Drive a Tank Event Brings World of Tanks: Mercenaries Action to Reality

Not many video game titles can state that its main characters are some of the most historic military vehicles in the world, but that is exactly what World of Tanks has the ability to do, as the highly popular free to play game puts the focus on the powerful tank that has seen countless battles throughout the decades.

World of Tanks' latest content expansion in Mercenaries dives even deeper into the myth of the powerful tank with the introduction of dangerous mercenary characters and the hybrid tanks that players can now take into battle.

In order to celebrate the major update to the successful title, the team behind World of Tanks: Mercenaries flew a group of media members out to an event that allowed us to gain an even deeper understanding of the vehicle that players utilize on the battlefields of World of Tanks and what better way to learn more about a tank than by learning how to drive one and smashing cars with it!

In a partnership made in tank enthusiast heaven, the latest World of Tanks: Mercenaries event took place at the business amply named Drive a Tank in Kasota, Minnesota where the company pays it bills by teaching and allowing anyone who is interested to drive a tank. 

Upon arriving at the venue for the World of Tanks: Mercenaries Drive a Tank event, we were immediately greeted with a truly badass environment as we saw multiple tanks in a hanger like setting exuding their powerful posture with a table full of Xbox One consoles that had World of Tanks ready to be played at a moments notice. 

However, one of the most unique parts that the group I was very fortunate to be a member of was able to experience was being able to sit inside of a tank and play Wargaming's popular game on a setup that was hooked up in the cockpit of the historic vehicle. Getting the chance to play World of Tanks inside of an actual tank is an experience that I will never forget. It is safe to say that not many other franchises in the industry have let someone play their game inside of the main character of said game. 

While getting to get some hands on time with the exciting content that the Mercenaries expansion has brought to the universe of World of Tanks was a joyous time, the main attraction of getting to take control of a vehicle that will go down in history as one of the most fearsome and vital vehicles in militaries across the world was undoubtedly the highlight for the attendees. After a detailed safety course explaining how best to conduct yourself around a tank that is active in order to not meet the unfortuntate fate of being squished by the behemoth of a machine (trust me, the safety instructors at Drive a Tank are extremely good at driving home the point) it was time to jump into the driver's seat. 

The first area that attendees had the chance to pilot one of the tanks that the venue had ready for us to use was a junkyard style of environment where there were countless cars that were ripe to be demolished under the weight of a tank. It was a very humbling experience walking up to the tank that was being prepped for myself to use in the rain, as going from controlling a virtual tank on the battlefields of World War II in World of Tanks to approaching one in reality and having its massive size truly shown was an eye opening experience. 

Many may believe that driving a tank would be a very complicated process (I definitely thought so), but it was no more than utilizing a control system similar to a car, albeit a highly armored car that could destroy buildings. Once I had secured myself in the control area of the tank I was told by my surpervising instructor to shift it into gear and hit the gas. Never would I have thought that going too slow in a tank would not be ideal, but my instructor relayed that we would get stuck on the cars that we were heading towards if I didn't put the petal to the metal. I followed the instructions of the commanding officer and began to quickly drive the massive metal monster towards my target of the car in front of me. I would be lying if I said that it wasn't an extremely adrenaline pumping experience as I drove the tank onto the car and felt the smaller vehicle get crushed underneath the weight of the vehicle that is the star of World of Tanks. 

Once I had collected myself from the excitement that was coursing through my veins after smashing a car with a tank, I took to the shooting range that was available for customers to use at the venue and got to fulfill my dream of shooting a Barrett 50 caliber sniper rifle and MG42 machine gun from the second World War, which were firearms I had come to yearn to shoot from over a decade's worth of playing Call of Duty. 

Attendees of the World of Tanks: Mercenaries event also had the chance to take one of the tanks on hand for a test drive around the land of the venue and feel the exciting nature that tank crews throughout the years and across the world likely felt as they drove their own versions of the vehicle that has become a star in the world of entertainment. Many a laughs were had as attendees returned to the central event venue covered in mud and detailing their adventures. 

Video games are a great way to be able to lose yourself in a world that you have no possible way of being a member of in reality. 

However, this was not the case for the Drive a Tank event hosted by the team behind the success of World of Tanks: Mercenaries. The attendees of the event were given the opportunity to gain a much deeper understanding of the main characters of the title and were able to experience first hand what it is like to behind the controls of a vehicle that will go down in history as one of the most fearsome and powerful that has ever been created.