Tiny Tank: A Forgotten Action-Platforming Gem!

The year is 2098, the world arms corporation SenTrax's has created an army of robots to fight humanities wars for them... what could possibly go wrong?

The original PlayStation is by and large one of the most iconic an successful video game consoles of all time, featuring a large variety of different genres easily giving it one of the most diverse game libraries of all time. One genre that was particularly popular was the platforming genre, carrying much of its momentum from the previous generation while also making the jump to 3D leading to many new gameplay possibilities. One of those games was Tiny Tank (sometimes known as Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal), created by a little known studio called AndNow Productions founded by Ecco the Dolphin creator Ed Annunziata with assistance from Appaloosa Interactive (formerly Novotrade), featuring a little tank with attitude on a quest to save humanity in a charming wacky adventure.

So what exactly is Tiny Tank?

Tiny Tank is a 3D action platformer with third person shooter elements, set in a far off future where all of the worlds armed forces have converged into one central corporation known as Sentrax. With their main goal being to create robots to fight humanities wars so they no longer have to, creating the titular Tiny Tank as a mascot of sorts only for the robots to take over destroying Tiny and sending the human race into hiding. The game then picks up over 100 years later with a restored Tiny Tank being the last hope for humanity before the world is left uninhabitable.

SenTrax Director: Cue the theme song, Tinky Tinky, Clinky Clanky new from Sentrax, Tiny Tank, America's loveable...

Tiny Tank: Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait, Wait. Is that my theme song?

SenTrax Director: Well, it hasn't been finalized yet.

Tiny Tank: Wanky Wanky, Tinky Tanky, what the $%#@ is that?

Now as for the game itself Tiny Tank is a level based 3D platformer with an emphasis on third person shooter gameplay, with each level (known in game as missions) featuring a set objective for the play to complete. With many missions ending with a boss encounter of some kind, as the play must search though the stages finding different weapons that can be equipped to Tiny depending on either the situation or the players preferences. Collecting Nanometal can be used to repair Tiny throughout the game, and additional collectables add to the exploration factor of the game. Tiny also has his own deployable "Teeny Weeny Tanks" which can find items, attack enemies, or act as protection for the player during gameplay.

Now one thing about Tiny Tank that is interesting is its story progression, showing the games past events through a number of CGI cutscenes interspliced between each level set in the current day. Gradually unveiling the mystery of what lead to the fall of humanity and the rise of Mutank in a subtle way that keeps the player interested as they progress through the game. With the games story in particular being a highlight in its own right, mixing a very unique style of humor along side a fairly bleak setting combined with Tiny's continuous quips that manage to not be irritating during long periods of gameplay.

So how would i describe Tiny Tank overall?

In all honesty Tiny Tank is a very solid platformer with some unique ideas, that while admittedly rough around the edges is super fun. The games graphics for PS1 standards are also very nice for the time helped by a fun art style that really helps Tiny pop on the screen. Although i will admit the controls do take a bit to get used to at first feeling a bit slippery and the camera can be a bit awkward at times. The shooting gameplay on the other hand is pretty solid featuring a fun variety of weapons that you can mix and match to your hearts content.

Now why do I love this game so much? Well besides the nostalgia factor? Honestly its just a wildly entertaining experience that reminds me of that bygone era when platformers would take risks for the sake of innovation, even if it didn't always lead to the greatest games.

It was just plain fun.