Tank! Tank! Tank!

Tank! Tank! Tank! grabs you with the simple pleasure of driving a tank through destructible surroundings while absurdly oversized mechanical monsters stomp into view. It has the loud, immediate energy of an arcade cabinet: aim, fire, make a mess, and try to survive with friends beside you.

That first burst of chaos is genuinely fun, especially when four people are arguing over targets or taking turns as the monster in My Kong. The thin structure around its battles and a limited sense of progression keep it from becoming a long-term favorite, but it remains a worthwhile couch-multiplayer oddity when you want uncomplicated destruction rather than a demanding shooter.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Tank! Tank! Tank! comes out firing. You drive a tank, tear up a destructible battlefield, and shoot at things that are deliberately much bigger and sillier than you are: robot insects, mechanical spiders, mantisbots, a three-headed red dragon, and a gorilla-like machine. That scale mismatch is the joke, and it gives every encounter a nice arcade urgency. You are not being asked to master a dense simulation; you are trying to keep moving, shoot clearly dangerous targets, and enjoy the wreckage.

The Story mission supports one or two players, but multiplayer is where the game has its strongest argument. Free-for-all and Team versus cover the expected tank-on-tank rivalry, while Monster battle leans into the giant-enemy side of the game. My Kong is the standout premise: one person takes control of the monster while everyone else brings tanks to stop them. It is a good fit for a group because it creates an immediate imbalance, a clear target, and plenty of room for loud revenge rounds.

Between missions, medals let you upgrade your tank and buy weapons, giving repeat play a small sense of forward movement. Still, the core loop stays very direct, and that is both its charm and its limit. If you want a game that unfolds into deeper tactics over time, Tank! Tank! Tank! can start to feel slight. If you want an evening of accessible local competition and monster-smashing, its lack of fuss is a strength.

Graphics

The game puts its best images front and center: tanks facing robot bugs and towering mechanical monsters in areas you can blow apart. The mechanical spider, mantisbot, red three-headed dragon, and gorilla-like robot give the battles a knowingly cartoonish lineup rather than a grounded military look.

A neat Wii U touch lets you take photos with the GamePad camera, then uses them in the on-screen player icons alongside health bars. It is a small bit of personalization, but in a crowded four-player match it helps turn the chaos into something more personal.

Story

Despite the Story mission label, Tank! Tank! Tank! is not a game you should pick up for plot. Its hook is the succession of tank battles against huge mechanical threats, not a carefully developed narrative.

That straightforwardness works in short sessions. You can jump into a mission without needing to remember complicated lore or wait through elaborate setup, which suits the arcade roots well.

The trade-off is that there is little narrative payoff to carry you through repetition. The monsters themselves provide most of the character, so your interest will depend on whether the escalating absurdity of fighting a transforming building-robot or a giant mech creature is enough for you.

Overall Experience

Tank! Tank! Tank! is a messy, cheerful action game with a much better party-game instinct than a single-player one. Get several people in the room and its broad ideas make immediate sense: tanks, monsters, destruction, score-settling. My Kong in particular sounds like the kind of mode that can keep a group replaying because everybody wants a turn on the oversized side of the fight.

On your own, or if you expect the Story missions and upgrades to add substantial depth, the rough edges show sooner. There is not much distance between the opening thrill and what the game continues to ask of you. The upgrades and purchased weapons help, but they do not transform its fundamentally simple arcade loop.

At a 5 out of 10, it is an easy conditional recommendation. Give it a chance if you have local friends who enjoy boisterous, low-pressure versus games and do not mind a premise that favors spectacle and immediate laughs over longevity. For more on its arcade origins and official materials, visit the official Tank! Tank! Tank! page.