What To Do When Banks Try To Scam You

I know this has nothing to do with games but this is pretty funny.

Every so often we receive unsolicited offers from our banks with credit card "deals" and the such. But what happens when you decide to "amend" the find print and create your own terms? As it turns out, banks really don't have the time or possibly effort to read the fine print. A Russian man has done what most of us would have dreamed of.

Dmitry Agarkov changed a few things in his contract and sent it back to the bank which surprisingly accepted. His contract gave him 0% interest rates and no fees or credit limits amongst other things.

It's a pretty interesting article that's worth reading especially when the court ruled that his contract is legally valid and the bank had to pay him credit card cancellation fees. The trial will continue in September.

You can read more about it here.

Game Review: Police Force 2

So being a fan of police games, I decided to look around the internet and see if I could find a game that was the opposite of Grand Theft Auto (I have a mod of my copy of GTA IV but it just didn't really feel .... "completing"). So I came across a game named Police Force 2 which is created by Excalibur Publishing Limited. It places you into the role of a police officer (two in fact) and you go around the city responding to calls.

Police Force 2 throws you in a European city that is just like any other city (well with the exception that there's not really a lot of traffic). You play as two police officers (one male and one female) and you can switch between the two of them anytime during gameplay. Some days you'll be wearing a uniform while others you'll be in plainclothes solving big crimes. There is always an order of the day which you must complete in order to receive a promotion. A promotion means you'll unlock other parts of the city thus expanding your coverage area. 

You get access to all the police equipment as soon as you jump into the game. Items ranging from pepper spray to handcuffs to breathalyzers are at your disposal but do keep in mind that one officer does not carry all of these so you must switch between the two when the time calls for it. In terms of police cars, you'll get a selection of four. For days where you're wearing your shiny blue uniform, you'll get access to two patrol cars and a van. An unmarked BMW is used for days where you have to sneak around a bit.

You also get to call in some help in the form of tow trucks, ambulances and prisoner transport. Sadly none of these are for you (such as requesting an ambulance to heal you) but rather, they are called to the scene to help clean up. You can also request the precinct to send you a police car (marked or unmarked) so you won't have to leg it around the city.

Gameplay-wise, it's quite fun but it can be frustrating when something doesn't go your way. You could spend a good 15 minutes trying to solve the order of the day but only to fail at the last minute because you arrested the wrong suspect. Wait, shouldn't all suspects related to a crime be arrested so they can be brought in for questioning? Not in this game. Other than that, you get various calls that range from solving a kidnapping to helping out at a car accident scene. Everything that any police officer is expected to do you'll get to be in on it.

A quick word of warning, this game isn't developed by Crytek so don't expect any Crysis level graphics. In fact, go look up a couple of screenshots and you'll see that the developers behind Police Force 2 aren't exactly loaded with cash. It's a nicely developed game and the concept is there but there aren't a lot of decent animations such as handcuffing or firing a gun. But don't worry, you're not going to be seeing Tetris level graphics either.

Overall the game is a rather decent game. It puts you in the shoes of a police officer and you must obey the law in the process of doing so. You aren't always free to do whatever you want and you can't go around shooting civilians (the game just doesn't let you). If you're looking for a casual police simulator game, this will definitely grab your attention.

• Gameplay: 7/10
• Replay Value: 8/10
• Story: Null (there is no story, just day-to-day missions)
• Voicework: 4/10
• Sound: 6/10
• Overall Score: 7/10

M7 Research Path

I never liked this tank. Mostly because I just don't like it. Know why? I could annoy you all day about why I don't like it and be redundant about it or I could get this over with.

There are a couple of ways to do this. Some of you may prefer the 6 pounder gun over the 75mm. Both guns have their disadvantages and advantages so the final choice is really up to you.

1. Gun: QF 6-pdr Mk. III
2. Engine: Wright C. R-975C1
3. Engine: Wright C. R-975C4
4. Turret: M47
5. Gun: 75 mm Gun M2
6. Tracks: VVSS T48A
7. Gun: 75 mm Gun M3
8. Radio: SCR 538
9. Radio: SCR 528
10. Tank: T21

You'll need the tracks if you want the 75mm M3 but if you don't really care about that, then don't bother. Remember to aim for the engines too as the tank is too weakly armoured to play decently like a medium tank but rather, more of a light.

T29 Research Path

Personally, I never really liked the T29 but I suppose that's just me. Either way, DO NOT under any circumstances, skip ahead without researching the 105 mm. You will have a VERY hard time grinding the T32. You should also be coming from the T1 Heavy and M6 with the 90 mm gun researched. Yes, I'm dead serious about this. A 76 mm on the T29 looks silly and ridiculous and you'll be shooting yourself in the foot.

With that said, I'll assume you didn't follow my advice and went ahead and grabbed the T29 without a moment's hesitation.

