As the saying goes: "Easy to learn, hard to master." Another masterpiece from Introversion. They did it
What is Defcon all about? In short: Global Thermonuclear War. But it isn't that simple. Even if the game only features 3 land, 3 naval and 3 aerial units, Defcon still offers an amazingly deep strategy, that will make you think why does the high-budget titles require so many different kind of units.
But lets get down to business and start reviewing the things that always need to be reviewed. First of all: graphics. I can't count how many people bashed the game because it lacks the flashy (and unnecessary) shader effects, they can't go berserk by counting the polygons on-screen and they couldn't get over the fact that you don't see and high-resolution textures all over the place. They miss the point. The graphics in this game is more than enough to do the job. The neon-glow world-map, the simplified unit icons, the simple white flashes after nuclear blasts really give the feeling of the player being in an underground bunker, commanding the region's nuclear arsenal.
Next stop: sound. Just like the graphics, it's simply there to do its job and nothing more. The whole tone of the soundtrack really amplifies the feeling of guilt when you successfully manage to earn a simple "Moscow hit, 6.7 million dead" text on your screen. It gives the game an atmosphere of the slowly approaching apocalypse. The occasional background sounds like a man coughing or a woman crying allows the player to feel that he/she is inside the fallout bunker and he is not alone. Men and Women are around him handling all the required instruments needed to orchestrate a nuclear war (and women loosing their grasp occasionally).
The last and best thing about Defcon is: Gameplay. With a capital "G". As I said in the beginning, this game is easy to learn, but hard (if not impossible) to master. The game features "DEFCON" (DEFense CONdition) levels ranging from 5 to 1.
5: peace and unit placement.
4: still peace, but naval units can sail into enemy waters and this is the last time to place your units.
3: war breaks out. Naval units start shooting each other, you can start sending fighters over enemy territory to scout out where his silos and radars are or send bombers from your airfields to help win the naval engagement.
2: virtually same as Defcon2 but with the tension of the nearing Defcon1.
1: World War 3. From now on, Subs can launch their MRBMs, bombers can release their own surprises and the best thing: silos can switch from defense to launch mode and send 10 ICBMs each to any part of the wolrd.
The very few unit types make sure that no side gets imbalanced. There are subs, who are very effective at making the first nuclear strike by parking next to the enemy coasts but are extremely vulnerable while surfaced and easily sinked by nearby battleships or even depth-charged by carriers even when underwater, there are bombers, that can harass naval fleets or in Defcon1 launch their single nukes onto enemy cities or installations, etc, etc.
The only negative thing about the gameplay is that it features our real world-map, and it will create some advantage and disadvantage for some people fortunate or unfortunate enough to get certain regions. So conclusion: If you like deep strategies that require quick (and often hard) decisions then you shouldn't hesitate to buy this game.
Introversion deserves it!