Panzer Panic

Occasionally a few games comes across that's really cool, clever, and innovative. Today was one such day and Panzer Panic is one such game. The premise is simple... you control a few tanks and have to destroy the oncoming enemy tanks. Let's take a look...

First, the game uses doodle style graphics. It's amusing in this day and age with such superior graphics technology that this cartoony, or less than cartoony, graphics style is so appealing, but it is. We've seen several games use this approach on the iPhone (Parachute Panic being among my favorites) and it's great to see some games doing the same thing on the Android. That doesn't mean the graphics are stick figures... far from it. They look good and are animated well. They're cute!

Next, the game uses simple controls that result in a frenzy of touching, dragging, and flicking. This game uses slow drags to move tanks and quick flicks to fire. The game identifies these quite well and rarely was my intended action not matching the on screen action. In the single play mode the enemy tanks blitz you and just come running in and firing. In the early waves it almost seemed better to stay put and pick them off as they approach. In the later waves they just overwhelm you and the number of waves survived becomes your score. There are also power ups to pick up and a few on screen obstacles to hide behind.

In the two player mode both sides are given time slices in which to operate and you play using hot seat mode passing your phone back and forth. I wondered how that would work envisioning a nightmare of two players touching and dragging at the same time. Obviously network play would be nice, too, as the game is very different and looses the frenzy that is single player mode.

I don't think I've mentioned that firing your tank's weapon doesn't shoot explosives, but rather ink and one of the many appeals of this game is the audio... all the way from the nice, patriotic music down to the sploshy sound of firing an ink blot at the enemy.

This game could be improved by adding some new maps and perhaps making the solo game a bit more strategic than just a blitz of tanks, but it is only version 1.0. Hopefully we'll see the game grow into something bigger and better. As is the game itself costs a little over $4 here in the USA with current exchange rates, and is worth it as this game is a quality title that is a definite keeper.