1. Gun: 90 mm Gun M3
2. Engine: GMC Allison V1710-E32
3. Tracks: T84E3
4. Gun: 105 mm Gun T5E1
5. Turret T136
6. Engine: Continental AV-1790-3
7. Radio: SCR 528
8. Tank: T32

I've tried to load as much as I can with the stock tracks. Everything after (minus the Continental engine) requires the tracks. Why did I leave the final engine to the end? There's only a 40 horsepower difference so it's not that crucial. Getting the 105 mm should be your top priority but mobility is also something worth thinking about. The GMC engine will help but if you don't want it, then skip it and go straight for the tracks. 

Jagdpanther Research Path

Legend or not, this is a pretty decent beast in World of Tanks. Most of your modules are shared so you may only end up needing to research the guns and the tracks. But in case this is your first time playing the German tech tree, I'll help you with that. One thing to note, the stock tracks can hold everything so you can research those last (or not at all).

1. Gun: 8,8 cm PaK 36 L/56
2. Gun: 8,8 cm PaK 43 L/71
3. Engine: Maybach HL 210 P30
4. Engine: Maybach HL 230 P45
5. Gun: 10,5 cm PaK 45 L/52
6. Radio: FuG 12
7. Tracks: JgPz-V-Ketten Ausf. B
8. Tank: Ferdinand
9. Tank: JgPanther II

The two gun options are completely up to you. The long 88 (8,8 cm PaK 43 L/71) offers faster rate of fire with less damage per shot with an additional 3 mm of extra penetration. The 105 (10,5 cm PaK 45 L/52) has a slower rate of fire with more damage per shot and is slightly less accurate. The choice is yours on what you want but if you want the 105, then research that immediately after the 88.

Bat.-Châtillion 155 55 Research Path

The tier 9 French SPG. This thing isn't released onto the retail server (at the time of this writing) so I expect you folks will be spending some of that free exp. Either way, stock this SPG is pretty decent and the gun does hit hard. The only issue is the stock radio becomes a liability so you will want to upgrade that soon. The gun isn't as important oddly enough as it is quite good for a stock gun.

1. Radio: SCR 528F
2. Gun: Canon de 155 mm
3. Engine: Continental AV-1790-7B
4. Tracks: Batignolles-Châtillon 155 mle. 56
5. Tank: B-C 155 58 

Whether you want to relocate faster or have a better gun that offers slightly faster reload time and better accuracy, it's completely up to you. Just note that you can mount everything and a Maus (not really) with the stock tracks so you won't have to research them at all.

I'll add in this now for all you guys who don't know, this thing has a 360 degree turret with a turet traverse of 10 degrees per second. It does NOT have an autoloader, only the tier 10 bat-chat SPG has that.

Game Review: Remember Me

So like a lot of other people out there, I got pretty interested when I heard about Remember Me. A game where people's memories can be bought, stolen, sold, given, transferred, etc. Essentially turning memories into tangible items. It has quite an unusual storyline and that's what makes it interesting.

TL:DR : Remember Me is a game worth trying out but there really isn't much fun after you have beaten the game once. The story is very good and with the protagonist, it captures you into the game. This along with the combat creates a game that will keep you entertained for at least a good number of hours.

In terms of the storyline, it's very easy to get sucked into it. Remember Me takes place in 2084 in Paris. Well, it's no longer called Paris but it's called Neo-Paris now. The wealthy and privileged live in a live of luxury while the poor are separated and live in the slums. You play as a memory hunter named Nilin who has had her memory taken away and then thrown in jail. Your objective is to turn around the city and destroy those who have corrupted the city. You will encounter a couple of friends along the way although oddly enough, they don't get much of an ending. The game merely introduces them, have them interact with you then they are forgotten. You grow a bit of attachment to one of them as you remix their memory and bend her to your will.

Yes you read that right. You as the protagonist have the ability to remix other people's memories and create a slightly different version of that memory. Your unsuspecting foe will remember what you want them to remember and essentially, you can control people and bend their wills to your whim. Unfortunately you can only do this a handful of times because the game only lets you do this at certain points in the storyline. You don't get to choose whose memories to remix.

In terms of combat, it's very fluid. Combat is very simple: punch, kick and dodge. It's what keeps the game nice and easy to play without providing too much of a challenge. No matter what combination of punches and kicks and dodges you throw in, it all looks very fluid and there are no quirks there. You can also set up a bunch of combos which grants you bonuses. These combos use "presens" which are essentially punches of kicks that will give you said bonuses: regenerate health, lower cool-down time for special abilities, extra damage or enhance any of the above. These combos are particularly useful especially when you have a large number of enemies to deal with and you are running dangerously low on health or you need something for crowd control. I won't spoil it for you but all the special abilities will make you go "WOW" everytime you use them. They are very impressive and add to the gameplay. Additionally, you are able to finish off some of your enemies by overloading their memories. Yes this is possible. Memories, like drugs, can be overdosed and when that happens, you die. The animations for these are very fun to watch and leave with a sense of satisfaction.

