Pocket Tanks
| Pocket Tanks | |
|---|---|
|
The "Roman Candle", one of the 15 weapons in the Meteor expansion pack. | |
| Developer(s) | Blitwise Productions |
| Publisher(s) | Blitwise Productions |
| Producer(s) | Michael P. Welch |
| Designer(s) | Michael P. Welch |
| Composer(s) | DNA-groove (Eliran Ben Ishai) |
| Platform(s) |
Windows Mac OS X iOS Android Windows Phone |
| Release date(s) | 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Artillery |
| Mode(s) |
Competitive Players: 1-2 |
Pocket Tanks is a 1-2 player computer game by Michael P. Welch from Blitwise Productions. Adapted from Michael Welch's earlier Amiga game Scorched Tanks, Pocket Tanks features modified physics, dozens of weapons ranging from simple explosive shells to homing missiles, and the ability to move the tank. Originally released for Windows and Mac OS X, it was later released also for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.
Gameplay
The point of Pocket Tanks, often abbreviated as PTanks or simply as PT, is to use various weapons to attack the other player's tank. Each hit scores a certain amount of points, which varies based on the weapon and proximity. At the end of 10 volleys, the player with the highest points wins.
The game features a fully destructible environment, which allows player to put themselves on pedestals, in tunnels, or bunkers, allowing for the probability of strategic play. Pocket Tanks supports weapon expansion packs, players can have up to 320 different weapons total. Network play was made available in the v1.3 release.
Expansion Packs
There are "weapon packs" available which give the player more weapon choices during gameplay. However, these expansion packs are only available to those who own Pocket Tanks Deluxe. For the PC version, there are 25 Expansion Packs available to download on the web page. All packs that include 5 weapons are free, while those with 15 have to be purchased. There are 320 weapons total, of which 295 are available for the PC, with a further 25 only available on the iPad version from the App Store. These 320 weapons include 30 from the original game and 28 from the Deluxe Version.
Development History
Michael P. Welch from Blitwise Productions created Amiga games before he started developing PC games like Super DX-Ball and Neon Wars. Welch developed Pocket Tanks as remake/sequel of the Amiga game Scorched Tanks and extended the game-play with modified physics, dozens of new weapons, and the ability to move the tank. The game's soundtrack was created by Eliran Ben Ishai as Impulse Tracker Module file.[1] The first version of Pocket Tanks Version 1.0 was released in 2001.
Version 1.3 was released November 2007. It contains bug fixes, LAN and IP support.
A Collector's Edition of Pocket Tanks was released on November 16, 2007. It contains the first 14 expansion packs and the Deluxe version of Pocket Tanks. The CD and case comes with special art, and it is cheaper to buy the expansion packs through the Collector's Edition, but other than that there are no differences between the Deluxe and Collector's Edition.
Version 1.6 is currently the most recent desktop release and it includes more expansion packs to obtain. This version is available for OSX and the Windows Desktop.
Version 2.2.1 is currently the latest release of the game and is available for Windows 8, Windows RT, iOS, and Android. Version 2.1 adds support for the latest weapon packs and fixes bugs that prevented from being playable on the Surface Pro.[2]
Two versions were recently released for the iPhone/iPod Touch, one for a payment (which provides benefits such as a wider supply of weapons), and one for free (a somewhat scaled-down version of the pay-access one).
As of December 7, 2012, Pocket Tanks is also available on the Android operating system.[3]
On January 9, 2013, Blitwise announced the availability of Pocket Tanks on the Windows Store. Users with desktops, laptops, and tablets running Windows 8 or Windows RT can now download the game from the Windows Store.[4]
References
- ↑ Pocket Tanks intro on SoundCloud
- ↑ "Building a Bigger Better Release - Blogs - BlitWise Bulletin Board". Blogs.blitwise.com. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
- ↑ "Pocket Tanks - Android Apps on Google Play". Play.google.com. Retrieved 2014-07-22.
- ↑ "Another Day another AppStore - Blogs - BlitWise Bulletin Board". Blogs.blitwise.com. Retrieved 2014-07-22.