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IGN Review of Tank Universal
Whether it's an updated rehash of a classic arcade title, a brand new game that mimics an old school hit, or a memory-jogging affair that takes us back to a simpler time when small, independent designers were everywhere and publishers weren't compelled to drop millions on each new product, retro gaming is big. And that's precisely why this is a most opportune time for a title such as Dialogue Design's "futuristic" battle tank opus Tank Universal.
Developed exclusively by a one-man team -- New Zealand-based graphic designer Phil Jones -- Tank Universal instantly transports players back to the pre-Windows days of the early 1990s when three-dimensional gaming and first-person perspectives were the new catchphrases and id Software's breakthrough maze-shooter Wolfenstein 3D pointed the way to the future of action gaming. Indeed, Tank Universal borrows more from the light cycle sequences of the ancient 1982 Disney sci-fi flick Tron than Wolfenstein and therefore feels even more rudimentary in its visual makeup.
And that is its problem as well as its charm. Though the design of the levels is strong and the sheer scope of some of its environments quite breathtaking, the truth is that Tank Universal looks old. Really, really old.
Imagine, if you will, rooms that have no feature other than four blank walls. Imagine smoke and explosion effects so primitive that they look like an ad-hoc collection of rectangles, and a radar screen littered with such chunky, jagged objects that you feel like you've chosen the wrong resolution. Imagine simplistic wireframe borders and a color palette so limited that floors blend into walls and walls into ceilings and ceilings into sky. In this way, the game seems less a retro flashback than a low-budget college project.
The story behind Tank Universal and the presentation of that story is both curious and questionable. The game features a convoluted plot that kicks off with a terminally ill patient donning a prescribed virtual reality headset. It is through this headset that the majority of the game takes place.
Once in this virtual world, you'll learn of a strange, bleak environment where one society has perpetually dominated another. You'll hear accounts of atrocities and the plans to end those atrocities and somehow resist that domination. And you'll endure numerous non-skippable cutscenes that are so long, so seemingly pointless, and so incredibly slow-moving (at one point, you're asked to sit back for a full minute and merely observe the landing of a spacecraft) that you'll wish the game's designer had enlisted a bit more developmental assistance. Worse still, all cutscene information is delivered via circa-1995 text blurbs rather than audible dialogue.
That none of that story really matters in the grand scheme of things is probably a good thing because it means you can safely slip into autopilot, waking just to hear your next objectives, during most non-battle sequences. More importantly, the gameplay is strong enough to make most of us forget about the low-rent graphics and superfluous plot. At its heart an old school tank shoot 'em up, Tank Universal keeps you playing and keeps you interested not just because it does the arcade shooting routine so well, but also because it constantly keeps things fresh by throwing new wrinkles at you.
In one of your early missions, for example, you're asked to conduct what is essentially a capture-the-flag contest with your enemy. But there's more here than simply blasting away at the bad guys. You must plan in advance where you'll fire, launching your ordnance ahead of moving targets, like a quarterback to a sprinting receiver, and adjusting the trajectory for distant targets to compensate for gravity.
And you're not just battling tanks either. This particular level features a variety of enemies -- including spaceships, assorted mechs, and fixed gun emplacements -- each of which utilizes distinctive weapons and attack strategies. You'll also need to collect objects called "glyphs," which are then retrieved by "harvester" units and used to open portals through which new, friendly tanks appear. Though you can't control these new tanks directly, you can protect them and utilize your own tank in such a way that they can help you toward your end goal. In this early capture-the-flag level, your time is best spent trying to destroy a group of four turrets that stand guard over the entrance to the enemy lair. Do so and your forces can more easily work their way inside to recover the flag.
Ultimately, with no shortage of enemies and friendlies running about, a sky filled with traceable, arcing ordnance, an assortment of stationary guns pounding you at every chance they get, and so many other things to do, you can't help but have fun.
In future levels, the capture the flag concept gives way completely in favor of search and destroy missions, search and recover missions, and a wide variety of other assignments. In one operation, we were ordered to wonder about the environment, using both our radar screen and a nifty overhead view to find and flip ground-mounted switches. At the outset, all of these switches were colored red, signifying they were spawning points for enemy tanks. But when we flipped a switch, it immediately turned blue and began spawning friendly tanks. From that point forward, blue tanks and red tanks battled one another for control of each of the twelve switches, spawning and dying and re-spawning along the way. Finally getting control of the situation proved immensely satisfying.
Granted, an entire game comprised of similar flip the switch tasks would likely put you to sleep, but the fact is that this is just one of many nifty gameplay concepts employed underneath the Tank Universal umbrella. That the physical design of each level is so unique, and that you have so many other weapons at your disposal apart from the standard tank shells, many of which may be added and upgraded at stealthily-positioned terminals, adds even more interest.
Still, the game's quirks are not limited to its graphics. You can't, for example, perform a manual save. You can't use a gamepad. You can't switch between perspectives because the game has just one. And you can't expect all the levels to be equally wonderful; those where you must disembark from your tank and explore on foot, weaponless, aren't nearly as invigorating.
Nor does Tank Universal support multiplayer. Ouch. A game like this begs for human interaction as much as it does for bombastic audio. Thankfully, the latter is present and accounted for...sort of. Nearby explosions will beat your speakers like a rented mule and distant explosions are reasonably impressive, yet some of the peripheral effects are clearly refugees from prehistoric days. Musically, let's just say the game made us remember how much we miss thumping 80s techno.
