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Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars |
| Genre: Strategy |
HD Support: 0 |
| Developer: EA Los Angeles |
System Link: NO |
| Publisher: Electronic Arts |
Live Enabled: NO |
| Release Date: 2007-03-28 |
| Description: Command & Conquer 3 gets the series back to its roots in the Tiberium universe, with new gameplay features that rewards players for their own unique play styles. Beyond the new story and gameplay tweaks, added new features include voice-over IP, integrated clan support, and new spectator modes.
It is 2047 and the stakes could not be higher. Tiberium -- a self-replicating alien substance that has infected the Earth -- is spreading like a radioactive ice age. The GDI, a high-tech alliance of the world's most advanced nations, is fighting to contain Tiberium, but Kane, the megalomaniacal leader of The Brotherhood of NOD has other plans for Earth. Kane's secret society turned superpower is bent on using Tiberium to take control and transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future. All-out war rages over Tiberium and the fate of the planet rests in the balance. |
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Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars Staff Review | |
| Overall 8.7 Gameplay: 8.7 Visual: 8.7 Sound: 8.7 | Reviewed By: admin
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The more things change, the more they stay the same. That old adage seems particularly appropriate for the new Command & Conquer Tiberium Wars the latest in the futuristic RTS series pitting the Global Defense Initiative against the Brotherhood of Nod. The game takes the series back to its roots with fast-paced gameplay, full-motion video sequences with familiar actors, and enough explosions to keep armchair generals on the edge of their seats. While the graphics and sound have been updated for the times, don't expect many changes in the way the game is played and how it feels. This is Command & Conquer, and the developers didn't mess too much with a winning formula.
GDI and Nod each have fairly long campaigns, with numerous missions to advance the story. GDI is trying to protect the pristine blue zones from Tiberium encroachment, while keeping the forces of a chrome-domed megalomaniac at bay. The missions on both sides take you to various parts of the world, where you must either conquer the opposition by knocking out key points, escort strategic units, or stay alive long enough for reinforcements to arrive. Late in each campaign, the extraterrestrial Scrin arrive to make life more complicated for each faction. If you persevere through both campaigns, you'll get the bonus of playing a few missions as the Scrin.
The in-game cutscenes and FMV sequences are well done, and sufficiently campy to remind fans of the series why they were missed. Joe Kucan reprises his role as Kane, the prophet of Nod, and his energy for the role invigorates the scenes that he stars in. Having the likes of Michael Ironside and Billy Dee Williams and other recognizable TV personalities doesn't hurt, either, but none seem to relish their roles as much as Kucan. The only disappointment came on a few of the Nod FMV scenes where the voices didn't lipsync properly because of some slowdowns in the video. A reboot of the PC cleared it up briefly, but it crept back in later on.
The graphics engine has been sufficiently upgraded to reflect the latest technology. The game oozes ambiance as Tiberium spreads across unprotected areas of the world. As battles rage, buildings and units deform from damage and explosions offer an extremely satisfying boom bloom. It's not quite as cutting-edge as, say, Company of Heroes, but the upside is that the game is more friendly to lower-end PC's -- we ran at a widescreen resolution of 1920x1080 with nary a stutter in framerate.
The sounds and voice acting are also well done. Units respond with their usual two- or three-word order acknowledgements, while dying units scream or holler "mayday," each adding just enough to enhance the atmosphere. And the music still offers the same pulse-pounding bass that made players want to keeping listening even when they weren't playing the previous games.
When the campaigns are but a memory, C&C3 thrives on the replayability of the skirmish and multiplayer modes. In Skirmish, you can play against a variety of AI opponents, from easy to medium to several categories of hard. There are 20 multiplayer maps to choose from, allowing from two to eight players. Players can also toggle such things as power-up crates and the amount of cash to start with.
It is when you get into the unscripted aspects of the game that the fast, frenetic gameplay comes through. As with most RTS games, it becomes an arms race as to who can build the right structures, collect the most Tiberium, and graduate to the right combination of megaunits and structures to totally overwhelm an opponent. The megaunit for the GDI is the old reliable Mammoth tank, capable of being upgraded with railguns. It already has a ton of armor and has anti-infantry and anti-air capabilities. The Nod Avatar Warmech is a new unit that has a nasty beam weapon and can also be upgraded, but only through cannibalizing parts from the wreckage of its own units. It can gain sensor arrays, a cloak, a flamethrower or another beam weapon. Finally, the Scrin have a tripod that has a nasty beam weapon as well, as well as shielding. But in the end, a group of Mammoths still tends to rule the day and lay waste to just about anything in its path.
The nuke and ion cannon have also made it back, but with more destructive power than ever before. In the original game, a nuke or ion cannon blast would take out only a few structures and perhaps a construction yard, if lucky. Now, hardly anything survives within the blast radius, and the ion cannon detonation is particularly graphic and satisfying. The Scrin have a rift generator that opens what looks like a black hole and twists your buildings and units into oblivion. Again, he who builds first (and can defend it) will get the upper hand.
Where Command & Conquer has always shined brightest is in the multiplayer arena. The game sports a ladder system for individuals and clans, and players can go at it in ranked ladder matches and unranked games using the quick match function or through custom matches. A patch for the multiplayer component is already out, but there have been complaints of timed-out connections and being booted from the multiplayer screen. EA has acknowledged some of these issues and said it is working on a fix. We were not able to get the Quick Match function to work on our PC after patching, but we did get some enjoyable custom games in. The maps are all fairly strategic and balanced, allowing the players to be gauged on their abilities and not necessarily the luck of a good random starting point.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the new multiplayer setup is the Battlecast functionality, where games can have an announcer and players can watch any battle currently being played on a 10-minute delay (to avoid spotting for friends currently playing). All of the games we were able to watch did not have an announcer, so it will be interesting to see how that feature pans out as the game's player base grows. Games can also be watched via replay once the match is over. (The game also supports voice-over IP.)
All told, C&C3 has little in the way of innovation, but that won't stop hardcore RTS fans, and C&C fans in particular, from enjoying the heck out of it. Sit back and enjoy the ride. |
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