Game Description

MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction is a real-time thermonuclear war simulation set on a global scale in a 3D environment. Using satellite lasers, nuclear missiles, and a full complement of weapons of mass destruction, the goal is simple: total annihilation of the enemy and complete control of the planet (or the remnants thereof). You enter the fray as a commander in charge of offensive strikes and homeland security.

Cities produce resources in the form of uranium and cash, while orbiting space stations provide a haven for researching advancements in warheads, commerce, and space modules. Offensive superiority is the main objective, but security measures ensure survival. Rays, anti-nuke missiles, and mines are available to stem the rain of radioactive projectiles, and if all else fails, an Armageddon device can be developed to ensure total devastation in the event you can't win the war. More than 16 major advancements in the art of war are awaiting your discovery.

Armchair generals are presented with ten levels of world domination, each varied in technology and city placement, although an option allows you to defend the country of your choice. After crushing the computer superpowers, you can seek total destruction against another human opponent in multiplayer games via a LAN or the Internet. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide

Review: Enjoyment

Starts out with a bang but fizzles quickly when you realize the lack of depth. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide

Review: Overall

In 1980, gamers took the helm of a nuclear defense system in Missile Command. More than 20 years later, MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction puts a new spin on global destruction, calling commanders back to the atomic arena to both defend home cities and destroy enemy strongholds. Like its forefather, the game involves a flurry of clicking with little variation in strategy. It's a one-trick pony that entertains for a period before quickly becoming tiresome.

All negotiations have broken down between the world's superpowers and the only obvious path of recourse is all-out nuclear war. MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction is played on a 3D map of Earth with major cities serving as production sites, launch facilities, and juicy targets. Each territory contains resources of uranium, dollars, and shields, with some areas being more productive. Space stations can be deployed above these areas to stimulate research and provide defenses against the inevitable rain of missiles. City shields help defend nations for a period before the entire area becomes a smoking, glowing crater. The last city standing wins this neat and tidy world war.

Initially, MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction seems an enjoyable conduit for the megalomaniac lurking in most gamers. Ten scenarios shuffle which countries have nuclear capability or let leaders pick their own territories, creating a sort of World Cup feel where gamers can cheer for their favorite atomic aggressors. Nearly any nation can become a contender, from Germany and Greenland to America and Australia. There's a perverse joy in unleashing hot fury while shouting, "Die you Icelandic scum!" but even that wears thin after a few games.

The AI manages to put up a decent fight in some scenarios, but stumbles in others. Level two seems harder than level ten, but this is more likely a problem of balance than the result of computer actions. Ultimately, gameplay for both the AI and player falls into a rut of loading up on nukes and targeting a single country while improving defenses. It's like Risk, but less sophisticated. The two-player option would probably lead to different strategies, or at least more satisfaction of vaporizing an opponent's city, if you could find another gamer willing to admit ownership of the game.

Not helping matters are the graphics, which are awash in a weird hyperactive color palette comprised mostly of a multitude of bright pastels. The resolution can be turned up ridiculously high only to show the same basic city models but smaller. Explosions are decent, but the overhead view often obscures the trademark mushroom cloud effect. The items are too campy to be taken seriously, which matches the overall mood of the title.

Conversely, the control system is the game's high point. The menu system is large and easy to navigate even in the thick of battle and the globe spins smoothly as you focus on international hotspots. Launching the missiles is a snap, but guiding them to their destination takes a modest bit of skill and patience. The only blemish concerns taking manual control of automated defense systems; there just isn't enough time to hop into the space station to shoot down incoming warheads since there are too many of your own missiles to fire or bases to build instead. The fine control setup would have been more appreciated in a game with more depth, but as things stand, the control scheme is the only thing keeping this title from complete mediocrity.

A quasi-serious soundtrack plays in the background while klaxons and explosions take center stage. Voiced lines also indicate nukes launching, rockets lifting off, and other game events, but become obnoxious due to the frequency of said events. Less voices and more bass in the mega-kiloton detonations would improve the overall presentation.

Other annoyances run the gamut from mild to maddening. Although gameplay is basic, the tutorial takes the form of pausing the game and cutting to static screens of information, as if reading several paragraphs of text in the middle of a thermonuclear war is what every gamer wants to do. The multiplayer supports only two players, but is too self-limiting to be enjoyable. Delivering payloads is often frustrating, especially when accidentally dropping a bomb on your own base (it happens!). A few crash issues occasionally crop up, and there are neither skill levels nor any way to adjust the passing of time -- not even in the tutorial.

MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction offers a rudimentary game with bare-bones options; everything else appears as an afterthought or is totally forgotten. As a professional product, the game falls far short of its target. The concept, sounds, and graphics are not much better than shareware quality. Unfortunately, not much would improve the scant content of the original idea and it shows after only a few rounds of play. It doesn't take long for this one-trick pony to become a nag. Feel the need for nukes? Search out Missile Command instead and destroy any notion that this game is worth adding to your stockpile. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide

Review: Graphics

The playing field is rendered with an odd variety of colors that seem out of place. Globe rotates nicely, but blocky cities getting nuked is all you'll see. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide

Review: Sound

Lackluster music fits in nicely with the uninspiring explosions. The voices, while adequate, quickly become repetitive. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide

Review: Replay Value

Not much replay available with only ten scenarios and a multiplayer factor of two -- no story, no editor, and no skill levels. Gameplay is redundant. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide

Review: Documentation

The tutorial breaks into actual game action with static screens. No hardcopy manual is provided, but controls aren't hard to learn. The documentation actually hurts more than helps. ~ Christopher Allen, All Game Guide