Sadly Remember Me isn't perfect. Far from it. This is mostly because the entire gameplay is very linear and you are forced to follow one path. You are unable to explore the world around you and all levels are essentially a single line from point A to point B with a handful of enemies in between. Think of the complete opposite of Grand Theft Auto. The game would greatly benefit from a more opened world with the option of side quests although this isn't necessary as the main storyline is already enough to keep your attention. But an opened world would definitely be beneficial.

Voice acting, it's a bit quirky. It's not bad but it's not good either. It's one of those games where you wonder how does it get so cheesy even when some parts are done very well. The script isn't as well written in some parts as others but it's not going to bother you.

Overall Remember Me is a very fun game to play with a captivating storyline. You play it mostly because you want to know what happens next and for the fights coupled with the ability to remix memories. It's a game definitely worth buying and it will keep you entertained for the first time round. Sadly if you wish to replay the game, it loses that value quite quickly. The game levels should have been more opened with more space and not so constricted which gives the occasional bad camera angle.

• Gameplay: 7.5/10
• Replay Value: 2/10
• Story: 9.5/10
• Voicework: 7.5/10
• Sound: 8/10
• Overall Score: 7.5/10 

Comet Research Path

Fun tank if you get it right, disastrous if you get it wrong. The Comet is the next tank after the Cromwell. Although not as agile as the Cromwell, the Comet is a pretty maneuverable tank with a gun that lacks a bit of penetration. At the same time, you can easily reload faster than your foes so take advantage of that and pop off a couple more rounds to save your bacon. As a side note, you can reload faster than an AMX 50 100 unloads its clip. You may not survive a one-on-one but if it was weakened previously, then you certainly have a chance.

If you've elited the Cromwell, then the only modules left to research are the tracks, the final 77mm gun and the turret. But assuming that you haven't, do slap on the 75mm Vickers HV gun from the Cromwell. Penetration-wise it's not very different from the 77mm so you better get used to it.

1. Gun: 75 mm Vickers HV
2. Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk. IVB
3. Tracks: A34A
4. Turret: Comet Mk. I
5. Gun: OQF 77 mm Gun Mk. II
6. Radio: WS No. 19 Mk. III
7. Radio: WS No. 22
8. Gun: 3.7-inch Howitzer 
9. Tank: Centurion I

If you've elited the Cromwell (as you should have), then follow this guide.

1. Tracks: A34A
2. Turret: Comet Mk. I
3. Gun: OQF 77 mm Gun Mk. II
4. Radio: WS No. 22
5. Tank: Centurion I

You will need the tracks before mounting the turret and you will need the turret before mounting the gun. Them's the rules. 

VK 16.02 Leopard Research Path

Zoom zoom zoom! Well not really seeing how the Leopard isn't all that fast compared to the T-50-2 but hey, it's still fun running amok in this tank. Ever since it got bumped to tier 5, the Leopard just doesn't seem to be all that great of a scout anymore. Nevertheless, it'll still keep you on the edge of your seat as you whiz through enemy formations and try to take out their artillery.

1. Engine: Maybach HL 120 TRM
2. Engine: Maybach HL 157 P
3. Radio: FuG 7
4. Gun: 5 cm KwK 39 L/60
5. Gun: 3 cm M.K. 103
6. Radio: FuG Spr. A
7. Tracks: Leopardketten Ausf. B
8. Tank: VK 28.01

Seriously you should have already researched those radios and if you have, then slap them on immediately. You also won't need the tracks until the very end as your stock tracks will be able to support everything you throw on it. As for the gun choices, the 3 cm is definitely better even though it uses an autoloader which takes years to reload but at least you have higher penetration than the 5 cm which is very important when you have no other option but to fight higher tiered enemies. Don't actually try to fight them of course, your armour really isn't impressive. 

Dishonored

I really need to talk about games when I play them, not 5 months after.

Anyway, so I played Dishonored a while back and if you've never heard of it, it's essentially a first-person Assassin's Creed with nifty gadgets, magical powers and a deadly plague that seems to interfere with your missions. Dishonored has a well written story that gives life to the game itself without over-doing it. You play as a former royal protector who got framed for the assassination of your empress as well as the kidnapping of the princess.

You get captured immediately after the death of the empress and kidnapping of the princess but a few new friends help you escape about a month afterwards. You get a pretty badass looking mask that not only protects your identity (you're a wanted man after all), but also serves to frighten your enemies. Granted in one mission your mask is used to help you participate and sneak through a masked ball with lots of aristocrats enjoying themselves.

You get to use a very nifty looking sword that can easily be folded whenever you're not using it and you also get access to a pistol and crossbow. As you may have guessed, a pistol will attract attention from nearby enemies whenever you use it but it's always nice to see your enemies fly back. A crossbow is better used for those stealthy take-downs with the option of equipping standard crossbow bolts, sleeping darts or even incendiary bolts. Light 'em up!

