Cosmo Tank

Cosmo Tank is a 1990 action game published for the Game Boy by Atlus. The player commands a futuristic tank against alien creatures - and by the standards of the handheld's early years, it is a surprisingly ambitious piece of work.

The game mixes viewpoints: exploration unfolds from a bird's-eye perspective, while key battles switch to a view from the tank's cockpit. On a monochrome display with minimal processing power this was a bold solution, giving the game a depth few expected from pocket action in 1990.

Atlus was still a young publisher at the time, only beginning to build the reputation that would later make it a specialist in Japanese RPGs; its early console and handheld titles now rank among the lesser-known but collector-hunted chapters of the company's history.

In 1990 the Game Boy was still demonstrating what it could carry. Alongside simple puzzle games and platformers came attempts at more complex action - and Cosmo Tank stands out among them precisely for blending genres that otherwise met only on stronger machines. The entry also lists multiplayer support, which on the Game Boy meant linking two consoles by cable - a ritual belonging to the folklore of school breaks and long journeys. The chance to measure strength against a living opponent was rare seasoning in pocket games of the day.

Best of all, this armoured expedition is not just something to study in screenshots: OldGame.cz lets the game start straight in your browser, so the campaign against space monsters can begin at once.