Recent reviews by War Crime Jim

Name of the Game: I was Angy
Gray Zone Warfare is a fun game with a lot of kinks in it. I initially posted a "scathing" review that detailed exactly how the game floundered but after playing the game some more I really can't say that anymore. I lost a lot of loot to a one shot headshot then several mechanics that were not explained to me. After watching, funnily enough Tarkov gameplay, a game that I have not played, more of the mechanics made sense to me and if you played Tarkov the game will be easier to get into. If you dont and the game looks cool I'd recommend binge watching content on how to play because half of my firefights have me on google. The biggest thing for me was loosing loot I built up over about 3 hours. Then I played again found a sick ass AK and have been having more fun. AI is still buggy with damage mechanics but its not the worst thing In the world. I haven't used 5.56 since my first drop and I have only been using the AKM i would recommend that. The best strat is find a house with some stashes that you can come back and loot every 30 minutes or so it helps out with getting off the ground. Anyways solid 7.5/10, I'd wait another month for safety or a sale, its worth about $20 and is a good time especially with friends.


Gray Zone Warfare is a fun but very unfinished game. I would not pay more than $20 for it, and honestly its probably worth half that in its current state. It has a lot of positives but just as many negatives that it really can't be recommended. From what I have been told the devs are dedicated to it so I will not refund it just yet but if serious problems aren't addressed I'm just going to refund it. I'd wait at least a month to buy it and I'd say give it 3 months to be safe.

Feels bad. Game sits on the cusp of a real fun time but is held back by a myriad of issues. Armor system is poorly explained and ruins a lot of the fun. Time to kill is inconsistent to say the least, and guns are absolutely mid. I have had 5-8 long kill streaks using something one time, then the next I can't kill a single person. Sure you can count this up to a "skill issue" but the time to kill on each gun varies every time you use it and not in a "the situation is different every time you use it so time to kill will always be slightly different" no in a "I have put 12 rounds into this man not hitting armor and he claps me with a bolt action rifle. The game could be a lot of fun if there was more focus on making weapons more consistent and overhauling the armor system so you don't waste a magazine then get gangbanged by 4 Vectors that shoot faster than an MG42. Overall can't recommend in its current state.

I can not get the hang of this game for the life of me and i cannot recommend it. I've played (what I think, its hard to tell) was the tutorial and its easily the worst tutorial I've seen. It gives you key details after a battle, and that battle is three battles into the campaign. I was intrigued at first because I saw some comparisons to XCOM and I adore XCOM 2 but this didn't feel anything like it. XCOM gives you the tools and then shoots you in the kneecaps, but it feels like it taught you the rules and you can crawl towards victory even when your team is whipped. This just kicks you in the ♥♥♥♥ while holding the rule book above your head. I even tried skirmish battles with different mechs to see what I could do to get the hang of it, changed strategies, and trouble shot with no success. (I even googled online to see if I could figure anything out and I couldn't find anything personally, you may have better luck) I even gave myself one of the highest tiered mechs in the game, and it started well, until all my shots missed and all the enemies hit. They hit despite the fact I tried my damnedest to position and flank but all of my shots missed, and those that hit did barely any damage. This game feels unfair and doesn't even want you to play the game. The mechanics are bizarre, the game-play is makes me wish I was playing Taiwanese Sweatshop simulator, I've taken two semesters of college level Arabic and that was a far less aggravating experience. (and I passed them both!) I'd pass, even on a sale.

This is literally the best game I have ever played please make it 69.99 and give it a battle pass

So this game is an interesting case just cuz i grew up on the tail end of battlefield 3 and throughout the glory days of battlefield 4, so games like that really appeal to me. That being said, this game is a really good time and if you like the older Battlefield experience then I'd recommend this game. It has problems which I'll get into.

