World War III

World War III is a video game in the strategy genre and published by Crystalware originally released in 1980. It is currently playable on Apple II.

The game is based on the Iraq-Iran war and the player starts by controlling either the Iraqi or the Iranian army. The game is divided into three segments. The first segment is played from a bird's eye view on a large map of the two countries, with the player's army shown as small tiles on the screen. In the Atari version, the player has one large map that scrolls smoothly, but in the Apple II version, the map is divided into 16 individual segments that can be viewed separately. Character movement and commands are arranged in text form, and each player in turn enters five commands for his army, followed by those of his opponents. Players control air, naval, infantry and armored units, and troops must be carefully supplied and managed. Command is affected by troop morale, supplies and terrain conditions.

The second stage is political negotiation. The player can control not only military movements, but also taxes and oil supplies. Players have to protect their oil supply and acquire the enemy's terrain. Resources are used to buy the latest weapons and supplies from 24 different countries. Players can gain allies by supporting their diplomatic efforts, trade and wise use of nuclear weapons. Most importantly, a neutral country wins the player's cause for the final conflict.

Inevitably, this regional conflict will erupt into a global nuclear war between nations, depending on the status of their allies. Played on large maps of the eastern and western hemispheres, players control submarines, aircraft carriers and air forces. Nuclear and non-nuclear weapons can be used, and fallout from nuclear weapons can be deadly to troops. If a large number of nuclear weapons are used, the world's radiation levels will rise and both sides will be defeated. The ultimate goal is to conquer all hostile nations and win World War III.

It is possible that we have multiple downloads available when different versions exist.