12 Best (& Weirdest) Nukes You Can Launch, Disarm Or Unlock In Video Games

A Valuable Lesson About Deterrence [Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain]

Nukes are unique in Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Every Mother Base can eventually earn a nuke — that nuke is used for deterrence only, you won’t be detonating it in anyone’s backyard. You don’t even get to launch the thing! But it’s pretty unique all the same. Instead of blowing stuff up, the nuke prevents certain players from invading your FOB in the unique multiplayer options.

Even weirder, if every player in the world gets rid of their nukes, you’ll get a special cutscene celebrating the beginning of a new peaceful era. Nukes have always been the big problem in the Metal Gear Solid series and for good reason. This is one of the most interesting examples of an in-game nuke. Not a weapon, but a cold tool that’s only useful for its implied threat.

Recently, MGS5 players on PS3 were able to achieve total nuclear disarmament and earned the hidden ending. And I really didn’t think it would be possible!

Wiping The Slate Clean [World In Conflict]

Without a doubt, this is probably the most impressively modeled nuke in video games. World In Conflict is an RTS with a massive scale — so the nukes are too. When you unleash a tactical nuke in World in Conflict, it wipes out entire towns. It isn’t quite city scale, but it’s still an impressive achievement in video game destruction.

Nukes play a big part in the story, but let’s focus on nukes as a multiplayer weapon. In World In Conflict multiplayer, you play as either the Allies or the Soviets as they vie for control points. Capturing control points will earn you more points to commission reinforcements or attacks from the sky.

You’ll get Napalm, Fuel Air Bombs, Carpet Bombing, and eventually even a Nuke. This is a last ditch weapon, as the resulting mushroom cloud doesn’t just level half the map, it also leaves behind a deadly cloud of radiation that makes the area completely impossible to access.

Enjoy the biggest booms or lessons on the nature of deterrence on the next page.