Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2014
Desert Thunder
Developer Brainbox Games, Hip Games
Desert Thunder is an arcade-style action tank game for the PC. Ripped from today’s headlines, the storyline immerses players into the heat of a desert-based military conflict. Players will tear through desert, urban and industrial settings in their experimental battle engine, the Abrams M1A6 Advanced tank that’s loaded with awe-inspiring... From the Steam store page
108 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
40
Mixed
42 positive · 64 negative
95% range 31–49%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 42 | 64 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
2 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
114 of 270 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 108 · most liked firstTouched a tree, it exploded. Touched a rock, it exploded. Touched a person, he did not explode. Game needs to be more consistent with its explosions.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The controls are horribly laggy, especially if you're trying to use a mouse. There's no option to invert the mouse, by the way, and the top end resolution on the game well below what a modern monitor can use. All in all, it feels (and looks) like a PS2-era game. It certainly isn't worth more than a dollar, tops, although some modding could help.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only 8 missions, and I took 8 minutes on the first - do the math. Realism? Look elsewhere; straight arcade action. AI - not particularly smart. UT2003 under the hood, and yet no multiplayer. I feel like throwing up... barf... guess I did. Bargain bin material. Fetish for explosions? Get it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only interesting thing in this game is the hotdog trucks. I blew them up. I may not have the right to speak since I haven't completed the game fully yet but i have 2 hours into the game with 3 more levels to go. Jeez thats a 3 hour game. But the length of the game is good considering you will not want to play any more after the first hour. The fun moments are there when you blow stuff up with some new tank shells/bullets but besides that and a couple of new enemies this game lacks gameplay…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bewege dich wie ein Schmetterling, stich wie eine Biene.“ Leider macht die miese Kameraführung ein Befolgen des Spiele-Slogans nahezu unmöglich. Der Iso-Ansicht fehlt es an Übersicht und in der Ego-Perspektive kann man kaum mit der Umgebung interagieren. In Verbindung mit den eintönigen Missionen kommt am Ende nur ein drittklassiger, technisch veralteter Splinter Cell-Klon heraus.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a very simple and arcade like tank game. Think of a modern version of BattleZone from the 80's. Easy to learn and pretty easy to win. There are some spots where you cannot just charge in, but that's a good thing. The bad thing are the soldiers. They are a little too powerful, arguably harder to kill than the tanks at times since they are tiny and can hit as hard as the tanks do. I got this in a bundle, and as usual for my reviews, that is the price point for my recommending it.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Budget tank game from 11 years ago. Get what you expect. 5/10.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In Desert Thunder you control an experimental tank and are asked to single-handedly liberate a country from a terrorist threat: you do so by basically blowing up everything as you move through levels. The result is sadly a very arcadey game with dull gameplay, awkward controls and little variety. PROS: -can be mildly fun for the first minutes -considering its age the game had a decent amount of destructible objects -shells have bullet drop -the voice acting isn't too bad CONS: -extremely…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty cool game. You can relax for a moment. The graphics is a little weak for these times, but it does not interfere with playing. We go in game one and the same tank. We have the task to defeat rebels. In this game there are 7 or 9 missions. I do not remember. They are varied, and some are very hard. You can complete the game in a few hours, but it worth it. I recommend for a small price.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh. It's arcade tank game. If there was nothing similar on the market I would say go for it. But since you have World of Tanks for free, just forget about this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best game ever! . . . . . Just kidding :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Low graphics - but it's 2003 game. Unreal Engine - cool, so it has the same bugs as other Unreal engine games. I, myself, had to make some Dual Core fix for that. Easy? Way too easy... Time consuming? A bit... Price - 9 euro? Are you kidding? I got this game for 'random key giveaway' thingie. Get it only for less than 10 eurocents XD
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only game I got over 1000fps... 11/10 'Do it, just do it' ~ Shia LaBeouf
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Possibly the most terrible tank driver game I've yet played. And yet, it's weirdly enchanting in its terribleness. So the weird thing about it is the fact that it kind of works well, but at the same time, really doesn't. The graphical quality is reminiscent of the Playstation era, and the control handling is fraught with override problems. The handling is made worse by mines that you can't shoot, but that you can see clearly, hill climbing that somehow works sometimes and not others on much…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Primitive. If you'd play this game the first time, you wouldn't miss much if you just skipped it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🎇New game annoucement The Thunder cometh.🎇 Desert Thunder ⛈️🚁🔫 All action alpha coming this week to the @MetaQuestVR @SideQuestVR 👀👀👀👇👇👇 Here is a taster Trailer to get you excited #gamedev #indiedev #VR #Quest3 #Quest2 #Quest3s youtu.be/s_9bPEVQBuM
