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For many real time strategy (RTS) games, the Command and Conquer franchise is something akin to Final Fantasy of the RPG genre or how Madden is to sports; they ARE the standard in their respective genre. Since the mid 1990s Command and Conquer set the bar high on how RTS games should be with building menus, console interface (ever tried to command whole units with just a cumbersome controller?), cut scenes, and story. Command and Conquer traditionally also have a stellar cast of characters played by big Hollywood actors including James Earl Jones, Michael Beihn, Michael Ironside, Billy Dee Williams, etc.
That said, after finishing up the last of the Empire of the Rising Sun (Japanese) campaigns, I am happy to say that Red Alert 3 lives up to the tradition set forth by its predacessors.
For those of you, who are not familiar with Command and Conquer or are a casual gamer, here is what you need to know. Red Alert 3 is a real time strategy game where you, utilizing a bird's-eye-view, build a base for your faction, raise an army and quell your enemies into proverbial dust. Simple enough?
Well, RTS games are typically for more advanced players (unless you're playing Starcraft j/k) but Red Alert 3 has an easy enough interface and, better yet, a multi-part interactive turtorial where the tanks from each faction teach you how to play. Despite being an avid RTS gamer, I thought I'd utilize the tutorial to see the new changes made to the interface (that and you get a gamer score for completing all tutorials) and it was worth it. Between the witty banter between the tanks (I swear, the Allied tank sounds just like Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear) and the gamer score, listening to what they had to say was worth it.
Once you have memorized how to play, you'll realize that Electronic Arts really improved the console interface. One of the largest problems with RTS games on a console as opposed to a PC is a loss of control. Ever tried to simultaneously command numerous units with a cumbersome controller? It can turn a great game into a nightmare and by that I'm refering to Supreme Commander. You feel like a lobster with oven mits on as you would traditionally try to carefully select the units you want, which would necessitate you move individual units first into a staging area to be selected in one group. Meanwhile, some 14-year-old in Germany is kicking your backside and cursing at you like some demon child in a foreign language.
EA considerably simplified the interface by allowing the player to hold down the "A" button and a small green circle appears that the user can move around the battlefield and select any units he or she wishes. Now, if you want to control a specific kind of unit, while having the units selected you hold the right trigger and a menu pops up allowing you to only select that kind of unit. As opposed to other interfaces, this makes things a LOT less cumbersome.
*On a side note, I have not yet played Kane's Wrath so I am unfamiliar with their interface so anyone feel free to correct me if they did it first*
To makes matters more simplified, EA fixed several issues that have riddled RTS games for well over a decade. One of them was that in many RTS games if the unit is moving to a location they will blatantly ignore everyone firing at them or plow clean through them. With Red Alert 3, a player can select a fire-move order that allows the unit to engage any unit they encounter along the way but continue once they have eliminated said unit. This makes a bounding overwatch movement (one covers while the other moves than roles are reversed) and other movements MUCH easier.
So, the controller interface is very much improved for console systems and makes commanding individual units and smaller squads MUCH easier. The next interface issue is the balance of power between the three factions. In Red Alert 3 you have the option of playing as the traditional Soviet Union or the Allies but EA has introduced the Empire of the Rising Sun or the Japanese. This makes the game much more interesting as you now have to rotate your tactics MUCH more now although I anticipate more gamers will play as the Japanese given their unique nature (that and, for some reason, gamers are obsessed with that bloody island of copy/cats).
Normally, RTS games with more than two factions fail due to a lack of balance. Even Starcraft possessed balance problems with the three factions they had. For once, the balance seems almost perfect whether it be the advantages and disadvantages of how buildings can be placed or how some weapons have secondary weapons. For instance, the most basic display of balance is how the construction yards work. For the Allies the construction yard takes a traditional method as buildings are built out of site, then you can place them on the field but they take a while. Meanwhile, the Soviet buildings are built out in the open but take less time. Lastly, the Japanese buildings are transported using core vehicles that unfold and deploy the structures. As such, they are highly mobile but also highly vulnerable.
Without going into insane detail, here is the basic run-down on all three factions. The Soviets have brute force power with cheap mass production, the Japanese are an expensive lot with highly technological equipment that requires a mastery to utilize effectively, and the Allies are a decent in between mixture of firepower and technology.
Now, there are some hilarious cultural, but not racial, stereotypes played out in all three factions. No where is this more noticable than the Japanese side. The Japanese have mecha and giant robots. The Mecha Tengu ships have a striking resemblence to Veritech fighters from Robotech and even transform into two of the same modes (Guardian and normal mode). Their giant robots are... well, giant samurais and their doomsday weapons are even larger giant samurais that feed on tesla coils. While this may seem silly, EA does do a good job of balancing the unit's abilities. Not to mention Red Alert 3 is known for its over-the-top nature. Even the units say witty things such as, "beats being in a gulag," or, "I heard the emperor's geisha girls will be there."
On to the more aesthetic elements. Graphics wise, Red Alert 3 is nothing truly remarkable but nothing to sniff at either. Good graphics on RTS are fairly few and far in between and for good reason as you don't want to slow down the console to a crawl since there can be up to hundreds of individual units doing their own thing on the battlefield. Unit animation is very smooth though with one exception. When the commando or spy goes from the water to the ground they can get glitchy and require the player to move them twice. Nothing truly annoying but a glitch all the same.
