A review of WoT's rival game...

krazypenguin, on 13 December 2013 - 12:39 PM, said: So, we all know what is out there, there's certainly been some mention of it before on the forums, but I thought some might appreciate a considered and reasoned look at WG's competitor and, most importantly, a comparison of the two.  How well does each game do in various criteria, what works and what doesn't?   I am, of course, referring to...     Barbie Online Horseracing - LINK by popular demand!!   Yes, we've all been there.  The in-game chat messages telling us to "go play Barbie Online Horseracing."  Well, it's time someone did just that and, seeing as I don't have anything better to do with my life, I thought it might as well be me.  So let's get cracking and first up it's...   INSTALLATION Whilst WoT is a fairly large download and install (circa 5GB IIRC) Barbie Online Horesracing (hereafter referred to simply as BOHR) features no download or install at all!  It's all played directly from the URL.  This is a clear advantage over WoT's long and tedious download. WoT 0 - BOHR 1   ACCOUNT CREATION With WoT it is necessary to create an account using an e-mail address and this is then used to log in everytime.  Whilst not particularly difficult or troublesome this is not as easy as BOHR's much simpler system of simply entering your name: WoT 0 - BOHR 2   MAP CHOICE As we all know, it is not possible to choose the map you want to play in WoT, nor to deselect those you do not wish to play.  However, this is a feature which the creatures of BOHR have embraced fully.  Sadly for BOHR users though, the Devs have only released 2 maps so far - "Gallop on the Beach" and "Trot down a canyon trail". As such I am conflicted about which game is best.  Clearly many WoT players wish to be able to chose which maps they do or do not play but at least in WoT we have a massive number to choose from.  So whilst the developers of BOHR seem to be on the right track, they clearly need to put a lot more effort into map design.  It's a tough one to call but I'm going to go with WoT for this one.  That said, I do appreciate the BOHR devs' attempt to at least make their map names more interesting - I think the WOT devs could learn from this, perhaps renaming Murovanka to "Camping in the Magic Forest" or Redshire to "Oh look, it's a draw" for example. WoT 1 - BOHR 2   VEHICLE CHOICE No question on this one.  WoT features a choice of hundreds of vehicles, covering the full spectrum of tank based warfare (and SPGs), whilst BOHR only has a meagre 6 vehicles to choose from, all of which appear to be from the same class (apparently called horses) and do not appear to have different stats, or any stats at all.  Also, whilst WoT has gone for the model of having to unlock higher tiered vehicles as you progress in the game, in BOHR all vehicles are available to the player immediately. As such there seems to be little incentive to continue playing in order to progress and I cannot see 6 vehicles of the same class being fun to play in the long term.  Being a gold noob I have, naturally, selected the "rich, reddish gold" option.  It is worth noting however, that BOHR have chosen not to implement the much hated arty into their game, at least yet.  Hopefully the addition of additional vehicle classes (perhaps ponies and donkeys) will not ruin this... WoT 2 - BOHR 2   CAMOUFLAGE In WoT we are offered a wide variety of camo patterns.  However, these must be purchased for either gold or credits.  Whilst BOHR only features 4 types of camo these are availble completely free of charge. Here you can see that I have opted for the sleek 'n shiny camo, which I hope will allow my vehicle to blend in with the tall grasses and rushes.  To be honest, it's really only a choice between that and wavy (best for bushes I think) as the option of plain (ie. no camo) seems to defeat the point and braided would presumably only assist if the enemy team consisted of heavily dreadlocked Rastafarian tankers, a situtation I have yet to come across.  So it's a question of greater choice but at a cost, versus less choice but free.  Since I tend to have favourite camos in WoT that I use all the time anyway I think less for free is probably better here. WoT 2 - BOHR 3   EQUIPMENT Again, it's choice at a cost versus less choice for free.  WoT features a large number of equipment items of whch up to 3 can be fitted to enhance the performance of your vehicle but these can cost up to 600,000 credits!  BOHR once agin features less but for free - with only 2 equipment slots and a choice of 3 or 4 items for each slot. Clearly the free to play model that BOHR seem to be pursuing so agressively is hampering the ability of their devs to add new content.  Once again, as a player I must choose free over quantity.  That said, I could not see any performance benefit to my vehicle from any of the equipment options I selected.  This makes me question what hidden stats the BOHR devs might be protecting... WoT 2 - BOHR 4   INSIGNIA & EMBLEMS Whilst WoT again provides a massive quantity boost over BOHR but at a cost to players, here BOHR catches up a little.  It features 3 different types of customisation, again all for free! Here you can see I have opted for some sparkly glittering hoof polish (seriously WG, why don't we have glitter for our tanks - you are missing a trick here!) and a lovely Afrika Corps style palm tree.  Tres chic and all for free! WoT 2 - BOHR 5   NAME YOUR VEHICLE Wow!  This is an option that WoT haven't really even considered, short of paying for an inscription which may or may not be a name for you tank, with BOHR you are actually asked to name your vehicle.  And once again, it's totally free. Here you can see that I have opted to call my vehicle "Dogfood".  I feel it is a strong name. WoT 2 - BOHR 6   TO BATTLE! Well, frankly it's looking bad for WoT.  BOHR is leading by a veritable landslide and short of something pretty spectacular happening I cannot see WoT pulling this back to win.  But so far it's all really just been window dressing.  What happens when you finally ready up and press that Battle\Ok button?  Well, as you all know, WoT then launches you into a random battle with 14 strangers of variable quality against a team of 15 more strangers, also of variable quality, and you battle to the death\cap to see who will win.  The better you do personally and as a team, the better your reward.   And this is where BOHR finally falls down - and big time at that.   See, clicking "Ok" to the previous screen in BOHR doesn't then launch you into a do or die race to the death against other players.  No, instead you just get this:   I mean...where's the race?  That's it?  The entire game is just getting ready to enter battle?  No wonder it's free to play!  Now, I'll admit, maybe it's early days for BOHR (I couldn't see if it was in Alpha, Beta or actually released) but this really isn't good enough.  In fact, I'm going to have to say that the very failure to include any actual battle and\or racing must disqualify BOHR from the competition.  A shame as it was doing so well. I must also admit that I feel slightly cheated by the way in which it displays my user ID and vehicle name, in effect making it look like I am dogfood.  It's like the BOHR devs are laughing at me :-( WoT 2 - BOHR *Disqualified*   So there you have it, a serious comparison of WoT and its major online rival.  BOHR clearly has much potential and very, very nearly delivers but falls down badly at the last hurdle....a pity as that should be what it is best at...