I've been playing the demo a lot these last few days, and I'm planning to upgrade to the full version as soon as I have spare money. It really gets the feel of a nuclear war right, as if two people stood ten feet away with fully-automatic weapons and held the triggers down to see who dies first. And yet, it's so compelling... There's a definate strategic element to it, and you can't help but feel that there must be a way to wipe out your enemy whilst not getting hit yourself, if only you could get everything arranged right. But no matter how well it goes, the nukes get through- and you try again, but with a modified plan.

I actually got most of the way through a game against an AI opponent once without taking a single hit. I'd taken out the silos, smashed their radars and airbases, and weathered their ICBM barrage without a single nuke getting through my defences. So I ordered the full strike, and as the nukes went up, the submarine fleet which had been hiding off my coast fired its MRBMs... I still won, but so much for the victory at no cost to myself. It seems that the nuclear war could be won in the same way that you could win a game of Russian roulette with five chambers loaded... Theoretically possible, but you'd never want to try it for real.

PM me if anyone wants to try a game. It'll be interesting to see how play goes against a human opponent.