Nuclear War
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.
Nuclear War
- Date
- 1989
- Publisher
- U.S. Gold
- Genre
- turn-based strategy video game
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Documentary summary
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.
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wikidata · Q4994329
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Nuclear War • Developer — New World Computing • Publisher — U.S. Gold • Designer — * Eric Hyman • Jon Van Caneghem • Artist — Avril Harrison • Released — 1989 • Genre — Turn-based strategy • Modes — Single player • Platforms — Amiga, MS-DOS
Gameplay
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 (the MS-DOS version allows more than one human player). 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 devastated wasteland, crowing "I won! I won!" If the human player wins only the high score board is shown. Once a player (computer or human) loses, all of their stockpiled weapons are automatically launched at the other players. It is 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 (though without any new entries).
Characters
Characters
The following characters are available in the game; the public figure being satirized is listed in parentheses. • Ronnie Raygun (Ronald Reagan) • P.M. Satcher (Margaret Thatcher) • Infidel Castro (Fidel Castro) • Col. Malomar Khadaffy (Muammar al-Gaddafi) • Ayatollah Kookamamie (Ruhollah Khomeini) • Mao the Pun (Mao Zedong) • Jimi Farmer (Jimmy Carter) • Tricky Dick (Richard Nixon) • Mikhail Gorabachef (Mikhail Gorbachev) • Ghanji (Mahatma Gandhi)
Places
Named by the record
Places
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- United States
Named but not plotted · 1
Nuclear War is associated with United States.
Country
Reception
In the July 1990 edition of Games International (Issue 16), Brian Walker didn't think this was a particularly challenging game, commenting, "All good clean fun with nothing to stretch the brain cells." He concluded by giving the game a rating of 7 out of 10 for gameplay and 8 out of 10 for graphics, saying, "What lifts the game above average is the omnipresent humour." In the July 1990 edition of Dragon (Issue #159), Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser characterized the game as "challenging", despite its tongue in cheek humour. However, they were disappointed that only one player could play the game at a time. Nevertheless, they gave the game an above-average rating of 4 out of 5. In the October 1990 edition of Computer Gaming World, Chuck Moss favorably reviewed the game's graphics, fast and brief game play, and humorous computer opponents. Surveys of opinions about wargames with modern settings conducted for Computer Gaming World in 1992 and 1994 awarded the game a rating of 3 out of 5.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Walker, Brian. Computer Games. Games International. 16. 40. July 1990.
- 2.Lesser, Hartley. The Role of Computers. Dragon. 159. 47–53. July 1990.
- 3.Moss, Chuck. Itsy-Bitsy Teeny-Weeny 20-Megaton Bikini. Computer Gaming World. 75. 36. October 1990.
- 4.Brooks, M. Evan. The Modern Games: 1950 - 2000. Computer Gaming World. 120. June 1992.
- 5.Brooks, M. Evan. War In Our Time / A Survey Of Wargames From 1950-2000. Computer Gaming World. 194–212. January 1994.
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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