©2008-10-17, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Developed exclusively by a one-man team -- New Zealand-based graphic designer Phil Jones -- Tank Universal instantly transports players back to the pre-Windows days of the early 1990s when three-dimensional gaming and first-person perspectives were the new catchphrases and id Software's breakthrough maze-shooter Wolfenstein 3D pointed the way to the future of action gaming. Indeed, Tank Universal borrows more from the light cycle sequences of the ancient 1982 Disney sci-fi flick Tron than Wolfenstein and therefore feels even more rudimentary in its visual makeup.
And that is its problem as well as its charm. Though the design of the levels is strong and the sheer scope of some of its environments quite breathtaking, the truth is that Tank Universal looks old. Really, really old.
Imagine, if you will, rooms that have no feature other than four blank walls. Imagine smoke and explosion effects so primitive that they look like an ad-hoc collection of rectangles, and a radar screen littered with such chunky, jagged objects that you feel like you've chosen the wrong resolution. Imagine simplistic wireframe borders and a color palette so limited that floors blend into walls and walls into ceilings and ceilings into sky. In this way, the game seems less a retro flashback than a low-budget college project.
The story behind Tank Universal and the presentation of that story is both curious and questionable. The game features a convoluted plot that kicks off with a terminally ill patient donning a prescribed virtual reality headset. It is through this headset that the majority of the game takes place.
Once in this virtual world, you'll learn of a strange, bleak environment where one society has perpetually dominated another. You'll hear accounts of atrocities and the plans to end those atrocities and somehow resist that domination. And you'll endure numerous non-skippable cutscenes that are so long, so seemingly pointless, and so incredibly slow-moving (at one point, you're asked to sit back for a full minute and merely observe the landing of a spacecraft) that you'll wish the game's designer had enlisted a bit more developmental assistance. Worse still, all cutscene information is delivered via circa-1995 text blurbs rather than audible dialogue.
That none of that story really matters in the grand scheme of things is probably a good thing because it means you can safely slip into autopilot, waking just to hear your next objectives, during most non-battle sequences. More importantly, the gameplay is strong enough to make most of us forget about the low-rent graphics and superfluous plot. At its heart an old school tank shoot 'em up, Tank Universal keeps you playing and keeps you interested not just because it does the arcade shooting routine so well, but also because it constantly keeps things fresh by throwing new wrinkles at you.
In one of your early missions, for example, you're asked to conduct what is essentially a capture-the-flag contest with your enemy. But there's more here than simply blasting away at the bad guys. You must plan in advance where you'll fire, launching your ordnance ahead of moving targets, like a quarterback to a sprinting receiver, and adjusting the trajectory for distant targets to compensate for gravity.
And you're not just battling tanks either. This particular level features a variety of enemies -- including spaceships, assorted mechs, and fixed gun emplacements -- each of which utilizes distinctive weapons and attack strategies. You'll also need to collect objects called "glyphs," which are then retrieved by "harvester" units and used to open portals through which new, friendly tanks appear. Though you can't control these new tanks directly, you can protect them and utilize your own tank in such a way that they can help you toward your end goal. In this early capture-the-flag level, your time is best spent trying to destroy a group of four turrets that stand guard over the entrance to the enemy lair. Do so and your forces can more easily work their way inside to recover the flag.
Ultimately, with no shortage of enemies and friendlies running about, a sky filled with traceable, arcing ordnance, an assortment of stationary guns pounding you at every chance they get, and so many other things to do, you can't help but have fun.
In future levels, the capture the flag concept gives way completely in favor of search and destroy missions, search and recover missions, and a wide variety of other assignments. In one operation, we were ordered to wonder about the environment, using both our radar screen and a nifty overhead view to find and flip ground-mounted switches. At the outset, all of these switches were colored red, signifying they were spawning points for enemy tanks. But when we flipped a switch, it immediately turned blue and began spawning friendly tanks. From that point forward, blue tanks and red tanks battled one another for control of each of the twelve switches, spawning and dying and re-spawning along the way. Finally getting control of the situation proved immensely satisfying.
Granted, an entire game comprised of similar flip the switch tasks would likely put you to sleep, but the fact is that this is just one of many nifty gameplay concepts employed underneath the Tank Universal umbrella. That the physical design of each level is so unique, and that you have so many other weapons at your disposal apart from the standard tank shells, many of which may be added and upgraded at stealthily-positioned terminals, adds even more interest.
Still, the game's quirks are not limited to its graphics. You can't, for example, perform a manual save. You can't use a gamepad. You can't switch between perspectives because the game has just one. And you can't expect all the levels to be equally wonderful; those where you must disembark from your tank and explore on foot, weaponless, aren't nearly as invigorating.
Nor does Tank Universal support multiplayer. Ouch. A game like this begs for human interaction as much as it does for bombastic audio. Thankfully, the latter is present and accounted for...sort of. Nearby explosions will beat your speakers like a rented mule and distant explosions are reasonably impressive, yet some of the peripheral effects are clearly refugees from prehistoric days. Musically, let's just say the game made us remember how much we miss thumping 80s techno.
©2008-10-17, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved