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Previews » Blitz 1941 [PC]

Previewed by pmglasser

Game: Blitz 1941
Genre: WW2-Themed Tank MMOG from Korea
Status: Free beta currently available through Game&Game

The smell of burning cordite lies thick in the air of the hot, dark, cramped interior of the Panzer III 38(t). Shells slam into the side of the tank, as screams echo across the radio channels.

In a desperate fight for survival, the panzer commander frantically mashes buttons on his keyboard, rotates the mouse and jabs at hot-keys. The game is Blitz 1941 and the fighting is quick and chaotic. In the style of Navy Field, Blitz 1941 pits dozens of players against each other in a variety of tanks, assault guns and self-propelled artillery. The game is set in the wake of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union and huge armored formations are thrown against each other in pitched battle.

Players can choose to fight for the Communists or the Nazis and improve their skills and equipment by gaining experience and defeating enemies. Rookie commanders start out with an under-powered light tank that has thin armor, a weak gun and no special capabilities. Players can jump into a pitched battle with dozens of other players, or hone their dueling skills in the battle arena.

For victory in the arena, players are rewarded with battle experience, credits and rare items. Players can also gain credits, victory points, military experience and battle experience by fighting in a campaign. Victory points and credits allow players to purchase rare tanks, supplies and parts. Players can learn special abilities and unlock new tanks by gaining battle experience. Military experience is only awarded to players who defeat other players in campaign mode, and the points are used to improve the stats of the tank commander.

Tanks engage at close quarters while assault guns use their superior range and firepower to score kills from afar. The aiming system is very complex, but new players can choose to use an automatic targeting system that trades firepower for improved accuracy. Players must select their target and try to lead the shot by anticipating where the enemy will be. Left-clicking once will prime the round, and clicking again will deliver the shot. Between priming and firing, commanders must control the azimuth by stopping a needle as it bounces back and forth across a meter. The meter has three bands of color: black, green and red. Shots that land in the green zone do basic damage, while red “critical” hits do double damage. If the needle stops in the black, the “invalid shot” will either miss completely or bounce off the targets sloped armor.

Needless to say, it can be very difficult to align the shot, control the azimuth and fire all while weaving in and out of armored columns. After a few hours of play, players will be as smooth and efficient as veterans in Hitler’s panzer divisions. A huge variety of vehicles and powers are available. Germans can move from light Panzer IIs and Panzer IIIs into heavy Jagdpanther tank destroyers or the mammoth Maus. Tank commanders can learn skills that temporarily improve their offensive and defensive skills, or weaken an opponent. The most experienced veterans can even call in air support, which deals significant damage and seriously disrupts opposing tank crews.

The battle arena is a good training ground for low-level players, but the best experience is available only in the campaign battle mode. However, even this action wears out quickly, because maps can never actually be conquered. Each army initially deploys at a forward war factory that is defended by a pair of massive, invulnerable howitzers. The batteries defend the spawn point from any opponent, so neither side can truly be defeated.

New players level up quickly, but the grind becomes unbearable after level seven. It’s almost impossible to fulfill the huge experience requirements because tanks gain hit points faster than players can destroy them. If players do emerge victorious form a prolonged slugging match, the experience reward is almost insignificant.

Death is meaningless in the game right now too. It doesn’t matter how many times you get pounded into scrap, you never lose any experience or have to pay any repair costs. In that same vein, there will never be a shortage of credits, so players can buy as many tanks as they can fit in their garage. Until something is done to correct the economy, the game is little more than a never-ending, pointless gank-fest. But, it’s only in beta testing, so there is still time to make changes.

Hopefully, improved gameplay and better balancing will make the middle and end-game experience more enjoyable. Despite it’s flaws, Blitz 1941 is worth exploring, especially because it’s free.