Play Countermeasure Online

Summary

Countermeasure drops you into a cramped 5200 arena where a single tank can swivel and fire in eight directions, its speed shifting between smooth open ground and the gritty drag of rough terrain. Fuel depots dot the map, forcing you to balance aggressive silo hunting with the ever‑present need to refuel before you run out of juice.

The core challenge is a ticking clock: destroy all seven enemy silos before time expires, and you’re rewarded with a hefty 10,000‑point bonus and an extra life. If the timer hits zero, a last‑ditch option appears—dock your super‑tank at a silo, slip into the War Room, and guess a three‑letter fail‑safe code made of L, E, and O. A correct guess nets the same bonus; a miss ends the mission in a dramatic fashion.

Atari’s 5200 controller feels oddly fitting for the tank’s eight‑way movement, though reviewers have long debated the game’s speed and steep difficulty. Early press praised it with four‑star ratings, while later retrospectives note the graphics and learning curve as pain points. The title even inspired an unofficial 7800 sequel, FailSafe, and a proper follow‑up, Countermeasure II, which Atari released as a cartridge in 2025.

Storyline

In Countermeasure, terrorists have seized a missile‑silo complex and wired the launch computers to a ten‑minute timer that threatens Washington, D.C. The player controls a tank that starts at a random position near the bottom of the playfield, surrounded by silos, armed pillboxes and supply depots. The main objective is to destroy all seven missile silos before the timer expires while fending off remote‑controlled tanks, jeeps and cruise missiles that appear more often on higher difficulties. Supply depots also provide fuel and clues to a three‑letter fail‑safe code that is generated anew each game. If the clock runs out, the player must approach a silo and enter the correct code; a wrong entry triggers the missiles and ends the game.