WarGames: Defcon 1 (PlayStation)

Reviewed by

Jeff Gerstmann

on 08/07/1998

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ESRB: Teen
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Dabney Coleman may be nowhere to be found here, but once you get past this slight oversight, you'll discover a great shooter.

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GameSpot editors' review

CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
Detailed editors' rating

Reviewed by:
Jeff Gerstmann
Reviewed on: 08/07/1998
Updated on: 05/02/2000
Released on: 06/30/1998
Originally published on GameSpot: WarGames: Defcon 1 (PlayStation) Review

When I first heard that MGM Interactive had a WarGames-related game in the works, I was totally excited. I wanted to take control of Matthew Broderick and hack into NORAD on a TRS-80. I wanted to ride around on the back of Ally Sheedy's moped as she carted me from school to home. I wanted to push a button that made the guy in the missile silo pull out a pistol and shout "Turn your key, sir!" Alas, this game has none of that. It is, however, an outstanding mission-based shooter. Think EA's Strike series, but with lots of different units.

Each of the game's 30 missions (15 as NORAD, 15 as WOPR) gives you a collection of units ranging from lightly armored jeeps to monstrous tanks, helicopters, and jets, and points you at stuff that you need to blow up. You control each unit one at a time, with the ability to switch between them at will. You do have the ability to call units to your location, giving the other units AI control, but the AI is so terrible that your units will have a hard time crossing a bridge, let alone fighting the enemy. Playing the game is quite simple. You just take a tank and start towards your next objective. Shoot anything that gets in your way, taking care to back up to dodge enemy fire. This, coupled with the fact that most of your units can take loads of damage, and that it's extremely easy to replenish your units, makes WarGames pretty darn easy. Two-player mode puts the game in a diagonal split-screen and has both head-to-head and cooperative modes.