Battletank (otherwise known as Garry Kitchen’s Battletank) is a 1990 action simulation game developed by Imagineering and published by Absolute Entertainment as an exclusive for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Reviews for the game were initially mixed. Throughout the development of Battletank, the game was originally designed to be a space flight simulator for the Commodore 64, before having a late change in direction. It’s possible that this change resulted in a mixed reception from critics.
Battletank Premise
©Screenshot from Battletank
In Battletank, you’re assigned a mission from the off, and placed into the driver’s seat of a tank to see it through. The game gives you a variety of objectives, including destroying enemy fuel supplies or camps, or simply eliminating enemy tanks altogether.
To complete these missions, you have to navigate a dangerous battlefield filled with enemies, minefields, and helicopters. You must outmaneuver different combinations of enemies, or else your opponents will almost certainly destroy your tank. The game is played from a first-person perspective, which only adds to the challenge.
Battletank makes you think about every situation before you enter it. Your vehicle has a total of four weapons at your disposal, but some will only harm certain enemies. Because of this, every encounter is different, and will challenge you in a variety of different ways.
Battletank Main Characters
©Screenshot from Battletank
In Battletank, there are no characters to speak of. Instead, you play as a tank, or a nameless tank driver to be exact. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t go in-depth about the model of the tank, so even tank enthusiasts will feel that something is missing here.
Later releases in the series put you in the driver’s seat of an M1 Abrams, but unfortunately, that specificity is missing in the first game. With no characters or named tanks to speak of, this isn’t exactly a strong point of Battletank.
Battletank Titles in the Series
©Screenshot from Battletank
The Battletank series became something of a pet project for designer Garry Kitchen during the early ’90s. He was the founder of the publisher, Absolute Entertainment, and took a lead role in the design of these titles. Essentially, he had carte blanche to do as he pleased with the projects.
The main issue holding the franchise back from widespread popularity was the critical reception. Both of the first two releases in the series received a mixed response from critics, while Super Battletank 2 improved slightly in this department. It still wasn’t enough to garner a sequel from that point, and Absolute Entertainment declared bankruptcy a year later in 1995.
Because of this, it isn’t clear exactly who owns the right to the Battletank IP. With this in mind, we’re filing Battletank‘s chances of ever returning under ‘slim to none.’
- Battletank (1990)
- Super Battletank: War in the Gulf (1992)
- Super Battletank 2 (1994)
Battletank Cheat Codes
©Screenshot from Battletank
Sadly, you’re out of luck if you’re after base game cheat codes for Battletank. However, if you’re playing the game on an NES emulator, you can enter some of the game’s Game Genie cheat codes to change a ton of different variables in-game. The full list of these cheats can be found below:
| Cheat Code | Cheat Effect |
|---|---|
| VPGAZI | Gives you infinite .50 caliber bullets. |
| ZLLETI | Gives you infinite 150mm bullets. |
| SLXTEEVS | Gives you infinite ammo for all weapons. |
| SKOPAAVT | Gives you infinite energy. |
| SKUAANSE | Gives you infinite fuel. |
| PAGAPI | Gives you infinite smoke. |
| SIXTEEVS SGKVINVK | Gives you infinite weapons. |
| PAGAAI | Gives you infinite wires. |
| LVVZIAZL | Allows you to start with double the 150mm ammo. |
| TOVZIAZL | Allows you to start with half the 150mm ammo. |
| GTEZIOEG | Allows you to start with less 50mm ammo after mission five. |
| LGEZPPVO | Allows you to start with less 50mm shells. |
| NYEZIOEK | Allows you to start with maximum 50mm ammo after mission five. |
| NYEZPPVO | Allows you to start with maximum 50mm shells. |
| LVNXAAPA | Allows you to start with maximum smoke shells. |
| LVVXTAPA | Allows you to start with maximum wire-guided shells. |
| ZUNXAAPA | Allows you to start with more smoke shells. |
| ZUVXTAPA | Allows you to start with more wire-guided shells. |
| SXOPAAVT SXSLNPSA | Allows you to take infinite hits (invincibility). |
Battletank Cheat Code FAQs
©Screenshot from Battletank
Does Battletank Have Achievements?
No. There are no in-game achievements to unlock in this title, nor are there in any of the Battletank titles from Absolute Entertainment.
What is the Invincibility Achievement in Battletank?
If you’re using the Game Genie cheats in your emulator as we showed you above, you can use the code “SXOPAAVT SXSLNPSA” to give yourself invincibility in-game. This makes it so that your tank can now take an infinite number of hits without you ever needing to worry about blowing up on the battlefield!
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Screenshot from Battletank.