(Hardware) Samsung Galaxy S 2.

Once again keeping to my promise that id pretty much review anything ever created by man that i can get my hands on I turn my attention to the Samsung Galaxy S 2.

Now i don't currently have and predisposition towards any brand when it comes to consumer gizmos, ive used an iPhone and ive used android, hell ive even had a whirl on one of the new Nokia Lumias running WP7 and trying to find a favourite is rather difficult and probably depends on the kind of person you are.

This phone, as everyone and their aunt will tell you, is currently the best selling Android phone on the market and most peoples favourite go-to device for comparisons with the iPhone 4S.
Thats true but you wont see any comparison here because I believe on judging something technical by its own merit, sure you can review a game and compare it to rivals etc but I believe that something mechanical has a feel to it all its own and that you do a disservice to it by comparing it with anything.
Besides the only phone I can get for a direct comparison is the antique Nokia 3210 I keep in the Draw of Eternal Rest in the kitchen.

The version of the SGS2 I hold is currently running Ice Cream Sandwich, which is a rather huge leap from when it was running Gingerbread, the other delicious sounding "Flavour" of Android.

For the uninitiated it holds within its monolithic black exterior:-

a SuperAMOLED plus capactitive touchscreen (For the un-nerdy: Colorful Shiny Shiny Swishy Screen)
a Dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex A9                        (For the un-Nerdy: Thing that make phone work Fast)
1GB RAM                                                       (For the un-Nerdy: The phones Braaaaaains!)
16/32GB Storage                                             (For the un-Nerdy: Where you put stuff)
MicroSD Slot (upto 32GB                      (For the un-Nerdy: Little slot for little card of MOAR Stuff)
Bluetooth                                                          (For the un-Nerdy: Makes phone talk to other things)
Wifi                                                                  (For the un-Nerdy: Internetz!)
8MP Camera with autofocus and flash               (For the un-Nerdy: Its a damn Camera......)

And a whole lot of smaller stuff that i cant be bloody arsed to type out, put it this way, if you've owned a reasonably smart phone since 2005 then this phone can do all that small stuff i haven't been bothered to write about.

Now the first thing you`ll notice when you hold this phone in your hands (assuming you've turned it on) is how bright and colourful the screen is, it has a wonderful range of colour that seems to just jump right out at you, also the blacks are true blacks, none of this namby pamby fake black you've been hearing about, oh no! this phone has blacks that if stared at long enough will suck you straight into Satans grinning black maw.
You may detect sarcasm within.
Just because the phone is able to display a certain standard of blackness should not be a selling point for anybody, yes it is a good screen but is that really a handset seller for you?

The touch-screen is nice and responsive and considering the battering mine gets on a daily basis its very durable.
It must also be noted that the touch-screen is quite a pain when it comes to fingerprints though, attempting to wipe them off will only lead you to create rainbow-like smears on the screen itself, this is something that truly bothers me, I don't expect to view my book through a kaleidoscope.

Android itself is a very zippy OS, everyday usage of the internet (assuming you've downloaded a sensible browser and not the clunky thing it comes with) and the booting up of applications is fast and almost immediate, the integration of the horribly renamed "Google Play" is excellent.
However there are things about Android that im not particularly sure should be there at this point in the OS`s life.

Chief amongst my complaints with Android is the level of poor applications, i personally try to avoid the Free App category altogether these days because of the level of poor apps aping popular apps, general sleaze-ware and suspected malware.
The Apple infrastructure comes under attack from all comers but i have to say that in this area I couldn't honestly tell you that the Play Store is at the level of the App Store.

The Camera is responsive and pretty good if your into that sort of thing but a quick scout of the internet will find you many phones with a far more advanced camera but thankfully it does come equipped with a good LED flash so unlike it predecessor its capable of running well in the dark.

So what else is there? i could have written a piece the size of Engadget`s usually review posts but I don't feel the need.
The phone connects to the internet well, the OS upgrade was a good thing, Bluetooth works very well and ive experienced no problem with GPS or dropped calls.

So that wonderful big ol` question.

Should you buy it?
No.

Why? well the new one will be out fairly soon so you`ll be throwing money at a product soon to be relegated in terms of its position in the crowded Android market (hah, get it?....oh) and the price drop that will inevitably follow will be quite substantial.
Of course there is a market for cheaper phones and this one is certainly among the best you`ll be able to buy, its fast, easy to use and i find Samsungs TouchWiz interface very intuitive.
                                                   
                                                                       BUT

Phone tech is a sector in which new advancements in chip size and speed occur more and more frequently, NVIDIA posted a graph lately comparing the graphical power of Desktops, Consoles and Mobiles in which the Mobiles have powered up to par with the current (if horribly outmoded) console generation.
Very soon this handy and capable little phone will be forgotten as its big brother comes storming onto the scene and I just cant justify you guys throwing your money at something that will cease to be relevant very very soon.

(Game) Crusader Kings 2.

"The Killer`s breed or the Demon`s seed,
The glamour, The fortune, the pain, 
Go to war again, blood is freedom`s stain,
But dont you pray for my soul, anymore,
Two minutes to midnight,
The hands that threaten doom,
Two minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb"


Iron Maiden - Two Minutes To Midnight.


Apt words from probably the greatest band ever to come out of Britain, they seem almost perfect to describe the tale of Duncan the Great, the once and future King of Scotland.

King Duncan was a genius, no doubt about it, by kissing the Pope`s posterior as often as humanly possible and by careful cultivation of his nobles and enemies he was one of the most  celebrated rulers in Europe.
My predecessors were careful custodians of the Crown, they did nothing to rock the boat and nothing to expand the territory of Scotland.

All that changed with the accession of Duncan to the throne.

Within a decade Scotland was unified, Ireland was half conquered thanks to my wonderfully devious Chancellor who was adept at creating false claims to territories i had my eyes on and best of all i had betrothed all 6 of my children to royal families across Europe.

Then it all came crashing down.

One by one my children began dying, the youngest son of Duncan died at age 3 and none of his siblings survived to come of age.

I discovered that my brother-in-law, a man i had raised from obscurity to to rule over 5 of my provinces was casually murdering his way to become the Heir to my kingdom.

Well, Duncan the Great was going to put a stop to that, i immediately attempted to imprison my treacherous relative but unfortunately he escaped my men and launched into full scale rebellion.

Duncan's action also riled up the Lords of the realm and three of them immediately joined the rebellion, suddenly i was fighting for my life and just as the last few Rebel armies were being crushed underfoot King Duncan died.

At 72 it was clear he couldn't last long but his untimely death led to the last heir of my house, the 22 year old Angus being catapulted into the monarchy, suddenly the nation launched into open rebellion, brother fighting brother and why? why was Angus so unpalatable?

Angus was gay.

Not a good thing to be during the medieval era, close-mindedness being a staple of the times,   this was simply unacceptable to the nobles and within two months of his Crowning Angus lay imprisoned, his only daughter betrothed to my former brother-in-law.

Game Over.

This is, in my most esteemed opinion, one of the reasons that gaming today is as good as its ever been, intricate, emergent game-play, utterly unscripted is simply better than the linearity of modern games.

The scenario detailed above is only one of the brilliant sessions i`ve had the joy of playing with this game and its something that every strategy games developer should be paying attention to.

This. Is. The. Way. Forward!


Paradox`s Deeper-than-the-Marianas Clausewitz powered Titan is capable of creating some of the best game play you will ever experience, accessibility is treated as somewhat of a dirty word by the enthusiasts but the company does at least nod its head in the direction of making the game easier for first-timers.

The interface of the game is excellently designed, even a complete newcomer to the, often imposing, Paradox series of games should be able to grasp it within about ten minutes of starting out.

Of course "winning" in this game is a series of trials and errors, you WILL be outmanoeuvred by the often brilliantly cunning AI into positions of no hope but I believe that this lack of hand-holding is utterly necessary to the genre, the sense of achievement you feel upon a successful conquest or diplomatic mission is magnified immensely when you figure it out on your own.

Medieval games have been rather hit and miss in recent years with only Creative Assembly`s Medieval 2 being a true success but where that game was entirely about your military escapades this game is about intrigue, plots and deceptions.

The importance of appointing good men (and women) to your council cannot be understated, you will never function properly without a good team to control everything from Spying to Religion and best of all, instead of Medieval 2`s rather bland array of characters, these characters have their own ambitions and secret plots.

Juggling these plots is one of the hardest things in the game, it truly does a wonderful job of replicating the era but there is a sharp difficulty curve there and the levels of Menus in the game can be incredibly intimidating.

Its also rather hapless when it comes to military battles, while you should assign characters to take control of the flanks of your army it never feels necessary, rather it seems that its just a question of numbers and luck as you see your army, depicted as a single warrior on the world map, strike at the other with the numbers relentlessly counting down.

So, should you buy it?

Difficult question as always but I feel if your into your strategy games and love a challenge then this game is a must play, its just so different to all the others out there.

If however your more of a person who enjoys his strategy on a medium difficulty level and love the base building, troop creating thing then I cant recommend it to you.

Its just so different to all the other games out there.

Demo.