One of the biggest aspects of the game is your choice of actions. Go around killing off all your foes may seem convenient and fun but will lead to a chaotic ending while sneaking about and simply knocking them out without actually killing anyone will lead to a more peaceful ending. Additionally, these actions have their own consequences as you progress throughout the game. Kill too many people and just leave their corpses lying on the street will generate more guards and rat hordes in future missions thus making your life more difficult as you are forced to either find another route to sneak around them or fight your way through. Go for the more "good guy" way and you'll be seeing less soldiers and the citizens of the city won't act so aggressively towards you.

Did I mention that this game has a steampunk theme to it? No? Well in between being able to use your specially earned magic which allows you to teleport short distances (amongst other cool things of course), your foes will use equipment that ranges from pistols to crossbows that fire explosive whale oil (similar to our own oil we see today).

Dishonored is a pretty fun game but unfortunately after the second run, it starts to lose its replay value. Most of the storyline will remain the same regardless of which path you choose and it's easy to just go on YouTube and watch the different endings rather than play through the game again and again. But overall, it's worth looking into and it did win the 2013 BAFTA award for best game so you'll know that you won't be wasting your time.

Now for a more funny picture. Yes I found it on 9gag.

Call of Duty Thoughts

Can't exactly have a blog that talks about games without talking about Call of Duty right? Oh I should probably warn you folks, if you are easily offended or have a faint of heart, then you probably shouldn't read this. My opinions are my own and if you don't like what you are reading, you are more than welcome to stop reading and leave. Now that I got that disclaimer out of the way, let's get started eh?

So I remember when Call of Duty 2 came out. I had walked into a nearby Best Buy and walked up to the nearest Xbox 360 that was available to try. They had loaded the demo for CoD 2 and I was amazed by the graphics (I was a kid back then). It was then that I developed a slight interest in FPS games. Several years later, I got my hands on CoD 2 and quite honestly, it was pretty good. The campaign had a reasonable length to it and playing a WWII themed FPS game, who could say no?

Then came greed. Somewhere along the lines, EA, Activision or Treyarch (I honestly don't care which and I'll explain why later) got greedy and poof, we now have a new CoD game coming out every year. So why don't I care who got greedy? Mostly because once you create a video game, the consumer only cares about the game itself and not the workings behind it. Certainly EA gets 99% of the blame especially with the fact that it got rated in the top 10 worst companies in the US but let's face it, the developer should have also put in more effort in the single-player campaign rather than just recycling multi-player content and just over pricing them.

Unfortunately, CoD has gotten so mainstream (or whatever word you wish to use), that every 12 year old will convince their mommy and daddy to fork out $60 everytime a new CoD has been released. Oh and add in an extra $50 for DLC's and you've got enough money to feed an African country right there.

Of course I'm not trying to bash CoD. CoD itself is a pretty decent game, but constantly reusing the same formula and going with the idea of "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it" just gets boring and repetitive over time. Life is all about taking risks, not trying to scam people into spending more money. Although granted, I still like the health system in CoD. In theory, it's so much easier to survive then say Counter Strike for example as you can actually heal just by standing there and not get hit. But for the most part, CoD needs new ideas and ones that don't involve trying to scam players. Money is difficult to come by and as a publisher, EA should be more understanding of this but they aren't. They care too much about money and as a result, the quality of games has decreased dramatically. We'll never see a "Super Mario World " type game from EA anytime soon.

*Insert Witty Title Here*

So as some of you may (or may not) know, I am a field commander at my clan PWNT. By the way, if any of yous wishes to join a lovely clan filled with crazy but awesome people, come check out PWNT. Ok now that I got that out of the way, let's get to the more important stuff.

So last night I had to call battles. Wait what? What are you talking about? 

For those who aren't familiar, PWNT participates in clan wars and like all kinds of organized fighting, there is a command structure during times of seriousness. Generally a deputy commander or field commander will take charge of the entire fight and call the shots with roughly 2 or 3 element leaders who are generally tasked with leading their respective groups. I'm very happy just staying as an element leader as the job generally only entitles directing fellow clanmates to focus fire and shoot at a specific target. 

Unfortunately (or fortunately if you want to see if that way), none of the usual commanders who called the whole battle were online yet we had our clan battles scheduled. So at first, I was reluctant to step up as it is a very stressful position. You spend much of your time directing people what to do and combine that with fighting directly on the front lines, it's a lot of work. 

So with that in mind, I decided it was a good idea to say no to calling battles and instead let my clanmate Newsomator call the battles. He wasn't very clear with some of his instructions during the battle but I feel that with practice, he should do a pretty good job of leading people. But nevertheless, after the first battle he felt that it was a better idea to just let me do the job of calling battles. Yikes!

So I reluctantly said yes but decided that it was probably the best idea. I reused the old strategy of just amassing tanks in the town area (we were fighting on Lakeville mind you) but this time, I devoted more tanks there with no artillery support. Like so:

• 1 GW Tiger
• 1 JgPzE100
• 2 BatChat.25t
• 1 T57 Heavy
• 4 T110E5
• 2 E-100
• 2 IS-7

Granted there were just the few of us online (odd right?) so this was the only thing I had to work with. We were lucky however to face a team filled with tier 9 and tier 8 tanks so despite the fact that we were short handed, we still had a breeze fighting them. 

