Beat in slow motion mode with a ton of save state scumming because this game was incredibly difficult. It played similar to Commando only in a tank and with much more sophisticated gameplay. I loved the map in the select screen, which updated my position as I moved through each stage and clearly showed the different routes that could be taken. I went left every time so it would take 2 more play thoughts to check out the middle and right paths. I'm sure there is an optimal route zig zagging between them. 1 button fired the machine gun, which was too weak to use against anything other than infantry, who were better run over for hp. Holding this button also allowed the main turret to rotate to the way the tank was facing. By default the turret locked in place and the other button fired shells. The select screen allowed picking any combination of the 4 shot types, as well as a screen clearing nuke and reserve hp. I had to look up the shot types. V was rapid fire, F was high damage, B was area effect, and L was long range. Unlike most shoot em ups this game was very slow and methodical, more like a puzzle to figure out the correct angles, powerups and sequence of actions. That was with the benefit of save states though, without there would be a large memorization aspect due to how slow and awkward it was to change turret direction. I often found that I took damage if I was not aiming the correct way before enemies appeared. Being attacked from the flanks was frequent. There were only 4 or 5 types of enemy tanks but their behavior varied I assume based on how the programmers scripted each scene. Sometimes they were stationary or followed a fixed patrol, others did hit and run and were best sped past lest they respawn, and others were aggressive with full freedom to move around. The game was stingy with health pickups often putting several close to each other where some went to waste. There were plenty of boss fights along the way, including giant heavy tanks, train artillery, bunkers with turrets, a parked bomber, and a battleship. I found it hilarious that 1 boss tank died from running me over. I still took a lot of damage but survived. The final boss was the 3 tank bosses back to back. I went all out with ammo which left me struggling against the 3rd. I loaded state and found an easy way to beat the 1st by hanging out in its blind spot close to and just to the side of the gun. The other 2 bosses had tricky movements and were best burned down quickly.

I liked this game and could see playing again for the other 2 paths but the high difficulty, slower gameplay and overall length made it a bit of a slog. Having to frequently go into the menu to turn on and off the ammo types, and listen to calls really slowed the game down too. It was amusing that the hero was called Snake. This could pass for a Metal Gear game despite the lack of stealth.

7.5/10