BACK in the Fifties there was a film called Fail Safe. It starred Henry Fonda and dealt with the possibility of an accidental nuclear war initiated by human error and carried out by machines. This is not that story.
Around the same periods there was a film called Dr Strangelove (the animated title sequence even copies a bit of the film) which dealt with an almost identical set of circumstances but starred Peter Sellers, and so was a bit funner. This is almost that story.
Your country needs YOU. Being the leader of a little island paradise, the populace have entrusted you with their safety. Guard your five major conurbations jealously, for other leaders are out to steal your people.
Four other countries are represented in the game, each with a despotic dictator who would rather initiate Armageddon than lock up his grandmother. And we all know how much they enjoy doing that.
These four leaders can be chosen from any of 10, including Ghanji, Colonel Kadaffy, Infidel Castro and P.M. Satcher. Any similarity with persons living or dead is, of course, entirely coincidental.
Your adversaries, as do all world leaders, fall into one of five general categories: Pacifists, madmen, liars, warmongers and standard, whatever that might entail.
If you known the type of leader you are facing you have a better chance of predicting his next move. Thinking ahead is jolly important in this game.
Develop your own independent nuclear deterrent to "help keep the peace" - I mean, you'd never actually use it, would you? Nuclear warheads may be delivered by missiles or by bombers such as the NP-1 (Nuclear Postman).
Gear up your people to manufacture the weapons of destruction. There's nothing wrong with being prepared for war, is there? It's not that you were planning to initiate it, after all. Try putting that one past Ayatollah Kookamamie.
As well as the standard destruction by enemy action, a few random accidents may befall your cities. Earthquakes, nuclear accidents, falling 16 ton weights (nobody knows where they come from) and Cattletech - a vicious form of combat where a herd of cattle is catapulted into enemy territory before stampeding through the downtown bars and hamburger stands.
UFOs do exist and they are watching you at this moment. They find earth-man antics very amusing and would do anything to perpetuate it. Like cloning cities for example. Watch the skies.
The graphical representation of Gravedigger missiles homing in for a ground burst is lovely. Many is the afternoon I could sit back and watch the last battle unfold on my monitor. Sound effects are amusing if not state of the art. Maybe that's why Truman sent up the Enola Gaye.
There is a lot of strategy involved to make sure the rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in stays in place. Some leaders are very volatile indeed.
It's not only great fun if you're into major devastation and things like that, but there is a good bit of thinking to be done. When someone wants to launch a missile, for example, it takes two turns. At the end of the first turn the missile is on the pad. Now, who is it pointed at? Should you deploy a defence system? How well you can interpret the actions of your fellow despots determines your own, and the world's, survival.