The next battle was a bit better as more of the clanmates were starting to come online. However there was a problem and that was we were fighting the folks for Hostile. Let's just say that I wasn't too keen on fighting them as they too amassed large number of tanks in the city area. They also brought along a good number of autoloader tanks which created a very big challenge. So how exactly does one beat autoloader tanks? Bring more of your own of course! So the tank setup looked a little something like this:

• 1 AMX50B
• 2 E-100
• 3 T110E5
• 4 T57 Heavy
• 3 BatChat.25t
• 1 JgPzE100
• 1 B.Chat.155

So autoloader artillery plus 8 autoloader tanks. Muhahahaha. That was an evil laugh by the way. We did manage to win the battle in the end but it was a close one. Although we had crushed their city forces, they had crushed ours too. Fortunately I was prepared for this and we won by capturing their base using the tanks that I had positioned in the valley. I won't give away too much here with my valley strategy but just keep in mind that they have a very important job of helping me out whenever I need them. So I had done it. I managed to beat the one clan which I thought was one of the tougher clans we faced. This brought me to the final battle with the land owner. 

Now I didn't know anything about the strategy of the land owner but I assumed that it there would be a decent number of tanks in the city area. But for more durability, I tweaked my tank setup a little. I was now fielding:

• 2 E-100
• 4 T110E5
• 4 T57 Heavy <-- these babies are very useful for support you know
• 2 BatChat.25t
• 1 Tortoise <-- this thing fights on par with tier 10 tanks which is why we use it
• 1 B.Chat.155
• 1 T92

Sadly our T92 got counter battery-ed very early on but we were still able to manage. Fighting in the city is very stressful and requires careful thinking. You also want to lure the enemies out in the open so your artillery and any other support forces outside the city can help out. It was an extremely close call but I did re-learn one thing and that was focus fire really makes a huge difference. We managed to knock out 4 of their tanks in a matter of seconds and I believe it was at that moment that I managed to secure a foothold in our victory. It was a pretty eventful match filled with some funny moments but the final result was, we had won. 

I was very satisfied with myself and how I managed to refine a strategy and make it work. Plus I had gotten us land! If there was one thing that I learned with fighting in the city, it's that you must send in a large number of autoloaders to help out. Just like how people love to use big giant guns with long reload times in the city, autoloaders work to the same effect.   

E-75 Research Path

I'm alive! I didn't disappear or anything. I hope....Ok maybe I was extremely busy and all but I really was planning on making another one of these.

So the lovely E-75, the tank in which everyone seems to love. Sadly the stock grind isn't exactly superb due to your lack of engine power. The E-75 sports more armour than the Tiger II and even though you can bring over the last engine from the Tiger II, it's not enough to move the E-75. You should have already elited your Tiger II before researching this tank. This is extremely important as you'll actually be using a lot of old modules from the Tiger II.

As always, I'll assume that you were somehow unable to research any of these modules from before.

1. Gun: 10.5 cm KwK 45 L/52
2. Gun: 10.5 cm KwK 46 L/68
3. Engine: Maybach HL 230 P 45
4. Engine: Maybach HL 234
5. Engine: Maybach HL 295 Ausf. A
6. Tracks: MAN-Ketten Ausf. B
7. Turret: E-75 Ausf. F
8. Gun: 12.8 cm KwK 44 L/55
9. Radio: FuG 12
10. Tank: E-100

Assuming that you have indeed elited the Tiger II, then go ahead and aim for that final engine. You're going to need that 1200 hp engine to move this hunk of bolts. You'll also need to get those pesky tracks if you want to upgrade the turret and the final gun (12.8 cm KwK 44 L/55). Just keep in mind that you won't need the tracks for anything else so it's ok to aim for the engine and the other gun choices. 

Break Your Own Record?

Ever try breaking your own records? Of course you have! For me, today I finally broke my 9 kill record in World of Tanks and managed to achieve 11 kills. (Would've been 12 if he didn't steal my kill)

Nevertheless, it's always fun to push yourself past your limits and make a crucial contribution to your team whenever you play a team based video game. Just keep in mind that the enemy team usually aren't too happy seeing it happen but your team will thank you for it. I was slightly worried that I wouldn't have enough shells but thankfully, I did. I'll need to remind myself to shoot on the move less often even though it can be fun doing so.

This is just some advice to everyone out there, don't worry about trying to get 11 kills in a battle. Work on improving your skills overall and use your powers of deception to figure out the missing clues. Then exploit their weaknesses and ROFLSTOMP your enemies. It took me over 9000 battles to reach this record and it may take me 9000 more to kill all 15 tanks. Just take your time, be yourself, and constantly look to improve and you'll be a better player soon enough.

And for anyone who wants a copy of the replay, you can find it here.

How Do You Start Off Your Week?

"I believe in what doesn't kill you, simply makes you...stranger." -The Joker

So for me, my week begins on Monday (just like a lot of people). I wake up, I look at my phone and realize it's another week filled with the same routine over and over again. The onslaught of sitting in lectures and studying for exams coupled with the occasional video game here and there is what most of my week generally consists of.

