Missile Command

"Sorry to say it, but I find this game fairly overrated"

Being considered a classic game doesn't always mean it will be loved by all. The same can be said for almost any ''classic'' out there. The movie Wizard of Oz, for example. That pulled in some bad reviews from critics when it was released, but actually turned out to become a classic movie. Final Fantasy 6 is also considered a classic RPG, but I've heard from some who would rather take a splinter to the eye (sorry, couldn't resist a Lucio Fulci reference) than play that game. I guess the same can be said for me and Missile Command. Sure, the game is a classic; I will give it that. However, it's a rather dull classic, at least in comparison to its brothers (the arcade version, for example). The game was made to go against the popular grain that most action games had set. It succeeded and became a smash arcade hit. Then the home version came out, and everyone (or almost everyone) rejoiced... Yay...

The Battle of the Pixels Begins...
In Missile Command, you are trying to stop an alien invasion. Now, just to get things straight, you're not on Earth in this game, but another planet. Yeah, you all know I hate alien takeover storylines, but since this was a fairly early game, I think I'll be a bit merciful in the plot department. If this were any older like say... Late NES era and on, I probably wouldn't be as forgiving, depending on how they follow up the idea on the alien takeover.

The gameplay looks like a fairly primitive idea, and it is. The times didn't allow for anything much more elaborate, however, for such simplicity the game gave us much more innovation. That sounds like praise, and it is. However, it's directed more toward the general game concept, which could even apply to the superlative arcade version of Missile Command. Within the game's concept, missiles fall from the sky and threaten a city below. You must use your elite defensive powers to move a cursor to just a right area and intercept the missiles with your own missiles by pressing the button. Hence the name ''Missile Command.'' Sending up a missile, the thing explodes and leaves huge splotch on the screen for a short time. This splotch can effectively take out any enemy missiles en route to any of your heavenly buildings. Should you miss, the missiles will take out one of your buildings, until you're left with nothing. At this moment, we can all shed tears as the last escape pod your civilization has retreats from the awful Atari 2600 version of the game, possibly to look for a better version.

There is no doubt that the game is fun at first. Sure, while most every Atari game is repetitive, this one seemed to really stretch repetition to something on a duller scale. It just doesn't seem like the type of gameplay worth repeating too much. For the most part, a lot of the pain came from the slower parts of the game. It is expected for a game to start out slow, but this one trudges for quite some time. In a sense, you can almost compare this to the Atari 2600 version of Pac-Man. It isn't anywhere near the arcade version, it's not as fast paced, and it's above all dull.

Graphics
Graphics are fairly sufficient, but weak at the same time. While we don't need major graphics to fill this game, the graphics that are given are just boring. a few lines, dots, and splotches are about all we're treated with. However, at the same time, it's all that's really necessary. Kind of ironic... The colors we get aren't too incredibly bad, though. The game does use a few different colors in its pallet, which isn't bad given the time. However, this doesn't save the blandness of the graphics. One can't help but moan in sorrow at the sight of it. Something does feel missing. Maybe some clouds in the sky, or stars would have been nice. Something other than a huge, empty plane.

Sounds
The sound effects work very well with the game. Each sound filled in its proper event. Each one gave us the feeling- albeit a somewhat abstraction in an auditory sense- of a nuclear war being waged. The bombs falling and the explosions cause by your missiles added a little more to the atmosphere that was needed. However, it still didn't save the game completely. A few sound effects, albeit not bad ones, didn't work as a great messiah to the gameplay. Unfortunately, the game still lacks where necessary.

Final Word

Okay graphics, good sound and control, great predecessors... Where did this game go wrong? The slow gameplay. Odd how one principle can sink and entire game, isn't it? We could have our games like SaGa Frontier 2, where the graphics are great, along with the soundtrack, but the lack of interesting gameplay leads to a painful game. It's something that all developers should take to heart. Of course, we're always going to have our cash-ins, and those are only successful if you can get one that has some extra level of interest in comparison to the game it's supposed to be cashing in on. Example: Martian Gothic. It's a blatant, and oddly late, Resident Evil cash-in, and despite great, darkly humorous writing, it falls short of being a good Resident Evil cash-in due to lack of interesting gameplay. Missile Command may not be a cash-in, but it is a port. We expect most ports today to be a little less than the original, but not for them to lack so badly in comparison to the original.

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: Weak, yet sufficient 5/10
Sounds: Work with the game 7/10
Controls: Work okay enough 8/10
Plot/Storyline: Eh... I could give it a worse grade 7/10
Gameplay: Not much fun to me 2/10
All Together: 3/10

Perks
*Good sounds
*Workable controls
*Interesting idea

Downers
*Not so stellar port
*Dull
*Dry, yet sufficient graphics
*Slow gameplay

Hilarity: The game is so dull, there's really nothing to laugh at.

Recommendations
As with many games, I won't tell anyone to totally avoid a game just because I hated it. I've seen a lot of people saying to avoid games I really like and I really don't want to come off as that type. If you're a big Atari fan, this is definitely worth at least a try to see if you like it. There's no guarantee you will like it or hate it one way or another, but it's still worth a try.

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 07/05/01, Updated 01/08/03