Originally published January 25th 2015 on the Seafoam Gaming forums

Title: Toon Tanks

System: Wii U (eShop)

Price: $1.99

Release date: 12/25/2015

The main game/story

In this indie game from publisher Petite Games, you take control of a blue tank set out to destroy the enemy tanks. It’s extremely simple with levels made to be quite short, making this game great for pick up and play purposes!

Graphics

This game has a neat little hand-drawn art style that fits the game’s title quite well. It actually reminded me of Chalkzone in the fact that the tanks look nice, bright and colorful while also being simple at the same time.

Music and sound effects:

There isn’t really much music in this game, besides the standard “battle march” theme you’d expect from a game like this. Sound effects sound fine, and the gamepad even rumbles whenever you or an enemy take a hit, which makes it all the more satisfying or frustrating.

Gameplay

Essentially this game is a simplified version of Namco’s arcade game, Assault. All you need to do is move around, avoid the enemy’s fire and destroy the enemy tanks before they can destroy you! It even states how simple it is in the how to play section, where it says that all you need to do is accelerate with the ZR button, go backward with the ZL button, use the left analog stick to aim, fire with the A button and have fun!

With only 4 worlds consisting of 20 levels each (Making this 80 levels total), it’s a pretty short experience, but some of the later levels in each world have some cool level maps, with some that don’t even let you reach the other side of the map on your own, requiring you to carefully position your tank gun behind an opening to shoot the enemy precisely. It’s nice changes of pace like these that help keep the game from getting stale during the experience, though it’s a shame when it eventually ends. I feel like this game could have had extra replay value if there was a multiplayer battle mode, but unfortunately it’s single player only. It also can get rather tricky in some spots, as the enemies have a habit of getting better weapons than you do. (Such as bouncing missiles, spread shots, ETC). Regardless, it’s still a very fun game if you can look past those minor problems.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Toon Tanks is priced as a budget game and is therefore as long as a budget game. While it’s unfortunate that it doesn’t have any local multiplayer mode that could add replay value, what’s here is a really fun and simple experience that leads to a good way to spend the afternoon. If you were a fan of playing Namco’s Assault on the Namco Museum series for Playstation back in the day, you might want to check this hidden gem out! Just don’t expect it to last too long. I give Toon Tanks a 7 out of 10

Thanks to Petite games for the review code.