Tanks for the memories

Take a classic arcade game premise, expand upon it the right way, and you’ve got something good. That’s what Gameloft did with Tank Battles, a top-down tank simulator that puts you in the cockpit of a World War II tank. You’ll fight through 50 campaign levels, battle against the computer in assorted random levels, play cooperatively with a second player, or get down and dirty online in Death Match, Team Death Match, or Capture the Flag. Like the arcade tank games you loved, Tank Battles sports an array of power-ups such as speed boosts, homing missiles, invisibility, flamethrowers, rockets, short-term invincibility shields, and land mines.

Beyond vibrant graphics, good sound, and clever level design, Tank Battles expands upon the arcade tank game concept as widely as possible. A typical level’s terrain can include conveyor belts, destructible and indestructible walls, and muddy areas to slow movement to a crawl. Ricochet shots can work for or against you—a well-angled shot can bounce off a wall to destroy an opposing tank or turret, or come back to haunt you.

You can always shoot through a warp portal if you don’t have a straight shot at your opponent.

Hop into random battles against the computer, and the terrain changes constantly. New wall structures and varying placement of enemy tanks and turrets will keep you guessing, as will the warp portals that opponents can shoot or pass through.

Still, Tank Battles has a few kinks in the armor. The game occasionally hung for several seconds after starting up under Mac OS 10.7.1, before then ramping up and running normally. At times it was difficult to find online opponents to play against, which made us thankful for the wide variety of computer-based opponents.

The bottom line. Shortcomings aside, it’s a blast to snag every power-up you can, outflank your opponents, blow them to tiny bits, and unlock a new level or game skin in the process. You know…just like tank combat in real life.