Editing M1 Tank Platoon

{{Short description|1989 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
|title = M1 Tank Platoon
|image = M1 Tank Platoon Coverart.png
|caption = Cover art
|developer = [[MPS Labs]]
|publisher = [[MicroProse]]
|designer = [[Arnold Hendrick]] <br> Scott Spanburg
|released = 1989
|genre = [[Simulation game|Simulation]], [[real-time tactics]]
|modes = [[Single-player]]
|platforms = [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], [[MS-DOS]]
}}

'''''M1 Tank Platoon''''' is a [[tactical wargames|tactical]] [[Simulation game|simulator]] of tank warfare developed and published by [[MicroProse]] for the [[Amiga]], [[Atari ST]] and [[MS-DOS]] in 1989. The game features a mixture of first-person, third-person tank warfare, and tactical simulation gameplay. It was followed by a sequel, ''[[M1 Tank Platoon II]]'', released by MicroProse in 1998 for [[Windows]]. ''M1 Tank Platoon'' was sold to [[Interplay Entertainment]] in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.interplay.com/about/article.php?id=25 |title=Interplay |access-date=2013-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231112355/http://www.interplay.com/about/article.php?id=25 |archive-date=2015-12-31 |url-status=dead }}</ref> M1 Tank Platoon is available on Steam and Epic Games services. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/776150/M1_Tank_Platoon/ | title=M1 Tank Platoon on Steam }}</ref>

==Gameplay==
[[Image:Game screenshot, gunners view, m1 tank platoon, ibm pc vga.png|left|thumb|''M1 Tank Platoon'' screenshot showing the gunners view]]

The player is put in the position of a main battle tank [[platoon]] commander in charge of four U.S. [[M1 Abrams]] tanks in a fictional campaign of battles against the [[Soviet Army]] in [[Central Europe]]. The player can give orders to friendly units via a tactical map of the battle area as well as taking control of a single tank - assuming the role of either the tank commander, driver or gunner. Between the battles, surviving crew members increase in military rank and skill&mdash;giving the player an incentive to keep their team alive.

Depending on the player's tastes, the whole game can be played more like an action/simulation game or like a strategy game. As [[platoon]] commander, direct control is limited to the four M1 tanks, however depending on the mission, support units like recon and attack helicopters, [[M2 Bradley]] infantry fighting vehicles, [[M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System|MLRS]] artillery systems or other older [[M60 Patton]] tanks are available and can be given orders via the tactical map.

One feature of the game is the ability to change the viewpoint to a supporting unit to get a "recon" from that unit's perspective. According to the manual, doing this from the M1 tanks was supposedly approximate to a tank commander standing on his tank hull to get a better perspective. The external view is also able to track other objects in the centre of the view; this is not limited to vehicles but can actually track missiles or even tank rounds.

The Campaign typically depicts the rush across the [[Rhine]] by the numerically superior enemy forces. The Campaign starts as defensive with the challenge being to use technologically superior [[NATO]] vehicles to stem the "wave" of [[Warsaw Pact]] vehicles. Success may result on the scenarios gradually putting NATO on the offensive side with objective waypoints to reach/hold.

Terrain is a very important factor as going [[hull down]] was a critical strategy to surviving. Full use of the supporting forces makes success easier with even the infantry disembarking from their IFVs to use [[M47 Dragon]] anti-tank launchers. However, leaving them in one position too long invited an artillery barrage from the opposing force.

