JoeTheDestroyer's Missile Command review

Missile Command was one of the first games I ever achieved stasis in. I liked it a lot better than the arcade with the trak-ball. I remember people able to spin it just right, but that wasn't feasible on the home systems. I think the hard settings were impossible since you couldn't cover all the missiles at once, but I remember really loving the color changes for each level.

I agree that the ugliness works very well--it doesn't have to TRY to be anything like a person or a monster. Just dots and lines and calculating angles and so forth.

I remember how nervy it was watching a missile cloud collapse too fast for a missile to walk into, or the later levels when I learned to spin missiles coming down fast to my advantage and leave clouds for them in advance. This review brought back a lot of that, so thanks!

No problem. Thanks for reading! I never got to play a legit arcade version, just a port on the Dreamcast version of Atari Anniversary Edition. It's one of those machines I'm keeping an eye out for. In the meantime, the Centipede, Ms. Pac-Man, and Galaga machines that are hugely abundant here can keep me busy.

I like how your reviews always have just the right pictures to augment what you've written. Good picture choice is often ignored as a part of reviewing, so I want to acknowledge your skills in the area. I've yet to read a review by you where I wished for different pics.

Except maybe that horrible cover.... you know, that one time...

Shhh! We aren't to mention that game! Never! Never!

Interesting angle. Missile Command as a life lesson.

I never got that sense of bleakness from it. I think it was the title that did it: 'missile command' gave me a mental image of a war zone teeming with infantry and well-supplied defensive batteries.

In any case, good review. You took a game that it seemed impossible to say much about, and created a review that's worth reading even for those without any interest in the game.

Thanks, Sam. I'm glad you enjoyed it!