Issue 50 • December 2013 1 • Gameon Magazine Battlefield 4
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Battlefield 4 Review Issue 50 • December 2013 1 • GameOn Magazine Introduction to War Thunder Within the heart of War Thunder is maps of impressive scale a multiplayer online combat game ranging from the city outskirts for aircraft and armored vehicles. of Stalingrad to the vast oceans surrounding Pearl Harbor. Developed by Gaijin Entertainment, this game is With hundreds of accurately- available across a variety of rendered vehicles available platforms: from Windows to and more being added with Macintosh OS X to Linux, as every update, players are spoilt well as on the Playstation 4 for choice when it comes to console, with casual game cutting-edge planes to take modes in arcade battles to the skies, or menacing to realistic and simulator tanks to tear up the earth. battles for the enthusiasts. Relive the action in huge The game spans the era from the aerial dogfights and armored Spanish Civil War to the Korean spearhead clashes with friends, War, with a huge emphasis learn about the rich historical on the Second World War. significance behind the wars Players cross swords in historical through War Thunder. 2 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine letter from the general Welcome to the sixth We also take a look at what edition of the War Thunder happened in June 1940 with David Community Magazine! King in ‘This Month in WWII’, as well as a brief introduction This issue, we focus our attention to the WT Economy by Zoso! on the Japanese side of things, with WT 101 looking at the On the Reviews side, we take a Japanese Tech Tree and our look at the Panzer IV F2; find out guns series looking at Japanese how it fares against its opponents guns and ammunition; their in a new vehicle review format. bewildering array of weapons is simply mindboggling to Are you interested in writing say the least, but John ‘Zoso’ historical articles, war machines, Moore breaks it down into or War Thunder gameplay? We digestible bits for you. are still actively looking out for more writers, photographers and With the focus on Japan, we artists to come on board the team! also take a look at Tales of Codebreaking & Espionage in Do you also happen to know the Pacific theatre of war in an someone who has a story from all new segment, presenting WWII? They don’t have to have facts and short stories in an be in the war, we are interested all new format after receiving in their story if they are willing feedback that readers want to to share it. Please contact us know more about the back- [email protected] story for our Facts articles. - The Editor War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 3 CONTENTS Contents Page Flying the Rising Sun 6 Guns of Japan 22 Panzer IV F2 Review 30 This Month in WWII: June 1940 34 Tales from World War II - Codebreaking and Espionage 38 Lions, Eagles and Trophies 42 Funny Corner 50 Wordsearch 52 Caption Competition 53 Contributors Editor-in-Chief Steve Greenfield Writer John ‘Zoso’ Moore KEEP IN TOUCH! Editor Kris West Writer David ‘HJFarnsworth’ King Production Mgr Chock Wee Boon Photos Alex ‘Fodder09’ Beard Photos Martijn ‘mhockx’ Hockx 4 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 5 ARTICLE FLYING THE RISING SUN WAR THUNDER 101 - JAPANESE PLANES RESEARCH AND LINEUP In this final article of the five-part series on aircraft research and lineup, we cover the Japanese tech tree, which, of the five nations, is arguably one of the harder ones to do well in. PROS CONS • Fighters usually prioritise maneuverability • Fewest planes among the 5 countries over other combat characteristics • Many big BR jumps along the way, rather • Some interesting bomber selections (H6K4 flying boat, than a smooth transition to ease players B7A2 Ryusei, G8N1 Renzan, R2Y2 Keiun-Kai series) of Japanese planes into the game • No heavy bombers with 4000kg+ bomb loads (Closest is G5N1 Shinzan at 3200kg) 6 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine • Poor bomb loads on medium bombers; dive bombers tree that is more geared towards dive bombers and are disappointing except maybe the B7A2 Ryusei torpedo bombers, while the Army gets a bomber • Fairly average late Tier IV fighter up with tree with more medium and heavy bombers; no strong points (Update 1.49) some of the bigger Navy bombers, like the H6K • Relatively poor end-game jet lineup and the G4M, are under the same tree as well. with very few fighters • Poor heavy fighter lineup As with previous suggested lineups, they will be • Earlier cannons and HMG are quite horrible with presented according to a 5-plane format, mostly with low muzzle velocities; engagement distances are a balanced setup of fighters and bombers. The lineups typically shorter than their contemporaries are optimized according to the Battle Rating and • Aircraft are mostly unarmored or matchmaking system and the information below is are only lightly armored accurate as of June 2015 (Proposed changes - 15.06.15) INTRODUCTION BR 1.0 The Japanese tree, like the US tree covered in Issue Recommended Lineup: Ki-10 x 3, F1M2 (4 fighters) 5, splits the aircraft lines according to the services they operate under, with the Imperial Japanese At BR 1.0, the Ki-10 reserve planes available at the start Navy and Imperial Japanese Army Air Services each are pretty standard except for one characteristic – speed, getting a fighter tree. The Navy also gets a bomber which is the highest among all the reserves. However, War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 7 ARTICLE with the matchmaking, you’ll still be meeting BR 2.0- BR 1.3 2.3 monoplanes that are faster than you in every way. Recommended Lineup: A5M4, Ki-27 Where the Ki-10 really shines is in the biplane races otsu, F1M2, Ki-10 x 2 (5 fighters) the developers dole out from time to time, but that’s about it. Your best bet would be the Stealth belt for The A5M4 and Ki-27 otsu available at BR 1.3 are ground targets due to the sheer number of AP rounds, monoplane upgrades of your reserve plane with the or Universal if you need a tracer or two in air combat. same gun armament and a boost in speed, but still The F1M2 floatplane would be a good addition to your leaves you horribly outgunned against other nations lineup as you try to get enough planes to make the next that start to get improvements over their armaments hop in BR, with a somewhat useful tail gunner to take in the form of larger caliber weapons or more guns. out other new pilots who so often stay on your tail as they shoot at you. It also comes with 2 bombs to clear ground As soon as you get the required number of targets somewhat faster and is a little tougher, but planes to make the jump to BR 1.7, do so. otherwise, this is not a big jump from your reserve plane. Suggested Research: A5M4 → Ki-27 otsu Suggested Research: F1M2 8 // War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine BR 1.7 Recommended Lineup: A5M4 or Ki-27, Ki-43-I, Ki-43-II, D3A1, B5N2 (3 fighters, 2 bombers) Things look slightly better with the earlier Ki-43 Hayabusas becoming available at Tier II. The Ki-43-I start off with the same horrible pair of 7.7mm Type 89 guns you have been so used to by now, but you eventually gain the option to swap them out for the 12.7mm Ho-103 HMG, which fires a shorter cartridge and consequently much lower muzzle velocity and killing power compared to other guns of the same caliber (although to their credit, they do have a faster firing rate). However, the Ki-43 is nimble enough to get on the tails of other monoplanes most of the time in a turn fight, so try to close in to around 300 m or so (with the convergence set to be that as well) before opening up with a short burst. Ki-43-II spares you the trouble of dealing with If you’re staying at BR 1.7, you’ll hardly have a need for the horrifying 7.7 mm guns and gives you 2x 250kg the 800 kg bomb unless the ground units are neatly bombs, useful for taking out clusters of ground targets. clustered together; the 6 x 60kg or 2 x 250kg bomb loads might be more useful. Torpedoes are seldom worth The D3A1 and the B5N2 are relatively standard taking as 250kg bombs can destroy most ships, as well as bombers; the D3A1 dive bomber has a pair of 7.7 ground targets. These planes are fairly huge, defenceless, mm forward firing guns for tearing up softer targets not the most durable and present themselves as while carrying a decent bomb load (250kg, 2x60kg), easy targets, so be conservative when using them. while the B5N2 torpedo bomber forgoes the forward firing machine guns and instead has a more useful Suggested Research: Ki-43-I → Ki- bomb load depending on what you’re hitting. 43-II → D3A1 → B5N2 War Thunder Community Magazine The GameOn Magazine // 9 ARTICLE BR2.0 The Ki-45 Toryu series of heavy fighters (and its replacement, the Ki-102) come with a mish-mash of Recommended Lineup: Ki-43-I, Ki-43-II, Ki-45 Ko, D3A1 high-caliber gun types, while the flight performance is or B5N2, Ki-21-Ia (2 fighters, 1 heavy fighter, 2 bombers) actually decent for a heavy fighter, with decent climb rates and maneuverability.