9 Best Games That Use Tank Controls

Syphon Filter

While Metal Gear Solid dominated the late-nineties stealth game landscape, Sony's own brand, Syphon Filter, put its own touch on the espionage genre. As special agent Gabe Logan, the player must prevent a bioterrorist attack on the United States. The games are now available on PSN as part of the Classics programme. The game employed this control technique for exact puzzles by using a behind-the-scenes version of tank controls. While its control mechanism was common at the time, it did have several novel ideas that set it apart. The taser weapon became an iconic component of the game, as it could subdue ordinarily but also burn adversaries on fire with excessive use, and health loss was related to a danger metre that filled when Gabe was visible to attackers.

Fatal Frame: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse

Tank controls are popular in survival horror, although Fatal Frame is one game that has historically avoided them. While the first three games used fixed camera angles, character movement was always relative to the stick's direction. When you move it down, the character moves towards the camera; when you move it up, they walk away. With the fourth installment, Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, the series adopted tank controls as well as an over-the-shoulder view of its cast. This version of tank controls, on the other hand, was a little looser, sitting between between a regular tank control scheme and the prior control scheme utilised by earlier titles.

Grim Fandango

LucasArts has a history of creating classic point-and-click adventures with 2D backdrops and sprites that produced the illusion of 3D environments. By the late 1990s, though, games like Monkey Island and Full Throttle were looking antiquated, and it was time for the studio to shift into 3D with Grim Fandango. Tim Schafer and his crew used tank controls to control the protagonist, Manny, in order to bring their brand of gameplay into the third dimension. Schafer has indicated that BioForge, which employed a similar control method, inspired him. The Grim Fandango remaster would provide a simpler control scheme, although an achievement dubbed "The Right Way" would still encourage the use of tank controls.

Signalis

There is a movement of indie developers who are reusing gameplay mechanics, aesthetics, and limits from the PS1 period. The low polygon count of the characters and settings in many of these games adds an extra dimension of creepiness to the horrors. Signalis, which was released in 2022, is one of the more visible examples of this tendency.Signalis, a game inspired by Resident Evil and Silent Hill, is about an android searching for her crewmate in a mysterious underground facility on an unknown planet. The tank controls add to the game's retro atmosphere by allowing players to gradually back away from attacking adversaries.

Silent Hill

Silent Hill is widely regarded as one of the most influential horror games of all time. The game leveraged the constraints of the PS1 to produce obscuring fog and unpleasant settings that complemented its deeply psychological plot. It also provided a narrative rationale for the clunkiness of its tank controls, as protagonist Harry Mason is an ordinary guy under exceptional circumstances. His jerky, clumsy motions reveal his lack of training in dealing with the town's creatures.

Katamari Damacy

When most people think about tank controls, Katamari Damacy isn't the first game that comes to mind. This is most likely due to how unique the concept is. Since players control the Prince of All Cosmos and his Katamari with both sticks, much like an RC car. In practise, though, the controls have the same feel as tank controls. Pushing both sticks forward propels the Prince ahead, while pulling them back causes him to walk backwards. While pushing one forward and dragging one back directs him left and right. It's an odd control method for an even odder game.

Tomb Raider Series

Before Syphon Filter, there was a PS1 game that captivated the world with its behind-the-character tank controls. Core Design's classic Tomb Raider titles all employed a tank control scheme that allowed for precise jumps and positioning. Enabling for meticulously created levels that let players to channel their inner Indiana Jones. This control system was used throughout the series until The Angel of Darkness on PS2. However, tank controls were dropped when the franchise was sold to Crystal Dynamics in 2006. With the release of Tomb Raider Legend. The games have used this looser, more modern control approach to this day.

Dead Space

While tank controls are typically linked with the PlayStation 1. There are later games that use the control scheme in a less visible fashion. Dead Space is an excellent illustration of this, with Isaac Clarke controlled in the same way as other horror games, but from a different perspective. Because of years of development and tweaking, the tank controls in Eggy Car game feel less clunky than in previous titles. Players can also strafe easily and have better control over the camera, making it feel less awkward.

Resident Evil Series

It's difficult to discuss tank controls without mentioning Resident Evil. The series was a forerunner of the control system, employing it in the original game. And its successors to assist players in navigating the fixed camera landscapes. The change in camera perspective in Resident Evil 4 did not eliminate the control method. As Leon's motions were still constructed on the same basis, but players now observed them from behind. The most recent main titles have transitioned to a first-person perspective and a control system akin to a modern FPS, although the original tank controls can still be found in the remakes of RE2 and RE3, which use similar ideas to RE4, and, predictably, the remake of RE4 will also include them.