World of Tanks

Are you a tank geek? Well, I am. I spent much time, both as a child and a young adult, building scale models. Many of them were models of World War II armor. As a boy, I always dreamed of having my meticulously detailed models somehow come to life, so I could shoot miniature cannon shells at other itty-bitty tanks, (and, of course, itty-bitty soldiers).

Now that childhood dream has come true, in a game called World of Tanks. (Catchy and direct, isn't it?).

The in-game models are extraordinarily detailed (they are, in fact, perfect to my experienced eye), and you can drive them around on large battlefields and shoot at other players in other similarly detailed model tanks. Best of all, you can do it for free. When the game goes live it will be micro-transaction based, but the core game is free and quite playable without spending a dime.

Right now the game is in closed beta. Sort of... It's actually open for anyone. It's just not the official open beta yet... Don't think about it; you'll hurt yourself. Just go to the link and click the Big Red Button to start the download process.

A few observations from my in-game experiences thus far:

1) Think tactically. While the controls are quite simple -- typical FPS fare, in fact -- this is most certainly not an FPS. If you go charging over the hill like the Lone Ranger, you will get blowed up real bad. Repeatedly and without mercy. Move cautiously towards initial engagement. Use cover. Hide in bushes and don't move until after you open up on them, (this is why it's called an am'bush', see...?). Run over fences and dog houses in back yards. Okay, you don't have to do that last bit, but it's much more satisfying than dodging them.

2) Don't get discouraged after your first few tries. The learning curve is not steep, as the game is a snap to learn. Just watch the tutorial videos at the site while you're downloading the client. However, when you actually start playing you're going to die quite often until you get the hang of it and understand that this is not your typical shooter game. If you survive a battle, you've done quite well. If you get a kill, you've done very well. If you both survive and get a kill, give yourself a cookie; you're a Junior Tank God. Experienced players often get no more than two or three kills in a battle, and the even best sometimes get blindsided and wiped before firing off a single round. Them's the breaks; get used to it and don't get frustrated, because after you've learned the ropes and had a few successes, the game is a blast to play and very addictive. Getting a kill in this game is quite a satisfying accomplishment, as you have to think and work for it, instead of just spraying rounds everywhere and bunny-hopping around like a coked-up teenager.

3) Learn your tanks. Some are fast, some are powerful, and some just suck if not configured and operated correctly. Learn how to upgrade properly to achieve balance. Learn the role of the tank. If you're scouting with a JagdPanzer or ambushing with an M2, you're wrong and you'll get killed. A lot. If you're unfamiliar with World War II armor, there is an excellent game-based wiki here, which also includes detailed historical background information on development and deployment of the various vehicles, especially for the Germans. (Because as every WWII historian knows, German armor was The Schiznit. Also, 'panzer' just sounds much cooler than 'tank'.)

4) Play nice with others. The successful team is the one where players operate in groups of three to five tanks and execute good flanking maneuvers. You'll find that because of the subject matter and relatively slow pace of the game, the player base tends to be older and more willing to spontaneously cooperate. Though it's impossible to entirely purge any game of assholes, this one tends to have very few of them. Teamwork is important, and most people figure it out after getting center-punched a few times when trying to solo. This will become even more apparent as you level up and gain access to more powerful tanks, as the server creates battles that are biased within a given tier, so as not to provide "newbie cannon fodder" for more experienced players.

5) In open battles, which is what you're going to see other than clan-based stuff, the battles are balanced by tank sizes and tiers; nationality is ignored. So if you select a Panzer II and you pop up next to a Soviet BT-2, don't freak out and start popping him in the engine compartment; if he's got a green dot over his head, he's your pal. This time.

6) Have fun. If you're already a tank geek, this is heaven. If you're not, you probably will be soon. Auf Wiedersehen!