BattleTanx

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Battletanx
Developer(s)	3DO
Publisher(s)	3DO
Release date(s)	December 31, 1998
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64
Media	Cartridge

BattleTanx is an action game for the Nintendo 64, produced by 3DO. It also has a 1999 sequel entitled BattleTanx: Global Assault.

1 Plot
2 Gameplay
- 2.1 Items and Weaponry
- 2.2 Gangs

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

In the year 2001, a virus has killed most of the females on Earth. Various countries fight over each other's quarantine zones, and end up engaging in nuclear war, destroying much of civilization. The few remaining females are held by gangs who have taken over small pieces of the world. The main character, Griffin Spade, had his fiancee, Madison, taken away from Queens, New York (and him) by the U.S. Government and placed in a safe zone in California before New York City was destroyed. He claims a tank for his own and sets out to cross America and find her, battling gangs as he reaches his goal.

[edit] Gameplay

There are three tanks in the game that are at the player's disposal. The player can choose between a Moto Tank, M1A1 Abrams, or the Goliath, which packs a lot of firepower. There are 17 levels to complete in order to finish the single player game, all of which are filled with enemy tanks. Each level is located in a specific place in the United States, such as New York City, Chicago, Las Vegas, and San Francisco. Most buildings and tanks can be destroyed.

In the game's multiplayer mode, players can battle with up to 4 players simultaneously. There are four different multiplayer configurations; battlelord mode (equivalent to capture the flag), deathmatch, family, and annihilation mode.

Battlelord pits the players (and perhaps computer opponents, per settings) in a match to capture each other's queenlords and bring them back to their bases. When one player or team holds all the queenlords at their base(s), they win. Players can die infinitely in this mode, though if they die too often they will respawn slower. This is the only mode to feature true bases for the players, and they are set up with awesome firepower. However, with the use of items this power can be mitigated or ignored and with enough offense the bases can be decimated to the point of being largely ineffective at protecting queenlords.
Deathmatch is a fight between players to accumulate seven kills. The first to seven kills win. Again, players respawn infinitely (getting seven kills otherwise would be nigh impossible), but will start respawning slower if they die too often.
Family mode is a perfect replica of Deathmatch, with but one stipulation: all items are used before regular ammo can be accessed, and items cannot be switched. This can make otherwise useful items, like the cloaking device, annoying to pick up in large numbers. In addition, the player may pick up useful weapons but not be able to use them until they fire dozens of rounds of weaker weaponry.
Annihilation provides each competitor with five tanks. The tanks that the players get are identical to the tanks their particular gang is shown with in the gang selection screen. The player controls one of the tanks and the computer controls the others. The armies then proceed to blow each other into piles of rubble. When a human player dies, they will automatically switch to another tank in their army and resume control of it (assuming there are tanks left). The smaller tanks, while being able to implement useful strategies in other modes, are particularly vulnerable in this mode where they could potentially get matched up against dozens of Goliaths. Players do not respawn in this mode; whoever is still alive at the end of the massacre is declared the winner. This match can play fast on small maps such as the Arena.

[edit] Items and Weaponry

Multiple items, most revolving around weaponry, were included. These items do not respawn in Campaign Mode but can respawn in Multiplayer, per player preference.

