Gratuitous Tank Battles

 PC
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 25 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 25
  3. Negative: 7 out of 25

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  1. aerondor
    Jun 7, 2012
    9
    Not perfect, but a fun game from an independant developer. Liked Gratuitous Space Battles? Roll back the tech and re-enter world war one. With Mechs.
    Worth spending a some time playing. I like the acheivement system as well(medals)
  2. rjtipton
    Jun 3, 2012
    10
    Hands-down the best tower defense game I have ever played, if you can actually describe it in such simple terms (there are a ton of different options and play styles).
    Plus the editor is fantastic fun. Why don't all td games include editors?
    I've heardly played the online battles, but I hear they are pretty good. Just determined to finish the campaign first :DD
  3. patrick_hamblet
    Jun 1, 2012
    10
    Great game. It takes the tower defense genre and totally expands on it in almost every direction at once. Want to play as the attacker? check! want to design your own units appearance? check! want to design their load-out too? check! you can even edit the maps from within the game itself and share them with other GTB players in the game itself. I can't see me playing a 'normal' towerGreat game. It takes the tower defense genre and totally expands on it in almost every direction at once. Want to play as the attacker? check! want to design your own units appearance? check! want to design their load-out too? check! you can even edit the maps from within the game itself and share them with other GTB players in the game itself. I can't see me playing a 'normal' tower defense game again after this, because they are all incredibly predictable and confined in comparison.

    Also...the game has multiple AI 'modes' which let you do the standard old school TD thing and defend against a predictable wave of enemies, or...... you can choose what they call 'adaptive' AI which means that the AI actviely tries to outwit you and react to whatever untis you have pout down.
    TBH, I can't see why any tower defense game has not done this before, it's truly excellent.
    I can't recommend the game highly enough.    … Expand
  4. AaronRighter
    Jun 24, 2012
    8
    Originally posted on http://indie-love.com/2012/06/20/gratuitous-tank-battles/

    I had heard of Gratuitous Space Battles, even got it in a bundle a while back, but it sat in my Steam collection unplayed for quite a while. When Gratuitous Tank Battles came out, I didn't really blink, it didn't look that impressive and I figured it would be the same thing just with tanks. Boy was I wrong.    Originally posted on http://indie-love.com/2012/06/20/gratuitous-tank-battles/

    I had heard of Gratuitous Space Battles, even got it in a bundle a while back, but it sat in my Steam collection unplayed for quite a while. When Gratuitous Tank Battles came out, I didn't really blink, it didn't look that impressive and I figured it would be the same thing just with tanks. Boy was I wrong.

    The genre of tower defense seems to be overdone and fraught with games that don't introduce much of anything new. These vanilla ice cream cones of games just repeat the same boring formula, occasionally throwing some chocolate sprinkles on top (Jimmies if you're from New Jersey) and honestly I just can't get excited about the thirteenth slightly different tower defense game that someone put out. Well if those games are vanilla cones, Gratuitous Tank Battles is that ridiculous seven scoop sundae that is slathered in chocolate sauce covered in whip cream and has half a pound of walnuts on it that five spoonfuls in makes you fall over with instant type two diabetes. Gratuitous Tank Battles is the tower defense game you order when you're not messing around and you're looking to play a REAL tower defense game that someone put an amazing level of thought and work into. Here's what I like about it.

    First you get both types of tower defense, some call the second type reverse tower defense where you control the units spawning and run them through enemy controlled towers. In GTB this manifests itself as the ability to attack or defend on a map. The campaign mode has a several maps you can go through, and you can choose what units the enemy AI will have access to when you play. Here's where it gets good, you see each stock unit is nice sure, but wouldn't you like to tweak your units a bit? There's a massive unit editor that allows you to change all of the stats on a unit, rename it, and save it as your new killer unit. Even better, as you progress through the campaign you unlock new weapons, armor, targeting scopes, shields, and support items to help build better units for you to use throughout the game. Did you finish the campaign? That fast huh? Well how about you go make your own maps, then. There's a map editor that lets you edit the paths, place trenches and turret emplacements, and even change the terrain tiles and fluff so that you can make it look how you want it to. When that's done you can put your own challenges online and have other people play them, and in turn play other people's challenges for XP. Like I was saying there is a ton of gameplay here.

