Third World War

The Good
Third World War for the Sega CD offers some interesting, realistic and alternative-reality turn-based military strategy.

You can pick your nation and you can set your strategy game in a historical period in time (i.e. the Cold War) or you can set the strategy in the then-future. The voice over narration explaining each scenario, is well done and the game features above average music and sound effects.

The Bad
The graphics and animation are strictly average. The game has some promise in the game play department, but is more dull, tedious and frustrating then anything else.

These military action-battle sequences (where you control troops and vehicles) look like something from a cheap children's toy line, rather then a historical or science fiction-themed military battle.

Their is no sense of any really excitement or "action" (and your troops and vehicles move too slow) in these action sequences, which are pretty much the only break you get from the average graphics and animation you get from your turn-based strategy based decision making screen.

Furthermore these military action sequences can get frustratingly hard. The computer often seems to have more/better weapons and it is not made entirely clear how you can get more and better military equipment for those battle sequences.

The Bottom Line
Third World War for the Sega CD is a strictly average turn-based strategy game. Despite some interesting ideas, and lots of potential, the action military sequences will not impress action fans and the turn based military strategy sequences will not impress fans of that genre.