Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal

Tiny Tank is a pain in my arsenal. This game is plagued with horrible enemy Al, sloppy graphics and a frame-rate that slows down to snail-speed when lots of graphical stuff is going on (which could've been avoided if particle and lighting effects weren't added to EVERY explosion). In addition. Tiny (the character) repeats the same annoying thing again and again and again, often not making much sense. He sounds like a poor man's Dana Gould (of Gex fame). Now, the radio show that's going on in the background actually is pretty good--informative to a certain extent and funny--when you can hear it over the sound effects. And the rendered cutscenes made me laugh more than once. More on the good end of the spectrum: Each of Tiny Tank's levels offers a different feel from one to the next. For example, in the first level you just ride around and find the boss--rather straightforward. But in other levels you make your way around on a conveyor belt, or in another via like wire system, solving different puzzles. Unfortunately, after making your way through m M of these interesting levels, a predictable and rather easy boss awaits. Tiny Tank wouldn't be a complete waste of money if you picked it up, but it's nothing compared to some of the other stuff headed our way soon. Rent it first.

Although not the greatest 3D shooter, I must say that Tiny Tank breaks some new ground as far as presentation. By injecting the genre with some much-needed humor, the guys at Apaloosa have taken the game from being an above-average shooter to being a genuinely funny piece of entertainment. Sure, the controls are a little oversensitive and the premise is a bit silly, but the scripting for the "radio show" soundtrack is fab.

OK, I'll admit some of the stuff Tiny says is kind of funny. And the radio show soundtrack is darn creative as well. I wouldn't put the game on my top-list but it does warrant some good praise. The gameplay is solid enough--especially Tiny's ability to elude and destroy enemies simultaneously. It's an easy romp through most of the levels, yet strangely captivating at the same time. Tiny Tank won't astound you, but it's good.

Tiny Tank has many interesting and even innovative elements to it, but they don't quite come together in an enjoyable way. Tiny Tank also suffers from some bad control as well as weak level design. This makes for some frustrating gameplay, especially in the later levels. Speaking of which, it's the second half of the game where it all falls apart. The game becomes unbearably tedious. A few more tweaks and it could've been good.