ICBM II is a clone of the classic arcade game Missile Command. Born out of Cold War mentality, it is one in the company of many titles that has a heavy influence from this singular event that dominated much of the international scene in the late 20th century. Classic canons like Battlezone are all pervasive as a game but once you think of about the content, in the context of what society was at the time, it is peculiar and almost frightening to posit that current events can translate so easily into the realm of games. ICBM II is basically like Missile Command, a Cuban Missile Crisis gone insane.

Not too long ago, I recall being on a train ride overhearing a conversation between two film students who thought that re-shooting movies like Hitchcock's Psycho was the thing to do at the time. Indeed, Y2K preparations seemed even more foolish when the world resurrected just about every fashion trend in the last century within the time span of a few years. It follows naturally that 2000 also heralded Missile Command for the PC, which featured the classic game along with a unique spin. ICBM II takes up on that spin as well, offering an 'enhanced' mode as well as the normal classic gameplay. The enhancements include some power-ups like an EMP bomb, which behaves something like shooter (Raiden II, 1942) bombs, destroying everything in sight. Moreover, there is the addition of extra shields and cities to help prolong the onslaught you'll face in the game. Like the new remake of Resident Evil (notice how remakes seem to never die), you have the option of having lots of firepower and facing a tougher foe, or having fewer choices of weapons and facing a correspondingly weaker foe. That's exactly what the enhanced mode does for ICBM II.

Shooting down missiles and other projectiles is actually a lot more intuitive using the stylus than a track ball or joystick. In my experience, I think it even surpasses the flexibility of the mouse. FogNog has even thrown in some bombing aircraft and satellites that spew missiles on their own. These intermittently clog up the skies alongside the missiles. Something that I didn't particularly appreciate was the game's propensity to dictate that the game is over. At a certain point, when the game has decided you aren't exactly handling things entirely well, your missile silos will cease to fire and you'll watch defenselessly as your cities are pummelled to ruins. The point of no return was often a matter of debate between the game and I.

Visually speaking, the artistry in ICBM II is not phenomenal but they are animated to fit the fast paced action. Targeting reticules automatically track dangerous targets and combined with the explosions, it does not get too monotonous. I would have liked an additional music track but perhaps that was left out to keep the game at such a small size on the PDA. Moreover, at $5.00 US, ICBM II is an absolute steal, especially for anyone who sunk large bills into Missile Command. Its level of intensity does not match recent games like Incoming's sequel, Incoming Forces from Rage, but this UK title certainly is a gem in its own right. It even comes with a low battery notification to curb Missile Command fanatics. A bigger, better ICBM III is hopefully just around the corner.

Ratings:
[09/10] Addictiveness
[14/20] Gameplay
[11/15] Graphics
[09/10] Interface/controls
[08/10] Program Size
[03/05] Sound
[04/05] Discreetness
[12/15] Learning Curve
[ N/A ] Multiplayer