Pros:
Great gameplay: It's like coming home and playing Battlefield 4 after school, and it still holds up. Its fun fast pace and I have had some really interesting gun fights.
Character/Weapon Customization: Instead of having a class system the game just sort of says heres a setup go nuts. It has a weight system so you cant just take the most broken stuff and you have to balance the guns you want with armor, with heavier armor, steel plates and titanium helmets weighing more than kevlar or ceramic plates. It allows me to take G36 with a polish PDW as my secondary with ceramic plates, and has allowed me to have some fun in cqc and ranged situations. There is also a backpack that isn't affected by weight and allows you to bring additional sights, grenade types, underbarrel (grenade launcher or matchkey shotgun), and muzzles. It's a really fun way to allow people to customize not only their own guns but also guns they pick up. Great addition and makes the game a lot more fun.
Score Streaks: Vehicles, bombs, and drones all come with score streak which persist after death and add some unique flavor. Addign not only the Leopard 2, M1 Abrams, and T72 but also a myriad of IFVs, tank destroyers, and AFCs. Sometimes it can be a bit game breaking when two leopards hold a point but its not impossible to send em both to hell so it works, just a pain in the ass. And there is a limit to the number of vehicles on any team.
Maps: Only a few but the maps are cool create fun and dynamic matches and are set up with most spawns being in buildings limiting the effectiveness of tanks, IFVs, and APCs. Unfortunately, at least with tanks, their specs aren't accurate. I don't know where they got the idea that the T72 is faster than the Abrams but that Turbine engine go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Cons:
The Launcher: Unfortunately the game downloads a launcher which downloads the actual game. This is a bit of a struggle but once you do it its not that bad. It took me some hours to download the game but like just go on a walk or something. I'd argue its really not as bad as people are saying.
Guns: (This may be a but of copium so take it with a grain of salt) Not all guns are created equal and there are some that are just kind of stupid. The best example I can think of is the Vityaz SMG. It has low recoil good damage and high fire rate. If u get into a fight in cqc give up or pull the pin on a grenade and hope it does the trick because you aren't winning. Even in medium range engagements it can hold up against an AR and it's like the second gun you unlock so there isn't a huge motivation to get other guns unless you like those guns specifically. Another issue with guns is the lack of them. There are 6 assault rifles, 2 battle rifles, 2 shot guns, 4 light machine guns, 3 sniper rifles, 3 smgs and 4 pistols, along with two launchers. This is a lot of guns in general but each class is significantly lacking. I'd argue they should bump up everything to at least 5, and there are options for these, but the guns in game are still fun and diverse enough that you'll still enjoy it.
Hacking: This is in my opinion the most egregious offense in my opinion, its something I've seen in almost every game. The anti cheat for this game is about as effective at stopping hacking as a wet newspaper is at stopping my dad from beating me (it's a funny). I have been shot through walls, cross mapped pistols and smgs, and even been tracked through walls. While this may just sound like "you're bad kid" I have been in lobbys where people openly admit to it with no repercussion. To my knowledge there is no reporting system in the game or at least one I can find. Their first priority should be to get a better anti-cheat.

Stuff I Want Added But Isn't Necessary (This is just in case the devs read this review ignore this if you're interested in the game):
Attachments: I would like more than 5. The backpack system allows you to ignore this to a degree but there's sometimes I'd like to customize my gun more than the game allows. That being said it's all for balancing so it's not that bad.
Anti-Drone Capabilities: Add em as a score streak im sick of jammer drones let me get at em. Even add it as a grenade you only get one of or a recharge that lasts a while so they're not spammed. (Sorry more copium)
Make Customization Easier: I like the main 3 guys and outfits but I'm a cosmetic ♥♥♥♥♥ so making more unlockable cosmetics would incentivize me to play more.
Guns: Add more. I like the 416 and the G36 but I'd like to see a mix of Belgian, French, and other nations guns. Add more American too, the M14 EBR would be a perfect fit for the battle rifles. The Famas would be a welcomed addition to AR's as it would be really nice in cqc but struggle at medium to long range, making it more effective than smgs in some sense's but also slightly heavier affecting weapon movement.

Thoughts:
Overall thoughts are I enjoy this game and I will keep playing it. It is fun, is very reminiscent of older Battlefield games, but also has plenty of problems. I can look past the problems and have a lot of fun but I can definitely see why others aren't. overall I'd recommend seeing if the launcher really is the end of the world then trying a few games to see how you like it. I personally really enjoy playing as an American mercenary fighting for Lebanon, while speaking German, using his German made G36, and Polish PDW. It is a wild ride.

Don't install this game its got so many problems it makes Saudi Arabia's definition of democracy look sound. I have only put 35 minutes into the game and that's all i really needed to. To start it off the game play is relatively solid and the world its built around is really cool. The concept behind the game is great actually its just executed terribly. The main issues falls in with the Escape from Tarkov mechanics, which are a staple of the game, make progress basically impossible. I spawned 3 times, and within 3 minutes of spawning both times i died to someone with better equipment gunning me down and there was nothing I could do about it. From what I can tell it stems from minuscule maps or at the very least the spawns are too close to each other. Regardless each spawn resulted in me dying and being sent back to hear: "Aw iT DiDNt WoRk oUT fOr YoU?" and I damn near broke my monitor after the third time. It's not worth the time or frustration, cannot recommend this game on any level.