So after many years of Youtube, I have finally found a way to start off my week on a much more happier footing. Anna Akana is a talented Youtuber who makes videos and releases them every Monday. I first discovered her videos several years ago when she did 10 second traumas. I was however, disappointed that she would no longer be doing those videos. So I turned to her other channel (like many other people out there) and started watching her weekly videos. They kind of do feel like vlogs now that I think about it.

But to those who often feel like they have a bad week ahead of them, might I suggest you watch her videos? It's definitely something better than your usual cup of coffee accompanied by a newspaper that's about to get tossed in the recycling (honestly, who reads the paper now? We have the internet no?).

http://www.youtube.com/user/AnnaAkana

As with all my other posts, I'll post my favourite video.

Crysis 3

So I recently got my hands on a copy of Crysis 3 and quite honestly, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. Even though you can now use a bow, a lot of the components of the game are more or less the same as before. Additionally, the single player campaign isn't as long as Crysis 2 and there aren't many boss battles (only 2 this time). Don't get me wrong though, Crysis 3 is still a fun game. It's just unfortunate that there appears to be less effort put into this game than previously.

One thing you'll notice about Crysis 3 is the familiarity with Crysis 2. The default controls are all the same and the same weapons make their appearance again. You'll also find the same buggies and APC's lying around on a couple of missions and yes, C.E.L.L. are back as an antagonist along with the Ceph.

The best part of the game is you now get to use a bow. Not one of those primitive ones of course but a much more modern one with four different types of arrows. You are limited to the number of arrows you can carry but generally you'll find a stash of arrows to replenish your supply before a big fight. At the same time, you can always pick up any standard arrows you fire. You won't be able to pick up the special ones but that shouldn't be a problem.

Story-wise, Crysis 3 more or less wraps up much of what was left from the first two games. (Granted I didn't play Crysis Warhead nor did I read the comics.) You'll get to save the world from utter destruction (isn't that what every video game is about nowadays?) and you'll look pretty badass doing so. I won't give away any spoilers but you will get a sidekick this time round and he's no other than Pyscho, the hotshot, trigger-happy, anger-fueled soldier you saw in a suit in the first game. He's got his suit ripped off of him and he's not too happy about that mostly because of the painful process of doing so. Most people die in the process according to him. His sarcasm is one of the more enjoyable moments of voice acting in the game and even though he does swear quite a bit, it certainly matches with his personality. I should probably also mention that C.E.L.L. is a much more corrupt organization this time and in their quest for world domination, they have harvested the Ceph's limitless energy and made themselves a very powerful organization. As part of their process of doing so, they have erected a giant dome over New York and set up "debt programs" for those who couldn't pay their electricity bills. It's an interesting concept but it does make you wonder how they're able to gain so much power without any government organization stopping them.

Overall Crysis 3 is the type of game that you would expect of the Crysis franchise; good graphics, ability to customize weapons, ability to choose different routes to the same goal (allowing for good replay functionality), decent AI and excellent voice acting. It's not an improvement over Crysis 2 but it is worth trying out this game and giving it a shot. Just don't get your hopes too high up or you won't enjoy the game.

As usual, I've got a couple of screenshots.

A predator bow and an APC for you to drive. What more could you ask for?

Here you can customize what arrows you want to use and your draw speed. Longer draw speeds mean you can fire much more powerful shots but at the cost of speed.

I like APC's. Don't hate on me for that.

T20 Research Path

Quick, lightly armoured, decent firepower with miserable aim time (with the 90 mm). These are just a couple of words I would use to describe the T20 medium tank. A predecessor to the M26 Pershing, the T20 has access to a powerful 90 mm gun which is a must for a tier 7 American medium tank. Your lack of armour will give way to speed which allows you to reach 56 km/h thus letting you return to base very quickly should the need arise. Oh and if you're really lucky, your mantlet can even absorb shots from E-50's.

Yes, even though I did say the 90 mm is a must have for the T20, you're going to have to put up with its bad reload time and aim time. You do however need that extra penetration unless you plan on using premium rounds for the 76 mm.

1. Gun: 76 mm Gun M1A2
2. Tracks: HVSS T51
3. Turret: T20D2
4. Gun: 90 mm Gun M3
5. Engine: Ford GAN
6. Radio: SCR 506
7. Gun: 105 mm SPH M4 L/23
8. Tank: M26 Pershing

You may wish to go for the engine before you get the 90 mm gun. The engine will allow easier flanking opportunities but you'll still be carrying a rather weak gun. The choice is really up to you on whether or not you feel that your tank is under gunned or under speed.  

VK 36.01 (H) Research Path

The VK 36.01 (H) is one of my favorite German tanks in the game. It combines excellent firepower with good armour along with decent enough speed and forms a predecessor to the Tiger tank. Do note that in one of the future patches, this tank will be redesignated as a heavy so it is possible that this guide may change.

