BattleTanx: Global Assault

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BattleTanx: Global Assault

Developer(s)	The 3DO Company
Publisher(s)	The 3DO Company
Platform(s)	Nintendo 64, PlayStation
Release date	1999
Genre(s)	Action
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Media	CD (1), Cartridge
Input methods	DualShock

BattleTanx: Global Assault is a multi-player video game for the Nintendo 64 (N64)and PlayStation in which players control futuristic tanks. It is a sequel to the popular N64 game BattleTanx, which utilized the same method of game play. New features were added, such as the ability to utilize special moves with the left and right C-buttons depending on the current tank.

1 Synopsis
2 Gameplay
3 Gangs
4 Items & Weaponry

[edit] Synopsis

A Queenlord, Cassandra, is spying on Griffin Spade's family, telling her troops to kidnap Griffin's son Brandon and kill everyone else. Griffin and his army manage to push back the invaders, but Cassandra soon turns the tables by mind-controlling Griffin's own army. Griffin and Madison manage to escape San Francisco and begin chasing Cassandra across the United States, eventually cornering her in Washington, D.C.. Cassandra, however, escapes with Brandon to Great Britain; Griffin and Madison follow. They build a new army in Europe, and chase Cassandra through Britain, France and Germany. While in Paris, they discover Cassandra released the virus in 2001 to kill every female on Earth who didn't have the power of the Edge. It is in Berlin where Griffin finally rescues Brandon. They make it back to San Francisco and push back another invasion by the Storm Ravens, and finally corner and defeat Cassandra on Alcatraz Island. The story ends with a cliffhanger; an unidentified magician finds Cassandra's body and speaks of a "chosen one" as he resurrects her. 3DO went bankrupt before a sequel could be released.

[edit] Gameplay

Players take control of different gangs, each using up to 5 different types of tanks. Most of the tanks can activate special abilities with the left and right C-buttons.

Hovertank: Fast, can hover over land mines and move sideways, but has a poor gun and armor. Hard to control when at high speeds, and requires a stopping distance. Can juke left and right at faster speeds.
Mototank: A small, fast tank with twin machine guns and weak armor. Generally used as a raiding tank. It is easily squished by almost every other tank. It is capable of very sharp turns.
Rattler: Small turretless tank with a GAU-8 Gatling gun. Can also perform sharp turns.
Goliath: Extremely large, slow tank with excellent firepower with its 280 mm gun. It can be seen mounted on rails in front of bases. It can also squash Mototanks.
- Annihilator-class Goliath: Same as the regular Goliath, only it has two gatling guns on each side. It also has better armor and lower ammo capacity than a normal Goliath. This tank is only seen 4 times in the Campaign mode, as a boss tank. The only way to use this tank is to pick Cassandra's Gang in multiplayer, which can be unlocked with the code "DRMWVR" ("NSTYGRL" in the PSX version). In the player's hands, the gatling guns are automatically controlled. At the tank selection screen, the tank is designated "TANKBOSSA" (Tank Boss - Annihilator).
M1A1 Abrams: Medium size, speed, and gun power.
M2 Hydra: A French tank that has two relatively small guns on each side of the turret, but is capable of rapid fire. It is unavailable to the Player in Campaign mode without the use of a cheat device.
FLP-E: Pronounced "Flippy", FLP-E stands for "Full Lateral Propulsion, Experimental". This assault gun can flip over and upside down to strafe sideways.
Hornet: Has a standard tank hull, but its tower houses no main gun. Instead, it has two missile launchers. The left and right C-buttons cause the missiles launched to curve to the left or right. Normal fire causes the left missile to veer left and the right missile to veer right after a set distance.
Inferno: A flamethrower tank that can also set fire to its flanks. Has weak armor. The flamethrower can easily pierce the Rhino's thick armor.
Marksman: They house a single large laser cannon, but rather weak armor. These tanks are unavailable to the player in Campaign mode without the use of a cheat device.
Rhino: Rhinos are tank destroyers with an exceptionally strong front, but weak flanks. The gun's automatic feeding system is outside the vehicle. It is very slow. Weak against fire, most notably Inferno Tank.
Gun Boat: Boats are usually only computer-controlled enemies, but by entering the code "WRDRB", a secret level is unlocked which allows the player to control a gun boat.

