C&VG


3D Tank Battle
By Dynabyte
BBC Model B

 
Published in Computer & Video Games #32

3D Tank Battle

3D Tank Battle, as most of you can guess, is very similar to Battle Zone, an arcade game that had a limited success in the arcades, but which never became widely successful.

Tank Battle's screen layout resembles the original by using white, three-dimensional vector graphics line drawings on the familiar green background of Battle Zone. The landscape is filled with huge pyramids and strange alien buildings.

The major difference between the two versions is that, instead of moving forwards, you can only spin round to face the opposing tanks and planes, so there's no running away in this game!

3D Tank Zone

The program also offers the options of having only tanks or only planes attacking your gun turret. The gun's sign is positioned using two moveable markers which give you some idea of how far and in what direction the bombs are being fired.

The movement of the enemy tanks and planes is very smooth, but when you swivel your gun around, instead of the scrolling action you would expect, the screen goes blank for some time and the new picture eventually flashes on the screen.

The program is a fairly competent attempt at reproducing Battle Zone on the BBC computer. If you liked Battle Zone, then you could try your luck with this game. If not, then you can leave 3D Tank Battle firmly on the shelf.