Nectaris: Military Madness

by Jaleco

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00001ZWV3
• Item Weight: 8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,676 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

A pure strategy game is a rare thing these days. While strategy/RPGs have become a popular mainstay in the 32-bit era, a title that harkens back to the glory days of strategy such as Nectaris is welcome indeed. Nectaris is a descendent of the TurboGrafx-16 game known as Military Madness in the US, the game that practically began the 16-bit glory days of strategy. After getting over the game's nostalgic value, some will be disappointed that the game hasn't evolved a bit since its 1989 debut.

Being a pure strategy game, Military Madness drops all pretenses and heads straight for the point, after introducing the token back story. The evil Xenon empire has enslaved the Moon, and it's up to an upstart commander, you, to take back the planetoid through pure eradication. To free the besieged piece of rock, you are given control of a handful of futuristic military units and plunked down on the lunar surface to eliminate the enemy forces by either taking control of their base or destroying all of their units. Each unit has its own movement, attack, and defense advantages and disadvantages from which most of the game's strategy is derived. Secondary strategic interplay comes from the moon's varied terrain, which directly affects the vehicles' mobility and defensive ratings. Additionally, factories give you access to additional units and the ability to repair your weakened forces. Abandoning needless detail, Nectaris is surprisingly easy to pick up and play.

Gameplay is turn-based, letting you move all of your units before giving control to your opponent. Units are moved around the honeycombed map with two-buttoned ease. When engaging the enemy, the view changes from the staid overhead map to a more dynamic 3D representation of the battle, in which each battalion's eight units duke it out in a by-the-numbers duel. You can enhance your odds by surrounding the enemy, attacking adjacent to a friendly unit, or situating yourself on more defensive terrain. The game's AI remains almost identical to the original's, leaving it somewhat challenging at times but often predictable. However, with over 100 levels, the game will definitely keep you on your mental toes for some time. One of the game's best features is the inclusion of a two-player mode. The multiplayer game is played exactly like the single-player game, just with a hopefully less-predictable opponent. To sweeten the deal, Nectaris includes a map editor to allow you to create your own pockmarked playing fields once you grow tired of those included with the game. As fans of the original will see, nothing has changed here. The units, save a few name changes, are exactly the same as before, and the only real difference is that of new maps to battle on. Some will laud this; some will be upset that the game hasn't changed a lick since 1989.

Graphically, Nectaris is dated. While the game's maps do look better than the original's, there still is very little new or different about the graphics. The most noticeable graphical change, of course, is the polygonal representations of the battles. These seem largely to be a design afterthought, as they tend to draw out combat far longer than the "line-up-and-shoot" method of yore. Additionally, they're quite dated for today's PlayStation graphics, using almost no animation or effects. The game's sound is also fairly dated but in a less detracting way. For a wargame, the music is surprisingly soothing, adding a contradictory sense of relaxation to the ensuing carnage. Sound effects are stale, but what else can you do with a game that's naturally limited to explosions and assorted vehicular noises?

Nostalgia's in, and it's cool that a new generation will get a chance to play one of the seminal strategy games of the 16-bit era. Despite its dated graphics and identical gameplay, Nectaris is a solid game nonetheless and worth a look from those interested in some mellow blasting or for those that haven't played the first game. With Nectaris out, all we need now is an update of Herzog Zwei. --Peter Bartholow
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

This is the game Nectaris: Military Madness for the Playstation 1. This game may not come with the original case and instructions. We stand by our products and offer a 60 day guarantee. If a game does not work within 60 days from the time you receive it we will gladly exchange it for you.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Game for the Turbo Grafix Given New Life, November 29, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Nectaris: Military Madness (Video Game)

Of course, probably no one can remember that system, however if they can one of the best strategy games ever made (for it or any other system in my opinion) was Military Madness, and it is now revived on the playstation with new battle graphics and about a hundred more missions. Fans of the original turned-based strategy game (which was similar to a very simple version of Panzer General) will cherish this so add a star. Other who are new to it will boo and hiss the map graphics (which are exactly the same as the old game) however the gameplay is still addictive and fast compared to most turn-based strategy games which helps to keep you involved. A solid game for the strategy game enthusiast.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Old Game, But So What, March 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Nectaris: Military Madness (Video Game)

This game is entertaining, challenging, and occasionally frustrating without total offering total discouragement. The graphics may be dated but they're far from being the worst, even by today's standards. And it doesn't require super-human reflexes, double-jointed suppleness, light-speed keyboard or controller action, or any other manner of superlative manual dexterity. Good for the very young...older, and very old. I'll be able to play this as long as I can see.

Aggressively ATTACK! Defend and attrit; gain air supremacy, contain and destroy. The options are varied.

I'd love to get hold of a similar game that offers sea battles as venues. Should any soul possessed of nastalgia wander through who can recommend such a title, please do.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MILITAR MADNESS RETURNS!!!, February 5, 2009

By 

eightysicks86 - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nectaris: Military Madness (Video Game)

I have been playing Military Madness for the past 15 years. I played it on the TG16, on the pc, on my cell phone, etc. Just realized they made a sequel for the ps1, and here it is. Granted, I had to shell out some $ because it's a ps1 game, and I had to play it through my ps2 on my hi-def tv soI knew the picture would be terrible, and it is! But who cares!?!

The terrain looks like it is blurry, like you need 3d glasses or something, but I have my ps2 upconverted through my receiver anyhow.
This game was of course meant to be played with the ps1 console on a tube tv.

Same vehicles, SAME AI, same objective. However, you can save your game at any point in the game (This is huge). There are a ridiculous amount of maps, over 100 I think. You can also change the battle animations. You can have the classic view, there is a new 3d view where you see the tanks and aircraft fly around in different views when they attack each other, or you can turn it off like I do because the battle sequences take too long and the 3-d views looks hideous. You can create your own maps and play them with a friend or the computer AI.

The AI is the same. However the scenarios seem a bit more challenging, which is good because I have been playing the last 32 maps every which way for the past 15 years! Its nice to have some change!

The biggest difference veterans will notice will be the appearance of the terrain, but this is easily overlooked.

Hudson just made a new sequal to MM on Verizon cellphones with new vehicles maps, everything, that's pretty wicked too!