Final Conflict, The Download (1990 Amiga Game)

As the words of that funky song so eloquently put it: 'War. Humph. What is it good for? Well, absolutely nothing' was the inspirational answer but that hasn't stopped Tactix re-releasing The Final Conflict, a simulation of power, politics, global warfare and men in dark sunglasses swapping coded bananas on South American street corners.

It is the future. Diplomatic attempts to ease East-West tension have failed and all-out war has been dramatically declared. As the Prime Minister, President or Dictator of your choice, you must use diplomacy, espionage and some very big guns to try and win this terrible er... war for your country.

As supreme commander in the final battle, you can direct your land and sea forces against the enemy and, using secret agents, snaffle secret enemy strategies and attempt to persuade wavering neutrals to become allies. You see, while sending tank divisions rolling into Colombia may be fun and impressive, it's not going to win you any friends in the long run - nobody likes a military smart-arse.

But it's not all about tanks and nuclear warheads. No, a good war (if there is such a thing) can only be fought with the back-up of a solid supply line, and in The Final Conflict, you must not only be a brilliant tactician but successfully juggle your country's economic resources at the same time. Producing more ships, weapons and factories means you have a stronger military punch, but get the balance wrong or neglect the needs of your own people and your military machine will grind to an embarrassingly halt.

You can't just dip into The Final Conflict for five minutes, because it's an absorbing and enthralling game. It doesn't boast the prettiest graphics in the world, but if you're prepared to sit down and persevere, you'll soon find that beneath the maps, stats and charts there's a decent game struggling to be noticed. If you're a fan of the board game Risk but don't have any friends to play it with, why not load up The Final Conflict and take on the world?

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

People who downloaded Final Conflict, The have also downloaded:
Formula One Grand Prix (Microprose), Future Wars, Final Fight, Populous 1