GAMES Review: Call of Duty

Review: The Future Is Bright in ‘Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’

Ben Silverman 

Games Editor

 November 30, 2014

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You’ll take the fight to the Golden Gate Bridge. (Activision)

It’s Call of Duty season! Listen closely, and you can hear the fist-bumps of a million stoked dudebros.

I kid. Call of Duty is for everyone, though the name certainly comes with some baggage. Perhaps it makes you think of chest-thumping 10-year-olds screaming obscenities into your headset, or demonically proficient pro gamers playing it like a sport, or Activision boss Bobby Kotick laughing maniacally while swimming in a pool of gold like Scrooge McDuck.

But the most popular shooter franchise in the world got there on the strength of its superb gunplay, blazing speed, and consistently high production values, and while it’s got legions of haters, it’s got just as many die-hard fans, too.

What’s remarkable about Advanced Warfare, the 11th core game in the series, is that it might actually please both camps. Sporting a fresh sci-fi setting and armed to the teeth with interesting new abilities, it’s the fastest, smartest, and tightest Call of Duty in years.

The game’s solo campaign whisks players around the globe in the boots of Jack Mitchell, a soldier fighting the good fight on the futuristic battlefields of 2054. Mitchell eventually hooks up with Jonathan Irons (played by Kevin Spacey), the tech-savvy head of a private military company out to corner the market on war. So off you go, shooting up terrorists to preserve freedom, though of course it gets a bit more complicated along the way.

Past Call of Duty games featured multiple playable characters, but here, you play only as Mitchell. It’s a small tweak that helps keep the plot clean and focused. You’ll know exactly why you’re blasting whomever you happen to be blasting, a pleasant change from the meandering plots of past games.

Related: Kevin Spacey on ‘Call of Duty,’ Gaming’s Future, and Why Keyser Söze Still Rules

Much has been made of Spacey’s role, and the Oscar winner delivers a characteristically strong performance as the manipulative CEO. It’s just too bad the writing doesn’t live up to his chops. By and large, this is disposable blockbuster fare; the dialogue is rote, you’ll see every twist coming a mile away, and at times Spacey slides from nuanced power-broker into cheesy James Bond supervillain.

He absolutely looks the part, however, courtesy of some of the finest graphics yet seen from the new generation of consoles. Developer Sledgehammer Games has had three years to craft Advanced Warfare, and it shows. It’s a visual smorgasbord; hordes of soldiers, dragon-like swarms of drones, and countless sparkly effects congeal into a fast, smooth showpiece for the new systems. Spacey’s subtleties shine through thanks to jaw-dropping character models, a testament to the skills of both actor and developer.

He absolutely looks the part, however, courtesy of some of the finest graphics yet seen from the new generation of consoles. Developer Sledgehammer Games has had three years to craft Advanced Warfare, and it shows. It’s a visual smorgasbord; hordes of soldiers, dragon-like swarms of drones, and countless sparkly effects congeal into a fast, smooth showpiece for the new systems. Spacey’s subtleties shine through thanks to jaw-dropping character models, a testament to the skills of both actor and developer.

Ultimately, the campaign works as a training ground for the game’s new sci-fi gadgetry. You’re wearing a fancy-shmancy exo-suit outfitted with all sorts of superhuman enhancements, from a handy cloaking device to the ability to slow time. You’ll lob grenades that turn enemies into bright red beacons, shut down electronics, or smartly follow your targeting cursor. Game-changing jump jets transform the typical Call of Duty corridors into vertical playgrounds, though mastering the increased mobility takes time.

You won’t have a ton of that in the solo game — it clocks in at around six hours — but what’s there is classic Call of Duty. You’ll shoot bad guys while hopping between moving cars on a freeway, piloting a monstrously powerful hover tank, and slipping on ice beneath a crumbling glacier. An irritating “Follow” marker still hangs over the head of your squadmate, and you’ll encounter at least one particularly galling quick time event. It’s undoubtedly a Call of Duty game, annoying tropes and all.

