Raise the anchor and full steam ahead as World of Warships sails onto Xbox One in Game Preview. Wargaming.net brings another one of its fantastic PC titles to the console. Warships joins World of Tanks in the Xbox Store and both titles are Free To Play. But I don’t want to do too much comparison between Tanks and Warships because these games are different entities for sure. World of Warships seems more inviting and accessible for players than World of Tanks. I loved Tanks, but I never seemed to do very well. In Warships I feel like I am on a level playing field with everyone in the battle. So, is this a game you should have in your library? Well yeah. Its free first of all and secondly, it’s a fantastic game.
World of Warships follows the same premises that World of Tanks did. You have several different tiers of ships that currently span across three classes: Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship. Each ship offers up its own strategy and playstyle, but you will definitely want to work your way through unlocking multiple ships from each class. You’ll unlock new ships through playing and you’ll be able to purchase them with in game currency. There are currently 7 tiers for each class and you can unlock US, British and Japanese ships. Don’t worry there is plenty more to come. Remember, this is in Game Preview so expect even more content down the road.
Visually, this game has every little detail down and it looks absolutely fantastic. I am playing on an Xbox One X which is connected to an LG 4K HRD10 OLED display. The water surface swells and whitecaps giving you an authentic feeling of being at sea. The detail in the background is also a site to behold with varying items to see like storms off the distance, blimps and fighter squadrons flying across the sky and island towns scattering the island landscapes. Each ship is meticulously recreated in full detail from their real-life counterparts. Steam full ahead and you’ll see puffs of smoke come from the smokestack as the engine gets going.
The controls are pretty straightforward and easy to master. You’ll have varying speeds, on your throttle and multiple weapon systems to manage again dependent on your ship. Everything on your ship is accessible with the press of the button which makes this game very controller friendly. All of the ships handle differently so you wiil want to find your favorites and add upgrades to them in order to make them even better.
Much like World of Tanks, you will have a variety of ships to unlock. The ships will require both XP and credits to unlock which are obtained by just playing the game. The upgrades for each ship are unlocked through playing and gaining XP as well. You can increase your XP and credits earned by using boosters on your ships which are represented by flags and can be equipped in your ship loudout. Each ship has its advantages and disadvantages. Battleships are big and clunky, but have a ton of armor and can take quite a beating. Crusiers and destroyers are a bit more nimble and can quickly maneuver around the map shooting off torpedoes or leaving smoke screens behind to hide the fleet.
There are also Commanders to unlock for each country and they can be used to gain all sorts of skills. You can level them up as well by using them in battles. Do not ignore this feature as it can really make a difference in battles at time whether its less visibility from the enemies to a stronger offensive presence.
Finally, there are several missions to complete which will yield you credits, boosters and even at times a ship. You don’t have to do anything special to activate them. You will get the reward when a mission is completed. So for instance, maybe a mission is to win a battle in a destroyer. All you have to do is take a destroyer into battle and hope your team wins the match. If you do, you will be rewarded with the items the mission carries.
There are stats galore in the game and you can view battle history which I found pretty awesome. I do hope that we get full stat roundups for each ship once this game gets closer to full release. Now recent battles tab does reset over time. So, it’s not like you can go back and view a battle you had 3 months ago. Or even 2 weeks ago.
Is World of Warships a pay to win game? Technically, yes, it is. But I do not think you gain huge advantages over your opponents. Sure, you’ll have some especially against brand new players but I think that is also chalked up to experience. Basically, paying to get the best ships is more of a bragging right than anything. Don’t get me wrong. I would love to have the best ships in the game, but I’ll stick to earning them the old-fashioned way and that’s through grinding away matches. Why? Because the game is so much fun and before you know it you are unlocking things left and right. Just play it and enjoy it because it’s a fantastic game.
Do I recommend World of Warships? Well, seeing as it’s a Free game to download and play you bet your bottom I do. You’ll never feel overwhelmed by the competition or feel like you may be at a disadvantage because you started later than others. This game balances very well and experience is what will make you a good commander. Go download it today and check for yourself. You can also choose to buy the game, which obviously supports the developers and there are multiple versions of the game to choose from each giving you a bit of a boost in your ship commanding career. What are you waiting for? This is one of the best games out there right now with tons of content and plenty more to come. Download it today.
