G4TV

EA stubbornly continues to flout conventional wisdom.  Traditional Real-Time Strategy games simply do not work on consoles.  On the Wii?  Maybe.  Maybe.   But game pad controls are just not up to the task.

Of course the dirty little secret here, known to those of us who ponied up the cash for Battle for Middle Earth II on the Xbox 360, is that when it comes to RTS games on the console, Electronic Arts got a lot right.

Greetings Commander

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars for the 360 should rightfully be considered the de facto way RTS games should be ports to the console realm.  Of course, it also helps that C&C 3 is a fantastic game to begin with.  And the move to the console has done little to dull the luster.  Aside from the obvious differences in interface, it’s the same game.  So go ahead the check out that little 5 out of 5 review we gave the PC version and then come on back.

Control & Conquer 

Ok, on to the important stuff.  You’re probably wondering just how clumsy the controls are.  Honestly, after you play through the in-game tutorial, you’ll have a solid grasp of the mechanics.  It all boils down to several easy-to-remember methods of selecting your units and a very streamlined “hot bar” that holds almost all of your building functions.

You can select units individually by positioning the cursor over one and pressing “A”.  More robust methods of selection, such as grabbing all units of one type or all units in view is achieved by holding down the corresponding trigger or bumper button while pressing “A”.  It works much like it did in BFME2.  And yes, it’s a bit of a learning curve, but once you’ve played a couple of matches, it clicks nicely.

Fun with your D-Pad

One excellent new addition to the interface is the ability to quickly assign your units to a new group.  What took a dexterous feat of hand-cramping gymnastics in BFME2, can now be achieved by simply pushing down on the D-Pad.  This is a huge help when it comes to managing your army.  That and the ability to quickly select from existing groups and special powers from the D-Pad as well makes playing the game nearly effortless.

The “hot bar,” which is accessed by holding down the right trigger, lets you build new structures and units without having to navigate around your base.  It works reasonably well, but we noticed a few places where the hot bar fell short.  Some structures like airports and cranes (which provide additional build queues) don’t work well with the hot bar, meaning you have to return to your base the baby-sit more than you should have to.

Could you ever really love a small man

While the controls are a winner, there are some places that could have used a little more attention during the move to the 360.  Despite playing in hi-def on a large screen TV, many of the units are so small, they’re hard to see.  Soldiers are the worst.  There are tiny icons next to them to tell you what kind of unit they are, but the icons themselves are too small to be of much use.  So while the game is arguably running at roughly the same resolution as the PC version, the difference here is that you’re usually sitting several feet from your TV rather than the foot and a half you’d be from your computer monitor.  Hi-def visuals or no, developers need to take into account normal TV viewing distance.  I should not have to squint to play your game.

Compounding the visual issue is the lack of adequate documentation.  Sure the tutorial covers the basics, but the manual that comes with the game is pathetic.  Guys, it’s a strategy game. We need a break down of the units, tech trees, and special functions.  The on-screen tooltips don’t cut it. 

Dead or X-box LIVE

Once you’ve braved the two and a half campaigns in the game, you’ll find plenty of life left in C&C 3 thanks to the excellent skirmish mode and occasionally excellent online multi-play.  As with all things X-Box Live related, this game is far and away better played with friends instead of the unwashed masses that are currently contaminating the online portion of the game.  Ranked matches are currently a waste of time because EA didn’t put a restriction on the game parameters.  That means most people hosting ranked matches are bumping the initial funds to 40,000 so they can play rush matches.

RTS…XBOX…OMG!!!11!!1

But even if you never set foot online (and at this point I don’t really blame you) there’s a whole heaping lot of game in C&C 3.  It’s a fantastically well realized strategy game for the console crowd.  Don’t be scared away by the initial learning curve.  It’s not that steep. Honest.   Besides, with the Xbox 360 version, you can gawk at Jennifer Morrison on your TV instead of on your computer monitor.  And that’ll make you look slightly less loserish.  Right?

Article by: Greg Bemis
Video produced by: Paul Bonnano