Why You Need To Try World Of Tanks

This game is a world of awesome! Ever since playing an M1A1 simulator on those giant floppy disks back in the day, I've had a love affair with tanks, and this game is seriously awesome!


Check out my full review after the break of this free to play MMO!

World of Tanks is a first person shooter strategy MMO.  It's not that it tries to straddle multiple genres, but sits solidly in the middle with its deceivingly simple gameplay.

The premise is pretty simple, drive your tank around, and shoot enemy tanks.  You start out with a U.S., a Russian, and a German tank.  They are plodding vehicles of destruction.  The beginning of the game is pretty straightforward, with everyone in similar types of tanks. This plays more like an online FPS at this point.  Squad tactics are a must, as a single tank out in the open is a sitting duck As you level your tanks up, you can research different weapons, accessories, and new types of motorized armored vehicles.  Getting better tanks also unlocks new maps.

The strategy becomes more of a focus after new tanks are available.  A fast light tank with a rapid fire cannon can scout out enemy positions, and lay down fire along the flanks as it bullets through the lines.  A tank destroyer vehicle sits back and supports the more mobile tank front with it's deadly cannon.  The artillery vehicles are especially fun, as they mix up the combat with a top down ballistic-arc aiming mode. The video gives an example.

My rating of this game is: It's a wold of awesome addicting fun (if you like tanks).

The graphics are great for an MMO, beautiful skylines and terrain, with metal behemoths rolling through wheat fields or bombed out cities.  The tank models are nicely detailed in the olive drab or gunmetal grey of the era.  Weathered metal, nuts, and bolts galore.

The musical score is superb, with a different theme for each battleground.  It's a very appropriate accompaniment to rolling around the European countryside in the 1940's.  I wish there was a few more tracks for the cannon fire, but when you get shelled the resulting explosion has a chunky startling sound as it should.

The game plays like you think it would at first, but you soon find that the only way to win is to set up ambushes from cover, use light tanks for surveillance, double team the opposition whenver possible, and the high ground is your friend.  There's a lot of depth in the strategy after you get used to rolling dozens of tons of steel down the road.

In conclusion, this game is free to play and awesome, so go play it!