I somehow missed Military Madness the first time around. That could be because I wasn't much into the military stuff back then. I was more of a Luke Skywalker than a G.I. Joe. It wasn't until this game became available on the Wii Virtual Console that I decided to give it a try, mainly because over the years I've kept seeing so many positive comments about the game. Military Madness certainly doesn't score that high on the visual scale and the soundtrack in the game is mediocre at best, but there's just something about the simplicity and strategic-style gameplay that make the game so much fun to play.

Military Madness is a turn-based game meaning that you will have a full turn in which to move and manipulate all of your troops individually before ending your turn and allowing the computer to make all of it's moves. Turns will constantly alternate between you and the computer or a second player if you choose to play the 2-player game, until such time as one person either loses all of their troops or one of you captures the other one's base. You basically use a cursor to select the troop or vehicle that you want to move and then are presented with a grid that shows you all of the possible locations you can relocate to. Once you've shifted your fighter or vehicle to where you want it you then press the "A" button to confirm the move. If you're within range of an enemy, you are then given the option of attacking. It's very important that you use the available terrain to your advantage. For instance, you want to generally stay above your enemy during a battle so using the mountains can give you a significant advantage. You're ultimate goal in each level is to reach the enemies fort with one of your soldiers. This is easier said than done, as the enemy will always be trying to attack and defeat any fighter that you send too close to their base. That's where you'll have to use your armed vehicles for cover fire and protection. As you progress further into the game you'll gain access to bigger and better weaponry that will add even more strategy to the mix as some of these advanced vehicles will have long-range missile capabilities that will force you to be much more careful in your positioning and approaches. It's all of these variables that make the game so strategic in its design execution.

The graphics in Military Madness are pretty bland all around. It basically looks like an 8-bit NES game in most areas and doesn't have that crisp look that most other Turbografx-16 games feature. It's not that big of a deal really, as the game doesn't have a huge need for flashy visuals, but it might have been nice to have seen a little more detail in the various areas of the Moon, and maybe a few more animations during the combat sequences. This game was one of the earlier Turbografx-16 titles and possibly developers were still becoming accustomed to developing for the system when this game was created.  At the very least the developers could have at least made a better use of the Turbografx-16's large on-screen color palette.

You're either going to love or hate the soundtrack in this game. It doesn't offer much in the way of music as you'll spend most of the game listening to the same uninpsired tunes repeated over and over again. You'd expect some military music or some drumrolls, but what you get is a highly synthesized 8-bit soundtrack that sounds like it belongs more on the NES system than the Turbografx-16. Even the sound effects, like gunfire and missile explosions,  don't have much kick to them. It's a shame that such a great game has to get by with just the bare essentials in the audio-visual department.

Military Madness proves that you don't need flashy visuals or a CD-quality soundtrack to make a great game. The game features a surprising amount of depth and strategy that makes for an almost endless amount of gameplay variations. Strategy and tactics-style games have come along way over the years, but Military Madness has managed to stay fresh and viable even all these years later. If you can ignore the bland visuals and uninspired soundtrack and just enjoy the game for what it is, you'll find Military Madness a nice diversion and a surprisingly deep strategic gaming experience.