2008’s Tron/Battlezone-inspired Tank Universal is getting a direct sequel, which developer Phil Jones hopes to fund through the Kickstarter community.
Tank Universal was a perfectly respectable game, earning a 7/10 from IGN. The sequel plans to retain the acid-bright colors that defined its predecessor’s aesthetic, focusing on making everything bigger and better, as you might expect anything tank-related to do.
It’s a rather traditional approach to sequel-making, though I hope Jones realises that bigger doesn’t necessarily equate to better. Sometimes a tight, focused experience is vastly superior. That said, if Tank Universal 2 can live up to its own ambitions and successfully pull off the feeling of tank warfare on a large scale, then I’m all for it.
It’s not like the game’s core design is unfocused, in any case, with a beautifully minimalist, pick-up-and-play control scheme. WASD to move, mouse to aim and shoot. It should be familiar territory to any human being living in the 21st century.
Tank Universal 2‘s dodge and fire gameplay will be supplemented through an upgrade and repair system, as well as a range of light, medium and heavy tanks. Objectives will have players attacking, defending & capturing in turn, so the gameplay loop definitely contains variety.
Perhaps more interesting is the inclusion of a jetpack that will allow players to eject from their damaged war machine and swoop down to take control of another. Cool!
With a range of backer rewards and a proven track record, Tank Universal 2 has all the makings of a sequel that successfully iterates and builds upon its predecessor. Now you just need to head over to Kickstarter and back the thing.
Track the progress of the Tank Universal 2 Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
I know I’m old because when I saw this I just thought of Stellar 7 and Nova 9, hehe.
OMG,the best pc game for me. 🙂 <3
Hi Gary – as the lone dev on TU2, thanks for the post – much appreciated!
I hear what you’re saying about how bigger is not necessarily better for the sequel. It has been interesting how just doubling the size of the levels for example has affected AI design – just in terms of keeping things popping up for the player to do.
Anyway, what’s needed at this point is for people to support the game on Kickstarter or failing that, vote for it on Steam Greenlight!
Happy to help! 🙂 It’s good that you’re aware of the effect scale can have on a game’s design. It’s definitely more of a risk – more fires to put out, as it were – but if you can pull it off, TU2 will have a significant advantage over its predecessor. All the best with your campaign – I’ll be watching!