Released last September for the PlayStation Network, Tank Battles was recently put on sale for $3.49 and let me say for the price, it’s a blast. Tank Battles brings to the table a campaign mode that can be played solo or with a friend, battle mode with up to 4 players or a combination of players and computer-controlled players, and an online battle mode. You can also unlock an additional five skins for your tanks through campaign mode.

Game speed in Tank Battles is pretty quick pace and the control scheme is easy to pick up. Move, aim your cannon, drop mines and fire your weapon.  There is also a button that will bring up a dotted line that will show you the projection of your weapon so you can attempt to aim those ricochet shots, oh I didn’t mention? Missiles bounce off walls, only once, but they bounce! If you aim right you can also blow up incoming missiles with your weapon.

Speaking of weapons, your basic one is your standard tank shell, nothing too impressive. That’s where power-ups come in. There are four weapon power ups: rocket, flame thrower, homing and rate-of-fire. The rocket helps you out by giving that standard weapon a boost with a little area of effect on explosion. Flame thrower does what you should expect but makes it hard for anyone to attack you from the front, since you will blow up all incoming weapons. Homing helps guide your weapons closer to the targets. It doesn’t make you an unstoppable monster, so don’t get over excited with this one but it does help if you fire in the right general direction. You also have three tank power-ups. Invisibility, invincibility and speed. Invisibility makes your tank a very translucent object which can be hard to see if you keep moving. Several times my friend caught me off guard because I was focusing on everything else on the map and didn’t see him sneaking up behind me. Now the big trick with all of these goodies is you can combine them. All power-ups last for a duration and I haven’t figured out if the weapons are based on so many shots or if they are on a timer. But if you get rockets and homing plus rate of fire you can be sure the other players will either run from you or all focus on you.

The other big part of Tank Battles are the maps. Each map is designed to have a unique feel and sometimes to annoy the crap out of you. Sometimes there are objects you can blow up and reduce protective walls, there are gates that open and close along with pistons attached to giant blocks that move back and forth which can crush you if caught off guard. Conveyor belts that move in one direction with various speeds based on the map and different terrain like mud and ice. Finally if that wasn’t enough there are colored warp gates which can take you across the map or inside of an area where the only power-up spawns. You can also fire into the warp gates and watch your weapon travel through and out the other gate giving you the option for no one to run away during a fight.

With fast pace game speed, bouncing weapons and a variety of power-ups, Tank Battles can be a great addition to your game library. The campaign mode starts off easy but starts to challenge you when you enter levels that you have to avoid land mines while avoiding incoming fire from other tanks or turrets. The multiplayer was also done well where no one power-up will always allow someone to win. Plus once you run out of lives you won’t be out of the fight just yet. Once you lose your last life in mulitplayer you will come back as a turret or a missile silo able to fire at other tanks, at least until someone blows you up in this mode. You won’t be able to win a game in this form but at least you’ll be able to annoy your friends one last time! If you’ve been wondering about this game, go a head and try it out while it’s on sale and you shouldn’t be disappointed.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Like the Above? Check these similar articles: