World of Tanks: S35 CA Review

Hello people of the internet, TKH here. Today I thought I would do another review of a tank in the game World of Tanks. On the chopping block today is the S35 CA, a French tier 5 tank destroyer. I'll attach a image or two of the tank so that you all can see what it looks like.

So the S35, what is known in WoT as "the bathtub", because of just how much of a bath it looks like. It also has about as much armour as one too, with only 56mm at the front, and 35mm on the side and rear. With these levels of armour the S35 is very unlikely to bounce anything that it faces, as even tier 3's can penetrate it from at least the side or rear. With this in mind the S35 is best suited to staying away from places where it can take fire. This means it is used to either side at the back of the frontline behind the heavies and heavy TD's and take shots with lesser risk of having return fire taken, or pouncing on distracted enemies to possibly take shots at their flanks or rear if able to. 

The S35 also isn't particularly fast either, and turns at a very average pace (28 degrees per second) so the risk of being circle killed by a fast medium or light tank is quite high, especially if you get in a situation where you have no support. That is made worse by the fact that the acceleration of the tank leaves something to be desired. The S35 is also very vulnerable to artillery and High Explosive (HE) fire, as the open top of it makes these very effective at taking it out. Being a tier 5 TD, its hit point count is also rather low at 330, meaning that it can't take much sustained fire (not much different to the other TD's at tier 5). The lack of armour compounds this fact, along with the average at best speed and somewhat sluggish turning speed.

But there is one thing that the S35 has that is its main attraction, which is the gun. Probably having one of the best selection of guns out of all the tier 5 TD's (possibly in the game), this is what people play the tank for. The stock 17 pounder gun (used only on this tank) actually has the most penetration of all the available guns, with 171mm of it and an average damage of 150 per shot. If you are after damage per minute (DPM) with this tank then that's the gun you would pick. The second gun is a similar one to the BDR's gun (tier 5 French heavy tank), which is easily the worst of the gun choices. Then there's the 105mm AC mle. 1930 S, the top gun on this tank. With 165mm of penetration and 300 average damage, it's a beast of a gun that can tear through anything it will face. When you consider how the tank doesn't really have any other strengths other than this, it starts to make sense as to why the guns are so good. There are a few other smaller pros, the gun mantle can be surprisingly bouncing at times, it has a very good view range and the gun has a wide traverse area.

Would I recommend this tank you ask? Personally I would definitely say this tank is worth getting and keeping if possible, as it can be a lot of fun to play, while also being challenging with the cons that were pointed out earlier in the post. So that was today's blog post, I hope you found it both interesting and informative to read. See you all next time.        

Gaming Experiences For The Week

Hello people of the internet, TKH here. Today I thought I would talk about my gaming experiences from the past week (the ones I can remember anyway). Basically I'll just give a brief run down on what I played and some details about it, as well as my current thoughts on the game. 

First up will be World of Tanks, which I'm still playing these days though not as frequently as I used to. The game certainly is far different than it used to be, with regular updates being put in with new content and improving what is already there. I've been told that upcoming updates are going to focus more on how well the game runs, which is a very welcome thing that should be focused on. As it is, the graphics have improved at a rather fast pace, while how well the game runs has been left largely untouched.

Next up is FIFA 13, which I bought this week, mostly because I've been half wanting a soccer game for quite a long time now, I just never got round to actually buying one. But finally I have and it's quite a lot of fun. Being FIFA it isn't too surprising, as it's as popular and well known as it is for a good reason. One could argue that they lack doing anything hugely radical between games, but there's only so much one can do with a real life sport without becoming ridiculous and inaccurate.

Next is Assassins Creed 4: Black Flag. This game is one which I've been wanting to play for quite some time, I just hadn't gotten around to doing it. But finally I have and it's been good fun so far. The ship combat is certainly a welcome addition, though the rest of the game pretty much follows the classic AC formula, which does do well, but is getting a touch old and stale. The move to ditch former modern day protagonist Desmond Miles for a silent one is also a bad move in my books. It makes it hard to relate or care about a character when you don't know anything about him, even what he looks like. 

That's the major games I've been playing this past week. They've been great fun to play (though being a gamer and such that isn't much of a shock) and I'm looking forward to playing them some more (especially AC as I get more things and go further into the story). Thanks for reading today's post, I hope you enjoyed it.   

   

Back Online

Hello people of the internet, TKH here. After a long absence from blogging I thought it was about time that I got back into the swing of things with the blog. This time I'm much more determine to keep this blog alive and up to date. As before this blog will be about all things gaming, from the games I'm currently playing to previews, reviews and much more. I've also added a few new things onto the blog, such as the translate feature (better late than never I guess) and being able to follow the blog by email. More of these sort of features may be added in future as well. I've also added a +1 feature so that if you like my content you can recommend it to others. 

Recently I've been playing World of Tanks (yes I'm still playing that), as well as the Ace Combat games on PS2. That's also one thing I should probably mention, which is that I am a big Ace Combat fan. In fact my favorite game that I've ever played is Ace Combat Zero : The Belkan War (and yes I know I see the name similarity to real life too). I've also been playing a bunch of PS3 games too, so that's been good to get back into using it again too. One thing I may do (though I've yet to make a final decision yet on whether I will do this or not) is to document my career on F1 2013. But again, this is more just a theory on the table of plans at the moment and may or may not actually happen.

So that is basically all I wanted to say about my return. How often I post is still not yet locked in place, but I'm hoping to at the very least put up one new post a week. I look forward to getting back into the swing of things with the blog and I hope you enjoy reading it.      

World of Tanks: Cromwell Review

Hello people of the internet, TKH here. Today I thought I would do a review of one of the tanks able to be played in World of Tanks. Remember, as I said in my last blog post, I will be doing all things gaming, so you won't have to worry about me focusing on just one game. But today, I will be doing a review of the British Tier 6 Medium tank, the Cromwell.

First off, the Cromwell (or "Cromie" as it is called for short) is a very agile and fast tank, able to reach a top speed of 64 km/h, which is very fast for a medium tank. It's also able to hold it's speed well when turning, meaning not much speed is lost when heavy maneuvering is required. The traverse speed of the hull is 34 degrees per second on the standard suspension, upped to 36 degrees per second on the upgraded suspension, making the tank turn at a very quick rate. This compliments its fast speed, helped even more by the tanks relatively low weigh, at about 28.3 tonnes when fully upgraded (weighing in at roughly 27 tonnes when stock). On the stock engine (410 hp), the tank isn't terribly quick, but once the top engine is put on (650 hp), the tank becomes much quicker and can match some light tanks on speed and maneuverability. This makes it possible to even do some scouting to good effect, able to dodge incoming shells without losing too much speed, and with the size and shape it has, its camouflage value is good enough to even potentially do some passive scouting as well, though the radio the tank gets is decidedly average.  

The gun on the Cromwell is a impressive weapon, having enough penetration (able to go through 145 mm of armour using standard rounds) to easily deal with any threat at it's tier, and when one gets into the odd tier 8 game this tank can get, having enough penetration to go through the sides and rear of it's tier 8 opponents. This makes this tank a very effective flanker, as it has the speed to flank the enemy and then the gun to wail on their sides and rear, with the Damage Per Minute (DPM) on the gun being quite impressive. Although the damage per shot on the gun is quite low (at 135 average damage), the rate of fire (at 15.38 rounds per minute on the top gun) is very good. The accuracy of the 75 mm Vickers HV (High Velocity) top gun is also very good (at 0.36 at 100 metres, where the lower the number is the more accurate the gun is), meaning that this tank can also be used effectively to provide medium and long range fire support. 

The armour on this tank is probably it's biggest weakness, with most of what it will face being able to easily penetrate it from any side, as it only has 64 mm of frontal hull armour, with 32 mm at both the side and rear. The turret is slightly better armoured with 76 mm at its front, 63.7 mm at the side and 56.7 mm at the rear. Even so, these figures aren't enough for it to bounce most of what it will face, so don't rely on the tanks armour to save you in a bad situation. What makes it worse is that the tank is a boxy shape, with no angling being present on the tank, making it even easier to get through it's armour. Equipment that I would suggest to fit on the tank is a Medium-Caliber Gun Rammer, Improved Ventilation and a Enhanced Gun Laying Drive. Crew skills I will leave up to you, as it'll depend on how you play the tank and what your play style is to decide what skills and perks to give the crew. 

Now, how should you play this tank? Well I would suggest that you should use its fast speed and maneuverability to flank the enemy and possibly even do some scouting if the situation permits it. I stay on the move quite often when I play my Cromwell, and that is how I've got the Ace Tanker Badge on it, by using its speed and rapid rate of fire to flank the enemy and wail on their side and rear. Having said that though, the tank can still be used to good effective as a sniper. Personally, I think doing this is a waste, as you are ignoring its greatest strength (its speed) and not being as helpful to the team as being a aggressive scout or flanker would be. But this is entirely up to you, as how you play this tank comes down to your play style.

So there is the review of the British Tier 6 Medium tank, the Cromwell. I hope you enjoyed reading it and found it helpful and educational. I will continue to do reviews of the various tanks that are on World of Tanks, however I will also do other things to cover as much of video gaming as I can. Thank you for reading today's post. I'll catch you next time.    

F1 2011 Review

Hello again people of the internet, TKH here. Today I thought I would do another review on a video game. This time I'm going to review a game called F1 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS. In this review I will be discussing the PS3 version of the game, which was released in late September 2011.

