Theatre Europe

The Good
At a time when Threads(UK BBC) and The day after(US ABC) had been shown on TV, PSS released Theatre Europe on the Commodore 64. Zzap64 (issue 2 1985) raved about it, so i got a cassette copy. Knowing the password to launch nukes, i did what everyone did, i launched my Fireplan : Warmpuppy, full nuclear strike, gleefully watching the missiles streak into their targets, Alarms blaring, screen shaking and mushroom clouds rising from the rubble on the screen. I was 15, it was just a game, it meant nothing. OK, time to play properly. Nato selected, Warcomp reporting that Tromso is under attack and that forces have been forced to retreat from most Scandanavian bases. I've got the 3rd shock army and 8th tank army directly in front of my US 8th army, once i order them to the border, i'll move the west german 7th to stand beside them, my 2 strongest units providing vanguard.then i see it, the warsaw pact have another 9 rated unit further down, i have to deploy a 6 and 5 rated unit to block them off, oh this is gonna get messy. Then once i finish my maneuvers, i decide to not engage any units in conflict.the Warsaw Pact then moves everything they have into position, before taking out my 2 weakest units in skirmish. both units disappear from my map. The tension ratchets up, as i slam my hand on the dining room table. Bloody cheeky Russians! They say War is politics by other means, with the odds stacked in Warsaw Pact's favour, it was a chill that shot down my spine, there were no cheats to be used here, i must protect my beloved 1st British unit, who were woefully weak, with the 3 shock army (9 rated) looking to move into the recently vacated spot in front of them. The scene is set.... The graphics work well enough, with the basic UDG being used at map level (these were lines and symbols selected by pressing the right combination of keys on your c64 keyboard) the arcade mode screens had sprites for planes, gunfire, anti aircraft fire etc. the sound scheme was simple but chillingly effective, with every decision filled with self doubt as the enemy units thudded into their new and aggressive stance. The frantic warbling as units engaged each other. Tense!

The Bad
erm, with 40 actual K of programmable space available, i don't think anyone could have done better. There is nothing bad to say. Playing as Warsaw Pact was just too easy.

The Bottom Line
The programmers said that they doctored the figures to make it more playable, without realising that, in hindsight, knowing what we know now, they were still entirely too generous to the Warsaw Pact. It is estimated that it was probably likely that upto 70% of the Soviet Tanks, planes and mobile missile launchers would not have functioned correctly due to poor maintenance, poor construction, inadequate training etc. Nato equipment was of higher standard, from tanks, multi purpose planes and artillery pieces, It is little wonder that no real incidents took place. This game was far more accessible than some of the Microprose disk based games available at the time, games that usually had a hefty manual to digest.

The game was superceded by Conflict: Europe on the 16 bit machines in 1989, by then, with the events at Chernobyl showing the Soviet frailty, the subject became moot. still, both games work well as a snapshot of how things might have gone, based on the limited intelligence available at that time.