But gamers who play Call of Duty games solely for the single player are the rarest of unicorns. For most, multiplayer is the real star, and the new gear and tech are front and center in online play.

The classic modes are all accounted for; fans of Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Domination varieties will be right at home. One new mode, Uplink, is sort of Call of Duty basketball, requiring players to grab a satellite drone and lob it into an uplink net for points. It’s a little ridiculous and a lot of fun: a great showpiece for the jump jets.

Multiplayer matches, unfortunately, are still frustrating for more casual players. The matchmaking doesn’t do a great job keeping the lower-level players safe from the pros, and some problematic player spawning leads to the occasional death moments after appearing on a map.

The game does offer a way around uneven matchmaking, however, in the form of the noob-friendly “Combat Readiness Program.” It’s a safe haven from top players, a padded training room filled with bots and newbies and entirely bereft of audio chat. It’s Call of Duty kindergarten, though I’m not sure it adequately prepares you for the butt-kicking you’re going to get when you graduate to the first grade of the real game.

Besides, that’s where the fun is. The more you play, the cooler the stuff you get to play with. Leveling up and unlocking new weapons, items, and Scorestreaks is just as addictive as it’s ever been, though Advanced Warfare also adds fuel to the fire by slyly introducing cosmetic options. You’ll periodically earn “supply drops” filled with clothes, weapons, and boosts, some of them rare. The concept borrows a bit from loot-hunting games like Diablo or Borderlands, and it effectively preys on the gear-junkie part of your brain.

Best of all, a virtual firing range accessible right from the multiplayer lobby gives you a quiet place to try out the wide assortment of guns and attachments. I have no idea why this feature hasn’t been in Call of Duty since the beginning, because it’s great.

I’m also fond of the game’s cooperative Exo-Survival mode, which pits a team of up to four against increasingly aggressive waves of enemies. It’s a stiff challenge that ramps up quickly, and while some might be bummed that the game doesn’t ship with the over-the-top Zombies mode from past games (it’s coming soon, apparently), I don’t really miss it.

There’s a good chance you don’t miss Call of Duty. The series is far past the point of oversaturation. Still, I’ve had more fun playing Advanced Warfare than any recent Call of Duty, in part because it manages to do the unthinkable for a decade-old shooter: It genuinely surprises. And that’s enough to warrant a hearty fist-bump.

What’s Hot: Outstanding delivery; tons of cool gear; jump jets; Kevin Spacey

GAMES Review: Cheap Thrills

Review: Cheap Thrills, Big Laughs Power Vibrant ‘Sunset Overdrive’

Ben Silverman 

Games Editor

 October 31, 2014

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Why so serious, video games?

Over the past couple of months, misogynous rants, death threats, insane flame wars, accusations of ethical breaches, and overwrought, hand-wringing diatribes have dominated gaming headlines. The misguided “Gamergate” movement has breached the mainstream, appearing everywhere from The New York Times to The Colbert Report. It’s turned my beloved pastime (and my Twitter feed) into one long, irritating argument about I don’t know what, exactly.

So I don’t feel like I’m exaggerating when I say that Sunset Overdrive, the energetic, laugh-out-loud, punk-rock action romp from Insomniac Games exclusively for the Xbox One is just what the doctor ordered.

The year is 2027 and the place is Sunset City, a sprawling metropolis that until recently was a perfectly fine, slightly douchey place to live. That all changed the day shady beverage manufacturer Fizzco released Overcharge Delirium XT, its latest energy drink, because the tasty orange goop didn’t go through very rigorous testing. It turns out drinking the stuff has the unsettling side effect of turning people into monstrous mutants (cleverly called “OD”). Welcome to the apocalypse, sponsored by Gatorade.

So who are you? You’re anyone you want to be. Gender, size, and ethnicity are up for grabs in the game’s character creator, but regardless of looks, you’re the poor schlub who has to save the world. That means taking down mutants, nefarious human gangs, and Fizzco’s aggressive robot cleanup crew as you crisscross the huge, open-world city.

