Wargaming.net has gained quite the reputation in the free to play gaming world with its successful launch of World of Tanks in 2010. With millions of registered users and thousands of games going on every day, Wargaming has decided to go airborne with their new title World of Warplanes. Wargaming had one of the biggest booths at E3 this year to showcase their new expansion and we got to get some hands on time, plus we picked up a couple of beta keys too.



When I first sat down at one of the stations I noticed how detailed each of the planes were.  Growing up I went to air shows with my dad and would always check out all of the old WWII planes, so I appreciated the level of detail with each factions plane.  Actually playing the game was  different story, I took controls with the joystick while Sean used the mouse and keyboard.  The controls were very realistic, each plane responded differently, some better than others.  It had been a long time since I played a flying simulator, and I have to say, I really sucked at it.  Trying to get good position on the enemy was very difficult for me, with only a little dot showing me where to hit my target, I felt like I was performing surgery with big guns.  It wasn't till I got home and practiced for a while till I started to get use to the controls.

Just like in World of Tanks, you purchase new planes and upgrades through experience and gold.  After each game you are given experience for the plane you used based on how effective you were in the battle.  You are also awarded gold to purchase upgrades or buy the next tier of plane.  It gets very addicting when you start getting more upgrades and work to get that next plane.  The beta is very limited with upgrades and planes but there will be a much bigger expansion upon release.


World of Warplanes was much harder to get into than World of Tanks.  It takes some time to perfect your flying skills and to learn how to get the upper hand in a dogfight, but once you get the hang of it, you'll get hooked.  I will admit, I got very frustrated at times playing game after game and getting shot down, but the satisfaction of shooting down an enemy plane made it worth while.  To sign up for the beta, click here!

-Written by Adam Borchert