Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy
System: NES
Release Date: July 1988
Developer: SNK
Publisher: SNK
Genre: Shoot ‘Em Up
Oh god… SNK is back with Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy. Are these guys going to make anything good on the NES? We’ll see as we go on, but this is not going to be it. So, if you recall my Ikari Warriors review, I said that the best part was getting in a tank and blowing people up. SNK decided to make a game revolving around the tank.
But guess what? This game is terrible! The A Button fires the turret, which is static despite your movement. That is, unless you hold the B Button. Then pressing the d-pad not only moves the tank, but rotates the turret. Oh, the B Button also shoots the machine gun. Too many things mapped to one button… And what’s the deal with the protagonist being named Snake and there being a transceiver that’s supposed to give you hints? C’mon man!
There are powerups to collect as you kill enemies. V increases your turret’s firing speed. B adds increased explosion power to the turret. F increases armor piercing power. L increases the range of the turret. You can turn these on and off by pressing the Select Button and entering the subscreen. They can be combined, as well, which is what I did to defeat the first boss.
Graphics: 1.5
The graphics aren’t terrible and are probably the best part of this game, despite the chibi enemies.
Sound: 1.0
I’m not impressed by the music or sound effects.
Gameplay: 0.5
Terrible controls make this a chore to play.
Difficulty: 1.0
I kept getting killed by trains that would appear out of nowhere and move too quickly for me to blow up.
Fun Factor: 0.0
An incredibly frustrating time.
Overall Grade: 0.8
Iron Tank: The Invasion of Normandy earns a D. Definitely worse than Ikari Warriors 2, but better than the original. Either way, stay away.