Parents' Guide to

World of Tanks

By Franklin Rinaldi, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Tank game promotes teamwork, competition, in-game extras.

Game Windows , Xbox 360 , Xbox One 2011
World of Tanks Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

Community Reviews

age 15+

Based on 96 parent reviews

age 15+

It's a money trap, stay away

I am a veteran with over 10 years of game play. I have verbally watched as this game has gone from a great game, in the beginning, to a game that is not worth even bothering with. The so called development team doesn't even have a clue as to what they are doing. They use roughly 4 different gaming engines to power this game and this creates so many unsolvable issues, it's laughable. They never fix any of the reported issues and most of them have been around since about year 3, til now. This game is as rigged as a county fair teddy bear toss game is and if your stupid enough, you will spend a ton of money, that you don't really have to attempt to improve and never will. Only certain FAN BOIS are granted so many special privileges, it just mind boggling. People are allowed to stat pad by playing on certain servers that have bots due to a lack of player base, using Tier 5 on down, to make themselves look better than they really are. If this isn't enough there are special mode of battle that will allow you to rig the out come of each and every battle, using your friends and select volunteers to assist you. One of the modes, happens to be "Steel Hunter", which is the most hated mode this company has ever put out. It has gotten so bad that every event/mode has been so heavily monetized and they wind up costing you a ton of gold, not to mention the hundreds of dollars you must spend to get there and "Battle Pass" is one of them. The only real mode that doesn't cost you anything is "Frontlines" but they want to shut it down as they can't come up with a legitimate method of monetizing it like the can with say: "Steel Hunter". Now, I'm not against any company making a profit but WG will show you, quite literally how greedy Russians, really are. Now for some of the mechanic, that are broken: 1) Match maker: Here you will find no true balancing mechanism, to speak of. Battles are so lopsided and usually last long enough for the team with the fastest vehicles to out spot and maneuver you. 2) Spotting mechanism: Really doesn't exist as some vehicles so much natural camoflauge, they train their crews for camo and put on camo, as well as a camo net and drive around out in the open, spotting, firing, and exposing you until your dead and you will never see them. 3) Map size: Extremely small, when compared to all other tank games. 4) Gold/premium ammo: There is no longer any need for gold ammo, as it's been over monetized and now you can buy it without special financing. It needs to be removed as it's the most widely used ammo and it ruins all game play. 5) Special vehicles: Lets look at the EBR's which are endowed with special physics abilities, aim bots, shell resistances, & speeds. All of these abilities, which they have, are considered illegal mods, when applied to any other vehicles. This needs to stop, ebr's either need to be removed or balanced to match all other light vehicles, in this class with no special abilities granted to them. 6) The most damning of it all: War Gaming sells illegal mods on it's WARPACK sites and allows others to sell them on a franchise basis. WG is selling and reaping the profits, as well, from all illegal modifications. Take for example, the recent press release where WG is suing a person for coming up and selling millions of doallars worth of illegal mods that they didn't approve of. Yeah, it's real, you can bet your bippie it is. Personally, I wish I hadn't found this game and stayed with those that I was already playing, that didn't cost me a single dime. Worst decision I've ever made. Don't let your kids get into this game, your wallet is going to be hit and hit hard.

This title has:

Too much consumerism
6 people found this helpful.
age 10+

Avoid this money pit it’s designed to get your money!

This game is aimed at taking as much money from the player as is humanly possible. It requires the player to purchase gold (which you have to buy ) at every opportunity. If you don’t spend money and a lot of it you will find yourself always playing against better tanks (players) so you will lose an round 80% of the time which becomes frustrating and disappointing so hey what do you do buy more gold to try to improve your tanks and your back in the same cycle as every time you get a better tank it moves you up to play guess what better tanks from higher ranks, and so the cycle starts again. Shame as it’s a good game but it’s now made as a true money making machine … avoid if you can!
5 people found this helpful.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (96 ):
Kids say (28 ):

This mechanized-combat game takes the armored vehicles of the mid-20th century and places them into an action-packed arena that keeps players on the edges of their seats. The tanks are built to historically accurate specifications, and, a battle-arena game, it excels at also being a strategic game that doesn't get drawn out in excessively long battles; matches are usually kept to within 30 minutes. The basic controls are simple and intuitive, but mastering the advanced controls takes a lot of practice. Players are encouraged to work as a team executing a variety of strategies -- sudden ambushes, cunning flank attacks, head-on confrontations -- all to deliver a decisive blow to the competition.

Beyond the game's value as entertainment, it provides an immersion in the history of the tanks and the countries they represented. Currently, World of Tanks has armored vehicles from six countries; U.S.A., Japan, Russia, China, Germany, and Britain. As with all the Wargaming titles, these are great games for military buffs and are family-friendly. Younger kids can easily master the game so long as parents keep in mind the unmoderated language they may get exposed to during matches. The greatest value of World of Tanks is the stunning beauty of the game, the reasonable gameplay sessions, and the critical thinking and strategic planning wrapped in a fun and engaging game that can provide hours of fun for a single player or for gameplay with family and friends.

Game Details

  • Platforms: Windows , Xbox 360 , Xbox One
  • Subjects: Social Studies : history
  • Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : applying information, decision-making, logic, making conclusions, prediction, problem solving, strategy, thinking critically, Creativity : combining knowledge, developing novel solutions, Self-Direction : achieving goals, effort, goal-setting, identifying strengths and weaknesses, set objectives, time management, work to achieve goals, working efficiently, Emotional Development : handling stress, moving beyond obstacles, persevering, perspective taking, Communication : asking questions, friendship building, listening, presenting, speaking, Collaboration : cooperation, group projects, meeting challenges together, respecting other viewpoints, teamwork, Responsibility & Ethics : learning from consequences, making wise decisions, respect for others, Tech Skills : using and applying technology
  • Pricing structure: Free (The game is free to download and play, but premium accounts give 50% more experience and gold for a fee between $8 and $46/month. There's an option to purchase a disc for consoles, price varies.)
  • Available online?: Available online
  • Publisher: Wargaming.net
  • Release date: April 12, 2011
  • Genre: Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)
  • Topics: Cars and Trucks , History
  • ESRB rating: T for Mild Violence
  • Last updated: April 10, 2020

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