Tanks!

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Quote
“Mission 1 Enemy tanks: 1” — Mission 1 announcement

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Tanks! [Edit] [Talk]

Tanks! is the ninth minigame in Wii Play. The player takes control of a tank within a rectangular arena inhabited by enemy tanks. The objective of the game is to defeat all enemy tanks without taking damage to progress through missions.

Gameplay[]

The arena plays in two dimensions within a three-dimensional landscape, consisting mainly of rectangular blocks and occasionally potholes, which tanks are blocked from crossing but bullets are able to. Gameplay involves manoeuvring around the arena and attacking enemy tanks while avoiding incoming fire. Since most bullets can ricochet off blocks, combat between tanks often requires predictive aiming and angular judgement to strike moving targets. Although the playing field is two-dimensional, the vertical stacking of blocks can at times obscure visibility. Additionally, the player and some enemy tanks possess the ability to deploy mines, which detonate on a 10 second timer in a moderate blast radius, or prematurely, by proximity if approached or if shot outright. In addition to destroying tanks, this can destroy destructible blocks and bullets within the blast radius, and also penetrate through to the other side of indestructible blocks. Both the player and enemy tanks have just a single hit point and will be destroyed if receiving damage from bullets or mines (note that the player is also susceptible to damaging themselves). All tanks leave tracks behind themselves.

Single player[]

If the player takes damage, they will lose a life and the current mission will be reset. However, previously destroyed enemy tanks from the mission will not be respawned, making it gradually easier to progress. The player starts with 3 lives and earns an extra life for every 5 missions completed. The game is ended after being defeated with 1 life remaining.

Initially there are 20 missions available which all use preset layouts. A Bronze Medal is awarded for completing Mission 5, a Silver Medal for completing Mission 10, and a Gold Medal for completing Mission 20; doing so for the first time ends the session, while discreetly unlocking an additional 80 missions for 100 in total that can then be played on subsequent sessions. After Mission 20, arenas will be randomly selected from 16 previously introduced arenas (excluding those of missions 1, 4, 5 and 20) and varying tanks will be assigned randomly to preset spawn positions, although the number of tanks per normal mission is predetermined, being 4 tanks starting from Mission 21, 5 tanks from Mission 34, 6 tanks from Mission 61, 7 tanks from Mission 81, and 8 tanks from 91. Every five missions will usually introduce a previously unplayed arena to the arena rotation, while every ten missions will additionally use fully preset tanks. Reaching any mission beyond Mission 30 will reward a Platinum Medal. Completing Mission 100 completes the game.

Multiplayer[]

Two players can play at multiplayer, player 1 a blue tank and player 2 a red tank. Unlike the other Wii Play games, in Tanks! it is semi-cooperative. Players score a point for each enemy tank they destroy, and whoever destroys the most tanks wins. Friendly fire is a feature, with players able to attack each other should they choose. However, there are no lives, and the game is ended when both players are defeated within the same mission. For the sake of playability, it may benefit both players to spare each other and focus on defeating enemy tanks to proceed through missions, with the other player able to continue should one be defeated, and the defeated player being respawned in the following mission. The same initial 20 missions in single player are featured in multiplayer, although often tanks are repositioned with the presence of a second player (while player positions may be interchanged between each other on subsequent sessions). Completing Mission 20 completes the game and players are scored, with no further missions available in multiplayer.

Controls[]

The nunchuck may be used as an optional accessory.

