World of Tanks Blitz

Gamer reviews for World of Tanks Blitz

World of Tanks Blitz

World of Tanks Blitz

World of Tanks is an armored combat simulator in which nearly the entire history of tanks is laid out in a long line of development from the earliest models of World War I all the way through to the massive firepower of Korea and beyond.

The franchise started out as an exclusively PC-oriented Tank Combat Simulator when it was released back in August 2010 — bearing in mind that when it was created it was not anticipated that it would end up being if not the most popular war simulation game in the genre, than certainly the most popular armored combat simulation game in the genre.

Following the success of the PC version, the wizards at the developing studio - Wargaming.net - decided to port the game to Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console, and watched as history repeated itself and the game conquered a new realm.

You start with a low-tech early model tank - which works out very well since learning how to master the relatively slow and forgiving T1 Cunningham will train you for the more complex and deadly machines that will eventually follow!

With that in mind it is not difficult to see how it was decided to create an iOS version for iPad - the game is lightning in a bottle! Except for one major issue - the game was popular, true, but it was designed for mouse and keyboard or gamepad - so the big question was could it translate to a touch screen? We will get to that momentarily.

In terms of price, you have to love Free - and World of Tanks Blitz is free as far as that goes.

The economic model used in Blitz is the same one used in the other two versions of the game - you start with basic tanks from the WWI era, and then by playing and earning gold and XP, you slowly (really slowly) research the tech tree for the tank line you started with, thus unlocking first component tech and then, eventually, new tanks.

OR you open your wallet and BUY gold and use that to rapidly progress into more advanced tanks. See how that works? The game is free, but players who choose to spend a little cash in-game buy time - as in time they do not have to spend grinding gold and XP.

Anyone who tries to tell you that size doesn't matter never fought a tank battle! When you get into a big T like the one pictured above, you have a large frame, large engine, and a really large gun! Properly equipped and with a well-trained crew you end up with a deadly machine whose business is killing - and business is good!

There are no in-game ads to worry about - this game supports itself by selling upgrades and gold.

In terms of game play and longevity, well, there you have a proven record of awesomeness!

Considering that the two core attractions for game play are that you can choose to play pick-up games with a large pool of other gamers, or you can play with your mates - it is not hard to understand why gamers keep coming back to WoT again and again.

In terms of world-building they do a bang-up job, with the presentation in the Blitz being very similar to that in the other two versions - hills, trees, plants, and towns, your tank, your allies tanks, and the enemy tanks are all drawn with a sort of graphic-novel realism that is obviously not trying to depict complete real-world views, but somehow makes the game feel more real.

While the music is not much to write home about - after all there is only so much you can do with a military game in terms of music - and playing Lady Gaga would ruin the moment, you know?

The Copperfield battle is a good early learning ground - you get to play with other tankers who will, hopefully, be around your skill level, and learn how to die. Well, yeah, and learn how to kill too!

But the sounds that are built into the game, now, that is a different horse altogether! In addition to environmental sounds that you hear but that are so subtle they really end up being experiences as flavoring to the very obvious sounds of your tank!

The sound of the tracks on uneven ground, the loader ramming a shell home, and the screech of metal as you ram the tank into a boulder because you still have not learned to control it 100% in this new touch screen world.

And that brings us full circle to the control scheme in Blitz.

Now I will be honest with you - when I first heard of Blitz my gut reaction was: "No, that won't work. The controls do not translate into touch."

This being the third game in the WoT series, they have the training down cold - so as long as you apply yourself and pay attention to the lessons being taught, you will emerge out the other end of the tutorial with the basic skills required to be an entry-level tanker!

In an instant I had taken every experience that I had had with touch screen gaming and made a judgement call. So when I got assigned to review this title, that was very strong in my mind. I was prepared not to like the game because it could not possibly translate into touch screen play.

Oh man was I wrong.

Blitz makes serious use of the zoned multi-touch sensitive screen on the iPad. You may not know this, but early touch screens only allowed for one interaction on the screen at a time - so playing a game like Blitz on those would not be possible.

But modern touch screen tech is pretty amazing. It allows, for example, the positioning of the movement control on one part of the screen, and other controls - like firing the gun - on another, and then allows you to do all of them at once. Well, assuming you have enough dexterity to do more than two things at once anyway. I don't, but that's OK, I only need to steer and fire!

