Do not restart your PC. The DigiTanks have taken control of your PC. Oh noes! DigiTanks is a turn based strategy game where you fight back a dastardly attack on the denizens of digiverse. The inside of your computer. The theme is similar to Darwinia but instead of a virtual world, DigiTanks are supposedly your computers defence force.
In DigiTanks, you go head up against a number of opponents with each of you having your own CPU, which acts as the HQ and your construction yard. Lose your CPU and it’s game over. The one and only resource you need is power. You need power to build new structures and units, and even to install updates.
Speaking of updates, I love it how the research tree in DigiTanks is simply called download updates. You can download updates even if you don’t have enough power. Downloading updates take a number of turns which is represented as a 5/6mb @ 5mbps. Very creative. As I’ve explained, downloading the updates is one thing, but you’ll require power to install any one update.
So to increase your power output, you build batteries around these nodes on the map. You are however limited to the initial ‘network’ range of your CPU. This means you can’t build anything outside of this range. To increase its network range, you’ll have to build buffers at the edge of your CPUs range to extend it.
The network range of you CPU also acts like a concept of supply in DigiTanks. Your units in your network range receive defensive and attack bonus when in combat within this range. Move out of the network range and out of supply from your CPU, and you lose this bonus. Be mindful of this when you go into an enemies network range.
The combat is an interesting beast. Your units often have shielding like those Star Trek games, you often have to try to face the enemy with the strongest shielded side of your unit(there is front, rear and side shielding). What’s even more cooler is that also like those Star Trek game, you can set how much energy you want to put to defense or attack. You can redistribute energy from your shields to your weapon. Don’t think I’ve ever seen this been done in a strategy game.
There are three unit types in DigiTanks, mechanised infantry are your usual main combat unit. They can hunker down and fortify to get defensive bonus trading mobility for defensive strength. Rogues are fast scout units that move faster(and further). They don’t have shields but they have torpedo's that do a lot of damage to structures. Finally, artillery units that fire across long distances. They take one extra turn to limber up. Artillery have a narrower cone of fire so they can’t defend themselves well if flanked.
It’s a symmetrical game(all sides have the same units) and combat generally depends one how well you maneuver your units, manage their shields, and keep artillery defended. It starts off a little slow and in the early game, you send your units to scout the fog of war and wait for your build to complete. There are some interface issue like it isn’t clear how the enemy units distribute their energy, or even what you're building(which is stated in a status report box on top of the screen, but I would have much preferred an easy to identify indicator on the game map itself).
DigiTanks is a fun take on turn based strategy that mixes in a very nerdy theme(computers) with some novel concepts. It’s good but a little rough around the edges. The UI and how you control units needs a bit more work and polish.
You can download the demo here
DigiTanks sells for USD$9.99. You can purchase it here
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