First look: World of Tanks Xbox 360 Edition

World of Tanks is a free-to-play game on the Xbox 360 which costs absolutely nothing to download and try out, other than an Xbox Live Gold Account. Content will be regularly updated just like the PC version, bringing heaps of new tanks, maps and everything else. It would be unfair to review and put a score on a game that is constantly updating and looking for ways to improve, so below is our first look and our initial thoughts. We'll be coming back to World of Tanks several times throughout the year to update you with our experiences.

Make no mistake about it: World of Tanks is hardcore. My first play-through involved me randomly selecting a tank that sounded like it could cause big explosions, gleefully driving it as fast as possible down a massive hill (which wasn't that fast, these are still tanks, after all) and then being gunned down by hidden enemies from several different angles. Not one of my best ideas.

You see, the key to World of Tanks is strategy, and it's clear from the off that this isn't one of your typical console shooters. It takes place in an alternate world where battles are between tanks and nothing else. There are 15 versus 15 online multiplayer battles, and once your tank is destroyed that's it; game over, no respawning. You can either choose to sit and watch the rest of the match play out or you can return to your garage and enter a battle with a different tank while that one's still in use.

So far, so different. This is a world away from the running and gunning that other console shooters promote. Patience and planning is always rewarded over choosing the most powerful vehicles, and the sooner you realise this the better you'll become. Teamwork is key, and if you can be vocal with players on your side and get them to properly flank the enemy and provide cover when it's needed you'll be winning matches and unlocking higher level tanks in no time at all.

Which is advisable, because there are certainly enough of the damn things to try out. There are over 60 tanks for the Xbox 360 at launch, a number that will only continue to rise as the year progresses. These are models from America, Britain and Germany, and you can expect to see tanks from the likes of China, Japan and France in the near future. There are also five different types of tanks: light, medium, heavy, tank destroyers and artillery.

Choosing the right type for you is all-important, as each one has remarkably different strengths and weaknesses. Light and medium are faster and can blitz around the battlefield in no time at all, however the armour on some of the models is hopelessly weak so one or two shots could mean the end of your game. Heavy tanks pack a much bigger punch and can withstand more enemy fire, but they can be quite cumbersome and prone to being flanked. Tank destroyers are painfully slow and have a restricted field of vision, but have so much power that this can be forgiven. And then the artillery is useful at hiding away at the back of a map and lobbing fire over buildings.

There's a whole XP system in place too, which allows you to research upgrade packages for your tanks and eventually buy new, better models. XP can be tied to specific tanks, meaning that you can only spend points with that particular model, and it can also be dished out in smaller amounts to use on any tank. Matches will return a good amount of silver as well, which is the currency to buy things such as ammo and upgrades.

This is a free-to-play game so obviously microtransactions can be used to get ahead. Except, World of Tanks seems to have done a good job at balancing things so that there are no unfair advantages for the paying players. There are loads of tanks that you can unlock just by progressing through the XP system, and only a few that you'd need to pay real-world money for. You can also put down your hard earned cash to buy better ammo, or subscribe for a Premium Account which grants you with more XP and silver after matches, but you definitely don't feel like you need to do any of that. You can just carry along at your own pace and still remain competitive.

The core mechanics behind World of Tanks are all well and good, but we'd appreciate a bit more variety when it comes to the maps and scenery. Everything just looks slightly plain, with blocky buildings and trees scattered around to spruce things up a bit. Driving your tank through a wall will see it destroyed into a cloud of dust, never to be seen again. We don't expect next-gen visuals but something a bit more substantial would be nice. New maps need to make an appearance sooner rather than later, too, as the seven currently available get old pretty fast.

Interestingly - or insanely - you can hide your tanks in bushes or fallen trees, cloaking them from enemies. How exactly you hide an enormous vehicle of destruction in a small shrub is anyone's guess, and it doesn't exactly add to the realism and strategic war that World of Tanks is trying to replicate. It's also infuriating when you're driving your tank only to be hit by a hidden shot from a bush.

Overall though, there's very little wrong with World of Tanks. This is still very much a game in its infancy, and it will likely improve and expand with upcoming content updates. But for a game that costs nothing to download and play there's every reason to give this a go right now. Give it a chance and there's some real fun to be had here.