Battlezone

After my experience with Battlezone, I had a really tough time deciding how I felt about it. The game is technologically fascinating, and is truly a well-made tank simulation for being four decades old. However, it would have taken a miracle for me to survive more than a minute or two in my playthroughs, which is pretty disheartening.

Battlezone puts you in the role of a tank with seemingly no allies and legions of enemies. 
Without the ability to strafe, I could never really figure out how to balance dodging and shooting in order to be successful. However, that difficulty aided my suspension of disbelief; even though I have no idea what driving a tank feels like, this game made me think I do. Unfortunately, constantly seeing my screen crack after less than a minute of roaming this endless wasteland was pretty discouraging. I was usually able to take out a couple enemy tanks before I lost, so it wasn't all for nothing, but it still sort of felt like it was.

Of all of the classic arcade games I've been playing through, Battlezone was easily one of the more intriguing ones. However, every time I played, I ended around the same time (and honestly probably the same place). After that kind of loop, a game can get pretty dull. I recommend it for the novelty, but it's not something I see myself coming back to for a long time.

Although the game is no longer being distributed, you can learn more about it here (as of 2/13/21): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlezone_(1980_video_game)

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