Thank you Wargaming for supplying us with 5,000 in game gold, 7 million silver, and 1 million experience points!

World of Tanks was originally released for PC in 2010, but came to the United States in 2011.  After much success it came out for the Xbox 360 in 2014 and to the Xbox One in 2015.  This review is based on the PS4 version that was released in 2016. As a PS Plus subscriber, I was entitled to a free premium German tank. 

This is a freemium game that’s free to play, but to gain access to exclusive tanks and items, players have to spend real money to buy in-game gold.  The price of gold ranges from $5 for 850 to $100 for 25,000. Silver currency and experience points are freely earned in battles and can be used to purchase additional tanks, consumables, and various upgrades.  

There are over one hundred and thirty tanks available and they are broken down into British, French,  German, Japanese, US, or USSR tanks.  No matter which nation you represent, you can try out tanks from other nations as well.  There are ten tiers/classes of tanks and you have to spend experience points to research and unlock higher tiered tanks.  Each tank has its own unique attributes like health, armor, speed, sight distance, and more.  The better the attributes, the higher the price.  

There are five playable classes and each class is represented by an icon on the game map.  Here are the tank classes and their benefits:

Light Tanks – Fast due to their light armor, great for scouting out enemies, but weak against their attacks.  

Medium Tanks – A well rounded vehicle that provides a decent amount of speed, armor, and firepower.

Heavy tanks – Well armored, but slow.  They often pack a good punch, but are easily seen by the enemy forces.

Tank Destroyers – They equip powerful guns, but have a limited firing range.  

Artillery – All guns and no armor.  Great for picking off enemies at long distance.

Each tank can be customized in four distinct areas.  The crew manning the tank can be trained (faster and better with gold or silver spent) and specialized in repairs, recon, off road driving and more.  The tanks can have upgrades installed for better guns, movement or sight scopes.  Then there are the consumables which include first aid kits for the crew, fire extinguishers, and repair kits.  Manual versions of those tools can be bought with silver but gold is required to purchase kits that will be used automatically.  Last but not least are the decals.  You can personalize your tank with various shapes, animals, symbols or even seductively dressed pinup girls.  How long the decal remains on your tank is determined by how much you’re willing to pay to keep it there.

In the beginning you’ll be working with light and medium tanks.  There’s a limited number of garage slots so if you want to expand your selection you’ll have to buy more garage slots or sell unwanted tanks.  The tutorial missions will teach you the basics of taking cover, moving, aiming, and firing your guns.  

Once you’re comfortable maneuvering your tank against the tutorial’s AI tanks, it’s time to hop online to see how you fare against live opponents.  When joining a multiplayer game, you’re placed in a queue (typically a minute waiting time depending on the server’s load) and thrown into a random game mode.  There are four game modes available and I played the standard mode the most.  Here’s a quick breakdown of each mode:

Standard: Two bases and the teams have to either capture their opponent’s base or wipe them out entirely within fifteen minutes.

Encounter: Only one base that has to be captured by either side or annihilate the opposing force within fifteen minutes.

Assault: One team defends a base while the other attacks it.  The base has to be captured or the enemy completely destroyed within ten minutes.

Team Destruction:  No bases, just wipe out the opposing team. 

Gameplay is quite fun and it’s tricky staying hidden while trying to attack enemy tanks.  You can earn medals during the battle for spotting new enemies, hitting them, and destroying them.  If your tank gets destroyed, you cannot respawn.  You can wait until the end of the timed match or go back to your garage and automatically collect your rewards when the battle finishes.    Even if your tank is destroyed in battle, it’s returned to the garage with its crew in pristine condition. 

Graphically, World of Tanks is well polished with destructible environments and a wide variety in terrain and weather conditions.  Some battles take place in towns while others in fields or hilly terrain.  During rain and snowy weather conditions, visibility is reduced and those battles are a bit tougher.

The sound effects are good and add some realism to the game.  Players are able to talk to each other in the game and I was not able to understand some of the languages being spoken in some of the matches I have played.  Like most online games, there may be some cussing depending on who you play with.  Fortunately, I didn’t run across any foul language in my skirmishes.  

In the end, World of Tanks is a fun game and I highly recommend it for anyone that enjoys online battle or MMO games.  Since the game is free, there are quite a few players and the server I was on had over 5,000 people on it at any given time. Like many freemium games, the premium features may be tempting and I highly recommend parents locking down their purchasing rights on the console before letting kids play on it.