M1 Tank Platoon II

M1 Tank Platoon II (sometimes referred to simply as M1TP2) is a M-1 tank simulation released by MicroProse Software in 1998 for Windows 95/98/Me. It is the sequel to M1 Tank Platoon.

This vastly improved version incorporated many new features, including much improved graphics as well as multiple campaigns, and multi-player options. The ability to play as Armoured Cavalry, Marines or Army Platoons added another dimension. The manual accompanying the game, at over 100 pages, was itself a work of art and a suitable technical primer on such things as armour types, tactics, vehicles and much more.

This version allowed the player to play many positions in the four tanks that comprised the platoon. A player could play as a tank commander under cover ("buttoned up") or open on the .50 Cal HMG Commanders HMG. Other positions included: Gunner and 'Outside 3-D Scrolling View' of any unit on the battlefield.

There was a patch available to upgrade the game to allow for improved HMG and map performance.

The history of this game's troubled development and its apparent lack of success is documented by John "Spoons" Sponauer in this article at SimHQ: http://www.simhq.com/_land/armor_archive/Tank_Platoon_History.zip