Radar: In Campaign Mode, the radar activates the player's radar and shows where enemies are, even from a great distance, by placing arrows over them. In Multiplayer, the radar is always activated, but picking up a radar item is still needed to see the arrows on the main screen. This item lasts until death.
Points: Gives the player 1000 points. Appears only in Campaign.
1-up: Gives the player a life. Appears only in Campaign.
Ammo: Restores a set amount of ammunition to the tank's main weapon.
Health: Adds several units of health to the tank's life bar. If life is full, this item is stored in the inventory for later use.
Star: An item which only appears when another tank is destroyed. It adds ammo and life to the tank, though the ammo and life are less than their aforementioned individual powerups. While helpful in multiplayer, this item shines in Campaign where tanks are numerous (often respawing infinitely) and other powerups are limited.
Cloaking Device: Makes the player temporarily invisible. In multiplayer, the player will even disappear from the radar. Firing or being hit will temporarily reveal the player's location however, and cloaks do not work while carrying queens.
Swarmers: Three missiles are fired off. One goes straight and the other two initially curve slightly away, but given space will go across to each other's side. At close range, all three missiles can be used on one tank and cause heavy damage. A special attack (which uses all of the chosen weapon and is activated by pressing the weapon fire and weapon switch button simultaneously) can be initiated if one has fifteen or more swarmers. The special fires all of the swarmers rapidly in a more spread out fashion, practically guaranteeing decimation of any foes in the line of fire (or anywhere near it, for that matter). Swarmers are picked up 5 at a time.
Laser: Fires a high-powered, super-fast laser. This weapon does heavy damage and if the aim is right it is very hard to miss. The special attack, once again requiring fifteen lasers (and once again using them all at once) will fire a special laser that, upon hitting an object, fires off lasers in other directions, which then fire more lasers. Eventually, the lasers stop firing more lasers. This process happens very fast and is useful for attacking bases. Lasers come in groups of five.
Guided Missiles: Fires a missile that is, true to its name, guided by the player. While controlling a guided missile, it is impossible to move the tank, so getting in a secure area before firing is recommended. The missile moves fast, so knowing the level's layout is important. The special attack requires fifteen missiles and fires a larger and slower (though not necessarily more powerful) missile. While it can be guided easier this way, the main use of the special is that this missile can fire a number of lasers equal to the number of missiles the player had. This item comes in fives.
Mines: Drops a dangerous mine on the player's location. Mines don't differentiate between players; anyone who hits it, even the planter themself, are targets. Therefore, one must move quickly when using a mine. The special requires fifteen mines and places a large group in a square area. The actual number of mines carried does not seem to affect how many mines are lain by the special. Once again, this item comes in groups of five. It is highly useful in defending one's base and can even be placed on the spot the queen is on, in order to prevent players from safely capturing the queen. Detonated mines can detonate other nearby mines, causing a deadly chain reaction.
Grenades: Fires a grenade which bounces a few times, waits, and then blows up. Damage is not too great and there is no special, however grenades have the advantage of not undoing cloaking devices. Furthermore, grenades can be used to detonate mines, which can help attackers get to the queen and can be used by defenders to detonate a mine field invaders are trying to slowly pick their way through. Comes in fives.
Gun Buddies: Places a gun emplacement. There are different types of Gun buddies. There are small machine type Gun buddies that shoot small fast bullets that are very similar to a moto tank's shells. There is the middle to large sized (the size varies from map to map in the campaign) rocket type of Gun buddy that is usually seen placed for base defense, these shoot small rockets that are typically slow moving that do moderate damage. Lastly there is the large sized laser-class Gun buddy, they are only seen in campaign. They fire lasers at quick intervals at a high accuracy and deal heavy damage. The bigger a Gun buddy appears the more damage it can take. When using a Gun buddy, you drop one small type Gun buddy behind your tank. The special requires at least six Gun buddies and places a group of mid-sized class rocket Gun buddies that do not respawn when killed by weapons from anybody, however for issues regarding AI path they are immediately killed when a computer controlled tank runs through it. It then respawns after a set amount of time. Gun buddies, used as a special or simply one at a time, are useful as base defense and in defending certain locations on the map. Gun buddies come in twos when the power-up is obtained. Gun buddies are useful in several ways. First and the most obvious use is defense, placing gun buddies in key locations where your enemy is likely to cross is good for softening your target up before it reaches your base or for a distraction to catch your opponent off guard and go in for the kill. Second is to place them in between buildings in the middle of the map where your opponent can get confused when they take small damage when going by a certain area if they go by fast enough. This will divert part of their attention towards finding and removing the gun buddy(ies). Lastly for an offensive approach, placing gun buddies just outside of your opponents base or inside it although looks pointless when they have a goliath on the rail can actually be effective. Gun buddies can provide an excellent diversion and also as excellent supporting fire. It may seem like there are not enough of these around when playing with human opponents because Gun buddies can be invaluable when your goliath bites the dust in battlelord.
Nuke: The most powerful, and scarce weapon in the game. (It appears in all multiplayer missions, and some Campaign). The nuke will demolish every single damageable building on the map and causes damage to all players within a very large radius. The nuke is used in the same manner as a grenade. These can be a very easy way to decimate an enemy fortress. While only one nuke appears on the map per match (at most), it is possible to see more than one used. Players who start with a nuke in their inventory are still able to find and use the nuke on the map.

[edit] Gangs

Throughout the entire campaign mode, you will battle against a number of different tribes, all with their own backgrounds. While playing Annihilation, Family Mode, or any of the selectable small games featured in BattleTanx, you well have the choice of playing any of the gangs that you battle against in campaign.