View Full Version : SB in PC GAMER review of Balkans onfire
In the most recent PC GAMER, in the reviwew of Balkans on fire, Andy Mahood laments the downfall of the armor sim market, and reports how armor enthusiasts have been hunkering down with aging copies of Steel Beasts for there fix (in the very first paragraph). or something to that effect, heheh. Imagine that!
Bluewings
06-14-2005, 03:00 PM
Pro PE will shake the market , I tell ya !
Cheers . :3starSK:
Coldfire
06-14-2005, 06:45 PM
Ah, you saw that too, eh? So did I...
TopKick
06-14-2005, 10:29 PM
Pro PE will shake the market , I tell ya !
Show us. Its time for new screen shots.
alloy
06-22-2005, 09:26 AM
In the most recent PC GAMER…
Could you please note which issue according to the month or issue number. Thank you.
Bluewings
06-22-2005, 04:58 PM
Show us. Its time for new screen shots.
It 's not my call and I ran into troubles before for doing exactly that . I am not going to be stupid anymore .
Ask Ssnake . :wink:
Cheers . :3starSK:
alloy
06-23-2005, 09:45 AM
In the July 2005 (volume 12, number 7) issue of the American PC Gamer magazine, Andy Mahood, conducting a “hands-on” preview of T-72: Balkans On Fire in the Scoop section of that monthly, writes “the tank-sim genre has been beating a hasty retreat for more than half a decade as acclaimed franchises like MicroProse’s M1 Tank Platoon fall from the landscape and combat-armor fans hunker down with aging copies of Steel Beasts as their only solace” (26).
It is a good one page write-up and is worth reading in its entirety. I set the magazine down with a much better understanding of the simulation Steel Beasts shares the genre with.
I’ve read articles by Andy Mahood before, I’ve enjoyed his columns, but it sometimes feels that he embellishes a given piece with descriptions that either overstate the severity of a circumstance, as with his word choice of “only solace,” or, are congested with figurative language and symbols such as with “beating a hasty retreat” (26).
In moderation this is not only understandable but expected, he’s composing entertainment in written form often for those without a preexisting interest or understanding of the Simulation community, but to the degree he employs these devices it can be wearing on the reader. Given the consistency of these tendencies it can often make a given article feel familiar, in a way that’s not always unwelcomed, but then too repetitious.
Works cited-
Mahood, Andy. “T-72: Balkans On Fire.” PC Gamer July 2005: 26.
Newbie-Olle
07-12-2005, 10:10 PM
The 3DAvenue preview (http://www.3davenue.com/1250.html) of T-72 totally fails to mention SB, even though the very first sentence is "It has been quite a while since us gamers have had the chance to play around with even a half decent Tank Simulation.".
Cheers
Olle
PS-SCUD
07-13-2005, 01:08 AM
Alloy, you just wrote a review about a review.
What if I wrote a review about your review of the review? See what I vicious cycle you may have started? Be more careful in the future. :wink:
Scrapper_511
07-13-2005, 02:44 AM
What score did they give it?
alloy
07-14-2005, 08:44 AM
Alloy, you just wrote a review about a review. What if I wrote a review about your review of the review? See what I vicious cycle you may have started? Be more careful in the future.
Though it wasn’t my sole intent I was inviting criticism of the sort, and in just the way, you implied.
I have the reasonable expectation that others who have read several or more articles by Andy Mahood have gathered their own opinions on his style and that being critical thinkers have formulated these interpretations into something presentable. I’m not exempt from this critical attention, but, in part, the focus of it by my involvement.
PS-SCUD
07-14-2005, 02:10 PM
:lol:
It's a new game i'm gonna buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!
New English demo available at http://www.gamershell.com/download_9908.shtml for those who want to give it a whirl.
Ludwigmeister
07-18-2005, 11:52 PM
Has anyone played the demo? The screen shots give me the impression its more of a game than a sim... I mean why aren't there any sighting screenshots? Doesn't look so good to me, anyone else agree?
As far as I could read, aside from the Soviet stuff they have the Leopard 1A4, not boring, but lacking no?
Ludwig.
My opinion of the demo - boring, clunky interface, lack of immersion, and a system hog. Just my opinion. Remeber the original mission with the first SB demo? Man, took my breath away. The original SB demo was as good or better than many full game's - that's probably why they scaled it back later!
Ludwigmeister
07-19-2005, 01:37 PM
Yeah well moreover, the guy who wrote the review didn't seem to have any idea about much of anything. When he said things along the lines of; "Well it seems pretty realistic". What the hell does that mean? It seems pretty realistic? Well... is it or isn't it?
Again, the screenshots I've seen of the aiming sights totally made me flacid.
Ludwig.
Newbie-Olle
07-20-2005, 11:00 PM
I've tried the demo now, and it doesn't "send" me.
I think the aiming sights seem okay, given that I don't know what the sights in real T-72s look like.
It's the other things that turn me down...
- There seem to be lots of bugs, or at least missing functions. (Not just left out of the demo, but totally not there.)
- Rout finding for AI drivers is really bad.
- Realism is lacking in many ways, like you can only measure the range to live targets, not to any point on the map.
- The provided scenarios doesn't even let me try commanding more than my tank. I want at least a tank platoon and some extras!
/Olle
Ludwigmeister
07-21-2005, 01:15 AM
I've tried the demo now, and it doesn't "send" me.
I think the aiming sights seem okay, given that I don't know what the sights in real T-72s look like.
It's the other things that turn me down...
- There seem to be lots of bugs, or at least missing functions. (Not just left out of the demo, but totally not there.)
- Rout finding for AI drivers is really bad.
- Realism is lacking in many ways, like you can only measure the range to live targets, not to any point on the map.
- The provided scenarios doesn't even let me try commanding more than my tank. I want at least a tank platoon and some extras!
/Olle
Yeah so like I said... a game.. not a sim. Damn review writer... what a clown.
Ludwig.
Ssnake
07-21-2005, 11:14 PM
"Game" or "simulation game" ... the world can always use another computer game title featuring modern tanks. It is not heresy to own more than a single tank sim title, and have them installed simultaneously.
We'd rather have competition in a large market than no competition in a tiny niche. If titles like BoF attract people to tank simulation games who didn't play with tanks before, this is a good thing. :)
W@NKER
07-21-2005, 11:24 PM
I agree, there's definitly not enough tank sim/games out there. although even if BoF is a bit rough around the corners, and hopefully some patches at a later stages will fix some of the issues. I'm happy I ordered it, It will help the waiting for SB PRO PE being less painfull ;)
And I think it's important to support that types of games. as it will encourage to make more tank sims in the future :)
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