The game is a motor racing one, based on the 2011 Formula One World Championship season. Thus all the 24 cars, 19 tracks and 24 drivers from that season are shown and able to be used and raced on in the game. The game allows the player to choose race distances that range from short 1 or 3 lap sprints, to 40% and 50% of the full race distance, and of course players can do full length races. The career allows the player to make their own driver and go up against AI controlled players and rise up the ranks of Formula One, over 5 seasons, to become world champion.

The game in my opinion, allows for new comers and experienced veterans of motor racing games to be able to enjoy the game to its fullest. Options like traction control, anti-lock brakes, braking assist and showing optimum racing line on the track can be turned on or off freely. With all driving assists off (the way I always play the game), it makes for some challenging and enjoyable racing, with the car being able to spear off the track very easily if a mistake is made. This makes the racing extremely tense and exciting, as concentration is needed in abundance, in order to be fast and stay on the track. The graphics of the game also look very good, with cars and the tracks themselves looking extremely pretty and fantastic to look at and race around.

As I have mentioned before in my comparison post between Gran Turismo 5 and F1 2011, the AI in F1 2011 is extremely good, in fact in my opinion, it is the best AI I've seen in any motor racing video game. If one tries to overtake them down the inside into a corner, they will move across the track to try and block the inside line, making you go the long way around the outside. But they won't always do this, sometimes sticking to the racing line. They always give the player enough room so the two don't collide, making it very entertaining to race against them. With there being AI difficulties to suit all levels of speed and skill, they are great to go up against be it if you are a new comer or veteran of motor racing games.

The level of realism in the game is very high. The tracks grip levels slowly become better over a race or race weekend, with it having less grip in free practise 1 (hence lap times being slower), and by the race and during the race, the grip level is higher and gets higher until the race finishes (hence lap times are quicker). With fuel simulation (the weight of the fuel affects the cars handling and speed, also the player can run out of fuel) and tyre simulation (the tyres have realistic wear and handling characteristics) being able to be used or turned off, the player is once again given plenty of choice as to how they want their races to go. The car set up options are very detailed, enabling the player to adjust the car to what suits their driving style and make them quicker.

There is a multiplayer aspect of the game, which allows up to 16 human players and, if one wants, 8 AI players to battle it out online. This can be very enjoyable to race against your friends and find out who is the king of motor racing. There is also two player split screen available. A new addition is the Co-op Season, which allows two human players to pick and team, and compete against themselves and 22 AI players. This allows for some fantastic rivalry and challenging racing, as you try to beat your team-mate and see who the best is.

The bad things about the game are few and far between. One feature I wish Codemasters had implemented into the game is the ability to save the game at any point during a race, allowing for the player to exit a race and then reload it and continue it at a later date. This system was put in place in F1 06 on the PS2, which was a very convenient system if you had to quit a race but had yet to finish it. Another nice feature would have been if the game allowed the player to watch replays of races from perspectives other than the player's, so that it would enabled other battles through the field to be watched.

These few bad things in the game are very minor and don't hinder the gaming experience enough to be a problem. This game is extremely enjoyable and challenging to play, being the perfect choice for anyone who is a fan of motor racing. It also enables new comers to the sport to get used to the cars and tracks, having a fantastic time in the process. This game is one of my favourites of all time, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys playing motor racing games, my rating for it being 10/10.

  

Just Cause 2 Review

Hello again people of the internet, TKH here. Today I thought I'd do something a little different and do a review of a video game. The game I will be reviewing today is Just Cause 2. It's available on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Although this is a game released back in March-April of 2010, I still feel I shall review it regardless.

The plot of Just Cause 2 is not one of the game’s strong points in this third person shooter. It's a very basic and straight forward plot that doesn't have many twists or turns in it.  Rico Rodriguez is the protagonist, with his aim being to overthrow the evil dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay and confront his former mentor, Tom Sheldon, on the fictional island of Panau, located in south-east Asia. The voice acting is also a major let down, with accents that sound truly horrible. If you're looking for a game with a detailed and interesting story, there are plenty of better games out there to cater for this. However, the game has many strong points within it.

 The game allows you to free roam around the game world, meaning that the game never forces you into doing any of the missions. If you wanted you could do the first tutorial mission which you have to do, and then proceed to explore the island. The map is very big in size, allowing for many hours of fun exploring it. The only thing about this is it can get boring pretty quickly at times if one tries to explore the map for extended periods of time.

