Not much in the way of single player, but this unique game about nuclear war will while away many an hour.
The layout to DefCon is unique. Matches take place on a flat, 2D World Map where you control one (or sometimes more) continent(s). Don't let that put you off though, as the graphics are extremely well done in their retro style. Furthermore, there are no menus or walls of texts to be trudged through, which makes the game even more accessible. The world map is very simple too, showing only the cities, outlines of continents and their names. There are no rivers or forests, or any geographical detail at all for that matter. This makes it simple to select and maneuver your various fleets and aircraft.
Typical of most modern RTS's, there is no resource gathering or mid-game base building. You start each match by placing your air bases, silos, radar stations and fleets in and around you chosen continent. Although it is possible to send out aircraft numerous times should they return to base before being shot down or running out of fuel, you then have a pre-defined number of nuclear warheads. This gives a certain atmosphere of tension, as you have to make every shot count.
Each match progresses from DefCon 5 through DefCon 1, and that is about as complicated as it gets. In DefDon 5 and 4, you can place your structures and fleets. In DefCon 3 you can send out fighters to engage enemy aircraft and bombers to destroy submarines. Your fleets can attack enemy ships, and vice versa. However, it is not until DefCon 1 that things really start heating up. At this stage you can launch you nukes. Although one tactic is just to launch everything you have at the enemy at once, hoping that most of them don't get shot down, you can use tactics to try and guarantee some decent hits on major cities. This is mostly down to your nuclear subs, who you will need to maneuver around the world to an undefended spot and wreak havoc on ungaurded cities.
There is stategy involved elswhere in the game for example. Particularly in multiplayer matches, it is important to make alliances with other continents. However, it is equally as important to backstab your allies once you are ready, using their radar vision (often shared between players in alliances) as only one player can be crowned the victor.
There are a number of different game modes in DefCon, however, they are all just modifications to the basic premise. There is the aforementioned Office Mode, there is speed DefCon, where matches take no longer than 15 minutes and BigWorld, which doubles the size of the map while halving the line of sight of your units.
Sound in the game is excellent, and really helps to add to the atmosphere. Instead of hearing whizzbangs and huge explosions, the sounds all come from the nuclear 'control room' from which the game is situated. You may be able to faintly here the tapping of a keyboard, or the sound of a man coughing. There is even a noise that sounds like a woman crying. All in all though, this is just the icing on the cake to what is otherwise a great game.
The lasting value of this game is limited. While there is a strong multiplayer community and a handful of mods to play around with, it is not a particularly immersive game that you can be stuck in to for hours on end. Nor does it have anything in the way of single player. There is a skirmish mode where you can choose any number of CPU opponents, but there is no difficulty setting. Add to this the fact that the computer always uses the same strategy (play the game and you will see what I mean) and this means that the AI is only really good for getting to grips with the basics and developing your own strategy before heading off to fight human opponents.
All in all though, this is an outstanding and unique game which can be bought for pennies and can give several hours of fun. It's a great game to dip in and out of. Even if you don't like the genre, give it a go.