After successful runs on Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC Wargaming.net’s free-to-play game World of Tanks has finally rolled out into action on PlayStation 4, the premise simple, take a shooter and replace the people with massive, lumbering and highly realistic tanks. Session based rounds much similar to Counter-Strike, and much like Counter-Strike there are two ways to win each session, either destroy all of your opponents or capture their base.
But unlike Counter-Strike the combat in World of Tanks is more tense a lot of that is to do with the fact that unlike a typical shooter, you’re not unloading bullets from a fast-acting machine gun but a cannon that has to sluggishly reload after each volley. Providing you with a sense that you’re behind the wheel of a brutally powerful machine of war. Combat in World of Tanks is for the most part satisfying, landing those few key shots in the rear of an enemy tank and hearing the solid thud of the impact is very convincing.
But landing those shots require a bit of tactical thinking, which can sometimes work against you and becoming frustrating and infuriating. This is most evident in the way the tanks aim which is displayed by a circle that widens with movement and slowly narrows the longer you stay still, even if you stay still long enough there will always be some leeway, and that leeway can often leave you missing your target more over greater distances.
But there are times where depending on the type of shell, the type of tank the opponent is using and how/where your shell impacts can ultimately ruin the sense of fun leaving you in a bit of a “what the eff” moment when literally no damage is dealt to your opponent. Line of sight can be improved through vehicle upgrades as you gain more experience with a specific tank and silver coins, but be sure to leave a steady amount as you earn silver, as after each match a small portion will be used to service and restock your tanks.
Likewise, the desire to get a more powerful tank is a natural instinct and one that Wargaming.net is banking on. Tanks are divided into tiers and to move down a tier with any given nation you need to research the majority of the improvement’s to your tank, then research the next tank, then actually buy it. This is a pretty quick process at first but after a while you’re going to be spending a good few hours a week of gameplay to unlock those more powerful tanks. Buying new tanks can also sometimes feel like a downgrade and upgrading your engine, fun, tracks and turret become an almost immediate necessity for your tank to really stand a chance in combat.
Lower tier tanks don’t stand a chance against fully upgraded higher-tier ones, so World of Tanks tries to ensure that tanks of equal tiers are placed in games together, unfortunately the matchmaking isn’t always perfect and there are times when you might be placed in a heavily lopsided game. While it’s rare, it can be equally frustrating. You might have concerns about the micro transactions but Wargaming has found a nice balance between in-game progression and those buying their tanks with real world money.
“Great”