RE: World of Tanks Game
IMO, too many people complain about the game not being historically accurate. It is a game after-all and it is meant to be fun to play. I compare it to an advanced form of chess. Every tank has its weak points, strong points and a purpose. The team that uses understands this the best usually comes out on top.
The in-game Tiger I, when fully upgraded is a great tank, but don't try to lead the charge with it. It's vertical armor is no match for the sloping armor of most the heavy tanks its ranked against. Where it exceeds, is a sniper tank where it sits back and utilizes the accuracy and power of its main gun. (Must have light or medium tanks to scout targets). The Tiger II gave me the best results of any tank that I used in the beta. I ended the beta with 3 rounds of 10 kills (out of 15 possible) using the Tiger II. My overall impression of the German tanks in the game were that they had superior optics, accuracy and radio distance. There weakness's were chance to catch fire and in the higher tiers they face newer designs from both USSR and the US which have better armor and speed.
As for the invisible tanks, you have to discount the tank destroyers as they are all set that way to offset the lack of a turret. In most cases the invisible tanks are the result of you being spotted by a tank with a better viewing range (or hidden tank) and he is lighting you up for the rest of his team to target. A tank destroyer with a periscope and camouflage add-on that sits motionless & does not fire to give its position away can make a very good spotter. There was an example of a Russian IS tank disappearing at very close range, and yes I have seen this before numerous times. The IS is a very low tank, the game uses this factor in determining how a tank hides in bushes or trees. Tall tanks are harder to hide. The other factor is your tank crews skill level. If you face off against a tank that has a crew with a 100 % camouflage skill rating, they will disappear very quickly after firing. Overall the invisible tank thing can be frustrating, but can easily be offset by a team with good scouts, not the kind that drive straight into the other teams base then get blown up.
So far my favorite tanks in game have been, for the Germans, the VK 3601, Tiger I & II, Marder II, Stug III, Ferdinand, Jadgtiger, and Pz III. The VK 4502 Ausf B was ok. For the Russians, the KV and the T-28. I hate the KV 3. I will have the IS shortly (heard it was very enjoyable).
For the US I really enjoyed the Sherman M4A3E8, and the Pershing. The Pershing , IMO, is a better tank than the T-54 that is compares against, but takes more skill to use. I cannot comment on the US heavies, but friends really enjoy them (once you get past the M3 Lee).
My only grief with the game is the match ranking system. Too often you see tanks in a match that have no chance of doing any damage to the opposing team. In some cases they have been dragged into the match by their Platoon mates. I would prefer to see matches where there is no greater than a 3 level difference between the top level tank and the bottom level tank.