Game Review: Flash Tactics

One of the things I want to do with this blog is showcase some of the best examples of Python game development. There are plenty of candidates on pygame.org's extensive database. I'm a bit of an RTS fan - among most other genres - so I was curious to see whether there are any polished RTS games in the database.

One that I turned up that is extremely polished is Flash Tactics - a real-time tank fighting game.

The player controls three tanks of slightly different types, which can me moved forwards or backwards across the landscape and told to target specific enemies. Each tank fires automatically as long as it has a shot, and that depends a lot on the angle of the terrain on which it is sitting. Thus a lot of the game is about choosing good firing positions for your tanks. Your tanks respawn after 10 seconds so you always have three to play with, but if all are killed at once the game is over.

It is also possible to purchase modifications for your tanks, including the awesome armour mod that makes your tank twice as strong but twice the size; earning these involves building up a combo by killing the enemy tanks as fast as possible. Modification points are only awarded at the end of a level so they are quite difficult to obtain.

This game has a very polished appearance, with superb smoke effects and explosions, with the only flaws being that some of the effects are a little flickery, and the heavy use of nearest neighbour rotation leaves the sprites heavily pixellated. I particularly like the comic chat messages the tanks spout, such as "I didn't sign up for this!" and "He had a friggin family!"

It's also worth pointing out the excellent levels drawn with a delightful cartoonish style but with good attention to the foreground and background detail, each offering an interesting mix of combat terrain.

What other Python games have you enjoyed playing lately? Leave a note in the comments.