World of Tanks
At E3 last month, we got to catch up with Wargaming.net about three of their games. The developer’s flagship title, World of Tanks, will be releasing on Xbox One on July 28, and there’s also good news for fans of World of Warships and Master of Orion.
Wargaming has built a whole new client from the ground up for the Xbox One version of World of Tanks, and incorporated basic PvE training and practice missions for you to hone your skills. You can take any tank that you own into PvE missions, which will automatically scale in difficulty commensurate with your vehicle. You can play on an existing Xbox Live account if you’ve already logged into the 360 version, and Xbox 360/One players can seamlessly chat with one another.
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For the new Xbox One release of World of Tanks, expect 3D-modeled vistas, HDR lighting, and tons of particle effects. Pre-downloads began yesterday (July 10), and there’s a beta this weekend where you can play alongside 360 players.
World of Warships
World of Warships is coming along nicely, and Wargaming expects a full release by the end of the year. The game has been in closed beta for a bit, and what has emerged is player desire for an increased amount of customization.
The devs have added an achievement system that allows you to unlock items like flags for your warships, which are pretty epic in scale. For the beta, World of Warships has included ships from the USA and Japan, but there are a lot more nations to come with the full game.
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From our very brief preview, World of Warships looks to be a highly strategic game, more so than World of Tanks. Ships represent different classes, and there are quite a few weapons and other systems to keep track of. The game is meant to be an easy-to-learn, tough-to-master type of experience.
Master of Orion
Perhaps even more exciting is Wargaming’s remake of the 4X classic, Master of Orion. They look to be working on an honest homage to the series, having hired the original composer and keeping the core mechanics intact while bringing modern graphics and tons of voice acting to the table.
Master of Orion will feel familiar to most fans of the genre, and will introduce you to the game systems through your personal advisor. There are plenty of races from which to choose, and lots of the hallmark tropes that you’d expect to see from a 4X game. Diplomacy, for example, will play a central role in gameplay, with lots of negotiation options, animations, and voiceovers from your neighboring AI leaders. There will be 75 technologies and 200 advancements for you to research and upgrade, and victory conditions like winning by having the most points or through economic, military, diplomatic, or technological superiority. We’re told that each game cycle will last for about five hours, or 500 turns.
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Master of Orion looks great, and was a spectacular surprise at E3. It’s being developed as a PC-only title for now, which makes sense for the gameplay and genre, but I’d love to see it eventually make its way onto other systems as well.
Stay tuned for more coverage on World of Tanks, World of Warships, and Master of Orion!
