Missile Command (1980)

Nothing can get as straight forward and intense as the classic Missile Command. Your objective: Protect your base from incoming missiles by setting the sky on fire by firing back with the missiles you have at your disposal.

Light up the sky!

The control was as simple as point and shoot. A missile flies to the coordinate and detonates, creating an explosion that can destroy incoming projectiles. While creating a wall of explosions will work in the first few levels, later ones start requiring you to pick out targets and chain together explosions. Shooting down the random bonus aircraft or UFOs also becomes essential when they fire of a shot or two as well. As with most games at the time, Missile Command didn't ever end; it instead just fired more, faster missiles, some eventually dividing into multiple missiles or not having a contrail as to disguise its position. The game taught you fairly well to watch your missile consumption as well because, if you spend those too liberally, you could be left with none to defend yourself, leaving the cities you were trying to protect at the mercy of your enemy. The game over screen took me by surprise as well when one final, giant explosion sound filled the speakers and consumed the screen with a blinking "THE END" as if I had allowed the end of all existence in my territory.

Oh, the HUMANITY!

Honestly in this day in age, a screen like that would have put this game off the market for seizure concerns. However, I could have easily got lost in this game trying to get farther in the levels and racking up the highest score. A truly unique strategy game and a precursor in the tower defense genre.


Final Judgment: 8/10