Playstation only-

B-6 Bulldog: The Bulldog is a medium armored tank with a unique weapon, a fixed mortar as its primary weapon.
Shredder: It is quite fast, decently armored, and mounts a turreted 35mm armor piercing gattling gun capable of great damage.
M-80 Demolition Vehicle: Also known as the "Suicide Tank," the M-80 is a demo vehicle. It is cheap, small and lightly armored, and has no normal main weapon.

Multiplayer in Global Assault allows players to play in almost all of the maps from campaign mode, as well as some which are exclusive to multiplayer. The maps usually are based on known landmarks and locations in the United States or Europe, such as Route 66, the White House, the British Houses of Parliament, and the Eiffel Tower.

[edit] Gangs

Global Assault features many gangs returning from the first game, as well as some new ones.

Griffin's Army: The main gang in the game. The player controls this gang in campaign mode.

Madison's Militia: A separate gang run by Madison, they do not appear in campaign.

Brandon's Gang: A secret gang, apparently run by Brandon. The campaign must be completed with the secret level unlocked to gain access to this gang.

Skull Riders: A small gang consisting mostly of Moto Tanks and Rattlers, recruited by Cassandra in Texas. They were in the first Battletanx game.

Storm Ravens: The secret female-only gang from the last game is now playable from the beginning. They have also been recruited by Cassandra.

Shadow Ops: A gang controlled by Cassandra in Washington, D.C.

Iron Maidens: A British female-only gang rescued by Griffin when he first lands in Europe.

Crimson Guard: Another British gang, enemies of the Iron Maidens and controlled by Cassandra.

Les Miserables: Cassandra's French recruits.

Dark Angels: A cult society. Despite their importance in the first game's plot, they play no role in Global Assault.

Cold Warriors: A unique gang, whose only single-player appearance is in the Germany levels. In multiplayer mode, one player in the gang will on occasion spawn with the Nuke. A Cold Warriors' Goliath can be found in Berlin War Zone, in a tunnel in an alleyway, to the left after you cross the minefield.

Custom Gang: A special gang that can only be unlocked using a special cheat code. By entering the cheat code "TRDDYBRRKS" and then entering any combination of letters/numbers/symbols, a custom gang can be created with a random selection of tanks & starting weapons. For example, entering "VCTRY" results in a gang with 2 M1 Abrams tanks, 3 Goliath tanks, & Swarmers for a starting weapon. Up to 4 custom gangs can be made at a time. Attempting to create a 5th gang will result in Custom Gang 1 being overwritten. Also, the Custom Gangs are not saved to the memory card, so the code must be re-entered if one wishes to have the Custom Gangs again.

[edit] Items & Weaponry

In addition to some new items, most of the items have returned from the original Battletanx.

Radar: Indicates location of enemies.
Tank Bucks: 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.
Cloaking Device: Makes the player temporarily invisible. A+B (special attack) creates tank-clone.
Swarmers: Three missiles are fired off. Outside ones curve; A+B fires fifteen set sat once.
Flamethrower: Short range stream; special attack fires in three directions.
Laser: Fires a high-powered, super-fast laser. Special attack fires fifteen lasers that bounce.
Guided Missiles: Fired missile controlled by player. Special attack, requiring fifteen, fires a larger missile which is easier to control and is able to fire lasers.
Mines: Drops a dangerous mine on the player's location. Can harm self and allies; special attack lays multiple mines at once.
Plasma Bolts: Shoots a fast bolt, bounces of buildings and walls so it can backfire. Special fires stream of fifteen bolts.
Bouncing Betties: Bouncing mines that fire lasers.
Grenades: Grenade flies far, detonates after seconds.
Gun Buddies: Places a gun emplacement. Special , also reguiring fifteen, places multiple Gun Buddies of different sizes.
Nuke: Damages buildings and all players in wide range. Rare.
The Edge: A special power-up that only appears in Campaign mode, starting with Level 7. The player only gets one per level and cannot get any more. It fires a shockwave from the player's tank that has different effects depending on the level. At first, The Edge confuses any enemy tanks caught within the shockwave's radius, but starting with Level 9, The Edge can turn enemy tanks over to the player's side. However, Annihilator-class Goliaths are unaffected by The Edge.