G4TV

It’s been twelve years since the Russians first invaded the States in the first Red Alert, an alternate-past, time-traveling spin-off of Command and Conquer II. The scheming Soviets got beat again in Red Alert 2, and apparently can’t take a hint, returning again for another round of punishment in Command & Conquer Red Alert 3. This time it’s not just the Allies looking for blood; the Empire of the Rising Sun is coming in from the sea, making this a predictably three-factioned affair. It’s also a strong two-player experience, with co-op throughout, but despite that new addition to the formula everything else is all a bit predictable and maybe even a little dated.

A History Lesson

The storylines have always been reasonably strong in the C&C games. Campy, perhaps, and corny too, but strong. That continues here, picking up the trail from the first Red Alert, in which Einstein used a time machine to kill a young Hitler, leading to a rush of technological advancements that fuelled the not-quite 50’s era weaponry in that first game. This time it’s the Soviets who are doing a little mucking around in the past, frustrated over an impending defeat, and going back in time to kill Einstein, thus giving them a technological edge.

With Einstein out of the picture so too is nuclear technology, and into the picture comes the Empire of the Rising Sun, with Europe and the United States forming the Allies on the west. Three factions are introduced through its own campaign and all told through a number of lengthy cut-scenes featuring a number of recognizable actors – and over-actors.

Timothy Curry is the most recognizable, playing the role of Premier Cherdenko, the leader of the Soviet forces. He’s the one behind the whole Einstein business. On the Rising Sun side, there’s Star Trek’s George Takei, whose monologues are frequently interrupted by sipping tea, brandishing swords, and various other samurai-esque behaviors. Jonathan Price leads up the British side of the Allies. Each of the three factions leaders are accompanied by some girl in a low-cut top responsible for giving you your specific orders in a sexy accent. It’s all rather unlikely, but goes along with a generally politically incorrect theme. If you don’t play this game with your tongue firmly in your cheek, you’re liable to get offended and that would be no fun.

Three-Factioned Fracas

From the opening intro through the distinctly red-tinged menus, it’s clear that the Soviets are the primary faction in this game. However, all three are quite well balanced, and each plays quite distinctly. The Soviets are the heavy hitters, the easiest to pick up and play, with some of the most powerful weapons in the game, including a bevy of special attacks that can rain debris down from outer-space or create a sort of vacuum effect and suck every unit in a huge radius into a big ball of junk.

The Rising Sun are more crafty, with units that tend to work quite well at sea or on land, enabling you to pack up your base and bob off to another island if you like. Units here tend to require a bit more finesse, but there are some big lugs here too, like giant Mecha Tengu robots that can charge forward and demolish just about anything in their path. Finally, the Allies fall somewhere in between, having plenty of fairly standard units but many offering technical upgrades and augmentation, like the Guardian tank that can use laser targeting to increase the effectiveness of other allies in the area.

Most of the major units in the game have a secondary attack like this; all explained through a number of short videos that, in 10 seconds or so, will show you exactly how to use a given type to its fullest. However, fans of the series will need no introduction to some of the more famous weapons in the game, especially the Tesla coil, which has smoldered its way into the hearts of many RTS gamers. They won’t recognize the new threat meter, though, which awards bonus points for rampage and destruction. Those bonus points can be then spent on a sort of ability tree that deals out unit upgrades, special abilities, and punishing weapon bombardments. As if you needed more incentive to pick fights with your neighbors!

Doing it With a Friend

The only real addition to the RTS formula here is the inclusion of co-op gameplay throughout every mission of each of the three campaigns. You can hook up with a friend online and run through the mission with them, using in-game voice or text chat to communicate. Or, you can just rely on an AI stand-in instead (who, thankfully, will be quite happy to do your bidding). Some missions will have one player in control of a special unit with the other player having to protect it, while others have the two setting up shop and building armadas before coordinating an attack on a common foe.

Whether with or without a human compatriot this adds an interesting element to the campaigns, but the idea of spending a few minutes online hunting for someone to play with just to run through a short campaign mission doesn’t seem worth it. If you coordinate with a friend online who you’ll meet up with and play for awhile you’re liable to have fun. Most will probably rely on the AI comrades in campaigns, saving the online play for skirmishes. After all, people usually play online to get away from the stupid AI and have a really challenge against a flesh and blood foe.

When you pick one, AI co-op commanders are presented through even more pop-up video windows. Videos litter nearly every aspect of the game and, despite their diminutive size, have higher production values than most cable television dramas. Sound effects and music are equally solid, and while the graphics engine won’t dazzle, it seems the designers went with a simpler look on purpose. The game has a clean look that suits the retro feel -- and it runs quite well, too.

Retro Feel, Retro Gameplay

The C&C franchise has been more or less playing on the same formula since the mid-‘90s, and that certainly doesn’t change here. Other than the addition of co-op campaigning everything feels more or less like it did 12 years ago, though prettier of course. Even so, with the new faction and new units those old game mechanics still make for a good time.

Article Written By: Tim Stevens