TANK! TANK! TANK! plays great on the Wii U.
Namco Bandai's TANK! TANK! TANK! is a great fit for Nintendo's Wii U. Solid, responsive controls and fast gameplay make for a frantic but fun experience, a retooled version of the classic arcade title spun into a living room party game.
Up to five players can play the game at a time, one playing on the Wii U's GamePad while as many as four play on remotes. Players using the GamePad can use the touch screen to select levels and take photos of players' faces for the avatars situated above each tank. Namco Bandai's booth demo featured a level in which the tank commanders must destroy one hundred giant spiders terrorizing a city. Movement is quick; motion and camera are controlled with the GamePad's analogue sticks while the L and R buttons discharge various weapons. Different types of weapons, such as missiles and machine guns, are scattered by fallen enemies and picked up by running the tanks into them. The tanks auto-lock onto targets so fighters can focus on shooting and evasion.
Fighting the spiders proved more difficult, and fun; environments are destructible. As the spiders crawled up the side of a construction site, shooting brought down not only the monsters but the entire structure. Wood splintered, iron shattered, and as the battle wore on the city was laid to waste. Evasion was key, as being touched by an enemy is an instant death.
Immediately following each level is a boss battle. We fought a water-borne red dragon while shooting from a dock, dodging fireballs and the dragon's hungry mouth. Boss levels play the same as regular levels - jump in your tank and shoot until everything is dead.
While TANK! TANK! TANK! is super simple in execution, it's that simplicity that makes it so appealing. TANK! is reminiscent of early Mario Kart's battle royale mode, only this time players seek to eliminate common external enemy.