Life on the streets of a mutant-infested Sunset City is pretty awful, however; you won’t survive long if you stick to the ground. Instead, the game encourages you to get airborne and stay there. You’ll bounce on cars, grind on rails, swing on poles, and run on walls as you blast away at enemies to drive up your “Style” meter. That isn’t just for show, because Sunset Overdrive brilliantly ties movement to mayhem. The higher your Style, the more potent your attacks. Get your meter high enough, and you’ll summon lightning, leave lava trails, or turn every bounce into a satisfying, fiery explosion.

The better you perform, the greater the rewards. Grinding, bouncing, and shooting earn ability-boosting badges. Collectibles can be traded for combat-enhancing Amps. Sunset City is a maniacal, Technicolor playground; every power line, building, and bush is a potential combo kicker. It’s Tony Hawk meets Infamous, if you can imagine, and it’s just tons of fun.

It’s also tons of funny, regularly demolishing the fourth wall to unsubtly wink at players. Sunset Overdrive is a nonstop pop-culture joke machine bursting with TV, movie, and video game references. Does it occasionally pander a little too hard? Absolutely, and while some of the gags flop, more than enough don’t.

Adding to the insanity is Sunset Overdrive’s ridiculous weaponry. You’ll launch teddy bears strapped to TNT, torch mutants with exploding cannisters of hair spray, and knock out enemies with a bowling ball shooter named, naturally, The Dude. If you ever wanted to fire flaming vinyl LPs at looters, here’s your chance.

Sunset Overdrive is hyper-aware of its own foibles. Periodically, your hero gripes about repetitively running errands to earn the trust of fellow survivors, and, well, he (or she) is right. Though you deal with all sorts of weirdos over the game’s campaign — self-absorbed frat boys, delusional LARPers, cheerleaders wearing Dia de los Muertos face paint — they tend to send you on similar fetch quests. Tons of side-quests and challenges help break up the monotony, though, and you’ll rarely feel bored.

Besides, there’s always multiplayer. Sunset Overdrive’s cooperative play, appropriately called “Chaos Mode,” can be seamlessly accessed right from the middle of your solo campaign. You’ll take on challenges with up to eight other players, and while multiplayer lacks a narrative, it lives up to its namesake with some of the biggest, craziest firefights in the game.

No matter how you play it, Sunset Overdrive is a graphical feast. Forget the safe browns and grays that power most post-apocalyptic games. Insomniac embraces the entire Crayola box, especially the oranges, in painting its graffiti-infused, DIY world. Cartoonishly gory, the bold visuals make other games look positively dour.

That is, when you can see it properly. Shooting a massive mutant Herker with a fireworks gun while grinding the edge of a skyscraper sounds awesome, but the lack of an adequate target lock leads to more than a few misfires. Your acrobatic feats would have benefited from an equally dexterous camera operator.

It’s a small thing in a big game, however. Simultaneously smart and stupid, Sunset Overdrive proudly wears its over-the-top, punk-rock aesthetic on its sleeve but doesn’t sweat the details that make it all work. It’s crammed with jokes, it plays great, and above all, it serves as a much-needed reminder of why we play games in the first place: to have fun.

What’s Hot: Insane, acrobatic action; hilarious; smart design ties it all together

GAMES Review: Halo 5: Guardians

Review: Watch Combat Evolve in Excellent ‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’

Ben Silverman 

Games Editor

 November 12, 2014

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This is not the Halo you’ve been waiting for.

That game is Halo 5: Guardians, the next original entry in the series, and it’s not coming out for another year. But Microsoft wasn’t about to let the Xbox One’s first full holiday season pass without an appearance by its famous helmeted hero, so it did what any shrewd company would do when it’s not quite ready to ship a new product: reuse, recycle, and remaster an old one.

