Gaming Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2008/11/05/command-and-conquer-red-alert-3/1

It's been a long time coming, but finally one of the most revered RTS games of all times is getting a sequel. It's kept the tongue-in-cheek unit design and the full-motion video, but has it managed to keep the playability and sense of humour too? Let's see...

 

I've been playing it for a few days now - I'm enjoying it.

I must say, I was dubious about some of the actors and actresses that're appearing in the mission briefings, but damn. I'm really impressed with Gemma Atkinsons performance (And Autumn Reeser is just outright hot). I'm very happy with the game, even if the Japanese are annoyingly over powered.

And, well. Bear cavalry is all that's needed (IMO), and that's sure to be only a mod away.

 

After i finish far cry 2 and fallout 3 I'll give it a try.
But i have to admit the review was not what i expected. Perhaps C&C franchise is showing it's age and it's time for something really new.

Anyway, I'll give it a try and see it for myself.

 

DAMN!

 

yeah i was slightly disapointed by the tech tree but then again i would have been very happy if they had made an exact clone of RA2 and put it in the new engine however i can see myself playing this alot

 

I have not started playing it yet, but have played the tutorials, I like the fact that there are differences in build order and construction and I think the game will develop into a good Multipayer game with some more balancing. I

t just depends if EA supports the game at all, they have a shocking support record to be honest.

In the graphics section regarding shadows; I for one do not like how the shadows are done, they have a kind of blocky look to them, you can't really see it in screen shots, but in motion they irritate the living daylight out of me, why they do not have better soft shadows I don't know.

Have you noticed the blocky shadows when zoomed in?

 

Tim Curry is a legend.

 

The support is going to get worse than it already is.

EA is cutting 6% of jobs across all sectors. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7706383.stm

Smart decision: save the money, get StarCraft 2 when it comes out next year. EA just don't have the same... je ne sais qois as other RTS developers. They rush production and leave games unfinished.

C&C Generals Zero Hour - awaiting 1.05
Return of the witch king - awaiting patching
C&C3 TW - awaiting 1.10
C&C3 TW:KW - awaiting 1.02 (bear in mind it took 3 months for the 1.01 'hotfix' to come out - yet it still desyncs)

I really used to love C&C games thanks to Westwood's brilliance, but just past experience of expectations being dashed because of EA cutting costs / corners (they produce about 1 rts game + expansion a year compared to other game developers taking several years for one) I just can't bring myself to waste anymore money.

In some senses it's like the doting parent whose kid is stealing money off them for drugs, and they *really* want to believe the kid has changed... but they never do and it's heartbreaking everytime.

 

Red Alert 3 is brillent. http://www.ra3.co.uk and http://www.ra3.co.uk/blog make good reading.

 

Out of interest, are the typical games 20 minutes or 2 hours? C&C of old was always about long games, but they've changed it now, and not for the better if you ask me.

Also, when you start a map, can you see all the landscape, or is it totally black around you? I personally hated the fact the whole map, if not the units, were visible at the start of every game in C&C3.

 

Ahh, RA3, good show but come back after FC2 and L4D and the3n I'll think about giving you a go, eh?

I mean, thanks games industry, but what made you put about 6 of the most eagerly anticipated pc games out in just a couple of months?

 

I don't think that'll be a money saver as essentially you have to buy the game three times.

Depends. The early levels I was getting done in about twenty minutes to half and hour, but mid and later levels were taking an hour to an hour and a half minimum - but maybe I just suck as the Soviets.

When you start a game you can see the entire landscape of the battlefield on your map, but the units are all hidden by fog of war obviously. As you explore you push that fog back, but if you lose a unit then the fog will close back around it after about ten seconds.

Saying you can see the whole battlefield though is a bit tricky. In the singleplayer game there are several missions where you'll accomplish an objective and the battlefield will then get expanded as you're given a new objective or a new opponent afterwards. There are some missions where the battlefield will triple in size at certain points.

 

Two grips...
#1 Co-Op sucks if you ask me, Being a lover of the big base defense, build crushing forces attack kind of guy, Red Alert 3 is not to kind to my style of play. The Co-op AI always seems to take out the base i am building my attack rush for before i get there... kind of takes away the hole point of the game. You can keep telling the Ai to go do something else while you work to get your stuff together. But then it compinsates and still finds a way to go attack. Would have been nice to include the NO CO-OP MODE AT ALL along with your mission choices.

#2 To fast of a Game. It forces you to be super efficient in the units your build first since it take so long to build a base or get all the tech needed to build that super tank or ship. The Enemy AI starts attacking you Or some random event happens telling you to go do this in minutes after you just start building your base..

I miss the "Turtle"!

 

I'm not a big fan of the RTS genre but I have played and thoroughly enjoyed the entire C&C series along with the entire Dawn of War series.

 

Piss, that's what I was afraid of. In the original games, you started surrounded by nothing but blackness, and you had to explore the map yourself. You had no idea where the enemy was, how big their base was, where the ore/tiberium was, where the chokepoints or strategic areas on the map were, anything. Now though, you start the game and oh look, it's all there. Turns it from a strategic game into a rush-fest as everyone knows straight away what the map looks like. I might just go back to Red Alert 1.

 

+1

 

One thing I hate are those bloody allied bombs which can be planted in your base and to a lot of damage...

You can shoot them but I haven't stopped one yet.

 

I WILL probably give this a whirl.
However, primary question for me: is the view further "out" now? i.e. i am a **** for SupCom, and my BIGGEST problem in the last C&C was that i couldn't zoom out enough to feel like i have any overview at all...

 

My thoughts exactly. God that made me laugh good review guys.

 

RA3 is great, but yes, the Japanese are overpowered, but that holds true for captured buildings as well, also the lobby is horrible, but once you actually get a mp game going its great.

Anyway, I'm loving RA3, sure it does have flaws, but eventually they will be patched (atleast we can hope so).