Whether you’ve got stuck in with the recent titles to come from Wargaming or not, it has to be said that they are on something of a roll right now. With World of Tanks proving incredibly successful in recent years, it wasn’t unexpected to see more from the ‘World of’ universe at some point. Of course, there was the aerial attempt to bring WW2 back to life with World of Warplanes, but with success in the skies proving mostly limited, it’s time to dip into the waters for a fresh shot at things with Wargaming’s latest title – World of Warships: Legends.
Despite having arrived on PC some time ago, the Xbox One Game Preview version of World of Warships: Legends isn’t quite yet up to the same standard as that of the PC version. Currently, should you be jumping into the South Pacific archipelagos within World of Warships on Xbox One, you’ll find play limited to nothing more than simple player vs A.I. battles at present, with players pulled together in a rather quick fashion, before facing off against some underwhelming A.I. opponents.
It would be nice to have the chance to jump in with the full player vs player experience from the off though, however this early stage in development does at least allow early adopters the opportunity to appreciate World of Warships: Legends for what it is – a fully competitive naval combat experience full of incredibly detailed and realistic warships. I say this because even in the ‘PVE stage’ if you like, each time you take to a new battle, the first thing you’ll notice is every player racing off towards the enemy location, desperate to get that vital devastating blow that sinks each opposing and gargantuan vessel to the depths of the waters.
This does highlight one notable difference between World of Warships and the previous World of Tanks however, and that is the lack of cover that is readily available. See, there is nothing but a few scattered rocky landmasses to whimper behind should you take too much damage, and at times like these you really notice the slow and vulnerable nature of such large brutish machines.
As far as the gameplay goes, World of Warships is a promising prospect. Each match is played from an overhead/third person viewpoint, with the controls proving simple enough to ensure a realistic feel with how clunky it would be to turn such a huge vehicle on the water. With such slow movement and very little to hide behind, there is an extra need for planning and tactics, with those that force themselves straight into battle surely seeing their demise unceremoniously. That is no more true than if you make the mistake of over-shooting the intended location, finding yourself needing to turn the slow moving weapons back to the right direction.
Away from combat and the menus are a good place to get lost in, with plenty of gadgets and ship customisation features to be getting involved with. Similar to the options seen in World of Tanks, and with a ton of different ships already including multiple different Tiers of warships, there is plenty of incentive to invest a decent amount of time into the game, particularly once a few more of the expected features arrive in the coming weeks and months.
Finally, let me tell you about the visuals, and if you want a game that will look the part then you’ll find World of Warships: Legends already excelling. Ships are detailed to perfection, the water and the physics are great, and the general tone of naval combat is just as you’d expect from a gargantuan battle out at sea.
In general, if you like ships, then World of Warships: Legends on Xbox One is a promising experience. Sure, it doesn’t yet have half of the features that make the PC version so widely appreciated, but the foundations are certainly there for the experience to come together. Seeing as everything is already running so smoothly, there is no reason to expect anything besides a fantastic experience when the full game rolls around later this year. Of course when that does happen you can expect to hear of my further ventures with a full review, but for now, you’d be wise to keep an eye on this one before setting some quality time aside to set sail in the coming months.
