Thunder Brigade

by Danny Lam
January 01, 2000 00:00 AM PST

A quiet storm

GamePro Score
User Score
Write your review!

Thunder Brigade�s hovertank action just doesn�t float. The story isn�t bad: A Stargate enables humans to colonize the Hadon and Kildae systems near the center of the galaxy. After a century of peace, rebels of the Hadon system overthrow the government and destroy the Stargate. With no backup from Mother Earth, this Hadon Empire dominates both systems and rules with an iron fist. Over time, the Kildae inhabitants create a resistance movement, the United Systems. All the while, the Earth Alliance keeps close watch on the outcome of the battles between the two groups.

I guess we humans never learn.

You fight for the United Systems in the 30-mission campaign across 12 environments� spying on the evil empire, taking out enemy tanks, missiles, and radar installations�armed with one of twenty tanks with a subset of the six weapons. On some missions, you�ll get help from wingmen (you can issue them commands from a list). You can also edit existing missions or create your own using the included editor. Multiplay is supported for modem and serial, sixteen over a LAN or four over the Net (with one PC acting as a server).

TB uses fractal/voxel technology, so no 3D accelerator is required. While the graphics aren�t as sharp as in polygonal, accelerated games, the rendering is more surreal.

It all sounds good so far�but when you get into the game itself, it all starts to unravel. Maybe I�m spoiled by great games like Battlezone (an obvious comparison for futuristic tank games), but there are so many bones to pick with TB. The action was decent, but it�s basically your standard aim-and-shoot, with nothing more to distinguish it. Fire a missile to take out a radar, destroy the enemy tank before it gets you. TB swiftly stagnates as you embark on mission after repetitive mission. My biggest gripe: Only six weapons? So, in the future, we can create 50-megaton tanks that float, but we can only come up with six weapons with which to arm them?

Controls were also a bit dicey. You can strafe, reverse, and adjust the height at which your tank hovers (so you can hide behind hills), but you can�t use your joystick�s throttle switch. To keep your tank moving, you have to press and hold the button, and, grrrr, keyboard buttons are non-configurable.

The mission editor was straightforward but also has its flaws. For example, you can�t place a bunch of tanks at once; rather, you have to drag and drop each one.

There are some bright spots: While using the map, you can keep an eye on the real-time action via a window on the bottom corner. The storyline is intriguing, multiplay is bug-free, and, to its credit, TB doesn�t attempt to be a Battlezone knockoff. Without resource or base management and few strategic elements, TB is a straightforward Battlezone Lite.

However, the limited weaponry, restricted configurations, and less-than-intense action make this game uninviting, simplistic, and� thunder-free.