Or, in this case, four old ones. The good news is that Halo: The Master Chief Collection is more than just a regurgitation of the core Halo games. It’s a smartly built Halo mix tape, the most convenient and graphically appealing way to experience the spectacular Master Chief saga from start to (temporary) finish.

The Collection includes Xbox classics Halo and Halo 2, and Xbox 360 blockbusters Halo 3 and Halo 4. While other games like Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach are just as legit, those focus primarily on other characters in the Halo universe, so they’re not here.

Instead, we’ve got the sprawling tale of Master Chief, his A.I. buddy Cortana, hordes of pesky Covenant aliens, the irritating hive-like Flood, and those dangerous Halo rings, all in one handy place. Microsoft wisely unlocked every game from the outset, letting players tackle any level in any game at any time. You can barge through chronologically, of course, though it’s really tempting — and more fun — to cherry-pick levels from the various games and time-travel through Halo history.

Microsoft makes it easy to do just that by way of themed Playlists. Want to play through every vehicular level across the four games? Or play only the Arbiter missions in Halo 2? All the sorting has been done for you.

All four games benefit from the move to the Xbox One, but the graphical overhaul is most evident in the older games. Halo: Combat Evolved was already gussied up in the 2011 Anniversary Edition, and it looks great here, but the real gem is its sequel, Halo 2.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Halo 2, and it’s been given a serious makeover. At the touch of a button, you can instantly flip back and forth between the original game’s graphics, warts and all, and its gorgeous update, replete with new lighting and character models. This works with the cutscenes, too, which have been thoroughly overhauled by a separate developer. It’s awesome. It was all I could do to stop flipping back and forth admiring the scenery and actually focus on shooting stuff.

I had a bone to pick with Halo 2 when it first came out, in part because it frustratingly ended on a cliffhanger that wouldn’t be resolved until the following game arrived on a different system. But Halo 2 proved to be the franchise’s real game-changer. It was the first Halo with dual-wielding, the first to allow you to play as a character other than Master Chief, and, crucially, the first to introduce online multiplayer (the original Halo could be played only locally). Playing through it again, I was as taken with its mature storytelling and universe-expanding backdrop as its stunning, refreshed visuals. It’s the highlight of the package.

Halo 3 and Halo 4 certainly aren’t slouches, either, and both play better than they did on the Xbox 360, courtesy of the smoother framerate and tweaked engine. They stand in stark contrast to the first two titles, both in their advanced game mechanics and their shift to a darker, more personal tone. And they’re both just as fun as you remember.

Where The Master Chief Collection really finds its stride is in its multiplayer. That’s long been Halo’s calling card, and somehow the developers managed to keep each game’s unique multiplayer quirks intact. Like the solo game, custom map playlists can shuttle you from game to game. It can be jarring to suddenly lose your jetpack when you go from Halo 4 to Halo 2, but it’s kind of thrilling, too.

The downside to all this content? It eats up a ton of room. The Master Chief Collection requires 45 GB of space, but you’ll also need to grab a 20 GB patch to get multiplayer working. (Note: It’s actually not working very well right now.) It’s a good thing Microsoft has finally enabled external had drive support for the Xbox One, because that 500 GB of built-in storage is looking awfully small these days.

I’m also a little bummed Microsoft went so light on the extras. There’s an embarrassment of gameplay riches here, but for a collection all about honoring the past, it skimps out on “making of” material. There are some goodies to be found in the separate Halo Channel app, but the scant selection of bonus content takes some of the punch out of the package.

But what a package it is. The four games in Halo: The Master Chief Collection were stellar when they were first released and are just as good now. This is a first-person shooter primer, Halo history class, and a helluva lot of fun to boot. It’s not the Halo game you’ve been waiting for, but it’ll do.

What’s Hot: Tons of content; Playlists; Halo 2 remaster is incredible; authentic multiplayer

HTC Re Camera Review

HTC Re Camera Review: An Inhaler-Shaped Camera That Misses the Mark

Daniel Howley 

Technology

 ReporterNovember 7, 2014

 

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We spend so much time behind the camera viewfinders on our smartphones that we no longer truly see our subjects or the world around us. That’s the idea behind HTC’s weird new Re Camera.

