Awesome Tanks vs Awesome Tanks 2: What Changed and Which to Play

Awesome Tanks 2 is on this site too, next to the original. Same top-down view, same team — programmer Alexander Gette and artist Jurij Krivonos, music by Waterflame — and the same loop of fighting a level, collecting coins and shopping. The title screen promises "more, bigger, longer-lasting upgrades", and that is exactly what changed. Here is what is different and which one to start with.

What stayed the same

You still drive with W A S D or the arrow keys and aim with the mouse. Levels are still walled maps under a fog that lifts as you drive, with enemy tanks, fixed turrets and spawners to destroy. Crates still hide coins, health and ammo, barrels still explode, and your progress still saves in the browser. Both games have 15 levels and three difficulties.

Ten weapons instead of six

The first game has the minigun, shotgun, ricochet, cannon, rockets and laser. Awesome Tanks 2 keeps all six and adds four:

• Flamethrower — short range, constant damage, perfect for tanks that come round a corner at you.
• Shock — an electric gun that holds 1,500 units of charge, as much as the laser.
• Railgun — at 28,000 it shares the top price in the shop with the laser, and it is worth saving for.
• Mines — dropped behind you with the R key. Lay them in a corridor and let the chasing tanks drive over them.

With ten guns the number keys now go from 1 to 9, and Space, Q and E still cycle through them.

Longer upgrade lines

In the first game each performance upgrade has three levels. In Awesome Tanks 2 armour, speed, turret speed and sight each have five, and each weapon has five upgrades after you buy it. The steps are also cheaper: speed, turret speed and sight run 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900, where the first game went up to 1,500 or 3,000. Armour runs from 2,000 to 20,000 instead of topping out at 28,000. The effect is that you buy something after almost every level instead of saving for three levels in a row.

Which one first?

Start with the original Awesome Tanks on the home page if you have never played either. Six guns are easier to learn than ten, and the short upgrade lines make every purchase feel big. It takes an afternoon to finish on easy.

Move to Awesome Tanks 2 when you want more choices. The extra guns change how you play: mines make chases one-sided, the flamethrower rewards driving straight at the enemy, and the longer upgrade lines give you something to work towards on every replay.

Both games save separately, so starting the sequel does not touch your progress in the first. If you want more tank games after that, the Tank Games shelf has Tank Trouble 2 for up to four players on one keyboard, and Tank Stars for turn-based artillery.