textfiles/games/REVIEWS/nuclear.rev

 NUCLEAR WAR

 If the idea of taking one of humanity's worst nightmares and turning it into a
satirical strategy game intrigues you, then NUCLEAR WAR may be right up your
alley. NUCLEAR WAR is one of the most appealing "light" strategy games I've
encountered, and it's a great way to blow off a little steam after a hard day's
work. (This review is based on the Amiga version; IBM-PC version notes follow.)

 Though the game takes only moments to learn, and a round of play takes no more
than fifteen minutes or so to complete, NUCLEAR WAR provides hours of almost
infinitely variable playing enjoyment. The options available in terms of
opponents and turn decisions provide for a different kind of game each time you
play.

 NUCLEAR WAR comes on two unprotected disks, and can be started from the
Workbench. 512K of RAM is required, and the mouse is used for all game control.
The program runs on all Amiga systems, and can be installed on a hard disk,
though the original key-disk must be inserted once at startup. Extra RAM above
512K is used for additional graphics and sound effects. Virtually all available
chip RAM is used by the game on both the 512K and the newer 1Mb chip-RAM
systems, so it's recommended that you not multi-task while running the game
(even though it's marginally possible to do so).

 The game starts at the "Diplomacy Terminal." You begin by selecting four out of
ten available computer opponents. Each computer opponent has a different
personality, which has a significant effect upon the kind of relationship you're
going to have during the game. Some opponents are pacifists who don't take
kindly to threats or nuclear stockpiling. Others are warmongers who are quite
willing to walk all over you should you take a less than consistent, hard-line
position towards them.

 One of the most endearing aspects of the game has to do with these
personalities; after playing a few times, you really begin to develop a feel for
the differences between the characters, and actually grow fond of their foibles
(my current favorite is "Colonel Malomar Kadaffy"). Learning what each character
expects of you is probably the most important long-term project you should set
for yourself during repeated play. How the characters treat each other is
equally important. You learn which ones are likely to form alliances; then, you
can predict -- after lots of careful study -- who's most likely to start a round
of attacks. Combining different personalities in a game is another way of
varying gameplay; no two combinations work out similarly.

 Once you've selected your opponents, the first order of business is to figure
out what kind of attitude you should take towards each of them (this is called
"Happy Face Diplomacy" in the manual). There are five different attitudes you
can take (Benevolent, Friendly, Neutral, Unfriendly, and Hostile), and each
affects your computer opponents' attitudes towards you. Attitude affects the
likelihood of an opponent's attacking you, either through propaganda (which
steals your population away), or through actual nuclear strikes. It also affects
the extent of an opponent's reactions to any aggressive moves you make, even if
they're not aimed particularly at that opponent.

 Attitudes are hard to calculate; you'd think just being nice to everyone would
net you the best results, but it isn't so. Some characters seem most eager to be
your buddies when you're at your most hostile towards them; others find anything
but sheer Benevolence an outrage and an abuse of their Sacred Presence. Only
time allows you some mastery over who's going to respond best to which kind of
attitude; there are no easy formulas.

 After you've selected opponents, thought about personalities, and set attitudes
(which can be changed at any time), you begin the actual game itself. Gameplay
consists of a series of turns, and you're limited to one choice each turn. Your
choices include:

 1. Building your arsenal, which (based on population size) results in a certain
number of missiles, bombers, warheads, and defense systems added to your
supplies.

 2. Using Propaganda, which involves targeting an opponent's population for a
propaganda campaign, the success of which can add from one to ten million people
to your population from theirs (and is quite tricky to manage successfully).

 3. Setting up a Defense System, which protects your country against an
anticipated nuclear strike. (If a neighbor's set up a missile on the launchpad,
and you're not on the best of terms, it's time to think about duck and cover).

 4. Readying a strike, which involves deploying either a missile or a bomber for
a strike next round.

 5. "The Big One": launching a Nuclear Strike.

 Once you've made one of the above choices and ended your turn, you come to the
Global Monitor Screen, which displays an animated sequence for the enactment of
each player's choices for that turn. These animations are original and
hilarious, and come complete with the requisite sound effects. A text message
describing each player's action also appears, along with the animation at the
bottom of the screen. If you just want to get on with things, you can read the
message quickly and cut short the animation with the click of the left mouse
button -- a nice touch.

