Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
  •   Staff

    01-12-2023 06:19 PM (Updated 01-13-2023)

Did they go over budget just on the cast?

I have played Real Time Strategy games in the past and find them enjoyable on many levels, but there are things about RTS games that sometimes just rub me the wrong way. I like the building aspect of the game, preparing defenses, having the right units to decimate an enemy attack, and ultimately defeating your AI opponent. Seeing the miniaturization of the world even as small as it is with all the animations still communicates what it represents well and it also just looks cool.

What I really dislike about RTS games is how the enemy AI ramps up its ability to destroy you. So much so that it almost feels like it is cheating. It isn’t necessarily doing that. It is just programmed to eliminate you as quickly and as efficiently as it can like a Terminator sent back into the past. It also does it at a pace that is almost humanly impossible to match without help from either other players who created videos or a lot of trial and error. Just like a Terminator it doesn’t care and it will not stop until you have been wiped off the map. This mind set of course ramps up even more as the difficulty is increased. It does make beating the AI that more satisfying once you developed the right strategy. At times there is not much strategy in the game when you just send everything you have to destroy the enemy compound or a group of enemy forces coming your way. Brute force can be a strategy, but it feels a little cheap.

The Command & Conquer series has an added layer of Cinematics that is filmed with live action. Red Alert actually has some real Hollywood talent like Tim Curry, Johnathon Pryce, David Hasselhoff, and J.K. Simmons behind it. It has character actors like Peter Stormare and Andrew Divoff where you will recognize the face, but you don’t really know the actor’s name. They even threw in a notable actor that is just known for one big thing like Star Trek’s George Takei. They top it all off with a little sex appeal with some lovely ladies like Gina Carrano, Kelly Hu, and even a playboy playmate in Jenny McCarthy. They all play the live action counter parts of the game giving you the back story for each mission before it starts. There are so many well known actors in this game that you have to wonder if they went over budget just on the cast.

The achievement spread in the game has you playing across every faction. It makes understanding certain uniquenesses of each faction and their capability that more pleasurable. For example, the plant it anywhere building mobility of the Rising Sun or the air superiority of the Allies. All the factions can obtain a similar uniqueness is a round about way. Meaning for example that the Allies are not the only ones that can have air superiority. They are just better equipped to implement it more easily then the other factions. In true RTS fashion you will need to build certain structures that will unlock abilities and more advanced units to get to the good stuff. There are also fun missions where you control an almost unstoppable giant robot from the Rising Sun faction. Adding to the Red Alert experience is the game’s score, it is done equally well with it’s rousing Soviet anthem.

What made this title really fun above others RTS games I played was the Co-Op aspect of the game. Every mission in the game and most of the achievements could be done with a partner. It made theorizing the best strategy to beat the unforgiving AI that much more fun on the hardest setting as you are working the problems out in real time. It also didn’t mean that there wasn’t any cursing involved on the road to victory. Then you have the challenges or secondary objectives that also amps up the pressure of the game if you are going for a full completion. Once again this is made easier and is more fun with a Co-Op partner. I still have two more games in this series to complete, but after finishing this one game I am more then content with taking a good long break before tackling the next game. It’s just how RTS games pan out for me, I always need some R&R after completing one.
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Comments

  • MarvzMitts It was more fun with a partner for sure. I did Warcraft 2 as well back in the day on my Mac.
  • General Tynstar I started playing PC games when the first C&C came out. I love C&C and Warcraft 2.

    I haven't been able to get into console RTS games because the controls. I did the online for this game on easy and I can't imagine trying to beat it on a hard difficulty by myself.

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