War Thunder

While the initial learning curve is daunting, this is one of those games that opens up dramatically the more that you play it, so the time commitment is worthwhile whether you're a laidback dogfighter or a hardcore simmer.

The Ground Forces expansion makes War Thunder even bigger than it was already, an MMO F2P that lets you choose the war you want: simulation or arcade, air or ground, challenging or relaxing, competitive or cooperative, free or with fee, PC or PS4.

It’s mostly the moments in between battles that bring the whole experience down, as a lack of information and poor menus tarnish this flying ace.

War Thunder is easily among the best of what is offered on the PlayStation Store. It stands head and shoulders above the other free to play offerings and even over many at cost. The core of this lies in the generous free to play model which allows you to play for hour and hours without paying a dime. Though microtransactions were disabled in the pre-release version, I did get to explore the store and actually make some purchases in the EU release. A pillar of War Thunder’s longevity lies in its generous free to play model that allows you to play for hour and hours without paying a dime. That's the way free to play should be done.

War Thunder surprised me. I am not very good at it, but I still have a lot of fun playing it. Because it is a free-to-play game, some players will download it on a whim and quit 20 minutes in due to the poor controls. Those that brave the steep learning curve will be rewarded with a realistic combat simulator that could be truly great one day.

War Thunder has some issues here and there, but it’s a very competent flying and ground war game that doesn’t let its microtransaction component get in the way. There’s plenty of tanks and planes to try out and modify to your liking, and just enough visuals to enjoy along the way. It’s not perfect, but it’s a solid game.