Next is the music. Marvelous! It inspired the title of this review! Between the heavy guitar music during battle sequences, that isn't overbearing, and the heavy Soviet chanting music I was very much impressed. The only song I did not like was the building music in the Soviet's New York mission. Saxaphone?! Give me a break!
Lastly are the cut scenes with the big Hollywood actors. There are a lot of them and the casting is hilarious. Between Tim Curry as the Soviet Premier, J.K. Simmons as the American president, Peter Stormare (the Russian astronaut in Armageddon) as the time scientist.. and Star Trek's George Takei as the Japanese Emperor, it's just priceless. Aside from the hot girls, who obviously were NOT chosen for their acting abilities (and by that I mean Jenny McCarthy), all the cast members really got into their roles. Heh, the game even includes a poster of all the pretty ladies. Gotta love fanboy service!!
My only beefs are that the endings are too ambiguous. Nothing truly amazing. Red Alert 3 was a very impressive game in terms of evolutionary innovation but still is nothing remarkable. Nonetheless, the beefs are very few and ranks this suck among some of the greater games this year. A must buy for any RTS fan.
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I have been a long time RTS player on the PC and played and mastered skirmishes in games like AOE, AOM, Star Wars RTS, Red Alert 2 among others. This game stands its own among these. I would say compared to these games on the PC, options like number of factions, or unit types, or even buildings are few. Also resource collection in the Red Alert series is lame (have only one type of resource and an ore collector most probably there will be a resource crunch throughout). Having said that I would still highly recommend this game for the skill level and the fun factor. The factions are very well thought out and designed. The graphics are great too. This game requires channelling all the resources to the war! So beware and be ready...Best Deals for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Xbox 360
C&C RA 3 returns you to the battlefield in the franchise's latest fashion: a 3 way showdown. In C&C 3 it was the GDI, Brotherhood of Nod and the Scrin; in this warfare you find yourself with the forces of the allies, the soviets and the new empire of the rising sun.Almost every unit has a secondary attack which is conveniently accessable via a hotkey option so you don't have to go hunting in sub menu's in the heat of battle. The command stick control returns from C&C 3 with little improvement but this is because it was so well handled last game there isn't much need for more.
The controls are great and in these battles you need it. Each side has very unique units with interesting abilities; for example the Soviet anti-air vehicle can also cross water AND shoot soldiers out from within to parachute to other areas. The land of the rising sun has units that can transform on the fly so your attack chopper can land and become a battlemech of sorts.
The acting in the game is the classic cheesy yet you-got-to-love-it style from previous games. The visuals are done very well and the in battle graphics hold up amazingly. The heat of battle is quick paced and you should be warned: within seconds your entire army can be wiped out. The superweapons are a huge game maker (or breaker) and while the computer can use them with uncanny accuracy you will find they dodge your super weapons with the same skill, putting you at a total disadvantage at times. In player vs player however, the superweapons are on equal ground.
If you are a fan of RTS games I highly recommend this title even though my personal top choice for RTS on the xbox360 is still Universe at War.
Honest reviews on Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Xbox 360
Like the other command and conquers on a console , you use the command stick . There are 3 campaines , and each faction gets many units . Unlike other RTS titles water combat is well implimented . Fans of the series should recignize the trade mark silliness and the silly acting . The special powers , are aquired like in Generals .Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Xbox 360
As a big fan of Red Alert 2 and the Yuri's Revenge expansion pack, I was eager to try out Red Alert 3 when it came out. I played it on a friend's PC in Fall 2008, but wasn't too impressed by the overt use of multiple commands. Also, a major factor in putting off the purchase of the PC version was the SecuROM issue as mentioned by other reviewers.However, after a friend loaned me his XBox 360, I decided to take the plunge and picked up the XBox 360 version of the game. Needless to say, I had a blast playing the game. Red Alert 3 uses the CommandStick interface, which basically allows you to access all the game functions from a rotary menu which pops up when you hold down the right toggle. It does take a little getting used to, but the tutorials presented by the Guardian Tank, Hammer Tank and the Tsunami Tank make it easy to learn the controls. Not to mention, you get a few points, and an achievement for completing the tutorial.
Red Alert is known for its over-the-top acting and fancy units, and Red Alert 3 is no different. Use the tutorials to get a feel for all the units and factions and get an idea of how to play the campaigns.
If you have played Red Alert 2/Yuri's Revenge, bear in mind that the technologies used by the different factions are quite different. Without going into too much detail, the Allies use a similar build technology as in Red Alert 2, the Soviets: something like what you'd find in an Age of Empires game, and the Empire "don't need no stinkin' build radius!". Each faction also has different methods of upgrading their technologies.
The campaigns (which I'm in the middle of), are challenging, but so far I haven't found any situations which were impossible to beat. The units seem more balanced than those in Red Alert 2 (at least, I can no longer execute an effective tank rush with just Guardian Tanks). One new (and odd) feature is that if your commando unit is killed on the field, you can simply retrain her. With Red Alert 2, if you lost your commando, the mission was a failure. I don't know if this is the same case for the AI commando. Regardless, this doesn't take away any of the fun.
I did try a skirmish mission but lost almost immediately to an easy AI. I'd probably chalk that up to my inexperience with the new units, but I did read an earlier review which blasted the AI. With that said, I can't say I know enough about the skirmish AI to complain about it. I'll update this review after I play (and win) some skirmishes.
Overall, Red Alert 3 is a good (if campy) game for the CnC enthusiast.
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