There’s something genuinely special about Missile Command, and no, it’s not just that it’s an old game a lot of old people have nostalgia for. While some 1980s arcade games embody fear of the future and technology, this Atari action shooter embodied the Cold War in a way that could feel very real for any player, or even anyone watching other people play.
With a trackball as a controller, your job was to protect American cities from intercontinental ballistic missiles. You used the trackball to move around an on-screen crosshair, and then press a button to launch an anti-ballistic missile or some alternate weapons to stop the attackers in their tracks. Much like other 1980s arcade classics, Missile Command has no real ending,as the game will simply loop over and over. Unlike those other games, however, when Missile Command reaches the supposed killscreen – the point where the game stops functioning – it is designed to bring you back to stage one.
Therefore, designer Dave Thereur’s vision for the game is truly terrifying. Even if you go for Missile Command’s Guinness World record, you will ultimately end with failure, as your physical exhaustion will lead to your failure to stop all those missiles, and all those American cities will be demolished. It’s quite a vision for what amounts to lines and dots scattered around the screen, with no color to boot.
Today, Atari has revealed a new vision of this classic franchise for a new century: Missile Command Delta. They have provided this description, as shared by Gematsu:
“Missile Command Delta reimagines Atari’s 1980s missile defense arcade classic as a turn-based tactical game set against a mysterious narrative that leaves you questioning whether you’re trapped in a simulation or truly defending cities from attack.
As players explore an abandoned half-century old facility they will encounter locked doors, dishevelled work rooms, massive super computers and newly awakened missile command terminals. Players must defend against waves of missiles from an unknown enemy using a battery of missiles, each with its own unique type, range, and explosion size. Only by managing their arsenal carefully will they have enough firepower to clear the skies.
As enemy attacks increase and pressure mounts, relationships will be put to the test, blurring the lines between what is real and who they can trust. If they succeed, they may even learn the truth behind this Cold War defense program.”
This time, Missile Command will have an ending, and it may not be one that the players will want, or at least not something they would want happen to them in real life. Curiously, the developers behind this video game thriller are 13AM Games, who also made the party platformer Runbow, and Mighty Yell, who made a VR puzzle game where you play Arthurian legend Princess Guinevere exploring a castle.
So it seems this is a bold new direction for everyone involved, and that may turn out to be a great thing. Whether you have childhood memories watching Matthew Broderick in Wargames, or you lived closer to the edge of where Cold War was at its most dangerous, this new Missile Command seems to be a new one to relive that experience. Or for younger gamers, it may be a way to learn about that world for the first time.
You can watch the official trailer for Missile Command Delta below.