 During a turn, all actions basically end up affecting the size of the
population of your cities. City size is represented by different icons, with the
Tent representing the lowest population level, and the Metropolis representing
the highest (I even thought I saw a Geodesic Dome grow over one of my cities
once; perhaps I was hallucinating?). Nuclear strikes can lead to the eradication
of a city. When all cities in one country are wiped out, that player is out of
the game. If the human player is demolished before the others, the game plays
itself in a speeded-up sequence to the end (this is quite fun to watch).

 Along with the choices each player makes, there are certain disasters, which
can occur randomly at any time. Some are advantageous, such as the Population
Explosion. Others are apocalyptic, such as Nuclear Meltdowns. Some are just
plain strange, like the tossing of airborne cows via Cattletech from one country
to the next, the launching of cities into outer space, the appearance of flying
saucers, and the dropping of a 16-ton weight upon a city (a prospect almost as
unpleasant as the flying cows). All you can do in the face of such disasters is
cross your eyes and hope for better times ahead.

 Should you become eager to launch a nuclear strike, you have a range of weapons
and platforms from which to choose. Different megatonnage warheads have
different costs and effects, and require different kinds of delivery systems.
Missiles can only be used for one strike, but bombers can be used to deliver a
series of strikes over a number of turns -- handy if you're running out of
friends fast. Defense systems are a nice way of never having to say you're
sorry.

 After a while, I found that the game has a little message that runs counter to
the satire and high hilarity present during play. Without giving too much away,
suffice it to say that being the first on the block to drop a bomb on someone
else is no guarantee of long-term survival. Over time, gameplay enforces the
idea that nuclear war, after all, isn't ultimately a whole load of fun (though
the game certainly is!).

 The concluding game screen is the most cynical: For instance, one time Tricky
Dick managed to win the game but lose the world, and I found him leaping up and
down amidst smoldering ruins, shouting, "I won! I won!" That elicits the kind of
laugh that includes both a wince and a knowing nod.

 If you're the kind of person who insists that there's nothing at all funny
about nuclear war, I recommend this game to you. This sort of hilarity is
liberating, refreshing, and ultimately consistent with the most serious attitude
you could imagine towards the real problem. It's no small condolence that the
laughter comes in the midst of one of the most original and playable strategy
games available for the Amiga.

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES

 New World Computing's version of the classic card game has now been ported to
the IBM. Fans of the old NUCLEAR WAR, or players looking for a game that shows
off their VGA graphics, need look no further. This edition takes excellent
advantage of VGA's 256-color mode, giving IBM'ers the rare treat of playing a
game that looks every bit as good as its Amiga counterpart.

 NUCLEAR WAR comes on two 5-1/4" disks; a 3-1/2" disk is available for $5.00.
The game is hard-disk installable, and uses a manual-based protection scheme.
NUCLEAR WAR is heavily animated, so it runs slowly in VGA mode on many machines;
New World Computing recommends that you play on at least an 8MHz machine.
Fortunately, a key is provided that lets you cut an animated sequence short,
which helps mitigate the slow speed.

 The interface is mouse driven, though the game can easily be controlled from
the keyboard. The mouse support is well thought-out and quite smooth.

 VGA mode requires 640K of RAM to run. EGA and CGA modes are also supported, and
they run in 512K. The EGA version is quite sharp and stands up well in
comparison to the VGA graphics. Unfortunately, the CGA graphics are not nearly
as nice. In fact, I recommend that CGA-only players pass this one by. It _can_
be played in CGA mode, but much of the value of the game derives from the sharp
graphics, which are lost in the 4-color mode of CGA.

 There is no soundboard support, but the sound effects through the PC speaker
are well done. These can of course be toggled off if they become too annoying.

 NUCLEAR WAR for the IBM is a beautiful (and hilarious) game. Although it won't
tax the minds of most strategy gamers, it can provide some low-key
entertainment. The only thing I miss is an option for multiple players (in the
style of the original card game).

 NUCLEAR WAR is published by New World Computing and distributed by Electronic
Arts.

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