Tank-O-Box Review

Written by: Keith Durocher Published: October 23, 2006 Despite the nonsensical nature of its setting, Tank-O-Box from Alawar Entertainment is one of the most entertaining descendants of Tron Tanks I've seen. The basic breakdown is simple: you're controlling a tank, thundering around various landscapes and blasting away at wave after wave of other armored vehicles, occasionally going on the defensive and defending your headquarters. The point of view is top-down, and each level is in beautifully rendered 3D. The reason I say the setting is nonsensical is because all of the maps are sitting on a children's desktop. Like table-top miniature dioramas come to life, Tank-O-Box is a microcosm of warfare -- at 1/100th scale. The play mechanics are fabulously simple. The arrow keys move your tank and the [Ctrl] key fires your weapon. Shoot at enemies and collect powerups to make your tank bigger, better and badder. The game is elegant in its simplicity. Truth be told, there are only two drawbacks: the save system is password-based (meaning you can't save when and where you want) and the keys can't be reconfigured (you can only swap between two configurations). Nevertheless, Tank-O-Box offers highly addictive fun. It even comes with cooperative multiplayer! I highly recommend it. Scoring (out of five dragon heads): Graphics: Ease of use: Gameplay: Difficulty: Sound effects: Music: Final analysis: Click here to download the free trial version of Tank-O-Box.