BattleTanx: Global Assault

Hang on you say, the second game? Yes, BattleTanx: Global Assault is the successor to the fairly popular American game Battletanx. For some unknown reason the original never made it to our shores – not officially, at least. For those of you who don't know the first game, it revolved around the usual post-apocalypse scenario, though this time everyone fought over women instead of oil or water. To cut a long story short, at the end of the first game the main hero character, Griffin, saved the girl (his wife Madison) and lived happily ever after. Cut to a few years later and something is afoot again in the new society; an evil new gang wants to steal Griffin and Madison's son. This is where the Akira-style storyline cuts in, because their son apparently has a desirable hidden power called 'The Edge', though this power doesn't involve making U2 records. What choice does our hero have but to jump back into his tank again, and destroy literally everything in sight, to save the world for a second time? The story may be weaker than instant tea, but this game has it where it counts – the mass destruction department. One of the most appealing things about the first game was that as virtually everything in sight could be levelled, you could roll your tank over almost anything. This feature has been taken to new extremes in this game, allowing you to destroy the Houses of Parliament and the White House, for example. In fact it can get a little too extreme and confusing at times, but is still an immense amount of fun.

You Can Destroy The White House!

In Global Assault you get to travel all over America and Europe, laying waste to loads of famous landmarks. Quite why all of these weren't destroyed in the previous nuclear apocalypse isn't really explained, but this isn't the point. What is important is that you can blow things up! If you're annoyed with some politician's decision, then slap BattleTanx in and nuke Parliament! Eat that Two Jags! Keep smiling now Tony!

The main letdown is that some things can't be blown up or driven over, because they represent objectives or boundaries. This is especially ridiculous when your mass of metal can't even make it over a knee-high wall. These restrictions are an unfortunate necessity, as without them the game would be finished far too quickly. Besides, if they get in the way you can go under them, through scattered tunnels, or over them with the aid of jumps. It's quite impressive to watch a huge tank fly through the air in the middle of combat. Some of the new tanks are impressively agile. What they lack in armour is gained in speed, and it is possible to fly around corners faster than the missiles chasing you. There is also a tank, affectionately named the Flip.E, which uses boosters to roll over to the left and right, allowing you to sidestep enemy fire.

Demolish Parliament!

The increased speed and agility of some of the tanks, like the Mototank, a glorified bike, does come with drawbacks. At times you will not be able to control the smaller tanks effectively enough to attack anything, because they are too damned fast! They may look impressive when the enemy uses them against you, swarming around to attack you from behind, but try and do that yourself, and you'll end up face-first in the nearest building. Of the 12 tanks on offer, another difficult type to control is the hover tank, which is a tad unstable, to say the least. On the plus side, it can fly over mines.

Nuke The French!

None of the missions in Global Assault are too complicated and all basically involve either killing, getting off a level alive or collecting items. What is good is that the gang you represent shows up in some of the missions and will try to give you a helping hand. Unfortunately, trying is about all they can do, as they never help you with important mission objectives.

Where this game really explodes is with the huge amount of multiplayer games, all of which can be played against computer opponents (which are a hell of a lot smarter when they're not on your own team). As well as the standard deathmatch for four players, you can play Battlelord, Tank Wars, Frenzy, Hold 'Em and Convoy games. The Battlelord mode sees you fighting for the control of each team's Queen (as in the first game); capture them all to win. Tank Wars is for those with a hectic lifestyle and limits the game to three minutes, and in the Convoy games you have to either protect or destroy a rolling convoy. In Hold 'Em you must get and hold the only Queen for 30 seconds or more, which is no easy task.

The most fun of all these games is Frenzy Mode, which is all about Queens again – this time they randomly appear on the level and the first to collect ten wins. BattleTanx: Global Assault has enough demolition to keep you, and all your destruction happy friends, amused for months on end. All without a drop of blood in sight!

Look for the sequel to BattleTanx this holiday season from The 3DO Company. It features another goofy plot, but makes up for it in its robust selection of gameplay modes and nice-looking graphics. There's a one-player mode of course, but it seems as if multiplayer is a huge part in the overall experience this time. In addition, there is an array of new tanks and weapons to use, and 20 new levels to play through.

The year is 2006. Five years ago the apocalypse released the X2 virus which killed most of the world's women -- the female population became almost extinct. In an effort born of panic and self-preservation, the governments of the world rounded up the remaining women to hide and protect them. This led to rioting which eventually led to a nuclear war that ravaged 50% of the world. Governments collapsed and bands of survivors came together to form tribes and gangs. Women in these tribes and gangs are now called Queenlords and have become almost sacred. You, Griffin Spade, acquired a M1A1 tank somewhere in all of this, have formed your own tribe, and have rescued your wife, Madison, from the government's secret "relocation." Now you have a son, Brandon, and at this point keeping him safe is the most important thing in the world to both you and Madison. This will become difficult, however, as those nightmares you've been having recently about an evil Queenlord abducting your son are about to come true...

