''M1 Tank Platoon II'' (sometimes referred to simply as ''M1TP2'') is a tank simulation video game developed and published by MicroProse Software in 1998 for Microsoft Windows. It is a simulator of the

M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...

main battle tank and a follow-up to MicroProse's 1989 release ''

M1 Tank Platoon ''M1 Tank Platoon'' is a tactical 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 gamep ...

''. ''M1 Tank Platoon II'' was sold to

Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and Video game publisher, publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca ...

in 2009. The game is available on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

and Epic Games services.

Gameplay

''M1 Tank Platoon II'' allowed the

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

to play several positions in the four

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful e ...

s that comprised the platoon. A player could play as a

tank commander A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

under cover ("buttoned up") or open on the hatch to man the

.50 caliber machine gun The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, w ...

. Other positions included gunner and an "outside 3-D scrolling view" of any unit on the battlefield. Compared to the first ''M1 Tank Platoon'', this game incorporated many new features, including much improved graphics as well as multiple campaigns, and

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

options. The ability to play as

armored cavalry Armoured cavalry are combat units using armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) instead of horses. They began to replace horse cavalry in the heavy shock and the light reconnaissance, skirmishing and exploitation/pursuit roles in most armies comme ...

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

or army

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as Law enforcement officer, law enforcement officers, military personnel, or Security guard, secur ...

s added another dimension. The manual accompanying the game, over 100 pages, touched on such things as

armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or ...

types, tactics, vehicles and more. There was a

patch Patch or Patches may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Patch Johnson, a fictional character from ''Days of Our Lives'' * Patch (''My Little Pony''), a toy * "Patches" (Dickey Lee song), 1962 * "Patches" (Chairmen of the Board song ...

available to upgrade the game to allow for improved machine gun and map performance.

Reception

The game received favorable reviews. ''

Next Generation Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to: Publications and literature * ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company * Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...

'' said, "due to the depth of this simulation and the rather steep learning curve, ''M1 Tank Platoon II'' may prove to be an exercise in frustration rather than fun, but for the individual who truly wants to be 'Hell on Wheels,' this title is just the ticket."

References

External links

* 1998 video games MicroProse games Real-time tactics video games Tank simulation video games Video game sequels Video games developed in the United States Windows games Windows-only games {{vehicle-simulation-game-stub