Hands on report: Tanks invade Call of Duty Multiplayer

Badie05 · Hands on report: Tanks invade Call of Duty Multiplayer

Drivable tanks make a series debut in Call of Duty: World at War, and GamePro gets first hands-on impressions. Here's what tanks bring to the fight.

Call of Duty: World at War is bringing something new to the battlefield this November: drivable tanks. GamePro editor Sid Shuman got first-hand experience with tanks, and the rest of World at War's online mode, as part of the October 2008 issue of GamePro magazine. Here are the highlights.

In a departure for Call of Duty 4's infantry-focused action, World at War adds a new, larger-scale multiplayer gametype called "War" that introduces vehicles for the first time. In War, two teams battle to seize and control a series of landmarks. The real draw to the large-scale War mode, however, is the inclusion of new drivable tanks. With their punishing main cannons and secondary machine guns, tanks excel at assaulting or holding down high-traffic locations. Unfortunately, their slow speed frequently works against them. Tanks are impervious to rifles and grenades, but are far from indestructible: A well-aimed bazooka round (or a well-placed satchel charge) can penetrate the thin armor on the tank's backside, or even damage the treads. These weaknesses mean that explosive weapons are far more valuable in World at War than they were in Call of Duty 4.

Judging by our hands-on experiences with World at War, tanks seemed to be an enjoyable but not overwhelming addition to the otherwise classic Call of Duty multiplayer action. Crucially, the tank's cannon suffers from a sluggish firing rate and relatively small explosive radius, tradeoffs that enable infantry to sprint past safely in between volleys. If you want to be a true terror with the tank, you'll need to devote your Perks to upgrading the base speed and offensive power, though these sacrifices will leave you more vulnerable when on foot. And Call of Duty purists can relax, because tanks can be disabled via the match menu -- check a preference box and you'll automatically be redirected to infantry-only matches.

Based on our play sessions, tanks seemed to be a welcome addition to World at War's already stellar multiplayer action. Check back to GamePro.com throughout the week for more exclusive details on Call of Duty: World at War, including a look at the new Perks and a sampling of the new weapon mods!

Vehicle Perks

Greased Bearings: A new vehicle Perk that speeds up the rotation of your tank's main cannon, Greased Bearings allows you to switch between targets faster. This will help you keep hiding enemies on their toes, though the tank's main cannon isn't always the best choice against speedy infantry.

Ordinance Training: This special ability gives a small boost to the firing rate of the tank's main cannon. This is probably the most instantly useful of the new vehicle Perks, partly because the tank's default firing speed is quite sluggish.

Water Cooler: The tank's secondary machine gun will overheat with extended use. Selecting Water Cooler will allow you (or your buddy) to fire much longer before entering the cooldown mode. As such, Water Cooler is must useful if your team is being overwhelmed with enemy infantry.

Lead Foot: This Perk is designed for drivers, increasing the top speed of the normally slow-moving vehicles. Even after equipping Lead Foot you won't exactly be zipping around the levels in these armored goliaths, but every little bit helps.