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DEFCON

If you were around in the 1980's, you would probably be able to instantly link "Shall we play a game?" to the fantastic movie, War Games. Just like the movie, I will give you a choice between two games, would you like to play Chess or Global Thermonuclear War? If you answered yes to Chess, then I'm sorry, I won't be joining you! If it was the latter, I'll see you next to the Launch Nuke button in a few moments as we look at Introversion's global nuclear war game, DEFCON!

Introversion Software takes us to the root of War Games with the digital display of the Global Thermonuclear War that was on all the screens in the popular movie. Yes the game looked like fun, but now that we can have it on our own screens, is it as exciting?

Introversion, or as they like to call themselves "the last of the bedroom programmers," are a UK based developer that made themselves famous by the brilliantly addictive Uplink game. They have proven to the masses that games which have hot 3D rendering engines aren't the only answer to success, and that playability and simplicity for even the novice gamer, with a touch on reality, are just as compelling.

The title was first released via digital distribution on Steam and direct from Introversion's own store in September 2006. Amazingly though, it took another 7 to 8 months before it finally appeared on stores in the US and UK. Regardless as to how you buy it, sales have no doubt been helped by the very low price and, as you'll see later in the review, the very low hardware requirements.

The biggest sandbox of all

DEFCON takes place on a large map, almost exactly as it was seen in the WarGames film, and by the naming of the game, plays through the countdown of defence levels from Defcon 5 down to the dreaded Defcon 1. All seems calm as you start off running in level 5 and this is the time where you must get ready: you cannot initiate a war, so you must plan your strategies. Unlike most RTS games where you need to worry about how you spend your resources and when you can get the next upgraded vehicle, everything you can use is available to you from the start; the only thing you have to worry about is getting as much in as soon as possible or else the items not placed are lost.

Fight the computer, some LAN friends or battle folks across the Internet.

The pace quickens and the world holds it breath.

There are six regions of the globe that wish to take on complete world domination, ranging from Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Russia and Asia. After you have chosen your part of the planet to fight from, the other selections are left to the other players, whether they are computer generated or your friends. A maximum number of 6 players (1 per continent) is available in this game, so a quick one-on-one or even a total mass of world carnage is completely up to the mood you're in.

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