Grim titles usually come with something that has a grim premise. Your average person would believe that a game titled in this way is graphically as violent as a massacre, whereas the game is actually just as violent as someone throwing bits of paper at a wall.

Defcon was first released last year on Steam in late September. The game itself is not what you would call your average real time strategy affair. Graphically the game consists of a map of our world and small vector graphics which become your very important assets.

Spiritually the game is sort of a cross between a real time strategy and a board game. You start by placing your pieces on the board; radars, airbases, air defense/nuke silos and boat fleets. The game takes place over 5 phases which tell the story of a world going nuclear against each other. Although there is no story embedding into the game you can see the trail of consciousness that the software takes on and assumes that from the very start, world governments just want to bomb the crap out of everyone else!

By choosing one of six teams you place yourself at different parts of the map. Usually you will be playing against 2 or 3 opponents and by slowly planning your attack, your aim is to destroy your enemies assets and cities without taking too much damage yourself. One of the reasons why this game is extremely strategic is that attacking leaves you open to enemy attacks, more so than any other game I have played before. Over time you must use your boat and air fleets to your best advantage and use them to help your cause, as well as your teams nuclear arsenal.

You can pick up the game now from retail stores or via Steam. If you’re in the UK the game also comes with a free copy of ‘Uplink’, Introversion’s first groundbreaking indie title.

Popularity: 5% [?]