We hadn't forgotten about Matt Wegner's Fun Motion physics game blog, so were delighted to see that he's posted a downloadable version of physics game Rolling Assault, made by Matt himself.

Interestingly, the title, which involves piloting a tank along a side-scrolling track while shooting enemies, has some drawbacks explained by Flashbang Studios' Wegner: "More often than not the limitations of reality actually get in the way [in physics games]. Rolling Assault suffers in this regard. The control seemed fine in the early prototypes. It was satisfying to roll around; the wheels’ motion was aesthetically pleasing. However, as soon as we introduced very specific movement goals—dodge this missile, jump over this barrier—the sluggishness in the tank’s motion becomes apparent. The tank simply isn’t nimble enough to perform directed tasks without some degree of player frustration."

Commenter 'Dave' noted of the results: "I love the way the tank moves and handles, although you are right, any ideas of split-second manouevres to avoid incoming fire go out the window pretty quickly." But nonetheless, for the princely sum of zero dollars, the mini-game, which was entered in the 2003 Independent Games Festival competition, is well worth checking out.