Panzer Geekz is not your typical combat Windows Phone game. You command a World War II tank in a capture-the-flag-styled game. The goal is to capture your enemy's flag, destroy their troop lines and for good measure crush anything else in sight.
Sounds like your typical tank battle game, right? The twist with Panzer Geekz is that instead of blasting your way through the enemy with your tank's cannon, you reach ramming speed and crush your enemy.
Panzer Geekz is one of the more recent releases from Game Troopers and is a Xbox gaming title for Windows Phone. Described as a fusion between racing, bowling, Angry Birds and pinball games, after spending a little time with Panzer Geekz we can see the similarities. It's a great addition to Game Trooper's portfolio and a fun game to pass the time with.
Panzer Geekz opens with a video intro that will carry you to the game's main menu. Here you will find options to play the game, tap into the game's settings, view your achievements and buy stars that can be used to unlock levels. The settings for Panzer Geeks allow you to choose your steering options, view the gaming credits and mute the sound.
The steering options for you tank include on-screen controls or using your Windows Phone tilt sensors to guide you tank across the battlefield. In using both control options, it is truly a coin toss as to which is the best. I will say it does take a few games to get used to the sensitivities of either option.
Gameplay is laid out across fifty levels that span nine different battlefields, ranging from forest settings to winter scenes. The first few levels serve as a tutorial that covers the basics of game's mechanics.
Prior to each level of play, you will see a brief description and quick fly-over of the battlefield. Each level has an assortment of paths that lead to the enemy flag and a host of enemy soldiers, farm animals, trees, barricades, land mine and water hazards positioned between your tank and the flag. You have to roll your tank through these obstacles and knock down the flag before your tank loses steam.
To get things going, all you need to do is tap/hold on your tank and pull back to wind it up. A directional arrow will appear to help you aim the direction you want your tank to get started in and when you release your hold, the tank will begin its journey. Think of the tank as a wind-up toy, complete with the limited forward momentum. You have to get to the enemy flag before that momentum runs out.
Enemy troops, trees and other objects will slow your tank down a little, but you can bounce an enemy soldier into other soldiers to take them out (like bowling). Livestock, such as sheep, will give your tank a burst of speed that will stretch that forward momentum further. Along with steering your tank down the paths and into the enemy, you can tap the screen to make the tank jump to reach enemies perched in elevated locations or to jump over immovable obstacles.
While you are encouraged to roll over and destroy the enemy, you will need to steer your tank away from land mines and water hazards. These items will end your game quickly. You also have to keep your tank on the battlefield — this is a tabletop battle and you can steer your tank off the table and to its untimely demise.
As you complete levels of play, you will earn gaming stars. The higher your score, the more stars you earn; you'll need these stars to unlock some of the higher levels. If you are struggling with earning these stars, you can also pad your stars count through in-app purchases.
More challenging than you would imagine
Panzer Geekz is an entertaining Windows Phone game that's perfectly suited to passing time. The game has animations and graphics that nicely pay tribute to the old plastic toy soldiers and tanks of our collective childhoods. The Xbox achievements will be appealing to many, and despite the silly mechanics and graphics, gameplay is still enough of a challenge to keep you on your toes.
Panzer Geekz is actually more challenging that you might imagine. You are controlling a wind-up toy that is barreling across a tabletop battlefield. While you can bounce objects into enemy troops (as well as bouncing soldiers around) your tank can get bounced around as well. I think the difficulty of this game is that you do not control your forward momentum and can easily oversteer your tank in attempting to avoid larger objects or dangers that will slow your tank down. There's a surprising amount of finesse needed in a game that's based around tanks.
Overall, Panzer Geekz is another quality gaming title from Game Troopers, but one that will take a little patience to get used to with its steering controls and game feel. Panzer Geekz is a free gaming title that is ad-supported, though you can remove the ads with an in-app purchase.
Download Panzer Geekz for Windows Phone
