Battle City (video game)

Infobox VG
title=Battle City


caption=
developer=Namco
publisher=
designer=
series=
engine=
version=
released=1985
genre=Action
modes=Single player
ratings=
platforms=NES, Game Boy, Arcade (as "Vs. Battle City") Virtual Console
media=Cartridge
requirements=
input=Joystick
picture format=

"Battle City" (known as "Tank" in some regions) is a multi-directional shooter video game for the NES/Famicom produced and published in 1985 by Namco. The game was later released for the Game Boy and was included in the Japanese version of "". It is a port of the arcade game Tank Battalion with additional features (including two player simultaneous play, and an edit feature, both explained later). There was also a rendition for Nintendo's Vs. System arcade cabinets. Battle City is considered as one of the greatest classics in video gaming.

The player, controlling a tank, must destroy enemy tanks in each level, which enter the playfield from the top of the screen. The enemy tanks attempt to destroy the player's base (represented on the map as a bird, eagle or Phoenix), as well as the human tank itself. A level is completed when the player destroys all 20 enemy tanks, but the game ends if the player's base is destroyed or the player loses all available lives.

Gameplay

"Battle City" contains 35 different stages that are 13 blocks wide and 13 blocks high. Each map contains different types of terrain and obstacles. Examples include brick walls that can be destroyed by having either the player's tank or an enemy tank shoot at them, steel walls that can be destroyed by the player if he has collected three or more power-up stars, bushes that hide tanks under them, ice fields that make it difficult to control tank and pools of water which cannot be crossed by tanks. There are four progressively harder types of enemy tanks. The game becomes more challenging in later levels, as enemy tanks may act as decoys to lure players away from their base so that another tank can destroy it. In addition, flashing tanks could be destroyed for power-ups. There are several types of power-ups: tank symbol gives an extra life, star improves player's tank (having one star make shots faster, having two stars allow two simultaneous shots, having three stars allow the player to destroy steel), bomb destroys all visible enemy tanks, clock freezes all enemy tanks for a period of time, shovel adds steel walls around the base for a period of time and shield makes player's tank invulnerable to attack for a period of time.

"Battle City" was also one of the first games to allow two players to play simultaneously. Both players have to defend the base together, and if one player shoots the other, the friendly fire victim would freeze for a while (but can still shoot).

The Game Boy version is more challenging, as the screen is too small to display the whole map and only enough to display one part of it. Players often had to scroll to different parts of the map to view them and everything in them. As a result, defending the base is even more difficult, while the player is occupied with enemies on one part of the map, other enemies could sneak past the player and right to the base, destroying it without fear of retaliation and by complete surprise. A radar is in the Game Boy version, but not in the NES version.

Plot

As with many games released during the first wave of NES titles, "Battle City" did not have a proper storyline or ending. After the player completed stage 35, the game would go back to stage 1 and continue, although enemy tank pattern is changed now and remains the same for the rest of the game.
In the Game Boy version, however, you would have to go up to level 100, and then start again.

Trivia

*"Battle City" was one of the first NES games to allow players access to an edit mode where they could create custom levels.
*Custom levels can be used as a maze.
*Two hacked versions for this game are known:
**Tank 2 by 'YS', a version that features new powerups (and allowing the enemies to get them for players' disadvantage), lets the player choose the start level (which are all modified) and changes enemy tank properties.
**Future Tank (unknown manufacturer), a graphic hack.Fact|date=April 2007

equels and remakes

*There is an online game follow up called " [http://battlecity.looble.com Battle City Classic] ", currently developed by [http://www.looble.com LOOBLE] .
*There was an arcade game follow up to both this game and Tank Battalion called "Tank Force", created by Namco in 1991.
*There is an 3D-version game for PC " [http://www.june22-game.com June-22, Enemy At The Gates] "

ee also

*List of Famicom games

External links

*StrategyWiki|Battle City
*moby game|id=/battle-city|name="Battle City"
*KLOV game|id=10026|name=Battle City
* [http://www.battlecity.com.ua Flash-version] — on line game with level editor