GKick Review: World of Tanks | GKick Network

August 24th, 2012 by Steve Perry

GRAPHICS:
The game is visually very impressive, clearly part of the next generation of free-to-play. The tanks look tremendous, the environments are pretty nice, and even the effects of gunfire and other “scars of war”. Some of the reactive battlefield items, such as cars that can be run over or fences that can be run through, are designed nicely but animated sort of lazily. While this isn’t necessarily a dig, it’s just something to note. The UI itself is also very well designed, as minimalistic as possible but provides ample information as to damage taken, reload status, and enemy location.

AUDIO:
The sound is not only well done, but it’s also helpful. Beyond the great background music and special effects, your crew provides immediate notification when a shot has landed or specific damage has been taken. Overall, the game sounds nice and provides just enough information to help more than distract.

FUN FACTOR:
This is not a game for people who like fast, twitchy FPS-style gameplay. World of Tanks is more along the lines of a strategic military game where you either need to move your piece into position to scout out the enemy or to make a direct assault. You need to be alert to cover and to all the other tanks on the map. With all that in mind, WoT is a lot of fun and because it’s such a quick process to jump from game to game, you’re never bored. It’s a nice, slow, mental game with pockets of action.

REPLAY VALUE:
As an MMO, WoT is built on replay value. New tanks, new upgrades, more experience, more money,and just getting better at the game all takes time and practice, so there’s plenty of reason to keep playing the game. I wasn’t even sure I would enjoy it, but who knew tank battles could be so entertaining?

GAMEPLAY:
When I finished installing World of Tanks, I decided I would leap straight in to my first battle and see how the game handled it. Fortunately, the controls are incredibly simplistic and the basics of moving your tank, turning the turret and firing are intuitive. Other controls may take a bit more time to discover, but resources are available. Despite that, the overall performance of the game is very smooth. In the back end, it’s a little bit unintuitive in regards to the upgrade and research process, but again resources are available. Despite all that, it’s very easy to control and even if it could use a bit more in the way of explanation.

OVERALL:
WoT is a fun game, first and foremost, and it does what it does with an excellent degree of ease and depth. The reward system is nicely designed and you have a lot of personalization available. I feel the initial mission tutorial could use a bit more in the way of detail, but it’s still overall a pretty intuitive game.

OVERALL SCORE: 8.9/10

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