Gaming World of Tanks Preview

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/pc/2010/09/29/world-of-tanks-preview/1

 

I've been in the closed beta for awhile and I've gotta say: THIS GAME IS GREAT FUN.

The biggest sell? It's a combination of actual skill based combat (tactics, aim, etc) and equipment, coupled with a sometimes wonky but generally fairly decent match making system that balances tank classes out in the 15 on 15 matches. And if you expected a grind? Don't - there isn't one. The matches last 5-10 minutes, they're quick, enjoyable, and if you own more than one tank you can join another battle the moment your tank is destroyed.

For a quick pick-me-up game this really is a blast - highly recommended.

 

Well I'm convinced - just signed up for the beta

 

I've been playing for ages, and while there are a few issues I find it to be one of the most fun games I've played in a long time.

One thing I will say is that if you want to play for free permanently don't bother trying to get above the 7th tier of tanks - everything over that you'll struggle to break even on credits because they're so hilariously expensive to repair.

If anyone wants to add me as a friend my nick is Krikkit (imaginatively), but get yourself above the 3rd tier before you come and join a match - anything lower and you can be rammed to death by just about any tank.

 

I forgot to say in the article, but if anybody wants to join a platoon with me my in-game name is 'lizardgun'

 

Im in two minds about this game, been in the beta since the start of September and cannot see how it will progress fairly in a "paid-for" model. The main problem I see is those players with the most spare time or the deepest pockets will get all the best tanks/equipment. They will own the battlefield whilst the rest with basic tanks gets mashed up.
I understand there is team balance, but it seems flawed at the best of times, with tanks at the bottom of the list being nowhere near a match for the the tanks at the top. (The game lists the tanks in strength order at the start of the battle). Platoons don't work with team balance as everybody wishes to play with their favourite tank (which is normally the higest tier tank they have). The developers need to look at limiting battles by tiers.

 

I've also been playing WoT for a few months (for this article) and to be honest I'm not sure I quite agree as I think there's still a lot of fun to be had from playing with lower spec tanks. The AT-1 (a Tier 2 Russian TD) for example is awesome in low tier matches for example if played properly.

Definitely - things have got better over the last patches but the team balancing definitely still needs more work.

 

The team-balancing is definitely the biggest problem with it. Sometimes you get the most ass-backwards lineups.

A good example is a battle I was in last night - the top 5 tanks on each side were 3xIS7's, 1 IS4 and a VK4502 against 5 Tiger II's. No artillery on either side.

 

Sounds good, the only experience I have had with this sort of game or any MMO in general was the game Navy Field which was good but I began to get frustrated by the massive superiority of some paid for items.

 

This thread is tagged hardware. So these tanks... they're some serious hardware, right?

 

Most fun and addictive game ever. Orionche ingame (go figure) and will be dropping bombs with my hummel or SU-8 these days.

@tsung: I have yet to encounter a premium tank that is actually GOOD. Most of the stuff that you can buy with gold is rather ****, tbh and gives little to no advantage (with the exception of premium shells, but they are somewhat expensive to use).

As for the people who have more time on their hands vs those that don't... you just need to play one battle per day to get 150 gold like everybody else. That's like 3 minutes to drive out and get killed. Can't play that week but you're free the next one? Save up the gold, buy a premium account for a week and get 50% more experience and credits.

The thing I also noticed, most Tier 5/6 medium tanks give out the most cash whilst keeping the repair and ammo bill low.

 

The in game screen shots are very dark.

 

im in the same mind with Tsung there... once paid-for model kicks in, im not sure if it can be alot of fun....

then again, its all on ur definition of "fun". since if i say my kind of fun is when i can become competitive, others would jump on the then-you-should-pay bandwagon... which kinda negates the whole purpose and we're back on a catch-22....

then again... i played free LOTRO.... and it still have some "fun" if u got all the expansions, even if u dont pay the monthly.... so...



meh either way looks like ill try it when its out

oh i like the sound of that...

 

they are fine. that's what you see ingame with default brightness settings. you can adjust your monitor or game settings.

 

Premium content gives two main advantages:
a) $10/month premium account. gives you 50% more money and XP in battles. with premium your 8th and9th tier tanks will give you enough credits for ammo and repairs
b) premium armor piercing shells. about $0.02-0.04 per shot. really expensive. a little bit more effective against invincible monsters like IS4 and IS7.

premium tanks like Cherchil have a bonus to XP and credits. If you just die on your Cherchil without scratching a single enemy you will get about 15k credits. so they are useful when you urgently need 80k credits to jump from tier 2 to tier 4.

 

Really stupid question.... Where can I find the controls? >_<

 

Do you happen to be using a CRT monitor?

 

Hit F1 while in a match




Been playing this game a lot, it's quite fun, IGN is DarkLord7854.

 

Thanks,

 

Get a code without having to register here:

http://www.freemmogamer.com/2010/09/world-of-tanks-closed-beta-test-key.html