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DEFCON: Everybody Dies

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8.7 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 36 critic reviews
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Based on 121 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Introversion Software / Valve

Developer: Introversion Software

Genre(s): Simulation, Real-Time Strategy

Players: 6

ESRB Rating: RP (Rating Pending)

Release Date: September 29, 2006

Summary

Inspired by the 1983 cult classic film, "Wargames," DEFCON superbly evokes the tension, paranoia and suspicion of the Cold War era, playing on the fascinating aspects of psychological gameplay that occur during strategic nuclear warfare. You play a General hidden deep within an underground bunker. Your mission is to successfully exterminate your enemy's civilian population whilst saving your own. Points are awarded or lost depending on both the efficacy and thoroughness of your nuclear vendetta and the number of your own civilian deaths. In order to win you must wipe out the enemy population and simultaneously disable the enemy's ability to retaliate against you. This is an extremely difficult task since launching an attack on the enemy exposes the positions of your own Ground Silos, Subs and Bombers the moment they launch nuclear weapons, making you extremely vulnerable and exposed to a crushing counter-attack. Desperate attempts must be made to form fast, tactical alliances, alliances that may at any moment break-down to become the treacherous and most deadly of betrayals. Everyone looks to each other in a state of nervous suspense and paranoid accusation. In all-out nuclear Armageddon, everybody dies, everybody loses, you just have to make sure you lose the least! [Valve]

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: Official Website Valve

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

games(TM)

Introversion’s best yet – chillingly brilliant. [Nov 2006, p.126]

Games Radar (in-house)

The pruned unit selection, simple relationships and fixed playing field give DEFCON more in common with chess than most RTS games. It's not a game to get lost in for hours on end, but it is one you'll get the urge to play again and again for months to come.

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GamePro

Global thermonuclear war has been a popular topic for decades, but few things have managed to capture the spirit of the subject and present in both a digestible and utterly unforgettable form as Defcon.

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1UP

At $20, this just may be the finest piece of "budgetware" ever produced, with every bit as much to offer strategywise as RTS games three times its cost. Like the greatest board games, its entry curve is small, its interface elementary, and its potential for strategic depth enormous.

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VideoGamer

An amazing game. It could be argued that the appeal is limited, as after all, there is only one map to play on. But due to shifting alliances and perceived threats, the game never fails to feel anything but completely fresh.

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AceGamez

The only real issue I have with Defcon is that there's no way to do a quick rematch; you need to head back to the lobby and set up the same match if you want to get payback against the folks who out-nuked you.

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Computer Games Magazine

DEFCON is a simple idea developed with style by a group of obviously talented game designers. [Mar 2007, p.73]

AtomicGamer

As Defcon is almost entirely a multiplayer game, bots are provided but not much fun to play against. The bots have very limited strategy and are fairly easy to defeat. While one can battle a large number of bots simultaneously this challenge by numbers is less appealing than the strategic challenge one can enjoy in the multiplayer modes and hardly prepares you to compete online.

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GamingTrend

Easy to learn but difficult to master as your tactics need to be adjusted on the go.

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2404.org

For me, a game needs to be well-made first, original later and Introversion have proven before that they can easily fit both in the same package. DEFCON is no exception.

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Game Almighty

With its deep yet surprisingly simple gameplay, DEFCON is an addictive title that deserves a spot on any strategy gamer’s hard drive.

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PC Gamer UK

Defcon is an equation that looks simple but can never quite be solved, and it always leaves you scratching your chin, your mind bristling with ideas for new atrocities to engineer. [Nov 2006, p.70]

GamingExcellence

An interesting concept, classic battle graphics and tremendous replayability, this game has it all.

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GamerNode

From a technical standpoint, DEFCON may be an outdated game, especially compared to some of the current powerhouse offerings. But from an artistic point of view, the game,s brilliantly designed and really evokes a certain set of emotions.

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Pelit (Finland)

Yet another stylish, superbly designed game from Introversion. Not the most long-lasting single play experience, but for the price, who dares to complain? [Dec 2006, p.82]

Computer Games Online RO

The game’s atmosphere also plays a key role in creating a quality feeling, which in Defcon’s case is a very dark and sinister one.

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IGN

DEFCON's a great example of how a few simple concepts can be combined to make something that's incredibly interesting and pleasantly complicated.

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Gaming Target

DEFCON is fun, challenging, and addictive. Offering the depth that strategy fans want, and a level of accessibility that opens the game to all players.

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PC Zone UK

DEFCON is such a clever blend of inspired simplicity and deceptive profundity, presented in such a powerfully evocative way, that I want to get Introversion to decorate my house and invent the rest of my life for me. [Dec 2006, p.76]

PC Gamer

Defcon is delightfully fun in its simplicity and payoff, so don't expect incredibly deep strategy. [Dec. 2006, p.78]

Jolt Online Gaming UK

By far one of the most understatedly atmospheric games of the year, DefCon has cornered the market on the kind of strategy that tenses the buttocks to sphincter-alarming proportions. Death, destruction, brains and beauty – who the hell needs a nice game of chess?

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PC Format

A slight affair, but tense, focused and the best finger-on-the-button sim ever. [Nov 2006, p.96]

The Onion (A.V. Club)

A simple, addictive game that'll make you cheer when the missiles launch, and give you nightmares when they land.

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Strategy Informer

As a casual strategist or a hardcore simulation fan, Defcon contains enough elements to involve anybody in the fight for global thermonuclear dominance, and you won't want to leave any time soon.

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GameSpot

Though not a complex strategy game, Defcon's specific sense of style makes for a compelling and unsettling experience.

