Battlezone Vs. Robot Tank

[Atarikid96]

That'd be awesome!

[SignGuy81]

I play Battlezone from time to time and I like it but I haven't tried Robot Tank unfortunately.

[sloth-machine]

Battlezone.

The fact that on RT if you cant see the bullets you cant be hit is a deal breaker. Turns all that fancy weather, damage, and whatnot into a baby game.

In Battlezone any shot fired at you can kill you.

Also battlezone has to be the largest and best 2600 sprite ever. I prefer this to vector graphics...

 

This, this and this. There is no joking around in Battlezone. It was a beast of a game back then in the arcade and it was pulled off very well on the 2600 even with the different visual style.

[AtariLeaf]

I don't know if I'd call Robot Tank a "baby game". After a while the difficulty ramps up to an insane degree and the shot disappearing is a good thing or the game would be downright impossible. I'll take Robot Tank any day over 2600 Battlezone any day. It's a good looking game but the game play isn't there for me.

[fluxit]

My impression of Robot Tank after a couple of games, is that it's a solid game for a short play session. Unfortunately, most of the environmental effects don't add to my enjoyment of the combat. Night just makes me wish it was day, because frankly seeing the other tank is what makes this type of tank game fun. I do like the 'feel' of the snow(daytime) effect, but at night it is insult to injury. And night doesn't add to the challenge, if you use the radar and time your turns, you'll hit the other tank with your first shot every time. Does Robot Tank become more challenging after the third wave? Frankly I was ready to play something else right around the time that the 2nd wave was completed. Is there a story behind the bumpety-bump? Did the robot tank hobble your tracks or something?

 

Battlezone on the other hand, still has enough challenge to keep me on my toes. It almost always takes me a couple of games to get in the zone and make it past ~56,000 points and solidly into the super tanks. I like that you have to keep track of more than one target in order to not get shot in the rear or sides. Battlezone keeps me coming back for one more play. With Robot Tank, I kind of want to hold myself to just one game so as to not wear out its welcome. Back in the day, the Battlezone graphics were really impressive and I still like them, though Robot Tank is also no slouch as far as graphics are concerned.

[GeekDragon]

I love Robot Tank. I used to play it all the time as a kid and it is still one of my all time favorite video games. I got Battlezone this year for my birthday(since I have now started collecting 2600 games). I never knew about this game. I saw the similarities, and it is a cool game, but Robot Tank is still the better of the 2.

[profholt82]

I definitely prefer Robot Tank. Battlezone is a good game, but all of the added depth of Robot Tank takes it to a higher level. It just felt like such a deep and advanced game compared to similar games at the time, and whenever my friends visited, that's all they wanted to play. I still have a lot of fun with it today.

 

To the poster above (@Jinks) complaining about not being hit when you can't see the projectile on screen, well, ok, if that makes it a "baby game" to you, that's your prerogative. The point is that you're dodging the shots, how else exactly were they supposed to achieve that sensation? I suppose they could have made it so that you can be hit at any time without any warning even if you can't see your enemy, but would that have been fair?

 

I like the way it is set up, and dodging shots can be quite challenging when in close proximity to your enemy or when the difficulty is ranped up due to weather conditions such as fog, darkness, lightning storm, et cetera. And as the game gets further along, no longer do hits knock out your radar or something else, they kill you. That adds much more intensity and freneticism to the dodging experience.

[+Cafeman]

Both games are visual masterpieces on 2600, but both get old quickly to me; but I do enjoy playing each for a few rounds. I don't prefer either over another. Battlezone is a great 2600 port, but without any items to hide behind, I feel it loses a significant amount of strategy of the coin-op original. But still, you can avoid shots, and shots are dangerous off-screen , so even without obstacles the basic feel is there.

 

Robot Tank isn't perfect either. It has guided shots which totally changes the feel from Battlezone. The changes in climate, weather conditions, and damage seemed pretty awesome BITD. But losing your treads , especially during the slow-moving rain weather, drags the game down a lot - they should have eliminated treads damage and just killed you off. Being able to shoot the enemy shots, coupled with the fast speed that the tanks move and shoot, make this a really fast paced game! I'm not sure it is always possible to skillfully shoot enemy tank shots though.

 

The Robot Tank commercial mentions it takes place in the year 2019. Only 2 more years to wait!

 

[atarifan88]

Robot Tank because it offers more in game variation with the weather changes! The graphics are better than Battlezone IMO, but they are both good games.

[NE146]

I like them both.. but when I was a kid I found the damage system in Robot Tank to be frustrating where I'd rather just die to get a new life.

[Ransom]

Robot Tank is the Parker Lewis Can't Lose of first person perspective tank games.