This gives you the capacity for more than simple 90-degree strafing. Since you can rotate the turret a full 360 degrees, and leave it in place, you always have your guns pointing in the right direction before navigating corners, rolling over the crests of hills, etc., allowing for a more tactically savvy game. It takes some serious getting used to, however. While on the surface it's just a more involved mouse look, beginners will tend to get all twisted around and backward and smash repeatedly into walls. Exacerbating the tricky controls is the tank's sometimes-sluggish response.
Control is tight enough, but the thing is, after all, a tank.
It rotates real slowly. It accelerates OK, and its top speed is fast enough to let you catch air off many an embankment. It's the rotation of the turret itself that is so infuriating, which I suppose is realistic, but after years of being spoiled by mouse look speeds set to max, some players will find Recoil frustrating. A cache of special weapons, power-ups, and vehicle modes becomes available as you progress through the six campaigns. Some of these are pretty amazing.