World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks (PlayStation 2)

Reviewed by

Ryan Davis

on 01/09/2001

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Quick specs
ESRB: Teen
Genre: Action
Elements: Car Combat Driving
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Add to my list Product summary

What it lacks in innovation, it makes up for with a solid multiplayer game with respectable graphics, a healthy helping of variety, and plenty of replay value.

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GameSpot editors' review

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating

Reviewed by:
Ryan Davis
Reviewed on: 01/09/2001
Updated on: 05/17/2006
Released on: 12/20/2000
Originally published on GameSpot: World Destruction League: Thunder Tanks (PlayStation 2) Review

There's no question, WDL: Thunder Tanks for the PlayStation was a bona fide disaster. A tired premise, poor control, muddy graphics, and abhorrent sound made it a game to stay far, far away from. The PS2 version of WDL, however, is an entirely different story.

The game's premise is hardly groundbreaking for the genre - it's the typically dystopian future, where the World Destruction League is the most popular form of entertainment. The league travels all over the world, and the matches involve combatants laying waste to each other and anything else that might happen to be around. It's an idea and a style that has been all but worn out, but as with most vehicular combat games, the premise isn't terribly important.

WDL offers a handful of variations on the standard vehicular combat gameplay modes. The tournament mode is a single-player game where you choose your warrior and fight through a myriad of opponents across the globe. This mode is proficient, and it may keep you mildly entertained for a while, but it doesn't compare to the multiplayer games, which is where WDL truly excels. There are the self-explanatory deathmatch and capture the flag modes, as well as frenzy, a capture the flag variation where flags randomly appear throughout the arena and players must grab the flags and return them to their bases. The domination mode is the game's most original. There are several tank generators scattered throughout the arena, and your goal is to take control of all of them. A tank generator, while under your control, generates tank drones that will attack your opponents or any drones your opponents may have control of. All the modes are playable with up to four players, with a little help from the PS2 Multitap, save for the tournament mode. The ability to change the number of kills or flags necessary to end a round and the presence of drones is something that was sorely missing in the PlayStation version, and when combined with the variety of multiplayer modes, they make WDL one of the few worthwhile excuses to own a PS2 Multitap.

The PlayStation version of WDL: Thunder Tanks suffered from a general sensation of repetition - that is, all of the arenas looked essentially the same. WDL for the PS2, however, incinerates that mold with not only better designed levels, but also with a greater number of them to boot. In an interesting turn, WDL does not hit New York, Los Angeles, and Tokyo as you might expect, instead opting for more obscure or entirely fictional cities, such as 3DO's hometown of Redwood City, Calif., and the lost city of Atlantis.