WWII Online: Blitzkrieg

The Good
I love the premise. They set up a 1/2 scaled Europe, and they give us WWII weapons and vehicles, and let us play it out all over again with no set missions - rewriting history online. Can the Nazis control America with better leadership? We may never find out with all these glaring bugs.

The Bad
Personally, I don't like the frame rates. On my top end system, flying a plane over an unpopulated town will take my frame rates into the single digits, and often stopping for long periods of time (5-120 seconds), after which I am usually dead. Thousands of other players express problems with crashing to the desktop, an inability to even start a game, and an unheard of load time - up to 10 minutes. And that's just for starters. The game manual is about as thick as a waffle house menu, the graphics are on the same level as some 1993 DOS titles even at the highest setting, not to mention the rifleman that fires backward and into the ground - a bug that hasn't been fixed 2 months into the release. All in all it has the feel that the game is still in alpha testing, and buying the game funded further development.

The Bottom Line
A WWII simulator that has many bugs, many flaws, many shortcomings, and a hard row to hoe to reach greatness. Fun to play when it works, hair pulling when it doesn't.

The Good
WWIIOL has many thing you won't find in any other game, but realism is top notch and unmatched. The game is a massively multiplayer combined arms simulation. That is, it includes air, sea, armor and infantry all in the same virtual world. Realistic ballistics. Realistic damage modelling. Realistic ordinance penetration. Realistic simulation of cover and concealment. Realistic dimensions (5000 meter visual range, not 200 meter as typical in video games). Realistic sound (for instance vehicles moving 1km away sound distant to the point of almost being undetectable). If you love simulations (flight sims, tank sims, and so on), you'll be amazed by this game.

The Bad
Most of the things I didn't like about the game are long past. The launch was horrible. Lag, dated graphics, missing functionality, billing problems, you name it, were present when the game was launched in 2001. But since then, all of these issues have been addressed and then some.

If there's anything to not like, it's that the game is not easy to get started with for new players, and this results in a somewhat limited and very talented player base.

The Bottom Line
WWIIOL has many thing you won't find in any other game, but realism is top notch and unmatched. The game is a massively multiplayer combined arms simulation. That is, it includes air, sea, armor and infantry all in the same virtual world. Realistic ballistics. Realistic damage modelling. Realistic ordinance penetration. Realistic simulation of cover and concealment. Realistic dimensions (5000 meter visual range, not 200 meter as typical in video games). Realistic sound (for instance vehicles moving 1km away sound distant to the point of almost being undetectable). If you love simulations (flight sims, tank sims, and so on), you'll be amazed by this game.

The Good
There is no invisible wall when you reach the end of the mission map, because there is no end to the mission map. The entire world is one big mission. That mission is simple...defeat the enemy. I haven't tried it, but in theory, you could drive your tank from Barrow, AK to the Tierra Del Fuego, or from the frozen tundra of Siberia to the tip of Africa. Provided you had enough gas. The concept is nothing short of awe-inspiring. To engage in battle using WWII weapons and vehicles in a persistent world where facilities you control today may be gone tomorrow. Or where the facility to overtook today could make the difference next month. The battle starts in France/Belgium area, where it goes from there is up to the players. When this game is fully realized, it will be the most awesome battle simulation the world has ever seen. With historically accurate vehicle models and weapons, a persistent character who rises in rank as they complete missions or successfully defend areas, this game is going to set the mold for online games to come. The game works almost as well with a 56K modem as it does with broadband.

The Bad
There is plenty of bad to talk about at the moment. Frame rates are not so good mine move between 3 and 27 depending on how heavy a battle is going on (this has more to do with processor power and memory than it does connection speed). They haven't any Navy yet, and the Airforce is limited to three planes for the Allies and two for the Axis. They haven't yet implemented the supply lines, so sometimes is like a WWII Tank patch for Quake. And as of yet there is not a 'one-server' world. All this will come, and in the mean time, the play is free. No one is being charged the monthly fee from PlayNet until the game is 100% complete and bug free. Many of the initial bugs were fixed with the 1.21 patch. More bugs and new features will come with the 1.30 patch set to come out real soon.

The Bottom Line
This is a frustratingly addictive game. I have to fight myself not to play it every night. It's most fun when you have a group of people working together using a voice chat program like Roger Wilco.

The Good
Lets just say last "night/morning" (there has been a lot of these sessions)I was playing with 2100 other players. I played on the Axis side as a tank, Anti-Aircraft Gunner, Anti- Tank Gunner, Infantry, Aircraft, and on a Boat.

I'm always waiting for the next patch, to see what new toys have been created. I hear mortars and 2 man machine guns are coming.

The Bad
This game consumes me. If you have a spouse or family don't buy it.

The Bottom Line
At first the graphics look average. But the dynamics of explosions are excellent. When the game environment changes from Day to night and back to daytime is great. Like those sunrises after playing in the night.

The Sound is good. All of the vehicles sound different from one to the next.

The Detail of the weapons and vehicles are top notch. The dynamics of the game are very good.

The $40 payed for this game is well worth it. The first night of playing online(practiced for about a week offline) payed for it. The first session I was awestruck. Aircraft wizing around, aa-guns firing, tanks trying to penetrate the bunker, infantry firing, Bombers dropping bombs. And to think that each is different person from around the world.

The Good
The game had a very rough start. Publishers forced a release that was not ready. The software company that developed this game reminds me of the early Microsoft team. They have a big vision. I have been with this since release, and CRS, Playnet has worked their tails off on this. The current version is at 1.50. The game in its current state is very much worth the 9.99 subscription. This is no Quake. It require a lot of thinking and strategy. Players must work together to accomplish a common goal. I play an average of 3 hours a day. If the game gets any better, I may end up getting a divorce, as my wife hates it.

The Bad
I only wish it had been at this point at release

The Bottom Line
Very enjoyable game, with lots of action. The players and the Forums make it a total experience. There are even players making movies of battles set to music. Other players are making downloadable maps of the theater. If you are into WW2 and like sims, this is for you.

The Good
WWII Online gives you the freedom to go anywhere and shoot anyone. Normal first person shooters send you down "alleys" and there is no diversification allowed. Well this game has broken that mould and you are free to explore! There is also the freedom to walk, drive and fly in most of the equipment available at the time. The rank system allows the more experienced the better "toys" and this saves wasting your countries resources on noobs. The overall experience is absorbing and the players can group in different squads resembling units from that era. I joined the 3rd Panzergruppe and we have over 100 members playing on and off.

The Bad
It can control your whole life it is so addictive. Lag is a problem and if you are up against an opponent with a better spec computer he tends to get the jump on you.

The Bottom Line
If you can afford it give it a go it's excellent. Please do not blame me if your partner leaves you due to excessive game play!!!