Robot Tank

How to play Robot Tank online

• Turn left and right: left and right arrow keys
• Drive forward / reverse: up and down arrow keys
• Fire the cannon: Space bar (hold it down for continuous fire)
• Start a new game: F12 (the console’s Reset switch)
• Save and load your progress: Ctrl + 0–9 saves to a slot, Alt + 0–9 loads it

There is only one game, so the Select and difficulty switches are not used.

Gameplay

The year is 2019, and enemy robot tanks are advancing on downtown Santa Clara, California. You fight them one at a time. The round radar scope at the bottom of the screen shows your tank in the centre and the enemy as a moving dot, so you can see how far away it is and which way it is heading. Enemy tanks can only fire at you when they are in front of you; while the dot is below the centre of the radar, the enemy is behind you and you are safe.

A direct hit destroys your tank, but a glancing hit damages one of four systems, shown by a letter on the screen:

• V – Video: your view keeps blacking out
• C – Cannon: your gun fires unreliably
• R – Radar: the radar stops working
• T – Treads: your tank moves very slowly

Damage is permanent, so a battered tank stays battered until it is destroyed. A clock tracks a 24-hour day, and the battle moves from sunrise through the afternoon and dusk into night, when you can barely see the enemy. The weather changes too, and is announced at the start of each round: fog cuts your view to short range, rain slows you down and snow makes the tank skid.

Enemies come in squadrons of 12. A small tank icon appears at the top of the screen for every kill, and each squadron you wipe out earns you a reserve tank. You start with three reserves and can hold up to 12. The game ends when all your tanks are lost, or when you have destroyed all 12 enemy squadrons.

Tips

• Learn to aim by radar. At night and in fog you often cannot see the enemy, but you can line it up with the dot on the scope.
• Keep the enemy behind you when you are weak. In bad weather or with a damaged tank, turn away and keep your distance until you are ready to attack.
• Shoot the incoming shell. You can cancel an enemy shot by firing into it, but it is a gamble if you miss.
• Watch the clock with a damaged tank. If your video or radar is out, knowing when daylight returns helps you decide when to fight.

The story behind Robot Tank

Robot Tank came out in 1983 and is widely seen as Activision’s take on Atari’s arcade hit Battlezone. Like Activision’s Enduro, it uses changing weather and time of day to keep the action fresh. Players who destroyed at least 48, 60 or 72 enemy tanks could photograph the screen and send it to Activision for one of three “Tank Corps” patches.

Critics were impressed. Reviewers praised the graphics and the first-person view, and Bill Kunkel rated it as unmatched among 2600 games. Some pointed out how much it owed to Battlezone, but felt it was made with real care and style. The game was later included in the Activision Anthology (2002) and Activision Hits Remixed (2006) compilations.