==Reception==
A [[United States Army Reserves]] officer and graduate of [[United States Army Armor School|Armor School]], Evan Brooks, stated in ''[[Computer Gaming World]]'' that ''M1 Tank Platoon'' was the first computer tank game to give the player control over four tanks instead of one. He favorably reviewed the game's documentation, internal and external graphics, and depiction of interdependent combat arms, and concluded that it was "the best armor simulator currently available".<ref name="brooks198912">{{cite magazine | title=M1 Tank Platoon | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=December 1989 | accessdate=4 November 2013 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1989&pub=2&id=66 | pages=24 | issue = 66}}</ref> A [[General Dynamics Land Systems]] Simulation Lab software engineer, Dana Cadman, compared M1 Tank Platoon to other tank games of the time and the Army's [[SIMNET|SimNet]] training network in a later [[Computer Gaming World]] article.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_86.pdf|title=TANK SCHOOL 101|last=Cadman|first=Dana|date=September 1991|magazine=Computer Gaming World|pages=91–92|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> 1992 and 1994 surveys by the same author of wargames with modern settings gave the game four stars out of five.<ref name="brooks199206">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=95 | title=The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000 | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=June 1992 | accessdate=24 November 2013 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | pages=120}}</ref><ref name="brooks199401">{{Cite magazine |last=Brooks |first=M. Evan |date=January 1994 |title=War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000 |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=114 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=194–212}}</ref> The game got 5 out of 5 stars in ''[[Dragon (magazine)|Dragon]]''.<ref name="Dragon154">{{cite journal|title=The Role of Computers|last1=Lesser|last2=Lesser|last3=Lesser|first1=Hartley|first2=Patricia|first3=Kirk|journal=Dragon|issue=154|date=February 1990|pages=76–83}}</ref>

In 1990 ''Computer Gaming World'' named it as Simulation Game of the Year,<ref name="cgw199009">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1990&pub=2&id=74 | title=CGW's Game of the Year Awards | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=September 1990 | accessdate=16 November 2013 | pages=70}}</ref> and in 1996, the magazine ranked it as the 32nd best PC game of all time.<ref name="cgw199611best">{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1996&pub=2&id=148 | title=150 Best Games of All Time | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1996 | accessdate=25 March 2016 | pages=64–80}}</ref> In 1991, ''[[PC Format]]'' placed ''M1 Tank Platoon'' on its list of the 50 best computer games of all time. The editors wrote, "This is both a tank simulator and an excellent land combat game. Great graphics, gorgeous heavy weaponry, lots of strategy involved — can't go wrong really."<ref name=pcformat50>{{cite journal | author=Staff | journal=[[PC Format]] | title=The 50 best games EVER! |date=October 1991 | issue=1 | pages=109–111}}</ref>

The game sold 400,000 copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imagicgames.com/pr.dir/prabrams.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970619000055/http://www.imagicgames.com/pr.dir/prabrams.html|title="Wild Bill" Stealey to Launch iM1A2 Abrams at E3 Show I-Magic's New Title May Be Next Blockbuster Tank Simulation|website=imagicgames.com|archivedate=June 19, 1997|date=September 30, 1996|accessdate=May 28, 2022}}</ref>

==Further reading==
*''[[:fr:Jeux et Stratégie|Jeux & Stratégie]]'' nouvelle formule #2<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-nf-2/page/20/mode/2up | title=Jeux & stratégie NF 2 | date=December 1989 }}</ref>

==Sequel==
{{main|M1 Tank Platoon II}}

==See also==
* ''[[Tank: The M1A1 Abrams Battle Tank Simulation]]'', a simulator released in 1989 by [[Spectrum HoloByte]]
* ''[[Team Yankee (video game)|Team Yankee]]'', a tactical simulator released in 1990 by [[Empire Interactive]]
* ''[[Super Battletank]]'', a simulator released in 1992 by [[Absolute Entertainment]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050305171209/http://oldsite.simhq.com/simhq3/sims/turret/m1tp2/m1tp1man/designnotes.html M1 Tank Platoon designers notes]

==External links==
* {{moby game|id=/m1-tank-platoon|name=''M1 Tank Platoon''}}
* {{Internet Archive game|msdos_M1_Tank_Platoon_1989|M1 Tank Platoon}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1989 video games]]
[[Category:Amiga games]]
[[Category:Arnold Hendrick games]]
[[Category:Cold War video games]]
[[Category:DOS games]]
[[Category:Golden Joystick Award winners]]
[[Category:MicroProse games]]
[[Category:Real-time tactics video games]]
[[Category:Single-player video games]]
[[Category:Tank simulation video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Video games set in East Germany]]