''Epidemic!'' is a turn-based strategy game in which the player stands in control of a world on the brink of extinction. It was developed by Steven Faber for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and published by

Strategic Simulations Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and video game publisher, publisher with over 100 titles to its credit from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company was especially noted for its numerous wargames ...

in 1982. It was ported to the

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

Plot

A meteorite crashes into Earth, bringing with it an alien virus. The player must stem the

epidemic An epidemic (from Ancient Greek, Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics ...

across 14 regions quickly as possible and with minimal loss of life.

Gameplay

The player has from 15 to 30 turns, with options ranging from inert methods like

interferon Interferons (IFNs, ) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses. In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten the ...

, to

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

, to destruction of a region with nuclear weapons. The game has four difficulty levels, ranging from small controllable scenarios of approximately 20 minutes at level 4, to full one-hour campaigns with severe difficulty at level 1.

Reception

Johnny L. Wilson reviewed the game for ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'', and stated that "In conclusion, Epidemic is a good beginning level strategy game with excellent graphics. The game provides a real challenge to constantly better your score by curing the world as fast as you can." In a 1983 review for ''

Creative Computing ''Creative Computing'' was one of the earliest magazines covering the microcomputer revolution. Published from October 1974 until December 1985, the magazine covered the spectrum of hobbyist/home/personal computing in a more accessible format th ...

'', Brian J. Murphy wrote, "The game system is easy to master, and play is smooth," and "The documentation is entertainingly written and supports the program well, but even without the manual and player aid cards, a first time gamer stands a good chance of picking up the rules just by booting the disk and following the prompts."

Reviews

*''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' (Issue 18 - Dec 1983)

References

External links

''Epidemic''
at Atari Mania 1982 video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit family games Video games about impact events Simulation video games Strategic Simulations games Strategy video games Video games about viral outbreaks Video games developed in the United States {{strategy-videogame-stub