Robot Tank

Robot Tank is a 1983 video game for the Atari 2600 similar in design to Atari's Battlezone arcade game. There's even more similarity between Robot Tank and the 2600 port of Battlezone. It is written by Alan Miller and published by Activision.

Description

The game has the player remotely control a futuristic robot tank, whose mission is to stop enemy rebel tanks rampaging across the countryside from reaching downtown Santa Clara, California, United States.^[1] The game takes place in the year 2019.^[2] The tank is equipped with radar to locate enemy squadrons.

Instead of the player's tank being destroyed with a hit from an enemy, it is merely damaged, losing or having decreased efficiency of some capabilities such as radar, speed, firepower and visual display.^[3] Enough damage will eventually destroy the tank. Combat can take place at any time of day or night, possibly with rain, snow, or fog, which adds additional challenge in tracking enemy combatants.

The enemy is organized into squadrons of 12 tanks each.^[4] By defeating an enemy squadron, the player earns an additional reserve tank. The maximum number of tanks a player can have is 12.^[5] The game ends when all of a player's tanks are destroyed.

Reviews

In a 2008 review, Lee's "Peek n Poke" said of Robot Tank "In a toss between the official Atari Battlezone and this — each one is just as good and its hard to choose — maybe the Atari effort wins? But it is nice to have two versions I can play and enjoy — a near perfect slant on Battle Zone".^[6]

References