A New Take On An Old Classic..

Review by matthade2 on Thursday, May 29th 2014

Tank Protocol by memorycode is not only a great ppg game but it stands up with some of sploder's best. I know that sounds like a bold claim especially for a ppg of this nature but let me explain as I unravel this great work of design. It not only has some good gameplay but also hosts a heroic story that sounds rather grim in only a few sentences. If this excites you than hold on to your hats as we explore the workings of (in my opinion anyways) one of the greatest ppg's of all time.

Prethoughts

I've been lacking inspiration lately for game making and I was looking for something to spark my interests. I wanted to find a game that got me passionate about delivering experiences through the art of video games. What I ended up finding was ppg game about a tank. I thought "Ehh..why not" and decided to hop right in. Little did I know that this unlikely game would be one of the best sploder games I played in a while.

Review

A lot of times a game will have a theme to go with it to match certain mechanics within it. Like in a zelda game having a sword and shield makes sense because the theme is of a medieval fantasy. However the sword and shield don't really add anything to that theme. There just mechanics that work within a much bigger theme. Rarely does a mechanic add to a theme or improve it through gameplay and on that note rarely do you see a game to tell it's story strictly using it mechanics. Usually a game will tell you everything you need to know about the plot or cover it in a eighty page manual. Why is this important you may ask or what does any of this have to do with Tank Protocol? Well when we begin to talk about the actual game it surprisingly does this concept I just mentioned extremely well so let's take a look!

Now in order to explain all of what I just said above in more detail let's discuss Tank Protocol's plot. To quote directly from the description: "In a desperate battle to defend your home, you alone mount yourself in a tank to protect the place you call home. Outside forces will send waves of missile strikes as they progress forward. Be ready to fight, because the attacks will come nonstop." So the theme here is a war torn battlefield with you "the player" having to defend not only your home but possibly your family. Attacks will come in multiple directions and you "the player" are the only thing to protect the innocent town with no means of defense. Already we have a very solid theme with an underdog character in a almost hopeless situation. When we get to the gameplay we begin to see the actual mechanics drive this theme home and Tank Protocol in my eyes is a better game for it.

With just those few short sentences were thrust into battlefield and already we begin to see the effects of war. Cars are use as barriers and the colors are a dim gray. Missiles begin firing from three distinct points and you (the small yellow tank) have to stop the missiles from passing the wall and into your town. While you might be able to stop every missile odds are one of them makes it through and it's more likely multiple missiles pass you bye. You never stop to think that for every missile that pasts hundreds of people die. No instead the game forces you to keep fighting until the battle is won or lost in tragic defeat.

Remember the theme of being an underdog having to mount a tank alone. The gameplay reinforces that point with you fighting much bigger,deadlier,and better equipped tanks with even more missiles. Your goal isn't to kill a bunch of people or be some war hero. The reason for the violence is to stop further violence and death. Your the one ray of hope (indicated by the tank's color) far outmatched in a world of peril and gray. You start to realize what seemed like an addictive sploder game actually had a deeper and realistic theme of war. Even when you win you still killed a bunch of people to meet the goal of saving who you can. Nobody wins in war and even a sploder game intentional or not nailed that point and added more to the theme while also being a fun game.

I could mention the presentation and the difficulty throughout but there would be no need to. The game sold me with it's concept alone and made it even better. The gameplay was fun and addictive even adding some strategy in the mix. (which for a ppg game is great) Just the idea of a ppg game without puzzles,detailed graphics,detailed backgrounds, multiple characters,or even any talking to do what this game did in only it's gameplay and a few sentences is freaking incredible and for Memorycode to accomplish that in one game is extraordinary. This ppg pushed the limit in simple storytelling and I feel it should be recognized as one of the greats. Simply put this game was either an accidental gem or a planned out masterpiece.

Ratings

Gameplay: 10 out of 10

It maybe repetitive but it's a fun game with the right mix of shooting,fun,addictiveness,and good narrative found in the actual mechanics.

Presentation: 7 out of 10

While very basic and not very colorful it matches it's theme perfectly and gets the job done.

Concept/Story: 9 out of 10

I loved the story elements in here but it may have stolen it's idea from missile command and other war games/movies.

Placement: 8 out of 10

Other than a few spots where some cars are placed it feels well done. Especially in boss battles and their attack patterns.

Difficulty: 10 out of 10

The right amount of challenge is spread evenly throughout as levels get harder and harder but it never gets beyond cheap.

Final Score: 8.8 (or if you wanna round up) 9 out of 10

While not the most puzzle heavy or innovative games it does get multiple aspects right and if the review didn't convince you I strongly recommend you go play it for yourself.

Final Thoughts

I'm sorry if what I said there was a bit unorthodox or hard to understand but I thought it would be a good idea to look at a classic featured game in a new but fresh light. (Also I wanted to get a review out since I hadn't posted one in forever so yeah) This game believe it or not has gotten me back into game making and I plan on using some of these techniques implemented here in future games. Memorycode did a fantastic job on this and I am eager to check out other games by him. You may not agree with my outlook or my opinion on this game but if you know of more ppg's like this please let me know in the comments.

This is Matthade2 and I hope you enjoyed the review!