unlabelledView post →Desert Thunder is an arcade tank game that will not interest many people. The software suffering from several gameplay bugs, we will very often rail against the commands, the lifespan being average we will complain about the speed with which the game ends and the set being ultimately of no great interest, we will really wonder why we spent a handful of money to buy this title. Graphics: 4.5/10 A desert-like graphic environment through which dunes, cities, refineries or airports follow one…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seeing as you all know I'm a large fan of the great game Desert Gunner (which I also made a review about, go check that out and buy the game it's amazing), I am also a huge fan of Desert Thunder. Although this game has quite some age, being released in late 2003, it is a very HIGH QUALITY game. It consists of high intensity, strategy, and lots of patience. This game should only be tacked by the top of the line gamers. If you're not a huge gamer, don't even worry! I'd still recommend purchasing…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →░░░░░░███████ ]▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▂▄▅█████████▅▄▃▂ I███████████████████]. ◥⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙▲⊙◤...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Desert Thunder is bad but in a good way... Yes it's laggy and dreadful. But I love it!! When I saw the "HIP" games logo pop up I knew I was in for a treat!! Like watching boys boys boys by Sabrina in a wine bar in East Grinstead....I have played a few HIP games before most have crashed and bugged out half way through, but they were cheap and fun! I think I bought their whole catalouge in Zavvi for £1. Raise a glass of scrumpy and have a laugh!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Do the physics always work? No Are the collision models good? No Is the AI intelligent? No Is it historically accurate? No Is it ultra realistic? No Does the tank handle well? No Does the turret traverse 360? Nope Does the camera rotate 360? Nope Does the game reward hulldown tactics and use of armour? Nope Does the game look good? No (as of 2022) Does the game require surgical precision to drive through minefields and navigate along steep edges? Oh yeah. Did I get this game at 90%…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A good solid arcade style tank game. Almost every object in the game you can destroy. You have 3 different type of ammo on your take, along with 8 great missions. Running over people makes them explode :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Desert Thunder is an old-school arcade style tank game in which you control a tank and destroy things as you make your way to your objective. Pros: -Fun, and not very challenging, making for a great time waster -Arcade type games like this are rare, and it's fun to see one again Cons: -Considering this game came out in 2003, it is kind of expected but the graphics and physics effects are extremely dated. There is a lot of clipping as well -Very short, only 8 missions in total (took me roughly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Desert Thunder Review - Rating: 3.2/10 General Impression Desert Thunder has potential for being a decent game, but due to a lot of issues, I simply can’t recommend it. The graphics and the textures are decent, hence for 2003 they are pretty nice. The atmosphere is OK as well, probably a bit too large for some users, but I like large environments. You have to move your tank across an unspecified way (wherever you want), to reach the final destination. Throughout the way, you will find…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As of I'm writing this review I've played only half of the levels but I personally think it's enough to justify the game if it's good or not. Unfortunately, the answer for this game being good or bad is that this game is bad. Really bad. The basic gameplay mechanics are there. Movement, shooting, enemies, different kind of destructable enviroments and... well, to be honest that's pretty much it. There's really nothing to the game other than moving, shooting enemies and different kinds of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Desert Thunder is an arcade tank shooter launched in 2003. There isn't much more to tell, really. You just ride around in your tank, shoot people, shoot tanks, pick up some powerups and try not to ride on any mines, which is the hardest thing about the game. It seems like the developers really want you to drive over the mines because often you can't even ride passed them and they already explode if you're near. There are like 8 missions, in which you're basically doing the same thing.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's ok for a classic tank game i've never heard of. Was surprisingly fun for a bit blowing things up. :D
