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Walking Tank: Difference between revisions
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[[File:battlewalker_l5riesig_01_9973.png|link=Battlefield 2142|frame|Be shot or be stomped.]]
A common feature of military stories set in [[Steampunk]] settings, and also [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]] and beyond, a [[Walking Tank]] is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|just that]]; a tank with legs instead of treads. If it has arms (they don't always), they're usually decidedly non-humanoid in appearance (elbow-joints optional), and more likely to end in [[Arm Cannon|Arm Cannons]] instead of hands.
While ''slightly'' more reasonable than the humanoid [[Humongous Mecha]] more common to Japanese media, these still mostly fall into the [[Awesome but Impractical]] category, and thus this trope owes its existence primarily to the [[Rule of Cool]]. Pretty much the only reasonable justification is the ability of legs to more easily handle rough terrain, but that's generally pretty flimsy.
Given that they're used almost exclusively by military forces, it should be no surprise that Walking Tanks are always treated as [[Real Robot|Real Robots]]. The physics are also generally handled pretty realistically. Don't expect these guys to be [[High-Speed Missile Dodge|dodging missiles at high speed]] at any point; they're never nimble. Taking advantage of this fact is usually the best way to take them out; wrap some high-tension cable tight around the legs and then stand back to [[Death by Falling Over|watch the show]]. If you're lucky, [[Every Car Is a Pinto|Every One Of These Is A Pinto]]. If you're not, the design includes all-round machinegun coverage.
This is a [[Super-Trope]] of [[Chicken Walker]] and [[Spider Tank]], and [[Sister Trope]] of [[Humongous Mecha]].
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== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Star Wars]]''
** [[The Empire]]'s AT-AT and AT-ST walkers from the original trilogy are probably the best-known examples of this. The prequels introduced the clone army's AT-TE, a low-slung six-legged version of this trope that probably wouldn't be susceptible to the old tripwire trick, and apparently the predecessor to the AT-AT.
** Parts of the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe]] mention that there are legless versions which fly slowly on repulsorlifts, which would seem more practical, but it's also mentioned that there is technology to disrupt repulsors and make those versions crash.
** The AT-TE was more stable, but it was also more vulnerable to mines, hence, raising it high above the ground. (in hindsight, it's still a better design)
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== [[Literature]] ==
* The "Clanker" powers from Scott Westerfeld's ''[[Leviathan (novel)|Leviathan]]'' use these, both in two-legged variations like the Cyklop Stormwalker and [[Spider Tank]] versions like the SMS ''Herkules''.
* The Step-Walkers of Orson Scott Card's ''[[Orson Scott Card's Empire|Empire]]'' appear to be this, but they're more of a role in anti-personnel - they're only armed with heavy machine guns and a few were disabled by a fleet of police cars ramming the legs.
* The [[A Mech by Any Other Name|serv-machines]] in Andrey Livadny's ''[[The History of the Galaxy]]'' are between this and [[Humongous Mecha]], depending on the novel. In the 'verse, serv-machines are considered to be the epitome of planetary warfare, refined over the centuries since they were introduced during the First Galactic War. The original walkers were designed as terraforming tools by the colonists who have settled Dabog, a hostile world with treacherous swamps and large, dinosaur-like lizards, which eat standard planetary vehicles (e.g. tanks, troop transports) for breakfast (sometimes literally). The colonists studied the lizards' locomotor system and designed new types of vehicles using this method. The walkers proved extremely effective at clearing away hostile flore and fauna and, during the invasion of the [[The Empire|Earth Alliance]], showed them to be superior combat vehicles to traditional tanks and troop transports. Since then, the latter were relegated to support roles, leaving most of the fighting to serv-machines.
** Unlike your typical [[Walking Tank]], serv-machines (later models, especially) are partially automated using an onboard AI module. Most are equipped with short-range jump jets, allowing them to either quickly change location or pop out from a cover.
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== [[Tabletop Games]] ==
* Most "walker" vehicles in [[Warhammer 40000]]:
** The Imperial Guard has the Sentinel, a one-man light scout walker used because of its ability to quickly traverse rough terrain.
** The Eldar have a walker unit similar to the Guard's.
** The Space Marines' Dreadnoughts are essentially this. They're big metal boxes with mortally wounded marines inside controlling them and guns and legs bolted to the outside.
* About 50-60% of Battlemechs in the ''[[BattleTech]]'' series are this type. The rest are either traditional "Armored Soldier" types, [[Spider Tank|Spider Tanks]], or something in between. This number goes up to 80-90% for the Clans. While some may look humanoid, they all behave like walking tanks - fairly large and slow. You could ''attempt'' to dodge in any mech, but doing so is largely pointless because of how fast projectiles are (it's largely used to screw up an enemy's aim), and you'll probably just faceplant your 'Mech into the ground because it's still a 20+ ton tank that happens to have legs.
** The [http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Goliath Goliath] 'Mech deserves a particular mention, being a walking tank in [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|the most visually literal sense imaginable.]]
* Most of the Panzerkamfers in ''[[Gear Krieg]]'' fall into this category.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[Call of Duty: Black Ops II|Call of Duty Black Ops 2]]'': Will be featured.
* The BattleWalkers from ''[[Battlefield 2142]]'' are textbook examples of this trope; the EU's L5 Riesig provides the page image.
* The ''[[
* Most versions of ''[[Metal Gear]]'' are bipedal walking tanks. RAXA had four legs but didn't really walk. The Shagohod was a cross between walking tank and hovercraft.
** Also from ''[[Metal Gear]]'': the GEKKO.
* The Terran Goliaths from ''[[Starcraft]]''.
** And the [[Starcraft II|sequel]] brings us the gigantic Thor, and the transforming Viking.
* ''[[G-Police|G-Police 2]]'' had the Raptor, a bipedal, walking, gliding tank. It was awesome.
* Some enemies in the ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star
** The Arwings themselves would qualify in the unreleased [[Star Fox (series)|Star
* The Shredders from ''[[World of Warcraft]]''.
* The Next War mod for ''[[Civilization]]'' talks about the problems walkers would face in the Civopedia. After mentioning said problems, the civopedia justifies all of them by saying that [[Rule of Cool|walkers are cool, making them worthwhile]].
** They make a comeback in Civilization V in the form of [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Giant Death Robots.]] Said Giant Death Robots require 2 units of uranium to be built. For reference, a nuke only requires one.
* The Malta Group's Titan walkers from ''[[City of Heroes]]''.
* Warmech and several lesser enemies from ''[[Final Fantasy I]]''.
* Most AFWs in ''[[Ring of Red]]''. Those that aren't (the 4-legged AFWs) are [[Spider Tank|Spider Tanks]].
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