Gameplay

The concept of this game is relatively simple: you drive one of many different kinds of tanks in an effort to defeat your enemies. Some missions require annihilating all enemies that come at you, others require you to escort other tanks, get from point A to point B, or rescue hostages. Getting through each mission is not always a question of who has the most firepower, but rather who knows how to use it properly. The firepower in this game is very widely diversified. There are 11 different tanks that can be used. Each has very definite strengths and weaknesses. Some are quick and weak while others are very slow and very strong with everything in between. Some have the ability to strafe or flip over their sides. All tanks have a primary weapon, which is usually a machine gun, shells, or a flame-thrower. There is also a wide variety of special weapons available to you. These range from mines and Bouncing Betties (mines that float in the air and rain lasers on passers by) to grenades to plasma bolts to various types of missiles and even a nuclear warhead. I particularly liked the guided missile as I could control exactly where I want it to go. These are great for corners. Other items include the turbo boost, health, shields, radar, teleporter, and one item called The Edge that will either stun or, in some cases, capture enemy tanks so you can turn them against your enemy!

The tanks themselves all handle very responsively (or as responsively as a tank can handle, anyway). In fact, these tanks handle better than you would expect a real tank to handle which I felt made the game more exciting and fun. There are several different control configurations that allow you to set up simple controls to more complicated functions. This allows players of many different experience levels to effectively play the game. There are also three difficulty levels to suit your handicap (or lack of one) even more. I felt the difficulty levels were a little harder than they should have been for each level. The gameplay is simple enough that you should be able to get the hang of it fairly quickly.

How many tanks you can use depends on how many Tank Bucks you have. Each tank you take into battle costs a certain amount. Typically, the better the tank, the pricier it is. After using these tanks you will likely choose a favorite or figure out which work better in certain situations. Tank Bucks are earned by either picking them up or by obtaining 10,000 points (yes, there are still games that use points, believe it or not). When your tank is destroyed, you use the Tank Bucks to purchase another and continue your mission until you're out of Tanks and Bucks or until you finish the game.

The interface is pretty standard. If you can read, you should have no problems with it. There are several modes of gameplay that range from the Campaign (main story) game to specific types of missions such as protecting convoys or rescuing hostages. These other missions can also be played with up to four players simultaneously (depending on the number of controllers connected to the system) on a split screen. The multiplayer game plays essentially the same as the single player.

This game contains the long lost feature of passwords. In case you don't have a Controller Pak, or if it's full, you can write down the password and continue later on where you left off. I was impressed with the addition of this feature as well as being able to use the Controller Pak. The game also makes good use of the Rumble Pak.

Graphics

The graphics are a little above standard for an N64 game (unfortunately the screenshots we managed to get really do not do it justice). The general look of the game has a nice bright atmosphere and is a little crisper than many other N64 games. The effects from explosions or smoke streams from passing missiles are very nice. Each different style of tank is simple enough to differentiate, however, at times it is a bit difficult to tell if they are friendly or enemy tanks unless you have radar. The oddest graphic in the game is that people appear on the battlefield as only heads floating in midair. This makes it a little harder to locate them without radar if there is a lot of action on screen.

Audio

The audio is pretty standard for an N64 game. For the most part, this is a pretty loud game (whoever heard of a quiet tank battle?). While music does play in the background during the missions, you typically won't hear it over the sound effects. Nothing groundbreaking in this department, but nothing bad either.

System Features Supported

Controller Save Pak, Rumble Pak, and four player simultaneous.

Documentation

While you can certainly figure out the basics of the game by yourself, you will definitely miss some stuff if you don't read the manual. It shows you how to make good use of certain weapons, such as the guided missile and tanks. When you get a chance, check it out.

Bottom Line

Overall, this is a fun game right out of the box. While it does have some level of complication, it's simple enough to enjoy immediately out of the box. It has nice graphics and sound, which are always a plus when trying to enjoy a game. The multiplayer options ensure the replayability of this game for quite some time. I found virtually nothing to gripe about in this game which is why I happily give it a score of 87.

The original BattleTanx was one of the best blow-em-to-bics action games last year--and it was sorely under appreciated. The sequel looks like it will surpass the original, bringing even more tanks, weapons, and mayhem to the N64 this winter. BT2 will feature 10 tanks (including several new playable tanks from the first game), recognizable landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Big Ben, and many new modes of play. 3DO is shooting to put the boom back in the room with BatdeTanx 2.

BattleTanx's hard-hitting tank action returns with brand-new vehicles, bigger explosions, and more gameplay modes. While its story line is still unclear, what matters is that you'll fight your way through intense battles in a war-torn world.

Besides maneuvering the MIAI Abrams and Goliath Rail, you'll now be able to control tanks that hover and destroy buildings with a single shot. Each war machine can be equipped with an array of weapons, ineluding mines, flamethrowers, and automatic gun turrets. There'll also be teleportation and turbo boost power-ups that allow for quick escapes from tight situations.

Of course, the highlight of BattleTanx 2 will most likely be its popular multiplayer deathmatch mode in which you nuke it out with up to four friends with the latest in tank warfare, erasing the very definition of "friendly fire." If the excessive fog effects and troubling controls found in the first Bat-tleTanx are remedied in this sequel, there could be plenty of destructive action coming your way.