World of Tanks

[nodunit 397]

For those of you that haven't tried it or clicked it on the Armaholic web page, WOT is a sort of tank simulation game. It is free by default however some options such as ammo types and certain tanks do require money.

http://www.worldoftanks.com/

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=world+of+tanks

I was just introduced to this last night and already I'm hooked, it takes place in WWII but rather than allies vs axis it's moreso team vs team, you can have Germany, USSR and USA all on the same team.

There are several different types of tanks, ranging from light and swift to heavy tank destroyers, there is also artillery. Many tanks have their own feel and you can quickly feel it when you use the starter US T1 Cunningham vs the German Leichtetraktor, with the US version being more nimble and swift but easily taken out and essentially a pea shooter by comparison.

There are many details about gameplay, so many I'm not sure where to begin.. for a quick run through, ballistics and unit speed are taken into account, ranging from acceleration, max speed, turret traverse and re-loading. Upgrades can be purchased to upgrade tanks and advance to the next type of tank.

The asthetics and graphics lend themselves amazingly, there is none of that HDR bloom or over the top brown, this is pretty much as colorful as it should be yet it never loses the atmosphere that you are in war. The tanks are rendered beautiful in both an accurate and well detailed model, to sharp and detailed textures with just enough specular and normal mapping power to look 'right'.

The sound is great too, the engines are a wonder to listen to, ranging from the ones that would make you laugh to the ones that make a sound sound intimidating, the music is also ominous and as you go from size in tanks you go from the more softer bangs to the louder echoing roars.

(for more info click the spoiler)

Ballistics are modelled in that angles of attack can be important as well as where you hit, frontal hits are less damaging than rear shots, tracks can be damaged or destroyed to leave the enemy immobile. The gun though rare, can be damaged or destroyed to leave aim either horrid and have misfires or no fire at all.

Shells will richochet pending on the angle of attack and armor type, sloped armor does a good job of it, engines can be damaged and even have a chance of causing a fire if hit. I've had the back of my turret hit before and my crew reported the ammo was on fire, needless to say I didn't last long.

The crew is also an important factor, with the player being a sort of "guide", it is not common that they are killed but it is possible to be killed or wounded. If the driver is killed the tank is from thereon immobile, if the gunner is killed you can't fire, if the commander is killed then spotting becomes more difficult. I've seen tanks with up to five crew but have yet to reach that level.

As you go through rounds you can experience and money which can be used to research and purchase upgrades for the tank or the options to buy other tanks, improvements to armor, weapons, engine, turn rate etc.

The movement also lends itself nicely along with the turret traverse, pending on the tank type you can have fast acceleration or slower, some tanks can traverse rough terrain better than others and hills are quick killers on your speed, it actually feels as though an engine is working hard to pull a heavy object. The vehicle's speed can be controlled with either W and S or using F and R to shift gears and adjust speed.

Weapon accuracy is another thing that is effected by upgrades, crew and speed, at the slowest speed the turret is fairly stable, at medium you may have a chance but with fast don't bother. You can zoom in and out of the tank, once you've zoomed in enough you view the optics which have 3 levels of zoom.

All in all a fun game where each tank feels different and actually has pro's and cons and they work, if you can get behind the heavier tanks you can move faster than their turrets can move.

The graphics are a joy to look at, with armor having just the right amount of shine to look flat yet worn, suspension moves and exhaust plumes add life to the units.

tl;dr If you like WWII or tanks, or both, and prefer a more simulation-like experience then you should try this.

Edited May 13, 2011 by NodUnit

[mr burns 131]

Dropped it right after beta when gold suddenly became a (pricy) gamemaker.

[Inkompetent 0]

Played it since September, and I really am not motivated anymore. They STILL haven't introduced ANYTHING in the game to motivate people to attack instead of camp. And retarded overgunning of every single tank is still the norm. Good luck trying to play with a historal KV-1 or PzIV for example (i.e. get a KV-2 with a 152mm (historical) or 107mm gun, or the 7.5cm L/70 and a Schmallturm for the PzIV (nonhistorical since the suspension broke on the prototypes when driving offroad) if you want to be able to do anything). You'll get shot to shit, and be at a SERIOUS disadvantage. I'm too fed up with that by now.

Maybe I'll return when (if) the Historical Mode comes. Until then... no thanks. Too fed up with developers not understanding how to make a lasting game. Good potential in WoT. Wasted by blind devs.

[[aps]gnat 28]

.... They STILL haven't introduced ANYTHING in the game to motivate people to attack instead of camp. And retarded overgunning of every single tank is still the norm

Well that killed it for me.

Needs to be resonably historic.

Loved Panzer Elite (No, not the "Action" crap, the ORIGINAL, released back around 1999 - 2000)

http://www.tanksim.com/reviews/panz_elite.htm

[nodunit 397]

Yikes I didn't know the game had that kind of history...weell that is embarrassing.

Though while on the subject does anyone know of a "Cold war/modern" version of this game?

Edited May 14, 2011 by NodUnit

[Dwarden 1124]

the game is not different from Crossfire, Warrock and similar fakeMMOs with tons servers of low amount of players (8 to 32)

repeating all the time w/o real progress in fun or dynamics (maps, objects placement, game objectives, weather, time and other variables)

i see even League of Legends failing into same trap of repetetive zero progress on gameplay or variety ...

(sure new heroes and skills but thats all like new weapons)

[LJF 0]

Played it for a bit and realized I wasn't having any fun at all, just playing to level up. It's a money-maker and that's about it.

[Hans Ludwig 0]

Played it for a bit and realized I wasn't having any fun at all, just playing to level up. It's a money-maker and that's about it.

I felt like Gran Turismo had sex with ACHTUNG PANZER: Kharkov 1943 and WoT was the what was produced 9 months later.