Point Wii remote at screen: aim reticle
D-pad / nunchuck thumbstick: move tank
A button: deploy mine
B button: shoot bullet
+ button: pause game

Tank attributes[]

Tank	First appearance	Movement	Bullet speed	Fire rate cooldown	Ricochets	Max bullets	Max mines	Behaviour
Player	Mission 1	Normal	Normal	Controlled	1	5	2	Controlled
Brown	Mission 1	Stationary	Normal	Slow	1	1	-	Passive
Ash	Mission 2	Slow	Normal	Slow	1	1	-	Defensive
Marine	Mission 5	Slow	Fast	Slow	-	1	-	Defensive
Yellow	Mission 8	Normal	Normal	Slow	1	1	4	Incautious
Pink	Mission 10	Slow	Normal	Fast	1	3	-	Offensive
Green	Mission 12	Stationary	Fast	Fast	2	2	-	Active
Violet	Mission 15	Normal	Normal	Fast	1	5	2	Offensive
White	Mission 20	Slow	Normal	Fast	1	5	2	Offensive
Black	Mission 50	Fast	Fast	Fast	-	3	2	Dynamic

Notes

The yellow tank rapidly deploys mines compared to other mine-deploying tanks.
The green tank, unlike all other enemy tanks, uses calculated predictive aiming and tends to fire where the player is approaching rather than their current position, able to do so with such calculation accounting for its 2 ricochets.
The white tank has a special property that it turns invisible as the mission begins. Its tracks remain visible.

Tips[]

Utilising the ricocheting of bullets to fire around obstacles is essential to effective combat.
Movement is briefly halted while firing while moving at maximum speed.
Up to five bullets can be 'active' from firing at one time, during which no more can be fired until one has been destroyed.
Being sparing when firing can help to avoid accidental self-harm from being overwhelmed by unexpected ricochets.
Bullets will destroy other bullets, which makes firing directly on enemy tanks' bullets a useful tactic to both avoid having to dodge, while reducing their active fire.
The three-dimensional aspect of the arena may allow enemy tanks to conceal mines out of view, although they will not deploy mines with intentional regard of this. Bullets may also be concealed when fired horizontally close behind blocks.
Enemy tanks can push each other around, which can result in stationary tanks being pushed into walls. In these instances, the blast radius of mines can be used to remotely destroy them from the other side.
Enemy tanks which themselves deploy mines will actively try to avoid mines from both the player and other enemy tanks. This can be used to hinder their movement as well as corner them against the boundary of blast radii. Enemy tanks which do not deploy mines will try to avoid mines from other enemy tanks, but will not detect those of the player, making this a potential means to destroy them.
Yellow tanks try to the sabotage the player using their mines and tend to ignore the presence of the player's bullet fire, without an inclination to try dodge, making them more straightforward targets compared to other tanks.
Green tanks predict where the player is approaching when they fire, so immediately shifting in a perpendicular direction after one has done so may help to avoid its line of fire including subsequent ricochets, although care should be taken in mind of subsequent shots being fired.
The tracks left by white tanks while invisible indicate their position, which in actuality is not exactly by the tracks but immediately ahead of them.
Black tanks are fast to the point that it is difficult to outgun them from concentrated fire unless in close proximity. Alternatively, focusing on cornering them can be a more effective strategy, noting that their movement is halted at the moment that they fire.

Audio[]

The soundtrack is comprised of numerous marching band instruments. During gameplay, however, they do not play all at once. The ones which do play are associated with the presence of specific tanks. Tanks are ranked by the order shown in the below table, which is not the order in which tanks first appear. The instrument configuration is based on which tank of the highest rank is present and how many other tanks are also present.

Mission announcement: two trumpets
Mission introduction: snare drum
Mission background melody: two piccolos (plays at all times while accompanied by configurations of the instruments tabulated below)
Tank kill: trumpet
Life lost: two piccolos, tubular bell
Extra life: trumpet
Mission complete: two piccolos
Mission 20 / Mission 100 complete: two piccolos, tuba, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum
Results: two piccolos, tuba, snare drum, metronome

