Tanked Up is the latest game released by Matthew Annal and Heather Stancliffe from Nitrome. Seven weeks after the release of Feed Me, a nice plate-form game reviewed here, the team is back on miniclip.com with a new pseudo 3D racing game, in which tanks replaced cars!

Just like in any racing game, your goal here is to win the competition, by being the first to cross the finish line. Racing with a tank instead of a car is a brand new sport, with its own rules, especially the one that allows you to fire at your opponents to immobilize them for a few seconds, or even better to blow them up! Of course, as there is nothing moral about acting this way, your opponents are allowed to do exactly the same!

Use the arrow keys to control your tank and use your mouse to aim your gun turret. Fire at the other tanks by pressing the left button of your mouse and avoid obstacles, such as stones, mines, fire balls and many more. Stay on the track to not loose speed!

The game features eight different tracks, increasing in difficulty. Each track has its own graphical theme and special characteristic that separate itself from the rest. If you can easily win the first race without shooting any of your opponents, the use of your gun turret is strongly recommended in later levels/tracks.

And here is where the real challenge begins! If shooting at your opponents while racing is a really good addition, it is not that easy: using both the arrow keys to control your tank and the mouse to aim and fire at the other tanks requires some practice, if not a lot, to get used to. Note that the four last levels are locked and you will have to win the previous race to unlock each of them.

The graphics are pretty well done, and has the same characteristic and unique style than Nitrome’s previous games. But the scrolling is a bit slow even with a high-end processor, and will require setting on medium the quality in the option for smoother results.

On the downside, some sounds are quite dissonant and you will probably use the mute button after a few races. I also noticed a couple of flaws in the game, but nothing major. For example, the ability offers to your opponents to go through obstacles in the fourth level, which is pretty unfair!

Minor flaws aside, Tanked Up is a very entertaining and addictive game that should keep you busy for a while! Have fun!