DEFCON is a computer game created by Introversion Software out of the UK. The goal of the game is to destroy as much of the enemy as possible while saving as many of your people as you can. The game explores the worst case scenario of the Cold War: total annihilation. It simulates any number of scenarios that you can create, and it has a great replay value. You are the leader of a country and control the nuclear arsenal. You are able to manipulate these units and set them against your enemy.
The game starts at DEFCON 5, which allows players to place units and begin to move their fleets into international waters. DEFCON 4 allows you to place radar units and gather information. You can also continue to place units during this time period. When DEFCON 3 takes effect, conventional naval and airborne combat is authorized. The conflict escalates to DEFCON 2 with combat becoming more aggressive. DEFCON 1 is initiated shortly after DEFCON 2, and this authorizes the use of nuclear weapons. ICBM's, submarine nukes and bomber nukes become available for use. The weapons are targeted and launched.
Essentially you are playing a thermonuclear chess match. You need to place your units strategically throughout the game. You also have to defend your most populous cities, while sacrificing others. The game plays pretty much like a real scenario would have been played out during the Cold War. On the map below, you see flight patterns of missiles, the fleets off of the coast and the large white dots are direct hits by nuclear weapons.
The game is not as graphically advanced as the games are today (or in 2006 when it was released), but that is part of the shock of the whole game. All you see is a map of the world with your allies and enemies marked on it and stats listed around the board. It has an incredibly haunting soundtrack, and every once in awhile you hear random soft sobs. Here is a video of a NATO vs. China and Russia scenario. (Make sure you have the sound turned up.)
DEFCON is not a fun game, it isn't a game that you play to enjoy. It is a game of strategy, and it is one of the most challenging games I have every played. There is no winning in this game; you lose every time. This is the only game I know where everyone loses, and the one who loses the least is the one who is declared the victor. Sound a little familiar, my Cold Warriors? I believe that this was the strategy for an actual nuclear war.
I highly recommend playing this game if you have a chance, especially if you are interested in how the actual warfare would have played out during the Cold War. You can set up the enemies and allies which ever way you want and you can play out your own scenario. The first time I played this game, I was all excited to be able to play through all the levels of DEFCON. When the last bomb was launched and I saw how many people had been lost in one encounter, it gave me the shakes. The scenario I played was an all out nuclear encounter between Europe, America, Russia and China. Thousands survived and millions died and I put the game away for almost a year before I dared to play it again.
I have to give DEFCON a rating of DEFCON 1. The realism in this game is too real, and the emotion you get by playing is real as well. It gives you the horrible understanding of what would have happened if the bombs fell.
"Here is a video of a NATO vs. China and Russia scenario. (Make sure you have the sound turned up.)" you should edit this. It's true that DEFCON has a great soundtrack, but the video uses the "requiem for a dream"-soundtrack which has not only nothing to do with the game, but is also one of the most overused soundtracks in the history of bad video editing :)
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