Tank	Rank	Count	Snare drum	Metronome	Timpani (A)	Cymbals	Timpani (B)	Bass drum	Tuba	Tubular bells	Synthesiser
Brown	1	1+	✓
Ash	2	1+	✓	✓
Ash	2	3+	✓	✓	✓
Marine	3	1		✓	✓	✓
		2+	✓	✓	✓	✓
		4+	✓	✓		✓	✓
Pink	4	1	✓				✓
		2	✓			✓	✓
		3+	✓	✓		✓	✓
Yellow	5	1		✓	✓	✓		✓
		2	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓
		3+	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓
Violet	6	1			✓	✓			✓
		2	✓		✓	✓		✓	✓
		3+	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓
Green	7	1			✓	✓			✓	✓
		2			✓	✓		✓	✓	✓
		3	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓
		4+	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
White	8	1	✓		✓				✓		✓
		2	✓	✓			✓	✓	✓		✓
		3+	✓	✓		✓	✓	✓	✓		✓
Black	9	1+		✓		✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Analysis[]

During gameplay, instrument layers are phased out as tanks of a lower rank are destroyed while a higher rank tank remains. Destroying the highest ranked tank changes the configuration to that of the next highest ranked tank, with layer phase-out continuing as the number of tanks present decreases.

In addition to tank rank, tanks may be grouped as follows for the purpose of instrument configuration analysis.

Standard: Brown, Ash, Marine, Pink, Yellow, Violet, Green
Special: White, Black

Instrument configuration logic[]

Each tank is associated with a specific instrument, a characterisation that is pronounced by no phase-out occurring while that tank remains the highest ranked tank present, while higher ranked tanks may then start using that instrument as a phase-out layer. The following applies mainly for standard tanks.

Timpani (A): Not tank specific. There are two variants of timpani, which are never layered together. Timpani A features a shorter music phrase, while Timpani B starts closely similar but extends the sequence. Should Timpani B be phased out, Timpani A is layered consistently signalling the presence of more than minimal threats. Both variants are phased out only if there are just brown and/or grey tanks present, and if one of which is a grey tank then when there are less than three tanks remaining.
Snare drum: Brown tank's instrument. It is a varying phase-out layer, except being a consistent layer for the ash tank and pink tank.
Metronome: Ash tank's instrument. It is a varying phase-out layer, except being a consistent layer for the marine tank and yellow tank.
Cymbals: Marine tank's instrument. It is a consistent layer, except being a phase-out layer for the pink tank.
Timpani (B): Pink tank's instrument. It is layered for the initial phase-out from decreasing tank presence. Timpani B is layered in an instance of lower ranked tanks, only if one of which is a teal tank and there are more than three tanks remaining (it is also the only instance where one specific instrument configuration is used for a different ranked tank combination).
Bass drum: Yellow tank's instrument. It is layered for the final phase-out from decreasing tank presence down to 1 tank.
Tuba: Violet tank's instrument. It is layered consistently for advanced tanks of higher rank.
Tubular bells: Greens tank's instrument. It is layered such that it signifies this tank as the primary threat.
Synthesiser: White tank's instrument. It is layered such that it signifies this tank as the primary threat, superseding the previous primary threat.

Special tanks use a different instrument configuration logic such that it pronounces their threat level and differentiates between these highest ranked tanks.

The snare drum is used as a consistent layer for the white tank. It is omitted for the black tank.
Timpani B is used as a phase-out layer for the white tank, but not the initial phase-out layer.
Cymbals are used as a phase-out layer for the white tank.
Tubular bells + synthesiser is the specific instrument combination associated with the black tank, in place of one new instrument being introduced and associated with it. To produce this distinction, tubular bells are omitted for the white tank.
The black tank as the highest ranked tank uses just one instrument configuration without phase-outs, thus enabling all instrument layers, with timpani B, minus the snare drum.

Medals[]

Medal	Requirement
Bronze Medal	11 tanks (Complete Mission 5)
Silver Medal	32 tanks (Complete Mission 10)
Gold Medal	84 tanks (Complete Mission 20)
Platinum Medal	125 tanks (Complete Mission 30)

Trivia[]

Completing all 100 missions will record a score of 540 tanks, an average of 5.4 tanks per mission.
On rare occasions, enemy tanks might destroy each other, usually when cornered absolutely or by inadvertently firing on mines moments after they have been deployed. In single player, these are counted towards the player's score. In multiplayer, neither player receives a score from them.