ConnecTank (Nintendo Switch) Preview

In the land of New Pangea, the world is overtaken by the gig economy, with several barons commanding the playing field. ConnecTank starts with the protagonist meeting with one such business mogul, the aristocratic Fat Cat who wants a package delivered. The mission sounds simple, but there is more to the job than travelling from A to B. Rival barons seek to prevent each other becoming successful, by attacking the delivery vehicle - a tank - in battle, and sending in troops to disrupt the defence and offence actions. Getting the shipment to the destination is far from straightforward.

At the top of the battle screen, set against a backdrop of the relevant region's location, are the two tanks who throw missiles at each other throughout the fight. Creating those missiles takes a bit of work. Posters depict both which and in what order components need to be put on the conveyor belt to create the ammo needed to blast away enemy projectiles. The colour of the ammo needs particular attention. The tanks themselves are created by finding five pieces of the same tank, with plenty of customisation choice by adding accessories like new armour and ammo to the tank with end of battle rewards, which all come with a clear description of what they do so even newbies won't need to guess about their positive or negative traits. The end of battle congratulations from the mission's key mogul adds to the satisfaction of a successful mission. Even if the level ends in a loss it is never game over, but a significantly smaller pay-out is received.

The conveyor belt itself is under constant risk from being set on fire by the enemy or breaking down through wear and tear. Trampolines need to be inserted into it to bounce ammo on its way to the tank's cannon. Figuring out the best conveyor belt configuration will be become easier as the game progresses and knowledge of the battle mechanics grows. It must also be constructed all the time while under threat from enemy interference on the conveyor belt floor. Some invaders are literally made of broccoli, a hint at the level of humour entwined in the game. This extends to all the characters. Log Dog, who will become a familiar face as ConnecTank's shopkeeper, is a dog trapped in a log, with no paws on show, just the head poking out of the top. Unlike other characters who have freedom of movement, Log Dog's position will never change, which allows them to be cranky on occasion. The Prince of Whales, a rival to Fat Cat, is none other than a whale and another baron, Lord Long-Neck, truly does have a lengthy space between his shoulders and head.

Comedy courses through both graphics and text alike, from the tanks themselves (for example the cow tank fires cows as missiles which is as amusing as it sounds) to the witty dialogue. Despite the advanced transport system using tanks, the poor postman has to deliver everything on foot. Whoever said business can be dull has not experienced New Pangea's job market. If a particular mogul is found appealing, it is possible to focus on building up their reputation in the world, taking on his or her requests in order to learn more about their position among the elite. At any point the focus can be switched to a different tycoon, which will adversely affect the previously focused on individual and destroy their supremacy.

ConnecTank is not just about defending a shipment, however. There are buildings that need to be manufactured and have items collected for them, like the museum. The radio station provides a propaganda platform which everyone wants control over. Tanks can be repaired and upgraded at checkpoints, with some parts only made available when certain character scenarios are activated. These are not actual save points: the game regularly auto-saves so there is no fear of accidentally losing progress after a gruelling fight through forgetting to save.

There is no set end to the game: there is a finite amount of material to discover about all the characters but due to New Pangea's constantly shifting politics it seems that dozens of hours are needed before all scenarios are exhausted, with no set aristocrat guaranteed world domination at the end. Absolutely anything can happen! Multiplayer will be available on a local level, with the difficulty level naturally increasing the more players are added, with a maximum of four allies in battle. There is a potential for DLC further down the line, depending on ConnecTank's reception, as there are many ideas which did not make it into the final game.