Nato Commander
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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The first wargame from legendary game designer Sid Meier, NATO Commander puts the player in charge of the armies of Western Europe as the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact forces plunge across central Europe in a hypothetical Cold War-turned-World War III scenario.

The game design would serve as the foundation for the MicroProse Command Series of wargames, so it is no surprise that NATO Commander and those later MicroProse games are very similar. Combat takes place in accelerated real-time, though the player can freeze to survey the field and issue orders. Commanding is basically a matter of picking the right "modes" for individual units and moving them into position for attack or defense, monitoring unit morale, assigning air wings to various tasks (air superiority, ground support, or reconnaissance), and making judicious use of the chemical and nuclear weapons at the player's disposal.

There are four difficulty levels and five different scenarios to choose from, and the player has the option of using larger divisions or smaller brigades as the standard unit size. Victory points are determined by political (city captures, chemical and nuclear weapons use, pre-emptive attack, etc.) and combat (casualties and loss of territory) factors. 

Key political events occur during the course of the war, such as labor strikes and declarations of neutrality by certain European nations. The final outcome is eventually determined when accumulated political and combat losses force one of the two sides to accept defeat.

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Description from the packaging:

Heart Pounding, Accelerated Real-Time Defense of Europe Against Soviet Invasion!
NATO Commander is a scrolling real-time wargame that requires Joint Chief's-of-Staff strategic thinking and arcade speed decisions. Players must receive, analyze, and react to the multitude of combat reports that are received from the battlefront during a Soviet Bloc invasion of Europe on a May Day in the future. The game player is the NATO Commander and he must deploy his mechanized and armored units, his defensive reserves, and ultimately, if warranted, his tactical nuclear weapons to stop the Soviet advance into Europe. This single player simulation takes place in accelerated real-time. The NATO Commander received continuous radio, teletype and combat communication updates and must devise his own strategy and tactics.

Three skill levels and an infinite number of game variations provide challenge and excitement for all players who would like to wear the four stars of a General and command the NATO armies!


http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/nato-commander
