I realize World of Tanks: HEAT has some faults, but good gravy, it’s fun driving a tank around and blowing shit up. What more could you want from a multiplayer tank experience?
World of Tanks: HEAT from developer Wargaming Group Limited is a free-to-play gaming experience. The game puts players on large maps, in various modes, and lets them blow the holy hell out of each other. Packed with upgradable tank parts, various tanks to choose from, and quick/easy fun, there is a lot to enjoy about it. The only limitations, outside of the microtransactions, which haven’t gotten in the way for me yet, lie with the limited types of gameplay, which can make it a ‘come and go as you please’ type of experience. Maybe that’s a good thing, maybe not, but the game still has some fun packed into it.
World of Tanks: HEAT brings a 5v5 and 10v10 set of game types to the forefront. The cross-platforming is nice, as is the cross-platform progression, and how quickly each battle lasts is rather appropriate for those not looking for a 45-minute battle each time they play the game. For someone like me who is constantly on the go, it’s nice to get a game or two in within an hour and then move on to another game. Games like Battlefield are a commitment, but World of Tanks: HEAT truly feels like a quick getaway without staying too long. And that might seem like a slight, but honestly, if players want a short online stint, then this provides it.
Now, the real fun in this game begins with its various battle modes. There are conquest mode, capture the flag, and team deathmatch. The modes are scattered throughout the quick play option, so players never truly know what they’re going to get when they jump into the experience. Having a hodge-podge of game modes crop up as they see fit is a bit restrictive, hurting player agency somewhat, but it’s not the greatest online multiplayer sin in the world. Regardless, the game modes are fun, as the areas in the game are huge, destructible, and offer plenty of places to strategize your tank placement during each mode.
As for the actual gameplay, as I mentioned before, the game is easy to fall into. A player jumps into a tank, and the game makes it easy to understand what options are available. On a basic level, the core gameplay mechanics are firing a turret, machine gun, and, if enough kills are made, launching a devastating air strike that blows a lot of things up. The player can unlock additional buffs to help their cause in the game, like a repair option and adding extra armor. These buffs recharge over the course of the game, so players can use them multiple times. The addition of these tiny buffs is assigned by the player and is easily executable during combat. The above-mentioned help make the game quite a bit easier. Anyway, having the ability to mix and match these buffs and customize them as the player sees fit is a nice option.
Controlling and moving the tank during the game, and how easy or hard that might be, depends on which tank a player chooses when setting up their character. Having a more powerful M1 means that it will be slower, kind of sluggish on turns and movements, which leaves players open to fire more often than not. There are some frustrations with this tank, especially if a player isn’t used to moving a tank around. Getting turned around and trying to back up or get out of the way of fire can be an uphill battle for the unprepared. Of course, the balance to that sacrifice is that the M1 packs a punch like no other tank and can score some big points when moved around correctly. In addition to the M1, there are smaller tanks to ride around with that aren’t equipped with as much power but have far more maneuverable speed, which helps get them out of sticky situations. Picking the right vehicle and mastering it helps to make the experience more enjoyable. The variety of pros/cons in the vehicles offers a decent range of options when it comes to a match approach and lays out paths for the player to take that they feel the most comfortable with during the match.
Staying with the tank, I was mightily impressed with how sensitive some of the areas of enemy tanks could be. All tanks on the field have sensitive, more destructible areas that cause more damage. The player has to get through armor or be more precise with their targeting. Each tank has its own weak spots in different areas, so there is no consistent spot to target, which makes the game a bit more complicated, but in a good way. That amount of detail for a F2P is impressive and appreciated.
Tank variety and weak spots aside, the player can also customize their tank, equip it with unlocked gear through mission tasks (or purchased), and make it how they see fit. Giving players that type of agency is a big deal. If you need proof, look at customized soldiers in Call of Duty: Anything. Players generally love spec’ing their characters out and making sure they are unique to their liking. Cosmetic adjustments are nice, but for my money, the unlockables are the big deal here. Adding more firepower, armor, or something in between means finding the sweet strategy spot for the game. While these options and unlockables are finite and depend on player success to expand, they’re still fun for a F2P gaming experience.
All the above combined, the game is easily accessible, one that evens the playing field for all gamers (I never felt overmatched), which makes it fun to play, and doesn’t ask too much. The big maps, battles, and a decent set of customization make the game entertaining. Add to that a visually gorgeous game that might be the prettiest MP experience I have seen to date, and it’s got a lot going for it. In other words, there’s more good than bad to this experience. I will take that lopsidedness in gaming any day of the week.
What are the downers about this game? I have two gripes. The first is that the game content feels a bit shallow. There is no campaign, no huge modes that players would find in a game like Battlefield. It’s a short experience that is meant to be quick and uncomplicated. Having said that, I will add that this game has a pass option, which means content is coming down the road. I suspect that there will be large events, more modes on the way, and something that is more than just a vanilla MP experience. That is generally what happens with F2P games like this, as they come out shallow with content but end up dripping with it later on in life. Fallout 76 is a great example of this, as people felt like it was small, boring at times, and almost wrote it off. Thankfully, the game has grown, an audience has been gained, and it’s thriving pretty well right now. I understand that World of Tanks: HEAT isn’t the scale of a Fallout, nor does it have the same gameplay expectations, but it’s a good example of a free online experience becoming more meaningful as the years roll on. Hopefully, this is the case for World of Tanks: HEAT.
As to my other gripe, and this one is probably more addressable for the devs, when a player’s tank is blown up in the game, and they respawn, the tank respawns far away from the field of action. Granted, no one wants to be picked off right after being spawned, but driving the tank a country mile back to the attack zone can be a chore and a time eater. For example, there was a match that I played where I was blown up, the team scores were close, but in favor of the enemy, and by the time I respawned and headed back to the field of play, well, I didn’t make it in time because I was so far away. It seemed like the game was winnable, but the journey to get back to the action was so long. I wish that the respawn points would be much closer, but not too close.
Overall, I understand why some players are griping about this game, but at the same time, it is entertaining as hell when you’re in the mood for it. Having a quick MP experience at your fingertips without much of a financial commitment is a fun time. World of Tanks: HEAT is worth a look.
Conclusion
World of Tanks: HEAT from developer Wargaming Group Limited is a good F2P game that offers fun modes, good customization, and a short stint of good MP matches. While the vanilla version of this game isn’t quite packed with a huge variety of modes, it still is a good way to have some dumb fun.
