Abrams Battle Tank
| Abrams Battle Tank | |
|---|---|
 Box Art | |
| Developer(s) | Dynamix |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts, Sega |
| Designer(s) | Damon Slye |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS, Mega Drive |
| Release date(s) | 1988 |
| Genre(s) | Vehicle simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Abrams Battle Tank, aka M-1 Abrams Battle Tank for the Sega version, is a computer game developed by Dynamix and published by Electronic Arts in 1988 for DOS. It was later ported to Mega Drive in 1991 by Realtime Games Software. Designed by Damon Slye, the game is a 3D vehicle simulation of the M1 Abrams tank, one of the first on the market.
The port from DOS to Sega Genesis was performed by Realtime Games Software Ltd in the UK using their own 3D games engine that was earlier used in Carrier Command with some tweaks to adapt it to the Genesis and the needs of the tank scenario.
Although the simulation depicts the four crew positions, and is advertised as a simulation, gameplay is not actually very realistic; the missions are arcade game-like with a fixed sequence of actions to perform.[1] The graphics were very good for their time, but reviews are mixed, with many players enjoying the "fun factor" introduced by the lack of realism, and others decrying it for the same reason.
Reception
In 1989, Dragon gave the MS-DOS version of the game 3 out of 5 stars.[2] Computer Gaming World gave the game two and a half stars out of five, stating that Abrams Battle Tank was a good game but a poor simulation. The magazine cited the commanding officer's briefings, at one point threatening failure with execution, as unprofessional and offensive to military personnel.[1][3] Compute! agreed that the game was not very realistic, but advised players to "accept the game as a graphically excellent, tactically complex simulation".[4]
References
- 1 2 Brooks, M. Evans (June 1989), "High Powered Pillbox", Computer Gaming World, pp. 10–11
- ↑ Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (July 1989). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (147): 76–83.
- ↑ Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). "The Modern Games: 1950–2000". Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ↑ Scisco, Peter (June 1989). "Abrams Battle Tank". Compute!. p. 68. Retrieved 11 November 2013.