A $199 mini camera, the oddly shaped Re is meant to keep you “in the moment” instead of gawking at a viewfinder. How does the company accomplish this goal? By simply removing the viewfinder from the equation, that’s how.

That’s right: The Re is a camera that lets you take pictures without knowing how they’ll turn out. Keeping you in the moment while taking photos is an intriguing idea — comedian Louis C.K. touched on a similar thought during one of his standup acts.

Unfortunately, its price and photo quality leave much to be desired.

It looks like a periscopeThe Re certainly looks interesting. It reminds me of the one-eyed garbage monster from Star Wars. Or, you know, a submarine’s periscope. Or an inhaler.

The 2.3-ounce camera is surprisingly comfortable to hold thanks to its unique design. It also, as my colleague Alyssa Bereznak observed, happens to look like a detonator a James Bond villain would use to blow up a bridge.

The Re is extremely functional, though, as the front portion where you rest your fingers features a sensor that detects when you’re holding the camera and prepares it to take a picture. No more having to open and wait for your camera app to load. Just pick up the Re and start shooting photos.

Up front, the Re gets a 146-degree wide-angle lens that can take either standard or warped, fisheye-style photos. You can adjust how your photos look in the Re smartphone app, but I’ll get to that in a second.

Because it’s made of plastic, the Re can’t be tortured like, say, a GoPro can, but it can withstand being submerged in up to 3 feet of water for 30 minutes without issue.

The Re is not dust- or sand-proof, though. Taking it to the beach is basically out of the question.

Using the ReOK, so it’s shaped weirdly and you can’t see what you’re taking pictures of. Here’s what it’s like to use.

It’s a mixed bag of nuts. Taking pictures is incredibly easy thanks to the Re’s giant shutter button, but when I looked at a lot of the pictures I took, they were all lopsided since I wasn’t used to using a camera without a viewfinder.

If you really need to see what you’re taking pictures of, you can download the Re app for Android and iOS. The app serves as both a means to view all your pictures taken with the Re and gives you the ability to use your phone’s screen as a viewfinder.

Just point the Re at anything you want, and it will show up on your phone’s screen. You can even control the camera’s shutter from your handset, so you can take pictures from across the room.

The app also lets you adjust camera settings including photo and video resolution, switch between wide-angle and standard shooting modes, turn on video stabilization, and add location data to your photos.

The app is helpful for situations like taking group photos or, in my case, taking pictures of an incredibly camera-shy dog. I also like that it gives me a means to see all my pictures stored on the camera itself, without having to download them to my computer or phone.

Photo qualityThe Re’s 16-megapixel camera captured decently sharp pictures, as long as I was standing still. Despite its image-stabilization software, photos taken with the Re while I or my subject was moving were consistently blurry.

When I stayed in one spot, though, my photos turned out relatively clear each time.

Video, on the other hand, is always pixelated, even when taken at 1080p. Slow-motion video, which is automatically shot at 720p, is similarly grainy. Polaroid’s $99 Cube, which also has no viewfinder, captures lower-quality stills but cleaner video.

The Re’s lack of a viewfinder led me to learn that I am naturally lopsided. It seemed like every time I took a picture or video, my photos were slanted toward one side or the other. Eventually I learned to pay more attention to how I was holding the Re, though, and my photos started to even out.

I’ve got to hand it to HTC, however, for making a small camera with an impressive battery life. I took about 150 photos and a few videos, and this little guy’s battery was still rocking.

Should you buy it?The Re camera is a cool concept that needs more development. Its grip sensor is ingenious. And the way the camera interfaces with your phone so you can see all your photos instantly is excellent.

But most people will have a hard time adjusting to taking pictures without knowing how they’ll come out. Do you really want to risk having your photos turn out blurry without knowing you should retake them?

