World of Warplanes overall review

PLATFORMS: PC GENRES: Combat, Flight, MMO,Simulation PUBLISHERS: Wargaming.net DEVELOPER: Wargaming.net RELEASE DATE: TBA

World of Warplanes is a flight sim with a difference, it’s also a Massive Multi-player Role Playing Game (MMO). I've been a beta tester for the last three months and enjoyed every minute of game play so far. You can access my stats here. I’ve played Wargaming’s World of Tanks for a solid year as well which made it easy for me to jump behind the controls and understand the tiered levelling and upgrade system. If if you are totally new to this style of game it won’t take long to get going it's pretty straight forward. In WoW you start as with basic biplanes from the 1930s and can work up to jet fighters from the Korean War.

I really admire the MMO business strategy Wargamming have gone with in WoT and WoW, it enables people to play for free or purchase in game gold to tier up quicker. You can also purchase stand alone planes / tanks but it's not required. This ensures that there is no use pirating the game and that there are always thousands of players online. In WoT I ended up spending about $30 on gold because I liked the game so much and bought a few special tanks, I will probabbly do the same when WoW is released.

Gameplay

After you have selected your plane you head to the lobby and wait for a matchup, I never really had to wait longer then a few minutes even in the closed beta. Two teams of up to 15 players each face off across across a random selection of battlefields which include a harbour, mountains, the Pacific ocean or desert. Wargaming.net provides an immersive gaming experience, you really feel like you are in the middle of a WW2 dogfight. I found myself ducking and weaving as the bullets smashed into my tail and wings. An amature mistake is to fly directly into the oncoming enemy formation, a head on kamikaze crash that kills both you and your enemy is highly likely. I ended up playing a deadly game of chicken on many occasions  Once you are shot down you are out of the game but you can rejoin another battle straight away however you cannot use the plane that has been destroyed until that battle has finished.

There are different damage points across the plane, a few shots to vital sections such as the engine will ruin your day pretty quickly. Larger autocannon shots will also take you down a lot quicker then standard 7.62 mm but reloading times are a lot slower. Distance is also a huge factor, you need to be about 600m range before you let off with a salvo of hot lead from a machine gun and around 750m for a cannon. The controls took a bit of getting used to, I originally used the standard mouse option and felt it was ok but then purchased a joystick for some added realism. I ended up getting a cheaper Logitech Attack 3 but after a few hours of not being able to stay on target and no kills I switched back to the mouse. Using the mouse I was able to lead in to my targets a lot easier and not constantly over correct. I'm sure if you use some of the more expensive joysticks you will have an easier time. Once I was back in the groove using the mouse I was getting a few good kills in the lower tiers up to about level VI with my best being 5 confirmed kills in once match. There are different types of aircraft, fighters, heavy fighters and ground attack. 

You can gain advantage over your opposition by destroying ground targets including bases which enables your team to win quicker if there is a statemate however most games are won by one team eliminating the other within the 15 mins allocated. If you are attacking ground targets such as your oppositions base you also have to deal with anti-aircraft fire which can do some hefty damage to some of the lighter armored planes. Some of the larger heavy fighters also have a rear gunner which is automatic, I was saved a few times by these brave men.You will find yourself getting addicted pretty quickly, overall the gameplay is fantastic and I can't fault it.

Graphics

The detail on each model is simply stunning, a lot of work has gone into making these models look and feel as realistic as possible but still allowing for arcade style gaming. There are also many real life paint jobs and markings you can customise and put on your planes. The only thing I can fault with this is not having the real german markings such as the swastika but that is totally understandable and is illegal in countries such as Germany. Wargaming.net really have gone to great lengths to ensure the accuracy of these models and have great experiance in doing so from WoT. For a WW2 history buff like myself I find myself just loading up the planes zooming in and around and just taking in the view.

Overall

I have been interested in WW2 history and models since my father bought me a Spitfire when I was a kid and this game is what I have been looking for my whole life as a gamer, I didn't think they could top WoT but they have in my opinion, the gameplay is faster and the adrenaline pumps a bit harder. Overall I give this game a 9.5/10 and thats for the beta version which is crazy I know. I am really looking forward to the full version coming out next year. Stay tuned to this blog for individual plane reviews, feel free to comment below on your thoughts of the game.

 Please also visit my store www.WarHobby.com where you can collect actual models used in the game.