Tank Force | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Namco |
Publisher(s) | Namco |
Designer(s) | Mr. Demo Y. Kounoe |
Platform(s) | Arcade, Wii (Virtual Console) |
Release date(s) |
Arcade
|
Genre(s) | Multi-directional shooter |
Mode(s) | Up to 4 players simultaneously |
Cabinet | Upright, cabaret, and cocktail |
Arcade system | Namco System 1 |
CPU | 2x Motorola M6809 @ 2.048 MHz, 1x Motorola M6809 @ 1.536 MHz, 1x Hitachi HD63701 @ 1.536 MHz |
Sound | 1x Yamaha YM2151 @ 3.57958 MHz, 1x Namco CUS30 @ 96 kHz, 1x DAC |
Display | Horizontal orientation, Raster, 288 x 224 resolution |
Tank Force (タンクフォース Tanku Fōsu?) is a multi-directional shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1991; it was the last game to run on their System 1 hardware (which had been in use for four years), is the sequel to Battle City, which was released six years earlier and is a sequel to Tank Battalion, which had been released five years before it (and eleven years before this title). The US version of the game was also the first of seven games from the company to display the Federal Bureau of Investigation's "Winners Don't Use Drugs" screen during its attract mode - the others are Steel Gunner 2, F/A, Cosmo Gang the Puzzle, Knuckle Heads, Lucky & Wild, and Numan Athletics. Exvania and Super World Court, which were Japan-exclusive, may also feature the screen in their attract mode if the "Display FBI Screen" setting in the games' options menus has been set to "Yes".
The gameplay is very much like that of Tank Battalion, except that this time up to two (on an upright model) or four (on a cocktail) players can play simultaneously, there are seven new ("regular") types of enemy tanks (Normal Tanks, Speed Tanks, Hard Tanks, Big Tanks, Rapid Tanks, Tomahawk Tanks and Jeeps) and there is fifteen types of powerups (Bonus 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000, Shot Powerup, 4-Way Shot, Hyper Shot, Ripple Laser, Twin Shot, Small, Shield, Bomb Attack, Timer Stop, Force Field and Extend) which appear for players to collect in order to increase their tanks' firepower and boost their score (the one with the highest at the end of any round conquers its hexagon on the overworld map); each round is also the size of 17x13 blocks instead of just 13x13 off Tank Battalion and Battle City, the enemies also roll into view from the top of the screen instead of just appearing and can also enter from the left and right sides, every fourth round is a "boss" round where the players must fight Train Cannons, AK Tanks and Boss Cannons at the top of the screen as well as the round's regular enemies, the players cannot destroy their own headquarters walls, when one player shoots another they will be pushed back (instead of getting stunned for a few seconds), and the game has an ending which will be seen after clearing all thirty-six rounds. The game's seventeenth round is also made to look like Pac-Man - even though Tōru Iwatani had no involvement with the title.