It's fun got good mods and is challenging. I would highly recommend you play it with friends as the in game AI are quite lacking in braincell count. Fun game lots of mods!

poper

titty

THIS HAS BEEN A LONG ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ TIME COMING. This game is the single worst piece of garbage I've ever seen. It's not even free and not in the "iT TaKes YoUR SanItY" way but actually requires money to get anywhere past 6.7-9.0 depending on the nation. It's the single worst gaming experience I have ever had. I have top tier German tanks, the 2A5 Spaded and the 2A6 half spaded. I am not touching either as helicopters and Close Air Support (CAS) have rendered the MBT obsolete on the battlefield. I initially grinded England too but realized, far too late, it has nothing to offer. No, no, except the Challenger 2E which sits at the end of 3 other tanks only one of which is actually competitive. I grinded English air and I mean all of it. I have yet to unlock a single plane and the entire experience was the largest waste of time i've ever had the displeasure of experiencing. All that awaits at top tier is f14 spam, mig 29 hell, and f16s sniping you. Get one of those and you might think "I have a chance!" ♥♥♥♥ no. The entire match consists of 32 people, 16 per team, meaning its physically impossible to track people and missiles you will die no matter how well you fly. The entire experience is such a gaggle ♥♥♥♥ of stupidity that skill rarely has anything to do with it anymore. The largest contributor being bugs. I've played a lot of Bethesda games so I'm no stranger to bugs that make you want to eat your own shoe and then throw the remainder at Todd's gorgeous face. War Thunder is on a whole other level. This game is unironically malware. It does work. The game has entered a state worse than the pre-alpha. There are no words in the English lexicon to properly describe how much this game will ♥♥♥♥ you for playing it right. There are Roblox games made by 12 year olds that run smoother than this. Do not waste time or money on this dumpster fire.
To give an example of how bad this game is I will describe a match. I spawn in my type 16(P) (an 8 wheeled light tank with a 105), i flank around the side of the map and die due to over exposing myself. Fair that's my own fault. Spawn in it again because I want to unlock more stuff for it, so i go to cap the point along with another light tank. Some guy in a jet drops a bomb on my head. Death. Next spawn I use my type 89 (Japanese IFV with two rockets, no they don't work well, and a 35mm canon with good rounds) I cap the point and actually manage to down the guy in the plane! Immediately after a helicopter hits me with a missile and proceeds to fly around for another two minutes unopposed despite SPAA. I managed to salvage the game with some tank gameplay but I barely made 577 SL after 5 deaths that were all to try and ensure a win. Gaijin has claimed that they fixed the economy but its still nearly impossible to make enough money going forward. Factors outside of my control resulted in me being unable to play the game. And before any ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ says "SpAwN SpAa" no you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ idiot. I shouldn't be forced into an SPAA TO PLAY THE GAME. IM HERE TO PLAY TANKS NOT SIT AND LOOK AT MY RADAR FOR 25 MINUTES. If you use the "spawn spaa" argument you are actually brain dead.
OH AND DONT FORGET ABOUT THE CHEATERS AND BOTS THIS GAME HAS EVERYTHING!!! Botting has become an integral part of the War Thunder community at this point. People will buy premium vehicles on like 4-10 different accounts and run ai to do the most mundane tasks, like bombing bases or capping points and just repeating even when they die. This is actively killing the game but funnily enough, its the most efficient way to get to top tier. Because the people that bot sell the accounts which is against Gaijins TOS, but when the grind is so severe it makes whatever the ♥♥♥♥ Paul Walker did to that tree look like a scrape, its difficult to blame people. Then the hackers oh boy the hackers. The Chinese or Taiwanese (I cannot tell the difference between Mandarin and Traditional Chinese), are selling modded copies of the client or tools to mod the client, allowing for special exploits and even things such as aimbots which make for infuriating gameplay. While not as common as bots I see at least one every 10 games, meaning I have had back to back games where there are cheaters (I review the replay with like 6 people to try and remove as much bias as possible). Overall the game was set on a spiraling dumpster fire by the dev team alone, and now the community has joined in!
The community for this "game" is bad, the gameplay for this "game" is bad, this entire "game" is bad. With over 2700 hours in it I can safely say do not play there is no satisfaction in it. You will gain nothing stay as far away as you can.