Defcon game free trial weekend commences

In coordination with Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 2007, which happens this weekend in Seattle, Wash., Introversion Software (and Mac partner Ambrosia Software) has announced a freeplay long-weekend for Defcon, their game of nuclear annihilation. Through Monday, August 27th at 06:00 GMT, Defcon is free for all to play — gamers are not required to enter key codes to have access to the full game.

Defcon is a throwback to the Cold War. Your job, as a general hidden in a deep underground bunker, is to totally destroy the other side — inflicting massive civilian casualties and disarming your opponent using a thermonuclear arsenal, trying to protect your own forces and people as best you can.

If the game sounds disturbing, it is — its tagline is “Everybody Dies,” and Introversion and Ambrosia don’t shy away from showing you the dark side — and the reality — of global nuclear conflict.

The game takes its style cues from the 1983 hit motion picture “WarGames,” unfolding on a black map featuring a vector-shaded outline of the world. You scramble battleships, subs and bombers as you target your enemy’s radar installations, missile silos and civilian population centers.

System requirements call for Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later and a G4 or better (Intel included). Defcon costs $25 to register.