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World of Warplanes is the next game in the Wargaming portofolio and one of the most anticipated titles by passionate aviators. Currently the game is in Closed Beta Testing phase.
Around the hangar
To kickstart our careers of accomplished pilots the game puts at our disposal a few WW1 planes from each nation. Until this moment the German, Russian, American and Japanese tech trees have been implemented and throughout the development phase other
planes and tech trees will be added. The hangar interface looks mostly like the one from WoT, with small changes here and there.
Mostly, the research and upgrade system has been kept, thus having the posibility of equipping your planes with what engines, weapons and bombs you like. Also, you can customize your aircraft with available skins and nose arts.
The game model
The devs continued to use the 15 vs 15 players recipe, but on 15 x 15 km maps or a bit bigger, to preserve the intensity of the dogfights, so we won't chase eachother on the map. The maximum duration of a match is 15 minutes.
The decisive victory can be obtained by eliminating the entire enemy team or having supremacy. This can be achieved my bombing strategic targets (ships, military bases and installations) or having more planes/strategic targets destroyed then the enemy team.
What plane do we choose?
The planes are divided into 3 classes: Fighters, Heavy Fighters and Ground Attack Aircraft. Each class has its own advantages and disadvantages, but you have a multitude of strategies at your disposal which can turn the tide of the game.
Mosly I prefer maneuverable planes over big clunky planes with a lot of guns and bombs, because they become useless when you are being tailed by an enemy that you can't shake and there is no help in sight. But the german heavy fighters are really nice, especially the Me-410 with the 50 mm cannon.
In the game
The dogfights during the game can be sometimes very intense if you end up agaisnt experienced pilots. Due to the alert pace, the game relies on player ablities, not like in WoT where you could hide behind a big rock or building. You have to take instant decisions which will give you an advantage or will lead to your peril.
One advice from me is as soon as the game starts, you should go to a higher altitude so you can scout the area and pick your enemy.
If you don't like playing alone, then you can invite 2 more friends into a squadron and if you have a TS channel also, then the fun is even bigger and the losses will be even greater for the enemy.
Each plane has a set of modules which can damaged, case where the performance of the plane will drop.
I still didn't get bored of this game, even though I'm testing it since October 2011. The reason is that each match is different and comes with different challenges.
The controls
A good control scheme is vital in this game, because each pilot has it's own preferences when it comes to piloting a plane. The main control schemes are: mouse + keyboard, keyboard only, gamepad and joystick.
Mostly I prefer to play only on the keyboard because it helps me aim better, but I wouldn't advise you to start like that, because you need a lot of exercise. It would be preferable to start with keyboard + mouse and then you can advance to other control schemes.
On the WoWp forum there are a lot of instructions on how you can personalize joystick or gamepad functions, because the game doesn't offer a wide variety of changes from the menu, thereby being forced to poke our noses in the game files.
The look
The last big update brought a visual overhaul, but also some changes to the sensation of speed while flying. Don't expect some Crysis 3 graphics, but if you set the game on high settings, it looks pretty good.
The damages on a plane have a good graphical representation. If a lot of planes hit you, your plane would look like a well smoked flying schweitzer.
Conclusion
At a first glance, World of Warplanes seems to be a simple game, but as you delve deeper, you will realise that the game is far more complex and it might give you some hard times in some moments. This title still has a long way to go, filled with lots of changes.
Edited by Schultz, 16 April 2013 - 09:55 PM.