Now there are actually many different options of researching through this tank. I've chosen the 75 mm gun which offers good penetration and damage. The Konisch offers the most penetration but you need gold rounds to bring out its fullest potential. You can select just about any gun that suits you best and stick with that or experiement. Don't follow this guide fully if you wish to experiment though; I've left the unused guns until the very end.

1. Turret: VK3601H-Großturm
2. Gun: 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70
3. Engine: Maybach HL 210 P 30
4. Engine: Maybach HL 230 P 45
5. Tracks: VK3601H-Ketten (B)
6. Radio: FuG 7
7. Radio: FuG 12
8. Gun: 10.5 cm KwK 42 L/28
9. Gun: 7.5 cm KwK 41 L/58 Konisch
10. Gun: 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56
11. Tank: Tiger 

Also, keep in mind that you won't need to research the tracks until the very end. The stock suspension is more than enough to upgrade your tank fully.

Cromwell Research Path

Well this will be my first British tank research path guide. The Cromwell is a lightly armoured, decently gunned, agile medium tank. It is able to get from one place to another very quickly and provide that extra firepower wherever needed on the battlefield. Keep in mind that the speed comes at a cost and your armour isn't top notch. Nevertheless, it is still an interesting and fun tank to play. Just don't expect to survive head-on engagements, you will die pretty quickly if you do.

1. Gun: QF 6-pdr. Gun Mk. V
2. Tracks: A27M
3. Gun: 3.7-inch Howitzer
4. Turret: Cromwell Mk. IV
5. Gun: 75 mm Gun Mk. V
6. Gun: 75 mm Vickers HV
7. Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor
8. Engine: Rolls-Royce Meteor Mk. IVB
9. Radio: WS No. 19 Mk. II
10. Radio: WS No. 19 Mk. III
11. Tank: Comet

You may wish to skip the 3.7-inch Howitzer if you don't want an inaccurate gun. Just keep in mind that the stock guns aren't very good and you'll really be pushing your skills to the limits until you get the final gun. Also the tracks are very important as without it, you're not going to mount anything but the 6 pounder. You also don't have access to any enhanced torsion bars or anything like that so make sure you get those tracks fast.

SU-100Y TD Initial Impressions

After playing my first game with the SU-100Y, I decided to write some of my initial impressions. Firstly some facts: you are in a tier 6 tank destroyer with a tier 8 gun. Your reload time and aim time will be LONG so it's highly recommended that you use a large-caliber gun rammer and the enhanced gun laying drive.

Your speed is also mediocre but the traverse speed is acceptable (not good but not horrible either). Keep in mind that you won't be racing anyone but you are faster than a Super Pershing for example. Your gun has an average damage of 440 HP per shot with 196 mm of penetration. This means that you can more or less 2-shot tier 7 tanks (assuming that your RNG isn't horrible). The gun traverse is also acceptable and as long as you don't play too aggressively and sit back and snipe, you will do fine.

These are just my initial impressions after playing one game. All of these may change as the test continues on so don't rely on this post to make a decision on whether or not to purchase this premium TD.

New Panzer I & Panzer II Pictures

The new public test server has several new Panzer 1s and 2s so I decided to take pictures of them and post them here. Haven't tried them out (probably never will until they are released) mostly because it's impossible to get into a low tier battle in the public test server.

For the sake of it, I'm putting a stock picture and an elite picture. The first picture is the stock tank and the second is elite. (Oh and none of the stats are definite yet so the pictures are simply there for the heck of it)

I really wish they would give the NA server access to the Panzer II Ausf. J. It's a premium tank but it feels like they won't sell it anywhere. Well at least the Ausf. G looks ...... somewhatly similar I suppose.

M46 Patton Research Path

Ah one of my most hated tanks in all of World of Tanks. I can't decide whether or not it's the fact that it's so bloody arty vulnerable or the fact that it's a slower version of the Pershing. Or maybe it's inadequate gun that makes me want to rage at it. Either way, if this tank doesn't suit you, you better get out of it fast!

This handy dandy research path guide will get you to elite the tank. If you don't want to elite it, I will write a second research path for your convenience.

1. Tracks: M46T81 (This is a must! You can't even put on another gun because of this)
2. Gun: 90 mm Gun T5E1M2 
3. Engine: Continental AV-1790-1
4. Gun: 105 mm Gun T5E1M2
5. Engine: Continental AV-1790-5A
6. Turret: M46T119
7. Radio: SCR 528
8. Gun: 90 mm Gun M36
9. Gun: 105 mm SPH M4 L/23
10. Tank: M48 Patton

The difference between the 90 mm Gun M36 and the 90 mm Gun M3 is so minuscule that you're probably better off not researching it. AND WHAT IS THE 105 MM SPH DOING HERE?!!??!?!

Also depending on your play style, you may want to research the 105 mm Gun T5E1M2 first before you aim for the engines. The other way around applies too but that depends on what type of player you are. Snipers should go for the guns and flankers should gun it for those engines (uhh no pun intended).

