WAR OF THE HUMAN TANKS Is A Very Good Name

By Alec Meer on June 26th, 2012 at 11:00 am.

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Alright, busted. I’m almost entirely posting about this because of the amazing name. WAR OF THE HUMAN TANKS is the best of all the names, you see. Would I be posting about this Japanese indie strategy game if it was not, in fact, called WAR OF THE HUMAN TANKS?

Well…

The title turns out to not refer to very big men who are terribly hard to kill, but tanks that are indeed humanesque and fight a proxy war on behalf of their actually-human creators. They might look like wide-eyed anime eternal children all doing that joyful shout thing, but the player builds them earned resources and can develop new types. All of which have great hair, apparently.

As for the game, it’s grid-based strategy framed by a narrative that documents the conflict between the Empire of Japon and the Kingdom of Japon. ‘Japon’ reminds me something else, but I just can’t seem to place it.

Apparently it’s been relatively successful in Japan. The below trailer immediately gave me a headache, but I think I managed to glean that it’s vaguely Advance Warsy before I passed out.

Hmm. Bit hard to tell under the noise and jump-cuts, but there could be a thoughtful strategy game in there. Also, HUMAN TANKS.

That’s out this Autumn, as localised/translated by Fruitbat Factory, and there are many more details on both game systems and what looks to my increasingly impatient eye to be too much narrative over here.

Fruitbat Factory, War of the Human Tanks.

66 Comments »

26/06/2012 at 11:03 apocraphyn says:

WARTANKS?
26/06/2012 at 11:05 kaoswielder says:

FACETANKS
26/06/2012 at 11:15 JB says:

TANKS OF FACEWAR: HUMANS!
26/06/2012 at 11:15 Akatsuki says:

TANKFACE
- 26/06/2012 at 12:18 Ian says:
  
  This needs to be made.
  
  TANKFACE.
- 26/06/2012 at 13:11 McDan says:
  
  TANKFACE 2: SHOW ME YOUR TANK DESTROYER FACE
  - 26/06/2012 at 14:30 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
    
    TANK FACE 2: THAT’S NOT A TANK FACE! THIS IS A TANK FACE!
    - 26/06/2012 at 14:32 Unaco says:
      
      TANKFACE? TANKFACE? We don’t need no steeenkin’ TANKFACE!
- 26/06/2012 at 17:31 Tom De Roeck says:
  
  TANKFACE 2: NO MORE PASSIVE RESISTANCE
26/06/2012 at 11:16 SanguineAngel says:

HUMANS OF WAR: TANKS – FACE
26/06/2012 at 11:16 Ergates_Antius says:

Human Angry Houses.
Angry Human Houses.
26/06/2012 at 11:18 caddyB says:

tonks?
26/06/2012 at 11:21 matty_gibbon says:

TANKS for the FACE WARS
- 26/06/2012 at 11:35 zeroskill says:
  
  WAR of the WARFACE WARTANKS.
26/06/2012 at 11:21 mckertis says:

This looks pretty bad. If anyone is interested in this sort of thing – look up Gadget Trial. Same general idea, better production quality, AND already translated. That is, there is a quality fan patch.
- 26/06/2012 at 11:31 lorddon says:
  
  Thank you, for mentioning that.
- 26/06/2012 at 12:48 FhnuZoag says:
  
  I’m willing to wait and see if the mechanics are interesting. How is Gadget Trial’s gameplay?
  - 26/06/2012 at 13:31 mckertis says:
    
    “Gadget Trial’s gameplay?”
    
    Advance Wars-y. Only with mecha-musume and a freaking visual novel jammed in it.
- 28/06/2012 at 18:07 zino says:
  
  I agree with that, good sir.
- 29/06/2012 at 10:38 absolofdoom says:
  
  Gadget Trial is awesome; I’m enjoying it very much. Thank you for sharing!
  
  Although I’ll probably try this game too whenever it comes out.
26/06/2012 at 11:24 matty_gibbon says:

Wait. Is the full title “CHARGE! HUMAN TANKS – WAR OF THE HUMAN TANKS – YOUR ENEMY STANDS BEFORE YOU”?
- 26/06/2012 at 11:28 caddyB says:
  
  that’s how japanese titles work
- 26/06/2012 at 11:48 SanguineAngel says:
  
  Can you imagine if Medal of Honour and CoD adopted this trend?
  - 26/06/2012 at 14:28 JackShandy says:
    
    Yes, we’d end up with ridiculous titles like “CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE 2: BLACK OPS 2.”
    - 26/06/2012 at 14:31 Lord Custard Smingleigh says:
      
      SHOOT! ANGRY MEN – WAR OF THE ANGRY MEN – YOUR ENEMY STANDS BEHIND WAIST HIGH WALLS BEFORE YOU
      - 26/06/2012 at 15:53 JackShandy says:
        
        SHOOTMANIA 8: DELICIOUS BLOOD IS CRIED FROM THE EYES OF LIBERTY
- 26/06/2012 at 11:55 LTK says:
  
  18th century novel title conventions need to make a comeback for videogames.
  - 26/06/2012 at 12:20 Harlander says:
    
    “The Half Life” or “With Crowbar and Hazard Suit”
    Being the Misadventures of Doctor Gordon Freeman in the Environs of Black Mesa and the Desmenses through the Lambda Portal
    
    OK, a bit shoddy, but it was worth a shot