M1 Tank

The M1 Tank is an Allied Nations main battle tank (MBT) that is featured in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction.

Overview
"I love this tank."

- Mattias

The M1 Tank is found only in very seldom instances in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. It is a rare prize and should be treasured while in the player's possession.

The first time the player will most likely encounter the tank is during the first Mafia contract in the Northern Province, where as part of a bonus objective, the mercenary must seize the tank and deliver it to the Mafia chop-shop within a time limit or else an AN task force will bear down on it. If delivered, during the last Mafia contract when the player must defend the HQ, they will have the option to drive the M1 again and use it to repel the NK assault force.

The M1 is also available during the Ace of Spades contract, where the player starts inside one during the final battle against Choi Song, along with two other M1 Tanks. Later on in the mission after you rescue President Kim, there might be one or two more waiting if one or both of the tanks from the first part of the mission survived. The M1 the player starts in will not be replaced if destroyed.

The M1 is mounted with an incredibly large turret, which it can use to destroy almost every target in just one shot (the M256 tank gun fires depleted uranium sabot shells that pierce 300mm of armor which is the reason for the one shot effect on vehicles) and a .50 caliber machine gun which is depicted as a .30 caliber M60 that can rip enemy infantry to shreds, for the gunner. These weapons, combined with the amazing armor the M1 provides, makes this tank an incredible asset.

Trading one in to the Russian Mafia chopshop at full health will net you $50,000.

Tactics
The M1 Tank is the best main battle tank in the entire game. Its turret traverse rate, driving speed, main gun accuracy, range, and rate of fire are all unequaled. Shots from T-54 tanks and BMP APCs barely damage it, and the standard North Korean RPG is virtually useless against it. T-62 tanks and Type 96 tanks can be a serious threat if several are firing at it at once, although enemy helicopters are the greatest threat. Give the Mi-35 or MD-500 a chance, for instance, and they will tear this thing apart. If you see them coming, one shot will bring them down, along with nearly all of the other vehicles you will see in North Korea, the same goes for buildings. This tank can knock down a city if you give it a minute.

Like other tanks, the M1 is NBC (Nuclear Biological Chemical) shielded, allowing it to operate in nuclear-contaminated areas encountered in various points of the game.

The roof-mounted machine gun needs to be manned preferably, because the highly-advanced sabot round the M1 fires has the lowest splash damage of any tank cannon in the game and it is less effective against troops. The M1's immense size and speed mean it is utterly lethal to everything that winds up in front of it, and that includes skittish civilians, who may run or even drive suddenly into the M1's path as the flawed AI tries to get out of the way. Unless you like paying the bill for killing civilians, slow down in populated areas. Out in areas where it's just you and the enemy, though, run over and shoot whatever you want. Keep the ammo drops and repair drops coming and you could blow up the whole North Korean army in this tank.

Real life
The M1 Tank is based on the M1 Abrams, an American third-generation main battle tank in service since 1980. Although the M1 Tank is referred to as an M1, in game it is actually the M1A2 variant. The original M1 Abrams was primarily in service around 1985-1988, and was already well on its way out of service in favor of the M1A1 by 1990.

Contrary to the standard diesel engine sound file for the M1 Tank in-game, the M1 Abrams does not use such an engine. Its Honeywell AGT1500C multi-fuel turbine engine is a gas turbine that can indeed run on diesel fuel, but is also able to use gasoline, marine diesel, and jet fuel. Thus, while the M1's engine can use diesel fuel, it is not a diesel engine and sounds nothing like one while running.

Trivia

 * The M1 Tank is by far the best tank in the game; the Chinese Type 96 is the only other modern MBT in the game and even the Type 96 will immediately catch fire and quickly explode after one direct hit from the M1. The T-54, the oldest MBT in the game, instantly explodes when hit by the M1's main gun, and the T-62 catches fire and then explodes.
 * In Playground of Destruction, the health is actually a percentage of the total health. The Abrams tank actually has 300 total health (Source: IGN). This tank has more health than it even gets to display on the HUD.
 * A wreckage of the M1 tank can be found in the contract 'Clear Channel' in the middle of the dirt road that leads to Sinuiju farms.
 * During the Mafia contract 'In the Neighborhood' you will be given a bonus objective that requires you to steal an M1 from the Allies. If the player steals the tank as instructed then immediately cancels the contract from the pause menu and selects no when offered the chance to restart the contract the player will keep the tank free of charge. This can be repeated as many times as the player wants as long as the contract is available.