Playing a bit like Vindicators reimagined somewhat long the lines of a doodle game, but with much, much better level design, “Attanck!” was a pleasant surprise when I discovered it today.
I love the control scheme, which reminds me of arcade tank games of old where you controlled the right tank tread with the right stick, and ditto for the left. This lets you do things like spin in place (by pushing forward on one stick and backwards on the other), a more realistic control scheme which helps with immersion. Well, as far as immersion can go on a game that takes place entirely as an ASCII tank on dot matrix printouts. The game takes its motif to the max though, with ASCII obstacles and opponents. For anyone who’s ever appreciated any ASCII art, it’s a visual feast of ASCII explosions, terrain, and enemies (including level bosses).
While replay value once you’ve beat the game on the hardest difficulty level is questionable, “Attanck!” remains a cute game that plays well, has level design that’s far better than you might expect given the constrains of fighting on dot matrix printouts, and is 80 Microsoft Points well spent.
Here’s what the developer (Daisy Maze Games) has to say about the game:
“The 80’s super computer has taken over and is printing out an evil ascii army! Command the high tech dot matrix assault vehicle and get ready to kick some ascii in this retro style arcade action title.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 