July 30, 2007

• DEFCON

  OK, so I don’t play many computer games, but I had the hankerin’ to download something and play it.

  What I ended up with was DEFCON, which is basically networked global thermonuclear war.

  One of the things I don’t like about video games is that they often glorify violence, and while the point of DEFCON is about as violent as possible, the way it’s played is eerie. It creeps me out. The simulation is in slow-motion, with, for instance, bomber planes taking a long time to reach their destination, after which is displayed a message like “LONDON DESTROYED, 2.0M DEAD.”

  Part of the problem I have with it, gameplay-wise, is that it’s not at all clear what the various DEFCON levels mean. I think that at some point (DEFCON 2?) you’re not allowed to place pieces on the board any more, so, for instance, if you haven’t built any nuke silos, then you’re SOL. This means that I’m unable to finish the tutorial missions and move on to live internet mass destruction.

  Also, in reality, the DEFCON levels reflect the danger of world events, and thus didn’t operate on a timer. “DEFCON 1 IN: 2:17″ is a message that doesn’t actually make any sense. O well.

  It’s a game of haunting beauty, where your goal is to kill millions of people with nuclear warheads. All fun and games.

  • 5:02 pm
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