BattleTanx: Global Assault
Reviewed by Scott Frisby
Have you ever wanted to torch a city or instead, nuke it. With
BattleTanx: Global Assault, you can do all the things in the first
BattleTanx plus some. BattleTanx: Global Assault now brings the
rest of the world into the war for survival. It also brings in some
extra factors, like new tanks, new terrain which now has elevation,
and best of all new weapons and armaments. It even has a cool logo
in which a teddy bear has met the wrong end of an Inferno Tank. The
new cities have lots of power ups and there are even narrow tunnels
and, just to spoil it, there's even a secret level where you get to
commandeer a warship. The story picks up shortly after the end of
the first game. In the first game, there is a deadly virus which only
affects women. When most of them are taken out, the remaining become
leaders, like queens (QueenLords to be specific). They lead most of the
gangs of men who are trying to survive. Which is where the other game
goes through the war among the men. In this game, as the USA lies pretty
much in ruins, there is one evil QueenLord who has discovered a secret
power known as "The Edge" which can paralyze anything, and in large
enough quantities, can possess minds. She sets out to find this child
who is said to possess these powers. He just happens to be the son of
the main character, Griffin. The boy is then kidnapped, and you must go
on a quest which will take you to many places like Alcatraz or Paris.
Use of deadly force is authorized.
Graphics: 8 out of 10
As opposed to many games, this one has pretty good graphics which help
to imply the different landscapes in the world. Most of them show signs
of decay or destruction, and the foggy air give the game a somewhat
ominous touch, which is very much felt. You can, however see that the
buildings are hollow, but in most cases, you're to busy destroying them
to actually notice. Some of the objects do look kind of polygonal. The
effects of the fires and the water are done quite well, and the weapons'
graphics are reason enough to get this game. The nuke causes a large
explosion with a shockwave in the sky and on the land, and you can
almost feel it. The sky changes yellow for a short time thereafter.
The graphics sometimes do cause trouble among themselves.
Music and Sound: 8 out of 10
The music takes on a kind of rock or heavy metal style, which usually
fits the situation. The music never really gets annoying, because there
are so many other distractions that it seems to sound different every
time. The sound effects are awesome. The gushing sounds of the swarmer
missiles or the sound of a tank firing from off in the distance, or even
the sound of a Goliath Tank crushing a MotoTank, whatever the sound
might be, it will always put you right in the center of the action. The
strong explosions and frightening booms off in the distance will keep
anyone on the edge of his/her seat.
Game Challenge: 10 out of 10
You had best watch your back, and your front and your sides as well.
If you don't, you will fast become a statistic. Because of the different
ranges and effects of weapons, anything could happen. You never know
what to expect. You could be across the map from your opponent and get
hit suddenly by one of his guided missiles, or you could be just on the
other side of a building and get hit by The Edge and be paralyzed. You
could be near the shore or on a bridge over a river. If you think you're
safe, then tell me what you would like done with your charred remains,
if there are any left. From the warships in the water, to the trains and
automatic gun turrets on land. The world is no longer safe.
Game Play-Fun: 10 out of 10
This is every man's dream to be able to destroy the world with his
own large gang of tanks. If you don't desire to blow up the world, the
batten down the hatches and go for multi player, where you and up to
three friends can duke it out on most all of the one player landscapes.
You could team up on your friend and get that revenge you need on him
for stealing the girl you most rightfully deserve, or you can just kill
him for the hell of it! There are many modes of multi player. You can go
all out with TankWars, where you and your group of tanks (which
regenerate after they're killed) go out to kill as many of the enemy
tanks as possible in 3 minutes. There's Convoy, where players can
either escort the convoy, or try to destroy it. Using he Edge in single
player to possess the computer players' tanks is the best, though.
Rumble Pak: 10 out of 10
Well, no matter how badly you want me to write a long paragraph,
there's not much to say about using the N64 Rumble Pak, except that
it kicks butt. You can feel every little hit, with just the right power.
You can feel the tremendous power as the nuke explodes, or maybe
even if your tank exploded.
Frustration
I found that the game would be really easy in some parts, but then
it would be really difficult--almost impossible--in others. It got
really frustrating where I would get to a point where I couldn't find
the right weapons for the job. It got frustrating to a daunting extreme
when it got to a stalmate-type of situation when the enemy was just
around the corner, and the first to try to make a move would get
murdered. There really isn't much more I have to say about frustration.
Replayability: 9 out of 10
I still play it, even though I've been through the entire game about
fifteen times. The best thing that keeps me coming back for more,
are all the multi player options, like TankWars and Convoy, and
BattleLord (capture the flag BattleTanx-style). The computer players
can provide enough of a challenge. I'm getting tired now, and I can't
think of any more to say about replayability, except it is a good party game.
Game Value: 7 out of 10
I don't think that it was one of those "Million Sellers" really quickly,
and actually, I'm not sure if it ever made it to that mark. The price we
paid, $59.99 was a little more than it was worth. I would say that a
fair price would be somewhere about $39.99. I would, however,
recommend it if you could get it for no more than about $50. Don't let
the fact that it was the worst rating I gave to any category in this game
get you, because it is an awesome game.
Customizable: 9 out of 10
The Controller button settings are customizable which allows you to
have it your way, and there is a list of options which will affect gameplay
quite a bit. Like power up regeneration, infinite ammo, and so on...
Overall: 9.7 out of 10
Overall, I have to say that the graphics, control, gameplay, options,
and sound all come together to make for quite an interesting game.
Everything about it has something special than can be done from weapons
bursts to passwords to the BattleTanx: Global Assault logo (The teddy bear,
remember?). Buy this before you buy those 1st person shooters or
Mario Party (or MP2 or MP3). The world will never be the same.