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Previews: World War II Online
Developer: Cornered Rat Software Publisher: Strategy First Inc. and PlayNet Genre: Historical Warfare Released: 06/07/02 Advancement System: Level/Rank Player vs. Player Combat: Yes! Competitors: Anarchy Online. "Welcome to the virtual battlefield..." Blitzkrieg: 1940 After the fall of Poland in 1939, Germany turned its sights on the Low Countries and France: the last free European countries standing between the German armies and Britain. The combined and organized use of armor and air power had never been used so effectively before. Germany's run through the Low Countries was to become known as the Blitzkrieg or "Lightning War" due to the tremendous speed at which German troops and armor were able to gain ground when supported so completely by the Luftwaffe.
Set in spring 1940, much of the equipment and major battle points are included: towns, cities, bridges and rivers- much as it was in 1940. Can the RAF and British armies help the French forces re-write history? Could the Blitzkrieg have been stopped in France? With the dynamic flow of resources within the strategic system, players will start the battles where they choose, and those choices will make history all over again. Players have complete control over battles and campaigns- outcomes are not predetermined! You can command and crew a variety of accurately modeled vehicles and aircraft or you can sling a weapon and fight as a foot soldier with and against thousands of other players. Featuring historically accurate weapons including aircraft, tanks, anti-aircraft guns, trucks, rifles and more; ½ scale map of Europe with accurate terrain modeling- the biggest online world ever; first person perspective in all gameplay- the first massively multiplayer first person shooter; and character advancement and career paths for rich RPG layer allowing for strategic systems driven by player missions and command structure.
Missions are the key to success in World War II Online. Successfully complete missions for a branch of service, and you gain rank. As your rank increases, you can post missions for that branch. The better the design of a mission, the better the chance of players "signing up" for it and making it happen. You may find yourself grabbing your first mission as a infantryman storming a stronghold. Unknown to you, your side's commanders have been preparing for this moment for weeks, or even months! You are a vital part of a campaign that is much larger than you might know... until you're the one planning campaigns! Expansions: None. Comments: June 7, 2001 - a date which will live in infamy - PlayNet with Strategy First Inc. released the game World War 2 Online suddenly and deliberately, attacked by players from the community over a game that was to say the least, unplayable for those who had purchased the game and attempted to play.
Not to call them players, as very few were actually playing the game, customers were demanding to know where the game was. A few petitions started up, and threats of lawsuits abounded due to misrepresentation upon the box. Where was the naval fleet? Why only a fraction of vehicle's included? Where are the full theatres of battle? This and more, customers wanted to know, as the game site crashed and burned under the unrelenting pounding of the masses. In an effort to appease the masses, PlayNet halted subscription fee's extending the trial period until issues regarding stability and bugs were fixed. Fast forward a year later... The following commentary is provided by Keats from the Shadow Alliance guild. I had read the bad reviews and had written the game off. But, a friend in my apartment building told me to check it out since the most recent patches have drastically improved playability. He let me try with his account on his computer and I was immediately addicted. In WWII online, I get the same level (actually far better IMHO) of PvP without any stupid repetitive killing of monsters over and over... and over... and over... and over (and over). The game strives for realism, including weaponry and range. The negatives: sometimes getting to the action takes awhile, but once there, it's awesome. Also, it can be over very quickly. Soldiers die in one shot most of the time, sometimes two. So if you get sniped... you usually don't know who it was or where it came from. No rez's in this game. You can play either side of the beginning of the war right now. German or Brit./French. You have immediate parity, other than the actual experience, intelligence and ability of your human opponent. You can drive tanks, fly Hurries, Spitfires, ME-109s, Stukas, or you can go infantry and play a machine gunner, rifle or sapper (place explosives). My best rating is in a Panzer IIc (a light tank with a fast AP cannon and a machine gun. I own A13s and enemy inf., but the Matildas and heavy French tanks will tear me up. I think the most fun thing to play is a rifleman though. That or an 88 (Flak 36). The flak 36 is an 88mm artillery piece. It was meant to be an AA gun, but is more useful against tanks. 88s are just evil. Problem with them is you have to have another player tow you to move--but you pretty much kill what you shoot. The problem is, the allies know it, and you're target #1. I died about 50x the first day and only had 7 kills. The high death rate came from respawning over and over in an attempt to get to and defend one of our bunkers. My friend said this was quite good and that he was surprised I had any kills at all the first day. Since then, I've gotten my German army player up to a .44 rating (simply based on kills/death ratio). The allies have junkie equipment, but they are still fun. French heavy tanks are cool, and British Matildas have the best kill ratio of any vehicle types. They also have a rank system, but it's irrelevant except for the ability to post missions. Some guy says, "I'm a Colonel!" and then you watch him run right up to a Brit. smg and get killed--yep, he's a colonel alright. Anyway, I've been thoroughly enjoying this game--too much in fact. I have to remember to eat. If it's PvP you're after, this one is worth a look. Discuss:
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