First Look

OPPO Find X3 Pro Unboxing and First Impressions

OPPO’s latest flagship looks fancy

Published

March 11, 2021

OPPO’s quest to break into the premium flagship segment continues in what might just be their best flagship to date — the OPPO Find X3 Pro. Here, we’ll take a look at what’s in the box and share our initial thoughts after using the device for a few days.

This is the a special reviewer’s box. It’s pretty large.

Over at the bottom is a pull tab housing some extra goodies.

First thing out of the pull tab slot is this event invite.

Next is this nice and clean, white-grayish case.

OPPO was generous enough to include one more case. It’s in this carbon fiber-like look but actually feels like regular plastic.

Onto the main box! Lifting the cover reveals actual retail box but it’s slotted in an odd way.

Here’s another look. The surface also has this prism effect which ties in nicely to the #AwakenColour tagline

We’re jumping straight into the retail box which reveals another case. This time it’s black.

The warranty card looks especially premium.

Now that part that you’re here for. The OPPO Find X3 Pro!

Here’s a better look. The variant we have has this glossy finish. Yes, it’s a fingerprint magnet.

Also, rejoice as this flagship comes with a charger out of the box. All that VOOC goodness for you to take advantage of.

First Impressions

On paper, the OPPO Find X3 Pro certainly seems like the flagship that can tussle with the best of the best. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC so that guarantees you the best performance right now. That also means the phone has 5G connectivity — par for the course on today’s flagships.

The 6.7-inch AMOLED display also screams premium packing in a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and 1300 nits of brightness. The cameras — 50MP wide-angle lens, a 13MP telephoto camera, and a 3MP macro sensor — don’t look like much on paper. But it’s being complemented by OPPO’s computational photography.

It even has this nice little gimmick called Microscope mode that takes these super macro shots. Take it real close to a fabric and you get something like the photo below.

The rest of the photos also look pretty good. Here are some shots for your appreciation.

Focus on people

Night Mode

The unit we had prior to launch doesn’t have the latest software yet, but even then, the experience has been pretty fascinating. ColorOS 11.2 is smooth and snappy and the phone feels great on hand despite falling more into the big phone category.

Battery life was pretty impressive as well, with the phone lasting a good day and a half on moderate usage. There’s plenty more to parse and test so watch out for our full review!

First Look

God of War Ragnarok Early Impressions

Familiar and new at the same time

Published

October 21, 2022

Rodneil Quiteles

Sony PlayStation has graciously provided GadgetMatch with a review code of God of War Ragnarok. This article, however, isn’t a review yet. This is only our early impressions after spending roughly around 10 hours with the game.

So, no, there will be no spoilers whatsoever here. In fact, there’s a lot we’re not allowed to discuss – for good reason. But here’s what we can tell you:

Playing the first game is encouraged…

Playing the initial installment (God of War 2018) is encouraged but not required. There’s a brief story recap option on the menu and it covers the more important plot points. There’s also several recap videos on YouTube that serve this purpose.

But PlayStation has made the 2018 game available in so many different ways that, if you can get your hands on it, we suggest you do so first before diving into Ragnarok. You still have three (3) weekends to do so as of writing.

It’s not overwhelming

That said, if you’d rather jump into this game right off the bat, that should be fine too. The game does a good job of easing you into all the weapons, skills, and whatnots that you’ll encounter.

The first game ended with Kratos having more than one weapon. Ragnarok throws you into action but staggers the weapons available in a way that makes sense for the story.

New traversal and puzzle-solving

A lot of the early platform puzzles feel the same but there are a few additional moves that help keep things interesting. Specifically, these involve the Blades of Chaos.

Some of it has been shown in the trailers. Kratos can use the Blades to Hook and Grapple himself towards higher areas. The Blades can also be used to yank off certain obstacles.

Combat is fun and challenging

Easily one of the best things about the new God of War is its combat. Ragnarok retains everything you know and love about combat. But it keeps things interesting by mixing in a new blocking mechanic as well as introducing new enemy types early on.

You will feel the weight of every axe swing, every blade cut, and every weapon clash. Fighting as Kratos feels as good as ever and is easily one of the most satisfying battle experiences in any video game ever made.

The story is engaging

Perhaps even more so than the first game, Ragnarok, even in its early hours, will have you hooked on the narrative. The story picks-up three years after the events of the first game, with Atreus looking to find out more about himself. Atreus’ curiosity and how Kratos reacts to it is at the heart of everything that will transpire.

The presentation is stunning

God of War Ragnarok is still a one-shot like the first game. That means no loading screens whatsoever. And it looks as visually stunning as it ever did. If you can, do yourself a favor and play this on a 4K TV with support for at least 60fps.

The visual presentation is jaw-dropping. Everything from the environments, the animations, the character models, and how they interact and show emotion during key moments.

The dialogue is also top-notch. It gets cheeky and on the nose at times, humorously referencing events from the first game.

Lastly, the music and overall sound is divine. Nothing ever feels out of place. And each scene is enhanced and elevated by the absolute masterpiece that is the score in this game.

Should you pre-order?

We’re only 10 hours in and we’re absolutely elated with how things are going so far. As early as now, we can say with absolute certainty that this is easily one of the best games you will play in your lifetime. Stop dilly-dallying and pre-order it now.