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.

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. 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 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.

Characters

The following characters are available in the game; the public figure being satirised is listed in brackets.
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. Chuck Moss of Computer Gaming World in 1990 favorably reviewed the game's graphics, fast and brief game play, and humorous computer opponents. 1992 and 1994 surveys in the magazine of wargames with modern settings gave the game three and a half stars out of five.