Impressions: Command + Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Greg)

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

There are few Command & Conquer fans that are as devoted to the franchise as editor-in-chief Steve and myself. To us, Command & Conquer is the defining RTS series and since the original title, we’ve enjoyed the series like none other. Though I really haven’t loved the more recent titles such as Generals and Command & Conquer 3, I still enjoyed the titles despite my longing for the days of old.

You see, it is a consensus with me and Steve that the greatest C&C games have to be the original game as well as both of the previous Red Alert titles. These games capture the essence of true RTS glory and the balancing in Red Alert 2 is what makes it such an appealing multiplayer title (probably the best in the series yet). Therefore, when we began to learn more about the specific gameplay in Red Alert 3 and how it has conformed more to the gameplay from Red Alert 2, we immediately became giddy.

According to EA’s developers (most of which worked on Red Alert 2), the Red Alert universe will always remain separate from the tiberium universe, in terms of story and game design, and it’s for good measure to us. Thus, Red Alert 3 seems to preserve the great balancing of Red Alert 2 while still bringing a whole plethora of unique aspects to the RTS world.

First of all, the most notable homage of Red Alert 3 to the games of old is that it looks exactly like you would expect Red Alert to look in 3D. Imagine the upgrade from Advance Wars to Advance Wars DS only a full 3D rendition and you’ve got the picture. Red Alert 3 looks gorgeous and still completely reminds me of Red Alert 2 in all ways which is a big plus for me.

Next, the factions still have many of the same units, only even further variation this time around. See, in this installment of the series, the ailing Soviet Union has managed to travel back in time in order to kill Albert Einstein, one of the main Allied weapons that was swaying the battle in their favor (he was also the person who invoked the ensuing war between Russia and the rest of the world because of his heroics when eliminating Adolf Hitler using chrono technology in the initial title). Thus, this time around, the power struggle has swayed even further and even a new faction has been added into the mix, the empire of the rising sun (Japan). Japan has the technology to control giant robots that can transform into planes and defenses that can attack either ground or sky units.

Another tribute to the days of old is the cast of characters and live actors within the games. The greatest part about these actors is that it actually gives you a feeling of the story but at the same time it’s purposefully cheesy to make you appreciate the days of old. Chris Corr, Greg Black, and Amer Ajami, developers of the game, ensured us that we would love the cast of characters but they couldn’t leak any specifics.

Gameplay is still very fast paced as is the case in many of the more recent Command & Conquer titles but as was confirmed by the developers, these battles can last for around 30 minutes (much longer than the ones from C&C 3) due to the strong balancing. Also, the game gives players many more options when defeat is approaching. For one, the game is highly dependent upon naval battles, which is something that has never been done in a C&C game yet, opening up a completely new perspective on the game. Almost every building can be built on water to spread your base out and many land units are amphibious and can be used on water.

Another important feature is the fact that most vehicles have secondary weapons/functions. For instance, just as Japan’s giant robots can transform into planes and helicopters, the soviets have a helicopter that can either freeze or shrink enemies. Also, spies not only have the ability to sabotage the enemy’s power, money, radars, and super weapons but they can also use a move called bribe that allows you to “convince” any units within a radius to join your party for 1000 dollars. Features like these allow players to have more choices in battles to give them true strategic advantages if they can use their secondary powers properly.

Player points were also added to the game, a feature that has been seen in recent C&C titles but has never been in a Red Alert game before. I do have my concerns about these because in previous titles, they could sway the battle so much, you wouldn’t even have to rely on your troops to win a mission but they may fit better into the Red Alert mold solely because of the balancing within the game. And, it was mentioned that player points stream faster if a player is losing, which helps to prolong the battles further.

Players are also not given the option to turn off super weapons in skirmishes, which concerns me despite the developers’ claims that they are not a huge impact on the game (the bases are more spread out and no super weapon can destroy a con yard in one hit but I would still like to see an option). And, specific factions with specific units are not included (such as Cuba/terrorists, France/grand cannons, Germany/tank destroyers). I was a little disappointed with this but the game is still not finished and patches and/or add-ons can change some of these things if necessary.

Another way that balancing is attained is the limitation of resources. Rather than give players entire fields of ore or gems as was the case in previous games, Red Alert 3 has resource areas that can be tapped by only one refinery at a time. Thus, if you want to attain a lot of resources, you’ll have to build multiple refineries next to these resource areas. I still don’t know how I feel about this option because I do feel like the tactic of racing to attain the most money and thus spamming tanks can be a little annoying at times but limiting resources could potentially be equally as annoying (as was the case for me in Generals). Though I’m skeptical about this approach, I do still trust the developers in their judgment on the issue as they seemed very supportive of the limitation.

The final joyous revelation that I discovered about the title is the fact that Frank Klepacki will actually be creating a couple of songs for the game, despite his contractual bindings from working at Petroglyph. To put it short, if Kane and Tanya are the poster children of the series, Frank Klepacki is the heart and soul. Providing the perfect environment with his techno/rock soundtracks, Klepacki has the ability to prepare you to kick some arse and take names. I was still a little sad that he can only do a few songs but Hell March 3 is sure to be a classic for this title.

Regardless of any small doubts/issues I may have with the early build of the game, I still am very pleased with what I saw of the Red Alert 3 E3 build. I don’t believe I’ve been this excited about a Command & Conquer title since the release of Red Alert 2 and I’m excited to be able to beta test the game in the next couple of weeks. It’s also nice to see that there are still some developers at EA that love the old aspects of C&C and are willing to preserve them for diehard fans such as Steve and Myself. In October of 2008, World War III is upon us and Red Alert 3 is sure to be leading the way.