Battle Tank

Battle Tank, released for the NES in 1990, is one of those games that tries to make the console feel like something much more powerful than it actually was. Developed by Imagineering and published by Absolute Entertainment, it puts you directly behind the controls of a tank and presents the battlefield from a first-person viewpoint.

The goal sounds simple enough: complete your mission and destroy the enemy forces standing in your way. In practice, there is more to think about than simply pointing the cannon and firing. Enemy tanks, helicopters, machine-gun positions, and minefields can all turn a seemingly safe route into a dangerous situation. Missions take place across different environments, including deserts, mountains, grasslands, and snowy areas.

Your tank has several weapons at its disposal, including a 150mm cannon, .50 caliber machine gun, wire-guided missiles, and smoke screens. Each weapon has a different purpose, and ammunition and fuel need to be managed carefully. Firing continuously can also cause the weapons to overheat, forcing you to wait before attacking again.

The satellite radar map is an important part of the experience. Because your first-person view gives you only a limited picture of the surrounding battlefield, checking the map can help locate enemies and plan where to go next. Some missions involve more than simply destroying tanks, with objectives such as attacking enemy bases, refineries, or other heavily defended locations.

Battle Tank is certainly an unusual NES game. Its slow, deliberate movement and military-focused gameplay make it very different from the faster arcade-style action games that were common on the system. For players interested in early console simulations, it remains a fascinating example of how the NES handled first-person armored combat.