Death Tank
| Death Tank | |
|---|---|
 Death Tank Zwei start screen | |
| Developer(s) | Lobotomy Software |
| Platform(s) | Sega Saturn |
| Release | 1996 |
Death Tank is a 1996 2D multiplayer versus shooter developed by Ezra Dreisbach of Lobotomy Software. Set on hilly terrain, similar to artillery games like Scorched Earth, the gameplay is real time instead of turn-based. It supports two to seven players, represented by differently-colored tanks, with a range of weapons. The terrain on which this occurs, an ever-decreasing yellow landscape, is completely obliterated by the players during gameplay or otherwise gradually whittles down to a flat plain.
The original Death Tank was a bonus game in the Sega Saturn version of PowerSlave (1996). A sequel/update, Death Tank Zwei, was hidden in the Saturn version of Duke Nukem 3D (1997).
In a 1996 interview Lobotomy Software co-founder Brian McNeely said that Dreisbach "threw [Death Tank] together in his spare time. We play it every day, religiously."[1]
Xbox Live Arcade version
Dreisbach, working with Snowblind Studios, developed a standalone version of the game for Xbox Live Arcade. It was released on Wednesday, February 18, 2009.
A version of Death Tank Zwei is included as an extra in this release, which can be unlocked by shooting down a supply plane in the main game. There are a number of minor differences between this new version and the original; it lacks the title screen (and Death Tank theme), options and player selection screens. The game has an upper limit of four players (instead of the original seven), and there are a number of changes to the names of the weapons.
References
- ↑ Leadbetter, Rich (December 1996). "Lobotomised!". Sega Saturn Magazine. No. 14. Emap International Limited. p. 48.