Now for those who don't want to elite the tank but get through the tank as quickly as possible.

1. Tracks: M46T81 
2. Gun: 90 mm Gun T5E1M2 
3. Gun: 105 mm Gun T5E1M2
4. Tank: M48 Patton

Keep in mind that you will be neglecting the engines which are rather important as you will feel like a heavy tank. Now the Continental AV-1790-5A is an M46 Patton-only module so it's up to you but you should already have the Continental AV-1790-1 from the M26 Pershing or T92, etc.

M26 Pershing Research Path

Holy crap, it's been years since I did one of these. Ok well here's the M26 Pershing. Tier 8 medium tank in World of Tanks. A few things to note before we start: the M26 is somewhat heavy for a medium. You will need to be careful when you exploit openings as you may not have the acceleration to do so. You should also note that the gun is best used when flanking. You'll still penetrate most weakspots at the front, but your armour is somewhat lacking so it's best you do some flanking. (Hey that rhymed!) Lastly, you have amazing gun depression. Don't be afraid to go hull down and let your mantlet take all the hits.

Once again, keep in mind that I'm assuming that you did not research anything from previous tanks.

1. Gun: 76 mm Gun M1A2
2. Gun: 90 mm Gun M3
3. Gun: 90 mm Gun T15E2M2
4. Engine: Continental AV-1790-1
5. Tracks: M26T81
6. Turret: M26M71
7. Radio: SCR 528
8. Gun: 105 mm SPH M4 L/23 (<-- wtf is this doing here???)
9. Tank: M46 Patton

The Pershing is an awesome tank and if played correctly, you'll find yourself being able to turn the tide quite effectively. Just keep in mind that you are not a heavy tank and that your armour won't last forever out there. Oh and some history time: the M26 Pershing was originally designated as a heavy tank during WW2. This was due to morale purposes and they wanted to the soldiers to feel that they had an adequate tank. After the war, it got redesignated as a medium tank.

SimCity

So for those of you who have read ..... my first post (was it my first?), I mentioned that I played SimCity 4. Well as many of you know, Maxis is currently developing another SimCity game scheduled to be released in March 2013. Unfortunately, it appears that EA continues to be the bully and makes its games horrible. If I'm not making any sense right now, I'm referring to the DRM (digital rights management).

The newest SimCity will require players to be connected to the internet at all times even if they are playing single player. This obviously generated large amounts of negative feedback as there are still lots of people out there who can't always get a constant connection to the world wide web. Originally I had planned to purchase a copy of SimCity after it had been released and after I had read the reviews for it. Even if the reviews were mediocre, I would've most likely purchased the game. Now that I found out that I must maintain a constant internet connection, I feel slightly disappointed and possibly upset.

I know it's not the developers' fault for this bloody DRM but rather, I should put the blame on EA. As a publisher, EA should not try to force its customers but rather, encourage them. By encourage, I mean giving customers a choice. When I purchase a game, I understand I am purchasing a copy of the game and not the rights to it (duh). But why is it that I must remain connected to your servers when I paid so I can play single player? What if your servers crash? I still want to play your game but now I can't.

It's a very stupid move on EA and Diablo 3 should have taught EA a few things. Granted, Diablo 3 did sell a lot of copies but many people didn't seem to be too happy. I used to have a lot of respect for EA being a big company that published lots of games. Sadly with the introduction of Origin and many of their other DRM "methods", I feel ripped off and my privacy invaded.

Unless EA changes the DRM on SimCity and goes back to the simple one-time authentication code, then it looks like you've lost another customer.

Oh and now for the more happy and fun stuff, the recent update for World of Tanks has brought in the new Chinese tech tree. After seeing it on the battlefield and having lengthy conversations with many other players, it would appear that the new 121 medium tank may have a spot in clan wars. I guess it just wasn't my playstyle then.

Chinese Medium Tank 121

Having tried it out on the test server, I thought I'd write down my impressions of this new tier 10 Chinese medium tank. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Wargaming is going to add a Chinese tech tree to the game and its tier 10 medium slot is filled with this tank. 

Firstly let's talk about the gun. The gun has an average penetration of 268 mm but oddly enough, it uses normal AP shells instead of the usual APCR shells that other tier 10 mediums use. It's still the same penetration as the M48A1 or the FV4202. It also deals an average damage of 440 per shot and has a reload time of 6.25. Overall the gun is a decent enough gun with nothing really special about it although some players may notice the aim time feels slightly longer than usual. 

As for its speed and maneuverability, the 121 feels very sluggish when it makes turns. It has a difficult time making sharp turns and does not feel like a medium when it tires to circle around an enemy tank. It has a weak engine of 580 h.p. and a weight of approximately 39 tons (depending on what equipment you put on it). This in turn makes it feel very sluggish when it is brawling. Also, it cannot turn on a dime!

Overall it doesn't feel like an impressive tank. The other tier 10 mediums are able to outpace it in one way or another and its weak engine makes it a poor choice for a medium role. The only time when it is useful is when it needs to travel in a straight line.