Tank Universal (PC)

26 years on and the legend of Tron is still ridiculously strong - so strong, in fact, that following the teaser trailer of Tron 2 at Quake Con 08, the room erupted in woops and applause.

There have been various official Tron games, but they've failed to really break into the halls of greatness, with perhaps Monolith's most recent game being the closest the franchise has come.

Now, there's a challenger to those average titles. A little known game was released on Steam last month, dubbed Tank Universal.

It boasts a "huge virtual 'Tron-Like' world where you take part in immense 3D tank battles involving scores of units both friendly and not so friendly in wide open levels."

Flying under the radar, Tank Universal presents us with one of the best games of 2008 all for a low, low price. Here's why.

You stick your VR helmet on and find yourself in a neon lit world. Intimidating guards patrol the area, huge gates lead you along a linear path and jagged architecture dominates the skyline. A small part of the game takes place in the first person, 'man' form.

You can sprint about, talk to the few NPC's that populate the world and take in the breathtaking levels. There's no combat in first person, just a smart way of filling in the storyline between levels.

It's not long before you find yourself behind the controls of a tank and, unsurprisingly, you're alerted to a trap by the resistance (the blues).

The lone survivor of an ambush, the game takes you through two training levels of tank warfare (which is basically destroying the enemy tanks, turrets and artillery and then stealing the key; i.e. capture the flag).

From then on, the resistance is attacked and you're off on your computerised adventure.

The game contains 20 levels, which range from navigating a maze (while tripping switches and destroying enemy tanks) to capturing red keys from their fortified hubs. The game keeps track of your kills and as a result it becomes extremely addictive as you watch your points total tot up.

Movement is sharp and aiming / firing is very satisfying with practice. It won't be long before you're pulling off long rang shots on moving targets.

There's the usual host of upgradable abilities which range from a couple seconds speed boost, recharge shields, spawn mini-turrets, call in wall-bashing robots or drop the motherload in the form of a nuke.

To use your abilities you'll need to pick up shards dropped by destroyed enemies. Upgrading them is done when you rank up after each level using the upgrade points littered around the levels. It's all very retro, but works particularly well in the context of the setting. To cap things off, the game has achievements to earn through Steam.

The game's world and environment has had suitable time invested in it. It looks like Tron and plays like the film. The game has an impressive sense of scale that's cleverly manipulated by the inclusion of the on-foot sections.

One minute you're destroying things in a tank, the next you have to weave your way through a battle on foot with the large machines driving past you. The distinct difference between the game's colours creates a defined sense of reality.

The only bad thing is it ends too quickly. The developers deserve all the respect possible for creating a game alone. We implore you to give it a go - it's gaming at its finest.

8/10

Marco Fiori