Nuclear War (video game)
Nuclear War is a single player turn-based strategy game developed by New World Computing and released for the Amiga in 1989 and later for MS-DOS. It presents a satirical, cartoonish nuclear battle between five world powers, in which the winner is whoever retains some population when everyone else on earth is dead.
Nuclear War | |
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Developer(s) | New World Computing |
Publisher(s) | U.S. Gold |
Designer(s) | Eric Hyman Jon Van Caneghem |
Artist(s) | Avril Harrison |
Platform(s) | Amiga, MS-DOS |
Release | 1989 |
Genre(s) | Turn-based strategy |
Mode(s) | Single player |
Gameplay
The game's introduction includes an homage to Dr. Strangelove. Each player - one human, four computer-controlled - is represented by a caricature of a national leader (the MS-DOS version allowed more than one human player). If there is a computer-controlled winner at the end of the game, that leader is depicted jumping for joy in the middle of a blasted wasteland, crowing "I won! I won!". If the player wins only the high score board is shown. Once a player (computer or human) loses, all of their stockpiled weapons are automatically launched. It's possible for a game to have no winner because of this. If this happens, a cut scene of the earth shattering and exploding is shown, and the high score table appears (though without any new entries).
Characters
The following characters are available in the game; the public figure being satirised is listed in brackets.
- Ronnie Raygun (Ronald Reagan)
- P.M. Satcher (Margaret Thatcher)
- Infidel Castro (Fidel Castro)
- Col. Malomar Khadaffy (Muammar al-Gaddafi)
- Ayatollah Kookamamie (Ruhollah Khomeini)
- Mao the Pun (Mao Zedong)
- Jimi Farmer (Jimmy Carter)
- Tricky Dick (Richard Nixon)
- Mikhail Gorabachef (Mikhail Gorbachev)
- Ghanji (Mahatma Gandhi)
See also
- Balance of Power, a conceptually similar game from 1985, but played straight;
- DEFCON, another similar PC/Mac game, in real-time instead of turn-based.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1990 in Dragon #159 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4½ out of 5 stars.[1] Chuck Moss of Computer Gaming World in 1990 favorably reviewed the game's graphics, fast and brief game play, and humorous computer opponents.[2] 1992 and 1994 surveys in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game three and a half stars out of five.[3][4]
References
- Lesser, Hartley; Lesser, Patricia; Lesser, Kirk (July 1990). "The Role of Computers". Dragon (159): 47–53.
- Moss, Chuck (October 1990). "Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weeny 20-Megaton Bikini". Computer Gaming World. p. 36. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- Brooks, M. Evan (June 1992). "The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000". Computer Gaming World. p. 120. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- Brooks, M. Evan (January 1994). "War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000". Computer Gaming World. pp. 194–212.
External links
- Nuclear War at MobyGames
- Reviews at Amiga Reviews
- LemonAmiga docs, comprehensive introduction and guide