Editing Pocket Tanks

{{Short description|2001 video game}}
{{multiple issues|{{More citations needed|date=February 2013}}
{{primary source|date=October 2020}}}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Pocket Tanks
| image = PocketTanks.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = The "Roman Candle", one of the 15
 weapons in the Meteor expansion pack
| developer = Blitwise Productions
| publisher = Blitwise Productions
| director = 
| producer =
| designer = Michael P. Welch
| artist = 
| composer = DNA-groove (Eliran Ben Ishai)
| engine = 
| released = 2001
| genre = [[Artillery game|Artillery]]
| modes = Competitive <br />Players: 1–2
| platforms = [[Windows]]<br>[[Mac OS X]]<br>[[iOS]]<br>[[Android (operating system)|Android]]<br>[[Windows Phone]]
}}

'''''Pocket Tanks''''', is a 1 or 2 player [[artillery game]] developed by Michael P. Welch from Blitwise Productions. It was originally released for [[Microsoft Windows]] and [[Mac OS X]] in 2001 and was later released for [[iOS]] in 2009 and [[Android (operating system)|Android]] in 2012. It is available as [[shareware]] as well as a premium version known as ''Pocket Tanks Deluxe'', which includes the content from all 30 [[Expansion pack|expansion packs]].

== Gameplay ==
''Pocket Tanks'' was adapted from Welch's earlier [[Amiga]] game ''[[Scorched Tanks]].'' ''Pocket Tanks'' features modified physics and additional weapons ranging from simple [[Shell (projectile)|explosive shells]] to [[Homing missile|homing missiles]]. The game also allows each player to move their tank a maximum of four times at a small, prefixed amount each time. 

The goal of ''Pocket Tanks'' is to use various weapons to attack the other player's tank. Each hit scores a certain number of points, which varies based on the weapon and the proximity of the target. At the end of 10 volleys, the player with the highest score wins.

''Pocket Tanks'' features a fully destructible environment, which allows the player to create and put themselves on pedestals or in [[Bunker|bunkers]], allowing for more strategic gameplay. ''Pocket Tanks'' also supports weapon expansion packs where each player can have up to 325 different weapons in total. 

Network play was made available in the version 1.3 release.

=== Expansion packs ===
The game features extra game content in the form of expansion "weapon packs" which give the player more weapon choices during gameplay, available to those who own ''Pocket Tanks Deluxe''. In the PC version, there are 30 Expansion Packs available to download. All packs that include 5 weapons are available for free, and there are 15 weapons that have to be paid for (mobile versions only). As of August 21 2024, there are 385 weapons in total: 30 from the original game and 355 from the various Deluxe Version expansions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BlitWise Productions, Creator of Pocket Tanks and DX-Ball |url=https://classic.blitwise.com/index.html |access-date=2024-03-29 |website=Blitwise Productions}}</ref>

== Development history ==
Michael P. Welch from Blitwise Productions created [[Amiga]] games before he started developing PC games such as ''[[Super DX-Ball]]'' and ''[[Neon Wars]]''. Welch developed ''Pocket Tanks'' as [[Clone (video games)|remake]]/sequel of the Amiga game ''[[Scorched Tanks]]'' and extended the gameplay with modified physics, dozens of new weapons (hundreds with a paid expansion), and the ability to move the tank. The game's soundtrack was created by Eliran Ben Ishai as [[Impulse Tracker]] [[Module file]].<ref>[https://soundcloud.com/dna-groove/pocket-tanks-intro Pocket Tanks intro] on [[SoundCloud]]</ref> The first version of ''Pocket Tanks'' was released in 2001.

On October 26, 2001, the first version of ''Pocket Tanks'' was released after a [[Beta release|beta]]. This version continued to be updated, adding features such as network support and more weapons.

Version 1.3 was released in November 2007. It contained [[bug fix]]es as well as [[LAN]] and [[IP address|IP]] support.

A [[Special edition|Collector's Edition]] of ''Pocket Tanks'' was released on November 16, 2007. It contained the first 14 expansion packs and the Deluxe version of ''Pocket Tanks''.

On April 15, 2009, ''Pocket Tanks'' was released on [[iOS]]. This version included a new touch interface and 35 weapons to enjoy for free. The iOS version continues to be updated along with other mobile versions that were released later.

On December 7, 2012, ''Pocket Tanks'' became available on [[Android (operating system)|Android]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blitwise.ptankshd |title=Pocket Tanks - Android Apps on Google Play |date= |access-date=2014-07-22}}</ref>

On January 9, 2013, ''Pocket Tanks'' was released on the [[Windows Store]] for devices running [[Windows 8]] and [[Windows RT]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.blitwise.com/entry.php?179-Another-Day-another-AppStore |title=Another Day another AppStore - Blogs - BlitWise Bulletin Board |publisher=Blogs.blitwise.com |date= |access-date=2014-07-22 |archive-date=2013-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211023218/http://blogs.blitwise.com/entry.php?179-Another-Day-another-AppStore |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On March 7, 2013, ''Pocket Tanks'' was released on the [[Amazon Appstore]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.blitwise.com/history.html |title=Old News - Blogs - BlitWise Bulletin Board |publisher=Blogs.blitwise.com |date= |access-date=2017-09-14}}</ref>

Version 2.1 added support for the latest weapon packs and fixed bugs that prevented it from being playable on the [[Surface Pro]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.blitwise.com/entry.php?212-Building-a-Bigger-Better-Release |title=Building a Bigger Better Release - Blogs - BlitWise Bulletin Board |publisher=Blogs.blitwise.com |date= |access-date=2014-07-22 |archive-date=2014-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728111131/http://blogs.blitwise.com/entry.php?212-Building-a-Bigger-Better-Release |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Version 2.3 brought "online functions from a third-party Backend as a Service supported framework to a Blitwise maintained [[AWS]] hosted server infrastructure."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://a.co/0DVBs33 |title=Amazon store page |publisher=a.co |date= |access-date=2017-09-14}}</ref>

Version 2.7.2 is currently the latest release of the game as of July 2022 and is available for the iOS, Android, and [[Windows Store]] versions of the game. ''Pocket Tanks'' and ''Pocket Tanks Deluxe'' is currently available on Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Amazon Appstore, and Windows Store. The original PC versions of the game lack some of the features of the mobile and Windows Store version. 

As of 2024, there are 320 weapons to collect on the [[Desktop computer|desktop]] version, which can be obtained by purchasing all of the expansion packs. This version is available for MacOS and the Windows Desktop. The mobile version is expanded to 385 weapons.

The game is still being updated as of May 2025.

==References==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.blitwise.com/ptanks.html Official site]

[[Category:2001 video games]]
[[Category:Android (operating system) games]]
[[Category:Artillery video games]]
[[Category:IOS games]]
[[Category:MacOS games]]
[[Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games]]
[[Category:Tank simulation video games]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]
[[Category:Windows games]]
[[Category:Windows Phone games]]