I'm a lucky memeber of the closed EU beta, any other orgahs also playing?

For those who may be interested, more details are here on the Game's home site.

Suffice it so say that this is plays a bit like a more tactical FPS, except everyone is in a tank . I am very happy to report that it is NOT a twitch fest, although that option is probably also available if you fancy it.

There are 5 classes of vehicle which you can use, unlock each through research, enabled by gaining experience from battles and killing stuff.

The classes are: Light tank, Medium tank, Heavy tank, Self Propelled Gun (indirect fire arty) and Anti Tank Gun (direct fire, also self propelled of course). Each class has a fairly distinct battelfield role and the reward (xp, credits) system is optimised to encourage class-like behaviour, e.g. Light tanks scouting, arty firing on targets the light tanks reveal, medium tanks attacking, heavies defending, ATs defending/supporting.

The tank tech tree is split between USSR and Germany, with a few other Allied tanks thrown into the mix too. You start at the early days of tank time (well, the tanks of the 1920s) and work your way up through to the vehicles of 1945.

To start with, you are kind of limited to some funny looking things that might have seen action in the Ukraine or Spanish Civil War, but which are rapidly out-gunned, out-maneuvered and out-armoured by newer vehicles.

The battle balance doesn't throw low level tanks and players in with Veterans though so its still fun pootling around in an armoured lawn mower with a turret mounted pop gun.

You also get to improve your tanks, adding modifications and improvements: better guns, bigger engines etc. Each of these add ons has a battle field effect too, from better recon/comms to lethality.