Theatre Europe

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Synopsis

Theatre Europe is a turn-based strategy video game developed and published by Personal Software Services (PSS). It was first released in the United Kingdom for the Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, and Atari 8-bit computers in 1985. It was later released in France by ERE Informatique in 1986, and was released in the United States by Datasoft later that year. The game is set during a fictional war in Europe between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, in which both sides use nuclear and chemical weapons. The developers used information and statistics on military strength from the Ministry of Defence and the Soviet embassy in London. The objective is to fight conventional battles in continental Europe, whilst trying to avoid a worldwide nuclear holocaust. During the game, capital cities and their civilian populations are destroyed by nuclear weapons. The game ends once either side is forced to surrender or if the entire population of Europe perishes. To request a nuclear strike, the player was required to call a dedicated telephone number to hear an automated message giving the authorisation code. Theatre Europe was criticized by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and The Sun newspaper. Some high street retail chains refused to sell the game upon release. The game received critical acclaim for its accuracy, playability and value for money. It won the "Best Strategy Game" award at the 1985 Golden Joystick Awards and was nominated for "Game of the Year". PSS released a 16-bit follow-up game in 1989, Conflict: Europe.

Text license: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Details

Type

Game

Release date

January 1, 1985

Genres

strategy video game

Platforms

ZX Spectrum, Atari 8-bit family, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64

Countries

United Kingdom