In an age of Cells and multi-cores, of 1080p graphics and motion-sensitivity, it's too easy to be blinded into forgetting what it's all about really. Being sucked into the gameplay until you and it are one and there is nothing else (Oh, that is so Zen). Of course, increased processing power and innovation in controls were the means to that end, but as it is in so many affairs of the world, the means obscured the end until the means was all that's left.

That's why it's nice to see a game that doesn't have all that, but still manages to do what games are supposed to do. In this case, it's DEFCON: Everybody Dies from UK-based Introversion Studios, self-proclaimed "last of the bedroom developers". It's a very simple game that could run on a Pentium III - TWO PC GENS AGO - but manages to deliver a gripping multiplayer experience like no other. Why? Thanks to some good gameplay design, and what turned out to be excellent inspiration, this practically emulates - if not simulates - nuclear strategy and warfare.

It's a lot more horrifying than you think when you're the practitioner of the craft. The premise is simple, but the strategic implications are huge. Up to six players, each with a fixed arsenal of bombers, fighters, ships, and most of all, nuclear weapons. On missiles, subs, and bombers. Your objective: use these assets to take out the enemy nukes - and his population. Before he uses his to take out yours. Classic nuclear strategy.

Nobody dies if you read on at the full article.