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PALGN

Much like "Darwinia," DEFCON is going to win a lot of hearts. With its incredibly and attractive gameplay, fans of strategy games will have an absolute blast.

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Eurogamer

Defcon is as pure and direct a game as its inspiration, and its limitations are ones of the game's basic scope.

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Yahoo! Games

This could have been little more than a Flash game done on the cheap to cash in on this nostalgia. Instead, Introversion has created a chilling, thoughtful, and eminently playable real time strategy game, squeezing more atmosphere into 60MBs than most games can manage with 600MBs. Sometimes, less is indeed so much more.

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Boomtown

My main gripe is that the single player game doesn't have the durability I would have hoped for, so if you don’t plan to go online then it’s not a game I’d recommend you pick up.

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Games Master UK

Brilliant while it lasts, even if, in the long run, it's something of a short but passionate love affair, rather than a long-lasting "Advance Wars"-style marriage of gaming joy. [Dec 2006, p.84]

netjak

As a quick game of nuclear holocaust, Defcon is good. As a not-so-quick game of diplomacy, Defcon is a very good game. However, given how successful the diplomacy meta game is, I can't help but feel that the inclusion of some more details, some more units, some more something, may have resulted in an even more intense game.

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The New York Times

Besides being a simply designed but strategically complex game, Defcon can also be seen as a work of art. It made me think of Andy Warhol’s silk-screen paintings of an electric chair. Like those paintings, Defcon presents its subject with a stark matter-of-factness. The game does not tell you what to think about nuclear war, but makes it impossible not to think about it.

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Edge Magazine

The developer’s cleverest trick here, beyond creating a game that’s worth it for the presentation alone, has been to throw open so many of its rules to player customisation. [Nov 2006, p.90]

GameDaily

Each game session plays out very quickly, which is part of the charm and challenge.

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Total Video Games

The type of game that could only have come from an independent studio, Defcon presents a distinctive experience that captures the concept flawlessly. The lack of substance however sits at odds with the idea of a boxed release, and there is some questions as to whether there's enough long-term appeal to justify even the budget-price - one if it piques your curiosity.

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NTSC-uk

DEFCON’s main issue is the lack of depth.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 121 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Eric S gave it a9:
A very well designed and implemented game, with focus obviously placed more on gameplay and enjoyability instead of overly flashy graphics. What graphics there are do their job well, are pleasing to the eye, and easily interpreted at a glance, not getting in the way of gameplay. The soundtrack is likewise simple, but evocative, creating a feeling of detachment yet also one of tension, as though the player really were sitting in some insulated bunker, watching events unfold on a monitor, disconnected from the violence and yet in control of it.

Chris M gave it a10:
When I first got the game, I always got destroyed, because I didn't understand how advanced the strategy was. I gave up on it. A year later I picked it up again, and learned a few things. Started winning some games, and now I'm hooked. Been playing daily for months. It's like a modernized game of chess. You need to use certain pieces, to protect other pieces, and to help coordinate attacks and there's LOTS of deception.

Mike B gave it a10:
The most chilling war game ever created. The game illustrates the tension, paranoia, and complexity of global thermonuclear war. Rather than creating a sense of extreme warrior spirit to stimulate the shallow gamer, Defcon creates an atmosphere of dread, with the background music hinting at the imminent doomsday right from the start of a round. You never see the nukes hit, for, judging from the sound effects and the overall atmosphere, you're in a protected bunker, leading the nuclear massacre and monitoring it from a tactical screen. Hundreds of millions of people are about to die - you're responsible for making sure that it happens, and that the continent you're in charge of suffers through the somber nuclear holocaust the least. The atmosphere is the game's most memorable trait - there's really nothing else like it. The music gives a sense of remorse for the death that is about to take place.

Jason R. gave it a10:
This is a simple game to understand yet incredibly difficult to master. Kudos for a company to break from what is "in" to attempt something older yet heat-thumping in fun and entertainment. You have to love the genre of strategy and chess to understand and appreciate the brilliance of this game. Enjoy!

James P. gave it a9:
A great game with some very interesting ideas. It possibly not the best rts out on the market but is incredibly fun to play and hard to master. Single player is nothing special. Most times you can predict what the ai is going to do. The multi player is where the action is. One on one is good and the world map is big enough for plenty of sneaky tactics. Get more than two involved for some really interesting times. The alliances system allows players to join alliances but also for other player to vote someone else out of one too. You really do have to have your thinking head on once four people are involved.

Simon O. gave it a9:
Excellent game. I am not sure everyone find a lot of replay value as your competing against some seriously good players. A ranking system would be nice.

Jeromy C. gave it a10:
The music adds to the chilling atmosphere. Well worth $15 bucks especially hearing your son groan in his room while going head to head while I decimate him, priceless. So far I have found no worthy opponent online one on one and the single player is a joke. When against several opponents it is difficult. Still feels like it is missing something. The visuals are exquisite. It adds to the horrific spine chilling mood along with the music. I did get burned out after a week of almost solid playing but just for a quick little something to leave you hanging on the end of your seat game, it is 10+ in my book. After you learn how to take out the enemy silos from the get go 1vs1 is too easy. Playing against at least 4 or more players is really a challenge. So far I haven't quite mastered engaging multiple enemies. Strike first and strike hard! Leaving a few silos undetected and subs on their front lawn for final clean up or retaliatory strike.

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DEFCON: Everybody Dies

Game Info

Summary

What The Critics Said

What Our Users Said

Upcoming &
Recent Releases