Mutually assured destruction strategy game

[RRRrrr]

This might be a rather strange request, but I haven't found anything worthwhile yet. I am looking for a strategy game (preferably one that is interesting in multilayer) where there is lots of destruction. I don't care if the game allows turning the entire map into a wasteland or it is more grand and allows destroying destroying the economy of all sides on a more global level, like seeing statistics of millions of dead civilians, gradually making the economy completely nonfunctional etc.

I don't care whether the destruction is on a smaller map or a grand one, I just want a game with good/decent multilayer that allows total destruction of everything and results in the whole map turning into a wasteland. In most of the strategy games I have played the only thing that gets destroyed are the military forces and I want more destruction!
I don't care much for the graphics and whether the game is real-time or turn-based.

TL;DR I really want to play something with lots of (mass)destruction, firepower, annihilated cities and/or countries. Feel free to offer well-known games as I have little experience with strategies, especially when it comes to grand strategies.

 

[Malakal]

DEFCON. Its made for multiplayer too.

I once looked for games featuring WMDs but didnt really find many. Just a few titles, mostly old and obscure.

 

[spectre]

There was that New World Computing game from ~1990 called Nucler War with Tricky Dick, Mao the Pun and the lot if you're into that whole MAD thing. Nice distraction for a couple of minutes.
There's also lots of killed civilians in Pandemic, in fact you get to kill the whole world in it, (besides madagascar most of the time) but that game is about watching the numbers go down.

More seriously though, the answer depends on how much you'd like to larp.
If you're okay with some of that, any good 4X game could fit your bill. How about annihilating whole worlds with killer biospores in MOO2? If you'd rather see some nukes fly, Civilization games let you play around with that. You even get to see some shrooms and leftover radiashun. Also, Civ 5 leaves nice burning with smoke when you pillage stuff. Civ 4 has some of that (there was a mod to add some more post combat damage iirc). Overall, Civ 5 is probably better on the visual side, but it's not a game I would hoestly recommend to anyone. It's nearly playable with the expansion, so you may try that.

Nukes in Supreme Commander also have nice destructible power, although thay take some setting up before you can let rip. Also, almost everything here leaves behind a smoking pile of debris.

Now, if you'd rather have a slightly smaller scale, but see every individual house demolished, why not help yourself with some games with nice destructive environment. XCOM let's you do that, it's also particularly satisfying in Silent Storm Games, although
you won't get much of that unless you specifically play with explosives.

Best pick would probably be any game in the Men of War series - you'd probably have to use lots of artillery in manual control mode to destroy each and every little fricking ouse out there, but its possible.
Also, you'll see lots of vehicles go boom nicely. Company of Heroes could fit your blll too, it has a pretey decent destructible environments, and it's also nice in multi.

TL;DR, it depends if you're in it for the strategic appear, or do you just want to see shit blow up and let some debris fly. If the former, try Civilization and do some nuking and pillaging, if the latter, get yourself CoH or Men of War, maybe Silent Storm.
All of these happen to be pretty playable in multiplayer.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

DEFCON.

 

[TripJack]

as i recall the rise of nations expansion had a cold war scenario where you could eventually start a nuclear exchange

 

[laclongquan]

Warzone 2100 in multiplayer when both side got blinded so dont build counter to other's strikeforce, but their own strongest tech. Either a double-kill artillery duels, or double killed airstrike versus airstrike, or artillery destroy ground force but airstrike hit them later and wipe them out.