Glitch Tank by developer Michael Brough is a strange one indeed. With its psychedelic graphics and lo-fi sound effects, it resembles an old Atari 2600 console game from the Land That Time (and Good Graphics) Forgot.

However, something about this frantic and rather surreal game appeals; it also has that elusive ‘just one more go’ quality that makes it a keeper – albeit a rather odd one.

Gameplay

Played on a single iPad against another human or two levels of AI, Glitch Tank sees players take opposite ends of the ‘board’, with their pixellated tanks sat in the middle. A random hand of four action cards is dealt, allowing the player to turn, move, fire or spawn a baby tank or a landmine. Once a card is played, it is immediately replaced by another random selection, meaning you never have a long term view of your actions or strategy.

But that matters not a jot. Played in the realtime mode, where there are no pauses between turns, strategy and tactics go out the window. Glitch Tank becomes a fast and frantic attempt to defeat your enemy before you yourself take the three hits which put you out the game.

It’s easy to get lost in the heat of the battle – especially when it’s quite hard to make out what’s going on – but that’s half the fun. The game makes no claims to be deep or complex: just fast-paced old-school fun in short blasts of two-player action.

For those who prefer a more leisurely pace, a turn-based mode also exists. Here the gameplay is exactly the same, apart from players taking it in turns to choose and play their action cards. Naturally, this does slow the game down: even allowing for a few tactical elements to creep in. Which mode you prefer will very much depend on your gameplay tastes, but both are fun and well-implemented.

Implementation

From the menu screens to the exploding pixels and beeping noises when you score a hit, everything about Glitch Tank is retro and proud of it. This is actually quite a refreshing change from all the cutting-edge graphic titles on offer elsewhere on the app store (though we’re not sure we’d like to see the trend spread too widely).

Controls are limited to choosing cards to play, making Glitch Tank an easy game to pick up for all ages. And whilst it’s not going to win any awards or rise to the top of any charts, the game has a charm all of its own that makes it hard to dislike.

Verdict

Quite literally, Glitch Tank feels like a blast from the past. With its quick gameplay and choice of realtime and turn-based modes, it’s a fond look back to a time when games were simpler: but just as much fun.

Score: 6/10