Tanarus (video game)

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}{{Infobox video game | title = Tanarus | image = Tanarus (video game).jpg | developer = Verant Interactive | publisher = Sony Interactive Studios America | designer = John Smedley<br>Kevin McCann | released = {{vgrelease|NA|December 12, 1997<ref>{{cite web |author=PC Gamer staff |date=December 12, 1997 |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news-1997-12-08.html |title=Now Shipping |website=PC Gamer |publisher=Imagine Media |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19980218070342/http://www.pcgamer.com/news/news-1997-12-08.html |archivedate=February 18, 1998 |url-status=dead |accessdate=December 6, 2019}}</ref>|EU|1998}} | genre = First-person shooter | modes = Multiplayer | platforms = Windows | composer = George Sanger }}

'''''Tanarus''''' is a discontinued 1997 online-only multiplayer first-person shooter video game developed by Verant Interactive and published by Sony Interactive Studios America for Windows. It is unusual for not being released on any PlayStation console, despite Sony Computer Entertainment owning the rights to the game. Originally titled ''Armorgeddon'', Verant was forced to change the name when another game with that name was discovered. It was released in late 1997.<ref name="GS">{{cite web |author=GameSpot staff |date=December 16, 1997 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/tanarus-is-loose/1100-2468353/ |title=Tanarus Is Loose [date mislabeled as "April 26, 2000"] |website=GameSpot |publisher=Red Ventures |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108074913/http://www.gamespot.com/news/tanarus-is-loose-2468353 |archivedate=November 8, 2012 |url-status=live |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> Verant would later gain recognition by developing ''EverQuest'' for Sony Online Entertainment. The game was included in Sony Online Entertainment's Station Exchange program in 2007, and shut down on June 10, 2010.<ref name="delist">{{cite web |url=https://delistedgames.com/tanarus/ |title=Tanarus - Delisted Games |website=Delisted Games |date=20 November 2019 |accessdate=November 17, 2020}}</ref>

==Gameplay== Game arenas (also known as "maps") allowed up to four teams to play at the same time. Each team could contain up to five players.<ref name=GPRo112>{{cite magazine |author=Ogg |url=https://archive.org/details/GamePro_Issue_102_January_1998/page/n37/mode/2up |title=Sony Goes PC with Tanarus's Tank Mayhem |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG |issue=112 |date=January 1998 |page=38 |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> Most of the arenas were created by the player community, although the maps had to be hosted by Sony Online, who would rotate the maps on a monthly basis.

Upon joining the arena, each player selected a tank to operate from the five models available. The tank would then be customized through the utilization of various weapons and support modules.<ref name=GPRo112/> Numerous combinations could be used, contingent on what the player wished to do (capture other teams' flags or fight, for example). The player may have then switched tank models during the game by using one of their base's recon stations. Players saw the Tanarus world through the tank's gun turret.

There was no set objective in ''Tanarus'', though the game presented various goals of team-based combat: Generally, to destroy the other colors' tanks, capture recon stations to provide a tactical or strategic advantage, and, finally, to capture another team's flag, bringing it back to their own base, thus destroying everyone on that team.<ref name="delist"/>

==History== ''Tanarus'' was developed by Verant Interactive and published by Sony Interactive Studios America. It was originally called ''Armorgeddon'', but its name had to be changed due to another game being discovered with that name. It released in late 1997.<ref name="GS"/> It was included as part of Sony Online Entertainment's Station Exchange program in 2007 before being shut down on June 10, 2010.

== Reception == {{Video game reviews | CGSP = 3/5<ref>{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Peter |date=February 17, 1998 |url=http://www.cdmag.com/articles/010/086/tanarus_review.html |title=Tanarus |website=Computer Games Strategy Plus |publisher=Strategy Plus, Inc. |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030901193724/http://www.cdmag.com/articles/010/086/tanarus_review.html |archivedate=September 1, 2003 |url-status=dead |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> | CGW = 2.5/5<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Coffey |first=Robert |url=https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_166.pdf |title=Scrap Iron (''Tanarus'' Review) |magazine=Computer Gaming World |publisher=Ziff Davis |issue=166 |date=May 1998 |page=151 |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> | GameRev = B<ref>{{cite web |last=Hubble |first=Calvin |date=January 1998 |url=https://www.gamerevolution.com/review/32842-tanarus-review |title=Tanarus Review |website=GameRevolution |publisher=CraveOnline |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19980613214524/http://www.game-revolution.com/games/pc/action/tanarus.htm |archivedate=June 13, 1998 |url-status=live |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> | GSpot = 8/10<ref name="Gregson">{{cite web |last=Gregson |first=Chris |date=January 23, 1998 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/tanarus-review/1900-2533352/ |title=Tanarus Review [date mislabeled as "May 2, 2000"] |website=GameSpot |publisher=Red Ventures |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203000855/http://www.gamespot.com/tanarus/reviews/tanarus-review-2533352/ |archivedate=February 3, 2012 |url-status=live |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> | NGen = 4/5<ref name="NGen">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/NEXT_Generation_40/page/n109/mode/2up |title=Tanarus |magazine=Next Generation |publisher=Imagine Media |issue=40 |date=April 1998 |page=109 |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> | PCGUS = 87%<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Saltzman |first=Marc |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/137.html |title=Tanarus |magazine=PC Gamer |publisher=Imagine Media |volume=5 |issue=7 |date=July 1998 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000117042233/http://www.pcgamer.com/reviews/137.html |archivedate=January 17, 2000 |url-status=dead |accessdate=November 18, 2021}}</ref> }}

The game received favorable reviews. ''GameSpot'''s Chris Gregson concluded, "Some might think $9.95 per month is a little pricey for a single game - that's what Kesmai charges for all of its sundry online-only games on GameStorm, for example - but they need to remember that there's really no other game online like this one. And if it gets its hooks in you, you'll probably consider the price a bargain."<ref name="Gregson"/>

''Next Generation'' said, "While the graphics and sound have been kept to a minimum to reduce latency, they're by no means ugly, and with 3D acceleration, there are enough special effects to keep almost anyone happy. At $9.99 a month, ''Tanarus'' isn't the greatest value for everybody, but for those with the persistence and skill to become good at the game, it's worth the time and money."<ref name="NGen"/>

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== * {{moby game|id=/windows/tanarus}}

Category:1997 video games Category:989 Studios games Category:Multiplayer online games Category:North America-exclusive video games Category:Tank simulation video games Category:Video games scored by George Sanger Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Windows games Category:Windows-only games