Joe Jasko

In the post-apocalyptic game world of Tank Nation, the rising countries are all at war once again (I guess they didn't learn their lesson from destroying the world in the first place). But this time around, they've all come to an agreement to use tanks to solve their problems, as opposed to the old go-to, nuclear warfare. And so sets the stage for the vibrant and enjoyably explosive game that follows: as players hop in a tank and travel across the sprawling world landscape to compete in the Tank Nation Tournament, and you know, maybe blow a few things up along the way. It may be the first ever release from newly-formed studio Wormhole Games, but it's certainly an epic one.Tank Nation utilizes a number of quirky and familiar character types that players will be able to control and interact with throughout the course of the game, and their disparaging backgrounds, from Road Warrior to U.S. Military, add that extra edge of variety that is only accentuated by the wonderfully rich environments that these characters come from. The graphics, though stemmed from an overall cartoonish design, are unbelievably sharp, and the animations are amazingly smooth. Panning around the iPad's large screen and watching the multilayered backgrounds adjust to the angles is an especially nice touch, and everything in the distance has a painted, almost ethereal quality to it when compared to the bleak and destructive environments that you'll be blasting away in the foreground."But it's the actual gameplay that makes Tank Nation such a smashing success. On the surface, the game might seem like a simple turn-based strategy affair: your tank is placed on a 2D plane against various waves of enemy tanks of increasing difficulty, and you'll need to blow them all up in order to make the next batch of foes miraculously appear on the battlefield. What sets Tank Nation apart from other turn-based strategy games, however, is that you'll actually get to partake in the action yourself through simple and familiar touchscreen gestures. You'll draw and pull back on the screen with your finger to line up your shot and let the bullets fly, similar to the slingshot effect of Angry Birds. Moving your tank into position is as simple as dragging your finger to where you want your war machine to relocate, and away it goes.