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Imagine playing a game where you are always going to lose but what's important is making sure that you lose the least out of all the other people playing. This is Defcon. A Global Thermonuclear War strategy game.
Those of us that are old enough to remember the movie War Games (starring Matthew Broderick) will immediately recognize where the idea for Defcon, the graphics and gameplay, originated from. While those that have seen the movie are many (it wasn't that long ago... er, <ahem> oh god I'm getting old!), there are probably just as many that haven't seen the movie (It was released in theatres in 1983). For those that haven't seen the movie and don't know the premise, imagine being an arm-chair general in control of an entire nations nuclear weapons, naval power, and air forces during the count down to defcon 1, all of NORAD under your command. Deciding when to launch nukes, move battleships, and prep your bombers. That was the game of Global-Thermonuclear-War used in the movie which turned out to be much more than a mere game, and it is also the game that Defcon is apparhently based on - in a nutshell.
Although Defcon can be played by a single player offline against computer controlled opponents, the game really shines and was meant to be played online over the internet or a network with up to a total of 6 real live players.
Before the start of each game the host has plenty of options and rules which they can manipulate to their liking such as; time limit, victory conditions, default game speed, and more. These settings allow the game to be played and unfold in a variety of different and destructive ways. When each player readies up the game starts at Defcon 5. During these initial moments players will have a chance to place units, silos, and radars in strategic locations in and around their home nations. Meanwhile a countdown timer steadily ticks away adding tension to the game while going through each of the Defcon phases until finally reaching Defcon 1. Once the game reaches a Defcon level of 1 it is all out war. Nuclear missles may be launched from silos, stealth bombers can target cities and naval fleets, and submarines can engage coastal targets such as opposing cities, silos, and radars with a nuclear strike as long as a target is within range. Placement of initial units is key, only your radars can detect incoming nukes and only your passive missile silos can defend against them. It quickly becomes obvious that you should defend as many of your more populated areas as possible because ultimately the player who suffers the lowest death count wins. Players are also able to make alliances and even betray those alliances creating more tension and destruction. With that said, it's pretty safe to note that all players will most certainly suffer some losses.
Gameplay control is intuitive and not complicated. Players can simply use the mouse to control the entire game with very little interaction via the keyboard. Moving the map and placing units on the map is also very simple, although the only drawback is a slight lack of precision when placing units within close proximity of each other or clusters of cities.
Still, strategy games are rarely this accessible and Defcon offers newcomers and strategy game enthusiasts control that is responsive and easy to handle making the focus on gameplay a comfortable experience and not frustrating like some other strategy games are.
The graphics are stylish but simplistic. Luckily players can customize things like fonts, menus, and game colors with very little effort. If one were to judge the game by the simple screenshots they may be setting themselves up for dissapointment. However, upon playing Defcon it will probably become apparent that this is exactly how a game such as this should look. This is especially true once the game reaches Defcon 1 and the screen fills with dozens, if not hundreds, of launched nuclear missles turning the world map into quite an explosive spectacle. This adds a great deal of tension as the player watches, waits, and prays that his or her missile silos are strategically placed to handle and take down wave upon wave of incoming ICBM's, while also hoping that their own missiles will be able to penetrate the enemies defenses. Either way, when the nukes do hit cities, radars, airfields, and silos all of them light up with explosive and devastating results.
The sound effects and music in Defcon are sparce. Thankfully they are also ambient and add an ominous atmosphere giving players a sense of dread and impending doom which helps to increase the intense gameplay to great effect. One could easily get chills just listening to the background music and sound fx as the fate of a nation unfolds.
Fans of strategy games should definitely pick up this title and even gamers who don't normally play strategy games due to steep learning curves should not hesitate to download the demo because they may find themselves turning a new leaf. Defcon is great fun, user friendly, and may even convince non-strategy gamers to buy the full version because it is such a great game and easily accessible. The theme may be a little depressing but the game is pulled off with great presentation and style with almost unlimited replayability.
Defcon (Introversion Software)
Presentation
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B+
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Gameplay
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A
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Graphics
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B
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Sound
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A
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Innovation
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B+
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Overall Score: A
August 27, 2007
