AWESOME TANKS was a game made by the guy who made AWESOME PLANES.
I like tanks so I thought I should check it out. Now, just like most flash games it is more about time-killing fun than telling a story. Then again, the simplicity of flash games usually go with that.
Game play – 9/10
I don’t think I had any major gripe with the game. A top down shooter, it has a familiar structure to Awesome Planes; there are 15 levels in the single player game, and after you finish you unlock a new game play mode, which in this case is a level editor:
Say hello to the map editor: HELLO!
I like the map editor because it is very easy to get the hang of and endless fun could be had. Although I have the feeling that it could have worked better with a survival mode in an arena or something. Nevertheless, it is refreshing to see a map editing option in something as simple as a flash game.
Now of course there has to be an upgrades menu. It was a bit difficult (or I am just crap at the game) at first to collect enough money for weapons so it has a nice learning curve. The key is to never stop moving and be tactical about it, it is not a run and gun game. Health power ups are not so common, but you can upgrade things like armour, movement speed and turret speed.
One of my favourite weapons was the rocket because you could control its course with the mouse. That means that you can carry out tactical strikes or hit a tank or turret that is around the corner.
Lasers! PEW PEW!
There is a laser in the game, and yes it is powerful. I was afraid that it was going to be an overpowered weapon and I admit, it can take out tanks and some turrets quickly. But there are also boss tanks in the game, some of which aren’t affected much by it. Also, all the weapons except the minigun (which you start with), have limited ammo. You can refill them by buying more at the end of the level or through power ups.
I guess the only problem was the lack of a survival/arena mode, but the idea of a level editor kind of balances that out.
Graphics/presentation – 10/10
One thing that immediately caught my eye was the changing weapons animation. I really liked how one turret pops out then another pops up in a very cartoon-y way. The movement and aiming is smooth, and the explosions are done just right with the added *oomph* of the screen shaking slightly. I can’t say I saw any major visual bugs while playing.
Overall – 9.5/10
Credits go to:
Programmer – Alexander Gette (also programmer of Awesome Planes)
Artist – Jurij Krivonos
Music – Christian M. Krogsvold
