For anyone not in the know, Wargaming has built a solid niche for themselves. While there are a few upstarts out there, World of Tanks dominates the action tank genre, and for what it is worth, World of Warships dominates the high seas.
Previously relegated to the PC, Wargaming has transitioned the title over to consoles, and despite some worry, it made the transition better than I thought possible.
World of Warships: Legends an odd beast. While on the surface it seems like just a port of the PC version, Wargaming has implemented some smart changes to make this edition of the game wholly its own. The core concept remains the same though; as a commander, you select a ship from a series of classes, join a faction, and try to take out the enemy force. Early on you will be faced against mainly AI players, but as you rise through the ranks you will quickly find yourself head to head against other humans, and that is when things get interesting.
World of Warships: Legends is first and foremost a tactical war game on the high seas. You and your team must work together to get the most out of each ship. Everything has a strength and weakness, and it is up to your team and your understanding of the game to best utilize the resources at your disposal.
As with any tactical game, every unit has pros and cons, and despite what you may think, the biggest ship does not always mean it will be the best choice for every situation. There are numerous classes at your disposal, the Cruiser, Battleship, and Destroyer. All these ships have a use and put in the wrong hands each one can be a liability to the battle rather than an asset.
There are many nuances you will need to get used to when you jump into World of Warships: Legends, and knowing when to use each ship skill can mean the difference between victory and defeat. For example, torpedoes are devastating when they hit, but are much slower and easier to evade them the deck guns. Much the same way when you get hit, it can be a challenge to know when to push forward with an attack and when to fall back and bring in help. While the learning curve may be steep, the rewards make it all worth it once you get the hang of it.
While we are at it, we may as well dive into the in-game purchases available within World of Warships: Legends. There are two types of currency in this game, silver and gold doubloons. You receive gold from select situations or by purchasing it with real-world currency. Silver, on the other hand, is much easier to get, and is acquired from objectives, missions, or at select points through progressing in the game. With silver, you can purchase upgrades for your ship along with a few basic class ships for your naval yard. Gold, on the other hand, can be used to purchase loot boxes or special ships that are often more powerful or have slight improvements over their silver counterparts.
And while we are at it, I have to commend Wargaming on its use of these purchases. While yes, they will try at every turn to take as much money from you as possible, despite what it may seem, buying these special ships will not usher you an easy win. As a player with a massive unique battleship, I still managed to quickly fall to a more experienced player using a destroyer. World of Warships is very much an experience first, purchases second style of game, and that is great to see, even when the temptation is there to give players an unkillable machine for cash.
“Graphically, World of Warships: Legends is a stunning PS4 title.”
As with any tactical game of this ilk, you will slowly increase in rank as you win more battles, which will give you access to more advanced tech along with improved versions of the ships you take into battle. As you progress you will also gain access to commanders. New to the console version, these give you additional bonuses to the ship they are assigned. If that were not enough, the commanders will grow in skill as you progress, making them a very exciting new tool to utilize in battle.
All ships in World of Warships are modelled after actual, real-world warships of (or around) the Second World War. You will find ships in the game from all factions around the world that took part in the war including Japan, Britain, the United States, Germany, etc. And the team’s attention to detail is staggering. They model all aspects of the real ships, from the way the guns look to the way the ship is bolted together. It is astounding to think about the work put into each aspect of World of Warships, and it shows.
Graphically, World of Warships: Legends is a stunning PS4 title. From the way the ocean looks as you steam towards the battle to the way the ships look as they slowly succumb to the watery depths, Wargaming has gone all-out building a game that is beautiful to look at, even if you do not last the battle.
While World of Warships: Legends wears its legacy on its sleeve, the team at Wargaming have done an amazing job with this port. The controller feels at home taking command of these massive naval ships, and the increased speed of play makes for a slightly more nerve-racking experience. It is always amazing to see what developers can do when given the freedom to utilize a platform, not hampered by past installments, and Legends is a testament what is possible when that is done right.
World of Warships: Legends has found its home on the console. While not an easy game to jump into, given time and patience, Legends offers countless hours of enjoyment. Wargaming has outdone themselves with this move to consoles. This is a faster, more exciting version of an already fantastic experience. As free to play games go, you can’t go wrong with World of Warships: Legends, it is a stunning, enjoyable game that will eat up hours of your time before you know it.