To be honest, I really like the idea of a camera that keeps you “in the moment” rather than making you focus on a viewfinder. But at $199, the HTC Re is too expensive. If you’re interested in an on-the-go camera like the Re, check out the $99 Polaroid Cube. At its current price, I’d skip the Re.

Google Nexus 6 Review

Google Nexus 6 Review: A Massive Smartphone, with Bigger Potential

Daniel Howley 

Technology 

ReporterNovember 12, 2014

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There are big phones, and then there are big phones. Google’s new Nexus 6 falls into the latter category. Packing an absolutely massive 6-inch display, the Nexus 6 dwarfs all but the largest of the large smartphones.

Available through each of the Big Four carriers for $199 with a two-year contract (or $649 unlocked), the Nexus 6 is not only the latest member of Google’s coveted Nexus line of smartphones, but it’s also the most advanced.

With a 13-megapixel camera, gorgeous display, all-day battery life, and Google’s latest Android 5.0 Lollipop operating system, the Nexus 6 has all the makings of a must-have smartphone. But is this monster too big for its own good?

Size and designThe Nexus 6 is Google’s own vision of how a smarphone should look and work. It also closely resembles Motorola’s own Moto X (Google owned Motorola for a while). In fact, the Nexus 6 is basically a stretched-out version of the X. It’s got the same curved metal frame, same dual flash around its rear camera, and the same giant Motorola M on its back panel.

The Nexus 6, however, is far bigger than its cousin. Just how big is Google’s beast? At 6.3 × 3.3 × 0.4 inches, the Nexus 6 is taller, thicker, and wider than both Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus and Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4.

Still, it’s impressive that the Nexus 6, with its larger 6-inch display, isn’t that much bigger than the 6 Plus and Note 4 considering that both phones have smaller 5.5-inch and 5.7-inch displays, respectively.

There’s no hiding the Nexus 6’s weight, though. At 6.5 ounces, Google’s phone outweighs both the iPhone 6 Plus (6.1 ounces) and the Note 4 (6.2 ounces).

How big is too big?Unfortunately, the Nexus 6’s outsized dimensions make it virtually impossible to use with one hand. Short of professional basketball players and actual giants, I don’t think anyone can stretch his thumb from one side of the Nexus’ screen to the other.

That means you can’t text, dial phone numbers, or even press the Nexus’ back button without awkwardly repositioning your grip or using your other hand to hold this behemoth. And if you’re into super-tight skinny jeans, you might want to rethink your wardrobe before picking up the Nexus 6.

ScreenThe Nexus 6’s 2560 × 1440 display offers absolutely gorgeous visuals. Thanks to its AMOLED (active matrix of organic light-emitting diodes) screen technology, colors look brilliantly bold, though a bit exaggerated, and blacks are as inky as the void.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4, which uses a Super AMOLED display that helps improve outdoor readability, offers a similar viewing experience. Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, on the other hand, uses an LCD display. And while colors may not appear as vibrant on Apple’s handset, they do look more accurate.

Like the Note 4, the Nexus 6 tends to give whites a slightly blue tint. The iPhone 6 Plus doesn’t have this issue.

There really is nothing quite like reading websites and watching videos on the Nexus 6’s gigantic screen. I’ve never been a fan of streaming movies with my phone, but the Nexus 6’s display actually makes it enjoyable. It’s not exactly the same as watching something on, say, a tablet, but it’s certainly better than your average midsized phone.

Android LollipopThe first smartphone to come loaded with Google’s Android 5.0 Lollipop, the Nexus 6 is unburdened by the often-cumbersome interface skins that HTC, LG, and Samsung install on their phones. This is Android as Google intended, and it’s fantastic.

If you’ve used Android before, Lollipop will be a pretty big change. The new operating system is designed to look brighter and uses “flatter” icons that look less three-dimensional. It’s a cool aesthetic change, and one that I’m sure most people will enjoy.

Lollipop also comes with a boatload of new features, including guest user accounts that allow you to hand off your phone to a family member or colleague without worrying that she’ll gain access to your private apps and notifications.