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bad game. You can explode from everything if you touch that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →From the screenshots It looked like a game worth playing Then I saw that it had mixed reviews I still thought I should give it a try and that was the WORST decision of my life This game has NOTHING GOOD about it to be listed here just played for a few minutes and I regret it waste of my Internet data,my hard-drive space and my time I would have listed the good things about this game If it had any but THERE IS NOTHING GOOD ABOUT IT So I'll Just list the cons Cons: -Worst Graphics -Worst…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Be warned that for those of you like me, it will quickly make you motion sick. I tried to struggle though, but when I got to the second 20 minute attack and defend level (level 6), I just couldn't do it anymore. I had to play in rotation of making it part way though a level and resting my eyes to recover. This is one of those game you look at when you walk into an arcade and go, "Wow, I've definitely got to check this game out!" You put $5 worth of quarters in the machine and off you go. Then…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would rate this somewhere between Yes and No, leaning closer to No. The graphics haven't aged well and the controls are a bit unresponsive. Enemy troops hit as hard as tanks but are difficult to kill because of how small they are. However, tearing around the levels in a tank is enjoyable and the game is fun in small bursts which is lucky since there are only 8 missions. Ultimately it's fun but not really worth paying for. If you can get a free key somewhere then give it a go, otherwise…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Old bargain bin PC game, a lot of fun if not a bit glitchy. Runs perfect on Wine experimental but apparently unplayable on modern Windows. Get it on sale and you will have some silly fun for a buck.~
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the worse tank games out there. While being released in 2003, thus being old, being bad does not come with it. Normally. In this case, it does. The game is pretty simple. 8 playable mission, all consistent of drive, shoot, drive, shoot, [..] without real objectives or story. Yes, there is a story, but not while playing. The story itself only exists in the loading screen. No AI interaction, no transmission, nothing, You will face a few enemies in this game. Tanks, Infantry, Towers,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tank Bore-fare. Story: You play as a commander of a tank unit. A small oil rich nation somewhere in the middle east has been taken over by terrorist forces and you're under the operation Desert Thunder to take it back, however at the border the operation suffers heavy loses and you're the only unit left and you're going to take back the region by any means. It's a generic war themed story with nothing really interesting going on. Each mission is followed by a briefing telling you how far…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →https://youtu.be/_ygw-i4qFoQ Very hard to recommend this one. In all honesty it was not that great back when it was released, and it has not aged well. AI is pretty basic, the tank handles like a drunk whale, and the shooting is basic at best. Worst is the audio locators - you only hear when your tank is hit, not the guns firing at you making it almost impossible to hear where your being shot from. You get a few different ammo types for your two guns (main cannon and machine gun) and you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Older graphics but still not horrible on the eyes that games that just aren't made properly are. Controls are fine and I am not even a person that likes drive vehicles in games. In regards to AI well if you sit around in range the tanks will hit you and as for the guys firing off rocket launchers they mean business. They are accurate with their shots. Oh and when you hit the enemy their deaths are rewarding despite the older graphics. The soundtrack to me totally fits the game and is a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I couldn't even start the game because the menu was so unresponsive to my mouse that i couldn't even start the damn game, seriously i could have draged my mouse across a highway and it would've maybe moved an inch on the screen if i was lucky. It doesn't seem from the looks of things though that i would need to even start this game and play it to tell that this game isn't good. I just needed the unresponsive main menu to convince me. How do you fail to make a functioning main menu?!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A trash title from 2003 and it's still better than majority of modern asset flips. A secret commander in a secret tank goes for the liberation of the mid-east region singlehandedly. Opposed by hordes of infantry and tank batallions, he flawlessly defeats everyone in sight and brings peace to this desert... Much like the media covered it back then. The game is built using Unreal Engine 2 and they definitely played the destructibility card. While you only have your primary cannon and secondary…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A short and delightful little tank simulator that's great if you just want to kill 2-3 hours. It's certainly no War Thunder or any other ultra-realistic tank game, but that's the point. It plays like an arcade game in many ways, with useful armour and ammo pick-ups scattered about the map. The overall feel of the game is also very arcady, especially when you squish terrorists under your treads in a spray of cartoony gore that is way more satisfying than it has any right to be. Plot-wise the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Putting aside the enemy placement in the game.. This game is one of the worst in giving me motion sickness. It is difficult for me to even reach 3/4 of the level.. if I were to try to play it again, I'd have to reserve more free time so that I can take a breather
