MAD: Global Thermonuclear Warfare Review

History repeats itself... and it seems that the guys from Small Rockets, agree with this, as they decided to set their game, MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction), in year 2040, when the global nuclear threat from the second half of the XX century becomes more than tangible once again.

Conceptually, MAD is an unusual mixture of a standard real-time strategy and a first-person action game. The developers categorized it as an arcade-strategy, and its simplicity and dynamics will really remind you both of old board and arcade games. It has a single-player and multiplayer mode that can be played in one of the ten available scenarios with different difficulty settings and starting positions. Well, as for the different starting positions, the only two options here are whether you want to choose your starting territories (like in Risk) or if they are given away randomly.

In this game, Earth has been divided into sixteen territories, which can belong either to you or your opponent. The goal is to destroy all enemy territories using nuclear weapons, before the enemy destroys you. There are two resources in the game: money, which is used for building nuclear silos, satellites and launch sites, and uranium, which is used for building the projectiles.

Space stations will allow you to research and develop new technologies, but they are also equipped with missile turrets and anti-missile systems.

There are six basic fields to research: nuclear projectiles, kinetics (defense), electronic countermeasures, space-station infrastructure, research (researching research makes research faster) and economy (for improving your budget). Choosing what to develop is the hardest bit here... you can make all your stations research one thing or spread your resources and give each station its own assignment. Choosing the proper way to develop your tech tree is crucial for success. Unfortunately, MAD battles usually last too short for you to develop much or get to manage your resources properly.

On your quest to destroy the enemy by sending a sufficient quantity of nuclear projectiles at him, you will encounter quite a peculiar interface. You will control your territories, structures and research from two possible views - terrain and orbital view. You will frequently have to switch between the views, because you will have to see the object you want to use. This is where the mini-map comes in handy, although it won't be of much use if you're playing in a higher resolution. Another useful thing is the overview, containing a list of all your territories, and structures that have been built on them, as well as the space modules orbiting over them. This overview is particularly useful because you can use it to directly focus on any of the territories by simply clicking on its name. Quick access to your territories is especially important when you want to take control of your defense systems on that territory. The defense systems can work on their own, but they are more efficient if you control them directly. This arcade element improves the gameplay dynamics, but unfortunately, the mouse is way too sensitive in this mode and cannot be adjusted. Your nuclear projectiles are also hand-guided, and (as silly as this may sound) are more precise if you fire them rapidly. Accuracy is not of utmost importance, here, of course. It is good enough if you pin-point a location near a target.

It is relatively hard to keep track of how much power each territory has at a certain moment, as that can only be seen if you move the cursor over the territory while in the orbital view. The rest of the important information is displayed on the bottom of the screen whenever an important event takes place, followed by an appropriate sound alert.

The graphics in MAD have the discrete charm of the old days. You won't see huge numbers of polygons, or motley colors, or spectacular lighting effects - this game doesn't need those flashy assets. Its looks will take you back to the days of cold war. Planet Earth looks realistic, just like the satellites and projectiles. The explosions are fun to watch and look great. All in all, the graphics serve their purpose, and had obviously not been made for showing off.

There are few sound effects, but they certainly improve the overall atmosphere. The vooming sounds of rockets being launched, the irritating sirens, and the voices from the command centre will help to put you right in the middle of the action. They can get annoying after a lot of playing, but they are certainly becoming.

The first thing I remembered when I loaded MAD, was the ancient Missile Command. This game is primarily an action game and I am not only referring to the targeting segment. If you want to win, you will have to change views rapidly, which will inevitably make you forget about any real strategy. MAD is neither a "deep" game, nor is it a sophisticated RTS crammed with action. It is more of a quick computer rendition of a board game, with enough new options to make it interesting enough to play. If you are after a simple and well-conceived game, MAD: Global Thermonuclear Warfare could be the right title for you.