    There are a few issues I'm not a fan of. I guess first, visually it doesn't knock me out. I'm a fan of old school Mechwarrior, the art for that was never amazing, but it did have a unique feel to it. I'd definitely like to see some real style put into it. Second, the interface has some issues. It takes a while to get used to where everything is, as how things work isn't immediately obvious. I didn't even understand the circles until I dove into the unit creation and figured out they were HP, Armor, and/or Shields. The cool thing is that the designer knows this and actually put out a post on the indie game reddit saying "hey what would you guys do to improve the GUI?". I think this is a great sign, it shows that the developer understands the issues with the game and wants to take player's input as to how things should be fixed. That's the type of guy you support and Gratuitous Tank Battles is the type of game you support because no matter how much you find this game priced at this seven scoop sundae of a tower defense extravaganza is giving you an enormous amount of gameplay for your buck. With the amount of customization options you get, you're practically able to make your own version of the game and that's something that no other tower defense game really lets you do.    … Expand
  5. WillyDJ
    Jul 15, 2012
    9
    Like it's predecessor, Gratuitous Space Battles is long on game and short on extraneous rubbish. It's all about the mad, some would say gratuitous WWIesq battles as tanks, trucks, mechs and PBI's (poor bloody infantry) slog through enemy territory. Every battle comes with an after action report which is either insanely optimistic / pessimistic depending on the results.
    Everything is    Like it's predecessor, Gratuitous Space Battles is long on game and short on extraneous rubbish. It's all about the mad, some would say gratuitous WWIesq battles as tanks, trucks, mechs and PBI's (poor bloody infantry) slog through enemy territory. Every battle comes with an after action report which is either insanely optimistic / pessimistic depending on the results.
    Everything is customisable. Don't like the pregen maps, make your own. Need a cheap and nasty chassis for an 88mm cannon? Design, paint it and send it out to die faster than a depressed lemming at Dover. Each unit design comes with a notes section in which you can write reminders which pop up during play so you can remember which unit does what if you haven't colour coded them anyways. So your cheap n nasty tank can come with that very annotation. The battlescape is beautiful, units shoot, blast and blow each other to pieces leaving rubble everywhere.
    Of particular note are the mechs which have illuminated **** sway back and forth and have a ranging laser or searchlight to seek out the enemy.
    And for the love of King and Country read the manual.    … Expand
  6. mikepearson
    Aug 16, 2012
    10
    superb re-fresh of the normally quite predictable tower defense genre. I love playing as the attacker, and now I've played through the whole offline campaign, I think I actually prefer that mechanic to the traditional tower defense role.
    When you zoom in, the graphics are superb, even on my C, which frankly is a bit long in the tooth right now. This game is a hidden gem, give it a try if    superb re-fresh of the normally quite predictable tower defense genre. I love playing as the attacker, and now I've played through the whole offline campaign, I think I actually prefer that mechanic to the traditional tower defense role.
    When you zoom in, the graphics are superb, even on my C, which frankly is a bit long in the tooth right now. This game is a hidden gem, give it a try if you are vaguely into strategy gaming.    … Expand
  7. davidmitchell
    Jul 1, 2012
    10
    Excellent game, the ultimnate tower defense game in many ways, due to the options that are available and the built-in editor. How any site could review the game is 'boring' is beyond belief. Highly, highly recommended.
  8. martinmarshall
    Aug 19, 2012
    10
    This is an excellent game. I admit, I love tower defense games AND I enjoy games where you customize your character or units, so this game was absolute heaven for me. It's rare to find a tower defense game that lets you play both sides, rarer still to find one with complete unit customization, nd the ability to edit your maps is just extra bonus content as far as I'm concerned.
    Unlike a    This is an excellent game. I admit, I love tower defense games AND I enjoy games where you customize your character or units, so this game was absolute heaven for me. It's rare to find a tower defense game that lets you play both sides, rarer still to find one with complete unit customization, nd the ability to edit your maps is just extra bonus content as far as I'm concerned.
    Unlike a lot of Tower Defense style games, GTB actually has a fairly epic feel to it. it's great to zoom in and see all the detail, then zoom back out and see vast armies swarming to attack your defenses (or vice versa).
    Highly recommended, and given there is a demo, there is really no good reason not to check it out.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
69

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. PC PowerPlay
    Jul 31, 2012
    80
    As a singleplayer campaign, Gratuitous Tank Battles is a glancing hit, but it still offers a deep and intricate take on tower defence. [Aug 2012, p.59]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 29, 2012
    60
    This tower defense / tower attack combo is an above average title for its genre. It would be a perfect fit for tablets. PC controls make it almost too easy. [July 2012]
  3. PC Gamer UK
    Jul 14, 2012
    88
    Its excellent customisation and clever AI makes for one of the best tower defence games around. [Aug 2012, p.104]
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