The graphics of the game are very good. Being in an aircraft and looking down at the islands makes for some amazing views, with there being a good variety of different terrains, including deserts, forests and snowy mountains. The variety of vehicles in the game is also huge. There are about a hundred and fifty different types of vehicles, including planes, helicopters, boats and cars. This means that there are endless different vehicles to traverse the land in. There are also multiple different weapons in the game, with shotguns, assault rifles and pistols being amongst them. There is also a grappling hook for the player to use, being able to grapple to any object or person in the game. It even allows for the player to kill enemies in rather unique and different ways, for example by hooking them to the back of a moving car.

What the player will be doing for most of the game is blowing stuff up. Doing this gives the player money with which they can buy weapons and vehicles. Upgrading these is enabled by finding the vehicle and weapon parts scattered around the islands. The explosions look authentic enough and spectacular, with the amount of things the player can blow up being almost endless. The weapons are for the most part nicely balanced, although there is an advantage the assault rifle has over most other weapons.

In summary the game is very fun and can give you hours of arcade fun in a truly massive world. With hundreds of towns and military bases to explore, and plenty of upgrades and collectables to find, this game could keep you busy for hundreds of hours after you complete the roughly nine hour length main story, with many side quests that are available as well. Although the story and voice acting is not a strong point of the game, I still think it is a game that is worth a shot at playing, if you like third person shooters with plenty of explosions and action, with my rating for it being 8/10.

Gran Turismo 5 or F1 2011?

Hello again people of the Internet, TKH here. One thing I should probably say now whilst this blog is in its beginnings, is that I'm a gamer, love playing video games, have done for the majority of my life. Hence one issue that I've been thinking about recently is which game is a more realistic take on motor racing, Gran Turismo 5 or F1 2011? I have a PlayStation 3 as my primary gaming console, and thus have both games on the console. In my opinion, F1 2011 is a more realistic game overall than Gran Turismo 5, for reasons which will be explained in the following paragraphs.

 F1 2011 has a very realistic tyre wear system, which has your tyres wearing at rates which are very close to the real Formula One cars tyre wear in the 2011 season. There is a harder type of tyre (called the prime tyre), and a softer type of tyre (called the option tyre). The harder tyre lasts for longer than the soft tyre, but doesn't offer as much grip, hence lap times are slower with the prime tyre than the option tyre. Both types of tyre have to be used at least once during the course of a dry race. Last years tyre design was one that had high tyre wear in mind, even higher than previous years. Hence, in the game your tyres don't last a terribly long time, meaning in a full length race you would have to pit three or four times during it for new tyres. To be honest I like this a lot, as it adds a layer of strategy to the game, trying to figure out when the best times to pit are. The thing that I really like about the tyres in F1 2011 is that if you do a race, say 20% distance of the real length race, your tyres will have scaled up tyre wear to match the length of the race you do.

 Gran Turismo 5 has a less realistic tyre wear system in my view. Because the game has over a thousand different types of cars, ranging from your everyday sedan, to full blown race cars and Formula One cars, I can see why it isn't as good as F1 2011's system. GT5 has three types of tyre; comfort, sports and racing, with each tyre type having a hard, medium and soft type of that type of tyre. From experience playing the game, I've noticed that no matter whether, for example, you use a soft sports tyre or hard sports tyre, the distance each can go for before wearing out is the same regardless. Whether this was missed by the developers or meant to be implemented, it makes the game less realistic than F1 2011.

The AI in F1 2011 is also much better and more realistic than in GT5. In GT5, the AI mostly sticks to the same line, only going off it to pass a car in front of it. Whereas F1 2011's AI actually tries to defend their position from someone trying to take it. They will try and block the inside line if one tries to pass, forcing you to have to go the long way around them in a corner. The AI won't always do this, sometimes sticking to the racing line, making it harder to know what the AI are going to do. This makes the F1 AI far more enjoyable to go up against, because they actually try and not let you pass them, unlike GT5's which just stays on the one line and do nothing to stop you from passing them.

One thing which GT5 has over F1 2011 is that the mechanical damage a car gets (if damage is turned on full) from hitting another car or wall hard enough is more realistic than F1 2011. The cars steering will be bent and go off centre and your suspension could be damaged from the hit and even damaging the engine is possible, making the car harder to drive, possibly meaning a trip to the pits is on the menu. F1 2011 on the other hand doesn't have any of that damage from hitting a wall or another car. You will either lose your front wing, get a tyre puncture or destroy the car, the latter forcing you out of the race. Your suspension can't get damaged and your steering never gets bent or damaged.

Although GT5 does have a better damage system than F1 2011, Ultimately F1 wins by having far better tyre wear and AI than GT5, making the game a far better choice if realism is what you want from them. I rate both games highly though and to be honest I'd suggest buying them both, because they are fantastic representations of motor racing and the challenges which the sport has to offer. If you're a petrol head and love motor racing, these two games are ones which I'm sure would be enjoyed tremendously and give you many hours of motor racing at it finest.