When you actually play the game as intended, with one hand on either side, using your left thumb to steer and your right thumb to fire - when the auto-aim system works it works amazingly! When it doesn't though, well, then not so much...

Eventually you will find a tank that you really like and that you actually prefer to battle in - the M22 Locust was that tank for us at least until we unlocked the Sherman - and then whoa baby!

Having never been a fan of the whole grinding style of game before I played WoT, I admit that it does become a familiar and almost desirable element in a game like this.

Understand though, half of the fun in playing WoT comes from the hard work you put into it. The long-term gratification from battling your way to the point where you actually CAN unlock the new tech and the new tanks until you get to the one you really really want - and for me that would be the Tier V M4A2E4 Sherman without a doubt.

Playing World of Tanks Blitz was difficult - not because the game is hard to play, it is not. It was difficult because I had to constantly remind myself that I am doing a job here - and that job is evaluating the game in order to review it - not spend all day playing it because it is THAT much fun!

(And I seriously fear that my editor has figured out that the reason this review is being written a week later than expected is because I was having that much fun).

The thing is - and this may very well be the mark of a perfect game when a developer has hit on a combination of elements in game play that naturally work together in a complimentary fashion - I have just about come to the conclusion that Wargaming can do no wrong in terms of the World of Tanks games.

Now having said that, I want to point out that I am NOT God's gift to Tankers. I routinely either do very well, or get my butt handed to me by an 11 year old. That's OK tho, it is all good.

Always remember that in Blitz - as is the case with the other games in the series - you are playing a game with other real world people. Courtesy and respect will earn you the same, but try not to take it personally when an 11 year old tanker pulverizes you 20 seconds before you even know they are there, right?

In terms of value for money you cannot beat the price for Blitz - which is free. In terms of value for real-world money spent in the game, that is a complicated issues.

When we examine the in-game store what we find is a mixture of obvious time-shaving choices in which the player is exchanging real-world money for time played grinding in the game.

The uses a number of different currency - gold, silver (in Blitz Silver is called Credits), and XP. Depending on what you are buying you need one of the three. For example consumable items like repair kits and fire extinguishers cost Credits, while special ammunition can cost credits or gold. The equipment you use to expand your tank capabilities costs Credits - and a LOT of Credits too (think in terms of 100K and more).

Inside the Tech Tree though - and for buying new Tanks - you will need lots of XP and gold. But fortunately you can convert gold to Credits, and Experience to Gold, so really what this all comes down to is how much you enjoy playing, and just how patient a gamer you are!

Store selections fall under five headings: Bundles, Get Gold, Premium Account, Exchange Gold, and Convert Experience.

The Bundles are pretty straight-forward: they start at .99 cents for the Tiny Kit (150 Gold + 1 day of Premium Access) and run all the way through to the Warchest at $74.99 (10K gold and 10M Credits).

If you have money to burn you can burn as much as you like, but if you are a gamer who finds pleasure in earning their accomplishments, and you are willing to put in the time (and the effort) to attain them, Blitz - like the other games in the series - is a natural fit and wonderfully enjoyable and gratifying game play experience.

In case you did not notice, we scored Blitz a Perfect Five Stars (and I think this is the first time that has happened!).

5.0 / 5.0
 
Review by CMBF | Jul 24th 2014

Total Reviews: 4


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Review by GuestMar 30th 2022

The game was super laggy and my tank wouldn't turn left.

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Review by GuestNov 2nd 2020

The game used to be fun, now it is all about money and are they ever creative in ways to take it. Now it is rigged, boring, and predictable. Support is trash. They say they have millions of players, but the vast majority of the accounts are just inactive as players stop and go elsewhere. Why else do they need to use bots?

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Review by GuestNov 2nd 2020

This game used to be fun, now it is all about the money. The battles are rigged, the prize draws are rigged, and the game has gotten predictable and boring. They say millions of players, so why do they need to put bots in the game? They may have millions of accounts, but the vast majority of them are inactive as players just leave rather than jump the hoops of deleting the account.

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Review by GuestJun 16th 2016

This game has amazing graphics and very realistic action. The tanks are actual tanks and not something that the gamers made up. Love this game! I could play it for hours!

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