Check out this article from IGN.com about Armored Warfare:
Tanks may be big, slow, and clumsy, but there's something irresistible about piloting one – especially if everyone else on the battlefield is, too. For upcoming free-to-play MMO Armored Warfare, however, tanks are just the starting point. They take center stage, sure, but they're much more effective when backed up by support units – so if wading into enemy fire as an armored behemoth doesn't sound like much fun, maybe artillery or recon is more your speed? You'll get a choice, and the role you pick will yield a drastically different experience.
Stressing teamwork, Armored Warfare casts you as a military contractor in a near-future conflict, where you'll mix it up with other teams and embark on PvE missions to capture strategic resources. My time with the game was spent on one of the latter, which took place at an oil refinery filled with blind corners and grass tall enough to hide a tank in. First, however, I had to decide what to ride to war in.
Playing as artillery, for example, gives you a satellite view of the entire map, and you'll be able to deal tons of long-range damage without having to move very far from your starting point – which is good, because artillery units move pretty slowly. As recon, meanwhile, you'll get to pilot smaller, faster vehicles, like the Stryker or Weasel. Handling more like cars than tanks, these have an easier time staying hidden from enemy eyes, and they're important for marking targets for tanks and artillery – but if you get hit while driving one, you may not live to get hit again.
Tanks are what you'd expect – they're big, they're tough, and they can deal tons of damage while taking about as much. There's a trade-off for all that power, however: they can't see as far, making them dependent on the other two classes to spot danger and demolish distant targets. And while I briefly considered picking a Weasel recon wagon, a quick interjection from one of the designers ("We call that one 'Hard Mode'") made me decide a German-made Leopard 2 tank would probably be a better choice.
As the mission began and the artillery units dug in, I followed a developer-piloted Weasel into the danger zone, surprised that I didn't have much trouble keeping him in sight in spite of his speed. In fact, despite its unwieldy size, the Leopard was pretty easy to pilot using a keyboard and mouse; it had the feeling of weight and slow momentum you'd expect, but at least its turret was quick to aim.
As our teammates broke off to hunt for enemy tanks, the Weasel and I made a beeline for the bonus objective – a train loaded with fuel – before it could escape. Every mission has secondary objectives like this, and completing them nets you bonus rewards at the end of the session. The Weasel made it first, and unloaded his autocannon, derailing the train with a massive explosion.
Then there was a second explosion. He'd been targeted by an artillery shell, and it broke one of his treads, immobilizing him. Immediately, a pair of enemy T-80 tanks rolled out of hiding, and their opening salvo turned my Weasel pal into a smoking crater. Their backs were to me, though, and I blasted through their weaker rear armor, hitting one tank's engine and igniting the vehicle from within. The other one turned its barrel in my direction, but I'd already squeezed a couple of shots off, and in seconds it was wreckage.
With the area clear, I moved toward the next objective – and encountered another T-80 hiding behind the next turn. I obliterated it and two more, but they weren't alone. Taking heavy damage, I fled deeper into the refinery, but every attempt to escape a tank only led to another noticing me. I managed to rack up six kills in all, but was surrounded and taken down by three T-80s.
The developers are experimenting with ways to let you jump back into the game if you die during a PvE match, but they hadn't been implemented in the version I was playing, so I was out of the action. While waiting for my teammates to finish, I asked about how progression works, and found out that you'll earn experience and cash from successfully completed missions. Experience unlocks new parts and vehicles, which can then be bought using cash, and later upgraded or adjusted. The devs didn't go into much detail about what sorts of parts you can buy, but a couple of examples included smoke grenades and active protection systems to guard against antitank missiles. And while this is a free-to-play game, spending real money will reportedly just be a faster way to acquire things you could otherwise earn through normal play.
What I played of Armored Warfare was fun (if over a little too quickly), and the team dynamics make it a lot more intriguing than its generic title does. If you want to try it for yourself, you can sign up for the beta.
