[1] This differs from many games, in which characters move in the direction players push from the perspective of the camera.
[1][3] Tank controls allow players to maintain a direction when the camera angle changes.
The Grim Fandango designer Tim Schafer chose the system as it allowed the developers to create "cinematic" camera cuts without disrupting the controls.
[4] Shinji Mikami, the director of the first Resident Evil (1996), felt the use of fixed camera perspectives and tank controls made the game scarier.
[2] The remastered versions of Grim Fandango, Resident Evil, and Tomb Raider include alternative control schemes, and later Resident Evil and Tomb Raider games discarded tank controls.