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Atari BattleZone PSP Review |
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Written by Don Lee
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Monday, 21 May 2007 |
 Atari BattleZone for the Sony PlayStation Portable is nothing like the
one you might remember from the arcades. This release sports such a
wide variety of tanks, weapons, fully accessible environments and game
types that you will have plenty to keep you busy playing this game.
Just in case you do end up looking for more action, you can always visit the game’s official website and develop a new level that you can either import into the game or share with other BattleZone gamers. There is a lot to get excited about Atari’s BattleZone for the Sony PlayStation Portable but I was hopeful that it could live up to the expectations. Here is what I discovered about Atari’s BattleZone for the PSP.
 Tank Action on the PSP
Once you create a profile, you are ready to choose from a variety of options. You can start a single player game, single player tournament or a multiplayer match. There are six modes to choose from under the single player mode (Deathzone, Team Deathzone, Capture the Flag, Hot Zone, Blackout and Lone Wolf).
While driving a tank around and blowing things up would be enough for most looking for some action, it’s the weapon sets that make this game stand out. Based on which tank you choose (ASP, Cabal, Titan), you can equip each other with specific weapons. Since the ASP is the quickest tank, it uses lightweight weapons such as the vulcan cannon, electron gun, 360 boom, AE fusion rifle and the NOD beam that would require more shots to take out an opponent. The cabal tank is the midsize tank and can take out opponents quicker with mines, rail gun, shockwaves, swarm missiles and phoenix rockets. The slowest tank is the Titan but this is the most powerful. The Titan can cause some major damage with its HAWC, shotgun rockets, missiles, kinetic gamma bolt and mortars but you have to react quick in this tank because its slow movement leaves you open to attacks.
The game also provides special weapons depending on the country. Each country (USA, China, Germany, Russia, Italy, Japan, Canada, UK) has their own special weapon that you can utilize to attack your opponents. Not one country has an advantage over another.
To help stay alive and improve your situation, you can pick up dispensers throughout the maps such as a double damage increase, weapon energy regeneration, invisibility, regeneration and more.
Another great aspect of the game is the locations. Now you can play on the wide-open maps in the desert of New Mexico, the Canary Islands, China landscape, a missile silo, a frozen tundra, the Italian coast, Buenos Aires temple and an Iceland wasteland. I really enjoyed the frozen tundra of the Arctic Tomb map.
Something you probably didn’t expect is the ability to create maps. That’s right, you can create your own maps from the official BattleZone website (http://www.battlezonegame.com) and import them easily into the game. This is a great addition and a wonderful way to prolong the game action as I was able to build a basic map and save it to my memory stick. I was really impressed by the level editor and I hope it is something that Atari does for future PSP games.
The Final Word
While BattleZone is geared for you action gamers, there is a little violence regarding the explosions and destruction caused during game play. The game is rated “E” for everyone and suitable for ages 10 and older. The graphics and the maps were impressive and very well designed. They are all spacious enough where you can maneuver easily but there were still plenty of hot spots on the map where you could engage the enemy at close range.
There are enough weapons in the game to make even the most diehard action gamer happy. I felt the homing missiles on the Titan tank were the best and most effective weapon because once you were locked onto your target, you could take them out quick.
You can choose to play up to three computer opponents or against your friends via multiplayer. The learning curve is fairly low and you should be up and running at full speed in relatively short time.
Atari BattleZone is a very challenging yet very hectic game. The online level editor pushed this game over the top and gives Atari BattleZone for the Sony PlayStation Portable 4.25 stars out of 5. Highly recommended.
Click HERE to purchase Atari BattleZone for the Sony PlayStation Portable .
To learn more about Atari BattleZone for the PSP, please visit the game’s official website at http://www.battlezonegame.com
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