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Wargaming.net
has been making waves ever since they first
stepped on the scene with the introduction of their free-to-play
history-based
combat game, World of Tanks. Initially dismissed by many gamers
(admittedly,
myself included) as something that would never stick around or be taken
seriously, the game has proven us all wrong. I’m sure
Wargaming.net had a good
laugh all the way to the bank as money continually spilled out of their
overflowing pockets. The game has been nothing short of a smash hit.
Even so,
it’s still not my cup of tea, so other than a cursory glance,
I still haven’t
gotten into the game. I’m glad others are though because we
all need something
different. As long as it’s a quality title, that’s
really all that matters to
me.

 

What
was it that finally made me change my mind about the
company and their games? The World of Warships presentation we were
given at E3
this year. If you want to read all about that, href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/events/e3/2013/wows/world-of-warships-a-brief-overview">see
my write-up here. The short
version of tale is this – the level of detail
and historical accuracy they’re putting into the game
completely floored me. I
still can’t get over the fact that they used the style="">actual
blueprints that were used to build the U.S.S. North Carolina
as their guide when creating the same warship. From that moment on, I
was a
believer in the company. Sadly though, just like World of Tanks, World
of
Warships really doesn’t look to have anything to appeal to me
since I’m not a
naval warfare kind of guy. World of Warships is still in a pre-alpha
state
right now though so the verdict is still out.

 

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Recap
so far then – World of Tanks? Not my cup of tea.
World of Warships? Just because I spent a number of months out at sea
on the U.S.S.
Belleau Wood in the 90s doesn’t mean I want to play a game
about naval warfare.
World of Warplanes? Now you are talking my language! I wanted little
more than
to be a fighter pilot when I was growing up around different Air Force
bases in
the country – even before Top Gun was a smash hit movie.

 

Hell,
even when I joined the Marine Corps, the only two guarantees
I had in my contract were that I would be stationed somewhere on the
West Coast
after going through all my schools and that I’d be part of
the air wing rather
than the infantry. I spent four years working on AV-8B Harrier jump
jets as an
ordnance tech. What’s all this mean? You’d damned
well better believe the
company has finally introduced a title I was very excited to get my
hands on.

 

World
of Warplanes starts off with a few training
missions to introduce you to the basics of air to air combat. The first
training mission involves navigation and unmoving targets. The second
involves
moving targets and some tactics to help you battle aircraft that are
more
maneuverable than that which you’re flying. The third
training mission pits you
and a team of AI pilots against another team of AI pilots. The
objective is
simple – destroy all the opponents. All told, these missions
took less than 30
minutes combined. That’s good because what I really wanted to
do is jump
straight into the action.

 

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From the moment you enter the hangar after completing (or
skipping) your training missions, the game just oozes historically
accurate
detail everywhere. From the gear your pilot is wearing, to the
intricately
modeled aircraft, everything is a pure joy to look at. Without any
doubt, one
thing the team at Wargaming.net has down pat is bringing a historical
world to
life beautifully. Even if you’re not into playing games, but
just want to be
able to zoon in close to old fighter planes and look at them from
virtually all
angles, the game is absolutely worth downloading for that alone.

 

So
far in the open beta, you have the option of choosing
historic aircraft from four countries – the United States,
Germany, the USSR
(that’s Russia, the former Soviet Republic for any
whippersnappers reading
this), and Japan. There are over 70 planes in the game right now, with
more on
the way. The US, Germany, and USSR have approximately 20 each, with
Japan
having 10. These aircraft range from old bi-wing fighters to some of
the first
jets ever seen in the world. Again, the game is well worth looking at,
even
just for a close look at the planes that determined who had air
superiority in
various conflicts around the world for decades.

 

There
are a *TON* of things to do in the hangar. So much
so, that it’s initially a little overwhelming and something
that I’ll be going
over in much more detail in guides to come. For now, I’ll
just say that each
country has a tech tree, which allows for the research and purchase of
multiple
upgrades for each plane. These upgrades range include weapons, engines,
airframes, and more. Each upgrade may give you a bonus, but it can also
affect
such vital things as aircraft maneuverability in a negative light as
well, so
plan carefully how you want to spend your money and experience.

 

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You’ll
earn money and experience for participating in
battles, whether you win or lose. If you win, you get a significant
amount more
of both than if you lose. Hopping into a battle couldn’t be
easier either. Just
pick the aircraft you want to fly and queue up. Matches are separated
by the
tier of aircraft players are queuing up with. For example, you
won’t see a
fighter jet in the same match as a bi-plane fighter and for obvious
reason. If
there aren’t enough people queued up with the same tier
aircraft you’ve chosen,
you’ll need to either wait or choose a different tier.
Fortunately, you can see
how many players are queued up and in which tiers so the guesswork is
taken out
of it.

 

There
are a million ways this title could have gone south
early on. I’m happy to report that from the brief time
I’ve had with the game
so far, the complete opposite is true. The game is a lot of fun,
combining the
accuracy of these historic aircraft with more of an arcade-style
flight
mechanic while at the same time not detracting from what flight
enthusiasts
are familiar with. Keep your eyes here for more on this title as we
continue
coverage in the upcoming weeks.