Also has nothing to do with playing a damage-sponge character in an MMORPG, or with the oxygen storage unit strapped to the back of a SCUBA diver. Has nothing to do with Shorttank, which makes you say 'tank goodness' in a completely different way. Related to Cool Car, Cool Bike, Cool Train, Base on Wheels, and other vehicle/warfare tropes-this is basically Cool Tank. Don't be fooled! Likewise, don't listen to the deranged lunatics who keep wanting to put legs on them. Other armored fighting vehicles, like armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and tank destroyers may be called tanks. Oh, and the wheels on the tracks are equipped with armored gun pods.

They need to be bigger! Big enough to crush the other tanks! And carry loads of weapons! While racing donuts around them! And the armor is able to withstand Martian Death rays! And it has NBC protection! It's a FLIPPING BUNKER ON TRACKS. Of course, the above paragraph refers to tanks around the size of today's main battle tanks. Expect enemies to take advantage of this for massive damage. The armor is thick enough to stop small arms fire, most of it in the front, with the weakest areas being the rear, bottom and top. The tank's size and mobility may also be used as a weapon to crush people, cars, and walls. Cue journalists and the general public calling them 'tanks' anyway. To make the distinction even more difficult, many of these are based on existing tank chassis, so they look like tanks that have had their turrets swapped out.

note These do exist in Real Life, but they're not called tanks. In fiction and reality, other tanks may use anti-infantry or anti-aircraft weapons instead of cannons. Real Life tanks have large cannons to take on other tanks and fortifications, and (usually) secondary weapons to deal with infantry or aircraft. Something with a BFG and/or More Dakka, crawler treads and (literal) tonnes of armor. You want something that can Hold the Line. In large modern warfare engagements, infantry may as well be Cannon Fodder. Anonymous Mammoth Tank crewman, Tiberium Wars

Real life modern tank battles