While we’re on the topic of notifications, Lollipop has given them a new look and feel, too. Now you can read your notifications including text messages and social media updates directly on your phone’s lock screen. Don’t want the world to see what your friends instant message you? Just set your lock screen notifications to private, and no one will be the wiser.

What’s more, because the Nexus is a Google phone, it will receive operating system updates as soon as Google makes them available. HTC, LG, and Samsung, on the other hand, can take weeks to push out Android updates for their phones.

Looking for moreThere’s just one problem with the fact that the Nexus 6 runs a pure version of Android Lollipop, which is that the interface doesn’t make navigating the phone with one hand very easy.

With the Galaxy Note 4, Samsung included a one-handed mode that makes navigating through the phone’s various menus easier with one hand. Likewise, Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus includes a Reachability mode that brings the app icons at the top of the screen down to within reach of your thumb — hence Reachability — by double-tapping the home button.

There are no such features included in Android Lollipop.

That leads me to the larger issue with the Nexus, which is that Google doesn’t do much with the phone’s larger screen. Sure, videos and websites look beautiful, but beyond being big, there’s not much to the Nexus.

Samsung’s Note 4, on the other hand, lets you open multiple apps onscreen at the same time. The Note 4 also gets Samsung’s S Pen stylus, which lets you write directly on the phone’s screen. Even Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus gives you at least a little bit more functionality by giving you a special landscape view with certain Apple apps.

I’m sure at some point someone will release an app that adds a one-handed mode or takes greater advantage of the Nexus’ big screen. I just wish Google had included something like that from the start.

CameraThe Nexus 6’s 13-megapixel camera takes absolutely beautiful photos. Pictures I shot with the phone were consistently clear and colorful. Even photos taken in low-light situations looked wonderful.

In a three-way contest between the Nexus, the iPhone 6 Plus, and the Note 4, I’d still give the top spot to the iPhone 6, as it’s able to fire off photos faster than both the Nexus and Note 4 and offers slightly more accurate colors. Still, the Nexus’ camera is easily one of the best I’ve used.

The Nexus has optical image stabilization (OIS), like the iPhone 6 Plus (but not the iPhone 6). It helps compensate for shaky hand movements by physically moving the camera lens, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about blurry photos. In practice, though, I found the Nexus 6’s videos were far shakier than the Note 4’s.

BatteryOne of the benefits of having a big-screen phone is that they are able to pack massive batteries. The Nexus 6 includes a monster 3,220 mAh battery. Google claims that the Nexus 6 can get you up to 9½ hours of Web surfing over Wi-Fi, which isn’t much of a stretch from what I experienced.

I used the handset on and off watching videos, reading websites, and streaming music for a day and a half before I needed to reach for my charger. Like many new smartphones, including the Moto X and Note 4, the Nexus 6 features a high-speed charger that can add six hours of battery life to your Nexus with just 15 minutes of charge time.

The feature works only when the phone’s battery is nearly depleted, though, to prevent it from being damaged.

If you’re running low on a charge and there’s no power outlet to be found, you can enable Android Lollipop’s built-in battery saver feature, which can give you an extra 90 minutes of battery life.

Should you buy it?I’m a sucker for big-screen smartphones. I like that they make reading websites easier, that videos are actually worth watching on them, and that games are easier to control with them. And the Nexus 6 does all of this very well.

The fact that the handset runs an unaltered version of Google’s Android Lollipop is an even bigger reason to love this smartphone. Oh, and then there’s its gorgeous display and impressive camera. I just wish Google did more with the Nexus 6’s enormous display.

The Nexus 6 is a very good phone, but Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 is the best big-screen phone you can buy today. Sure, I wish it, like the Nexus 6, ran an untouched version of Android, but the fact remains that it’s easier to hold and lets you do more with its large screen.

If you’re an Android purist in search of a giant smartphone, the Nexus 6 can’t be beat. But if you want a large phone that truly takes advantage of its substantial size, then go with the Note 4.