WWII Online: Blitzkrieg

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.