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Desert Thunder is an ancient third person vehicle tank arcade shooter. Drive a "futuristic" tank around and blow things up to progress through a multi-mission campaign based loosely on last decades politics. Even for 2003 this was a bargain bin game rather than a AAA title. The developers haven't lowered the price since 2003, apparently, because it's massively overpriced. Gameplay itself is sketchy at best with the mouse control being unpredictable and irregular (possibly a bug). No…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Player Bases. ☐ Kids. ☑ Everyone. ☐ Mature. ☐ Casual Players. ☐ Pro players. Graphics. ☑ Potato. ☐ Really Bad. ☐ Bad. ☐ OK. ☐ Good. ☐ Beautiful. ☐ Masterpiece. Price. ☐ Full Price. ☐ Wait For Sale. ☐ Refund It If You Can. ☑ Don't Buy It. ☐ Free. Requirements. ☑ Minimum. ☐ Medium. ☐ Fast. ☐ High End. ☐ Super Computer. Difficulty. ☐ Easy. ☑ Medium. ☐ Hard. ☐ Very Hard. ☐ Death March. ☐ Dark Souls. Game length. ☐ Really Short. ( 0 - 2 hours) ☑ Short. ( 2 - 8 hours) ☐ Medium. ( 8 - 16 hours) ☐…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →trash but i owned free.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →-Very bad menu controls -Your tank only has a turret traverse of 90 degrees to either side -Very low video resolution -Your tank's shells has serious drop, while the enemy tanks and AT infantry have no drop weapons -You are more of an artillery piece than a tank, very poor armor +Music pretty good
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easy and simple game, you only loose if controls mess up for you or game crash. I have to give thumb down because price is too high for this bug game!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you want to play a nice game, where you can drive a tank and destroy other tanks, than get World of Tanks for free. Spending money for this game is like throwing it out of the window.... I am happy, that this game was actually a free key from some bundlesite, because I would really bite my fist, if I had spend even one Cent for this thing. Just some of the annoying points: - AI is so stupid, that they shoot on own units, just because they are in the way. - Graphics are totally screwed.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →MEH! (pushes "neutral" button) A simplistic arcade shooter, pretty redundant from level to level. Still, it's fun for a little while. It's certainly not worth full price...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh yes , I loved it... Oh yes I did... I love games with tanks ( including World Of Tanks ) And I was impressed by this one... Loved it and I recommend it to everyone who likes to play Tank Games :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is plainly about driving around with a tank in a desert and shooting at stuff. It's very short, just 2-3 hours. The graphics are very basic and the controls are quite slippery. The game doesn't feel fun at all to play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't know why I haven't reviewed this game yet (I thought I did), I used to play this back in the day, it was fun for what it was; only 8 missions, and in the end you fight Goliath tank and destroy the terrorists' HQ.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game ain't that bad as you could expect. With some improvements it could have been great. + The destruction is pretty impressive. You can destroy most buildings and stuff. Falling Towers never gets old. + The layout of level design. It's very linear, but it's going all over the place. The caves, tunnels and bridges make you go back under or over the same place. it's kind of fun how it's layed over and under all over the place. + Final level was really good. + In each level there is a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This looks and feels like a budget title. It's not great, but you're likely to enjoy while it lasts (which isn't long). This is an arcade action game, not a simulation, as proclaimed in the description.. It reminded me a little of the 2001 remake of Combat, released a couple of years earlier. Whereas that fully embraced its arcade nature, Desert Thunder takes place in a more realistic setting and maintains a SOMEWHAT more realistic feel. I would argue this diminishes replayability and overall…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Desert Thunder is a tank battle game where you go through missions that require getting to the end of the level or defending a base. This game runs smoothly, but the tank controls are pretty bad. They might be bad just because it's simulating a tank, but nonetheless, it's painful to play. The gameplay is pretty straightforward, you go point A to point B while blowing up bad guys along the way. Some missions are 20 minute long defense missions where you have to go and protect your structures…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have won this game in HRK giveaway before they limit it to the customers only. This game is playable, one can take the tank and shoot after hard day work, but the game is mediocre at the best (finished in offline mode). The rocks contain ammunition and other finds, wait, for real devs? Soldiers can take few good hits O.O Tank can run through cars but wooden fence is too much :D. Graphic is mediocre as well. In reality I would say to not bother with it and pick for example one of the games…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a small sized program and its age and crappy graphics it is still some times fun to play, just as a time waster.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →it ripped off ut2004 sounds why couldn't it rip off any of the good stuff in ut2004 like, say, fun
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's just like Battlefield 1 with tank only mode! Also this game proves that the earth isn't a sphere, it's flat. I fell off the edge of the world. 10/10 Would fall again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →so i know this game is old but that's not a problem for me. the problem is: this game is below average in every department even when considering its age. visuals, sound, story (wat?), gameplay, map design...everything. and it's short. i explored every corner of every map on every mission and finished the game in just over 3 hours. stay away. you are not missing a thing here.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Never had so much fun in a game. 5/7
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →worst game ive ever played in my life
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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