triggers are now really very trigger-like indeed (although Killzone, rather bizarrely, still doesn't assign them as aim and fire) and their close placement to the shoulder buttons is a good design move that aids quick changes.

Sony PS4: Touch panel

The central touch panel is very responsive when navigating menus and a satisfying click acts as a surrogate Start button in its absence.

We actually really missed Start and Select to, well, start with (how do you pause?!), but the more time you spend with the touch panel, the more you realise what an increasingly exciting addition it is. Indeed, it's as at home replicating a touch screen as it is the movements of a PC trackpad.

On Killzone it brings up a secondary menu of attacks, while on Play Room it was used for everything from throwing things onto the screen to rubbing to interact with on-screen characters to moving on-screen paddles for air hockey. The bridge between smartphone games and the new raft of independent developers that PlayStation's busy pleasing is a very palpable one.

Sony PS4: 10 things you need to know

The motor rumble of the controller and speaker combine to generate some very impressive feedback, though not quite of the standard of the Xbox One's new joypad.

There's no rumble in the triggers here, but there is a real feeling of weight being moved around. At one point in the Play Room, AI bots fill the controller, and you can hear and feel them moving around inside the pad as you manipulate it. Alas, none of the demos used the new Share or Options button so we were unable to test their use.

Sony PS4: Camera

The PlayStation Camera is a bit of a micro-Kinect, following in the best tradition of EyeToy. Like Move, it reads the light bars on the rear of the DualShock 4s so that you can manipulate items on screen with it, but also reads your flailing arms to interact, too.

The resolution is decent if nothing too scary – it doesn't track your expression or engagement, but it can tell if you've covered your eyes (the crowd of AI bots on the demo hushed, before we pulled our hands away and they all cried in a really quite charming game of Peek-a-boo). It will also set your head on fire – virtually, at least – in that AR style that Reality Fighters and its Vita brethren did.

Sony PS4: App 

Even more exciting was the PlayStation companion app, which will be available for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets (in this case an Sony Xperia Z tab, obviously) as well as the PS Vita.

This is what the likes of Ubisoft are using in Watch Dogs and The Division as Sony's answer toSmartGlass, but here it was used to draw objects on a very simplified version of art package and literally 'throw' them on to the big screen. It's basic so far, but again, there's real potential there if they can expand the options.

The Play Room, a thoroughly enjoyable tech demo that's not confirmed for any official release, makes great use of the cam and we think Sony would be bonkers not to include as a getting-to-grips-with-the-hardware retail release. Maybe it could be packaged with the PlayStation Camera now Sony has confirmed that omitting that from the PS4 box was a way of keeping the costs down?

Sony PS4: Games

DriveClub is a decent racer with some nice features, although graphically we weren't as blown away as we expected (though the 'Pre-Alpha, 35% complete' sign should explain that). Handling is decent, with a focus on drifting with the shoulder buttons, but the system of Fame points is what is really interesting.

You race in clubs, but as you make your way round the track, independent challenges pop up with headshots of other drivers attached. You then have a variety of durations to better the random opponent – be it cornering, average speed or, yes, drifting – for extra goodies. It certainly keeps you interested, even if you've raced well ahead, and we can only imagine the online integration that will follow.

Sony PS4: Games we want to play right now

Knack is a rather basic combat brawler that has you smashing up scenery and growing your body, Katamari-style, before beating up a succession of bulky henchmen. Some twitchy camera angles aside, it's fun, though very much a 'first wave' title at first glance.

Finally, Killzone Shadow Fall looks rather gorgeous, although, in forests and detailed shrubbery, the particular level we played looked bugger all like typical Killzone.

The sheer number of combat options across triggers, d-pad and touch pad baffled us to the extent that we blew ourselves up twice with a grenade before we knew what was going on, but with persistence we actually killed some people and left intrigued by exactly where the extensive weaponry and drone assistance would take us.

Sony PS4: Verdict

While it's far too early to reach any genuine conclusions on the PS4, what with all games way off completion, few actually playable, the UI and Share features yet to be shown off and the full hardware setup hidden from view, the controller and the implementation of new technology bodes well.

The DualShock 4, for us, is an improvement on its predecessor, more comfy in hand and with a wealth of immersive bells and whistles to see it through years of innovation. The PlayStation Camera is clever and fun rather than intrusive and being removed from the console package to keep the price low makes financial sense, though this could stymy software development focusing on the new tech in the same way Xbox struggled with Kinect support.

First-party launch games at the moment seem decent rather than stunning, yet the potential, in terms of graphical output, is clear, and is already being exploited to a greater degree outside the PlayStation camp, while the nifty companion app hints at greater connectivity than we first suspected. We're eager to try out more.

Sony PS4 release date: November 2013

Sony PS4 price: £349