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Tank Universal

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.2 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 10 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 14 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Meridian4

Developer: Meridian4

Genre(s): First-Person Shooter

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: RP (Rating Pending)

Release Date: June 1, 2008

Summary

Our hero, George, after a trip to the doctor, has been given bad news. He's also been given a large quantity of different pills, presumably to treat some unknown yet terminal illness, and to cheer him up he's also been given a VR helmet. On donning the helmet, George (under your control) is able to explore a strange virtual world. All goes well until he is "recruited" by the mysterious figures in this virtual world and forced to take part in a ritual combat exercise. Tank Universal creates a huge virtual 'Tron-like' world where you take part in immense 3D tank battles involving scores of units both friendly and not so friendly in wide open levels. Players can bombard the enemy from a distance or close the gap and dodge shells point blank - all in an immersive first person perspective. [Meridian4]

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Game Chronicles

Tank Universal is a great throwback to VR, TRON, Battlezone, and just plain old-school gaming full of action and strategy.

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GameFocus

While not perfect, for its price, indie roots and throw back to the movie “Tron”, this is a must buy for action gamers.

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Boomtown

The game play is where it’s at with TU and while it can be slow paced when on foot, the battles are an absolute blast.

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IGN

In the end, the game forces you to ask one simple question: How could one person, working alone, create such coolness?

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Thunderbolt

It's plain as day that Tank Universal is not a professional game - the basic animation, the chunky graphics, the lack of any voice acting whatsoever - but it clearly has heart.

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GameZone

The gameplay is basic and while there is a bit of a learning curve, the game still has a few rough patches to work through.

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Gamers' Temple

Tank Universal's core tank battle gameplay can be both challenging and fun, but the time you are forced to spend away from your tank tends to drag. It won't appeal to everyone, but if you're itching for some old school tank action there's some fun to e had here.

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PC Zone UK

There is a solid, immersive and occasionally fun game here, with plenty of retro appeal, and for around a fiver through Steam, it's worth a look. [Nov 2008, p.64]

GameShark

While the gameplay is interesting at its core, with only the single player and a skirmish mode included, a multiplayer tank battle mode would have been an awesome and more than welcome addition.

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Gaming Nexus

A retro VR tank game, Tank Universal is a bit too “old school” for my tastes. Others’ mileage may vary.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 14 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

steve k gave it a9:
short but sweet. an excellent example of indie gaming. to think this game was made entirely by ONE PERSON makes me very impressed by the overall product. as for glitches and whatnot, i never encountered a single one... and on multiple playthroughs. THAT alone puts this head and shoulders above most big name projects out there. personally, i like the quieter moments as it help accentuate the moments when things get crazy, but this is a personal taste. "atmospheric", i would call it. those complaining about "bad graphics" really should be ashamed of themselves and never review another game until they grow up a little. this game was obviously influenced by a true TRON fan and i applaud him for his effort. all things considered, this game deserves a 8.5-9ish

Alex M gave it a10:
This game is extremely addicting and while it looks simple it is more complicated then you would think and it causes yu to strategize i loved the large battles with hubs i dont think there were enough of those

Kyle G gave it a3:
this game must be horribly coded because when you are looking around most of the time the walls and floor dissapear and my framerate drops to like 2SPF (not fps) and the only real way to fix this is to look up but that only works till you look down again. imho if all of that was fixed it could be a better game but right now, it sux, not worth paying for

Max H gave it a0:
This game is lame. Some old guy created this in a few days on his home pc and is trying to make a buck. Bad Bad Bad game developer. First there is no music to speak of. Second the graphics are so throw back that they make you wonder why they even made the game. The only saving grace for this game is the gameplay. The controls are solid and responsive.

Chris P. gave it a9:
For an indie game this one is pretty good. It's obvious that a fair bit of effort went into developing the in-tank game play and I think it works well. You know it's an indie game as it's lacking any voice over acting, instead you get speech bubbles you have to read. Some dramatic music here and there would be nice but doesn't detract too much. Overall an enjoyable game.

Peter M gave it a9:
This is a very fun little gem of a game. Some reviewers have complained about the graphics, but that smacks of ignorance to me.There's nothing "dated" about them the game's retro wireframe look is a stylistic decision, homage to the classics Battlezone and Tron. The game uses modern 3d accelerators--including particle effects and post-processing--and a lot of care has gone into making this look like a retro game, with pixelated smoke as one example. If you don't appreciate the style, perhaps the game isn't for you. But you'd be missing out on some very fun gameplay and a quirky sense of humour. If you enjoy the 80s notion of symbolic cyberspace and its associated imagery, you should enjoy this game immensely.

Cannibal Bob gave it a9:
A simple game, really. If you enjoy tanks, and you enjoy being told a story, then this game's for you. The graphics have a TRON-like look and you never get tired of them. Blowing apart an enemy from a long range is very satisfying, as is building up enough points to get some unlocks. I don't know how else to praise the game besides saying it is quite simply: FUN. It took me 8.6 hours to beat it on normal. The flaws: I'd have to say one annoying flaw is the lack of music in the game. The menu music as well as music heard during certain rare moments is really really awesome, so I'm disappointed to hear it so rarely. Browsing the music folder in the game yields a hefty amount of sweet 'tunes so it's strange to see they're not played all the time. If I had to nitpick, I'd have to say the enemy and team mate AI could use a bit of work, and the pacing of the game can be a little off. Using the speed-boost ability definitely helps but due to its high cost, you use it rarely. If I were to make a suggestion: I'd rather have the speed boost be free, but you become a lot more susceptible to damage when using it.

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Tank Universal

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What The Critics Said

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