Command & Conquer:

The original game that gave rise to one of the most entertaining strategy game series ever made, that is until EA acquired Westwood and killed it. Command & Conquer takes Dune II, dresses it with more realistic alternative history setting, improves the gameplay mechanics and introduces some of the best video game cinematics of all time. It is by all means the definition of old school RTS. It is very fast and extremely fun. The music is second to none, except its own sequel, Red Alert. Yes, when you remove the nostalgia goggles, there are some problems with it. The campaign AI cheats and the missions are very scripted and the harvester AI can be really dumb at times. Like most RTSs, multiplayer is not that great, which is probably one of the reasons that the genre is on life support nowadays. You can’t really enjoy a multiplayer game where players build a base, defenses, an army and do strategic attacks. No. Players will probably attack immediately, with everything they have and the game will most likely end in less than 15 minutes.

That said, I refuse to take my nostalgia goggles off. I love this game with a passion. As a teenager, I used to love the charismatic leader of Brotherhood of NOD, Kane. And after all these years, he is still one of the best video game characters ever created. This is Command & Conquer baby. This series was only surpassed by StarCraft (which heavily imitated it but at the same time improved it greatly) and the original game still holds up.

Long live Kane and the Brotherhood of NOD!

9.5/10


Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations

The Covert Operations is the expansion for the original Command & Conquer and it’s a step back from the main campaign. You won’t really find a proper story, nor will you watch awesome cutscenes C&C series are known for, which led me feel like I was playing some skirmish missions thrown in randomly. The difficulty felt artificial and there were several missions where I could only progress by saving and loading, trying to second-guess what the game designers had in mind in order to progress.

I enjoyed the secret Funpark missions which adds dinosaurs. A goofy and short little campaign… Overall, C&C: The Covert Operations is still a good game, but pretty much everything good about it, it owes to the mechanics of the original game. It is, however, a sloppy campaign and a step back from Command & Conquer.

I have revisited the original C&C numerous time, but I don’t think this expansion is something you would keep coming back to.

8.5/10


Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Red Alert was my favorite game as a child. I spent hundreds of hours playing the campaign, skirmish missions and multiplayer on 56k internet. Revisiting was a big nostalgia trip for me and also interesting to see how it compares to the original Command & Conquer after all these years.

Let’s start with the music. Hell March is one of the best video game songs ever, if not the best. The entire soundtrack is nothing short of a masterpiece, puts you in mood and is a great fit for the fast-paced gameplay of Red Alert.

The story is a cheesy alternative history. Einstein invented a time machine and made sure Adolf Hitler doesn’t come to the world stage. This, however, makes Stalin rise as the absolute power in WWII. There are unforgettable characters from Tanya to Nadia, and more importantly Kane (I had erased from my memory that Kane appears in Red Alert. Without spoiling anything, let me just say it was a pleasant surprise). The cinematics have always been a strength of Command & Conquer series and Red Alert doesn’t disappoint. I especially enjoyed the ones with Tanya.

Gameplay is enhanced in some ways. The two factions (Allies and Soviet) are more distinct from each other in comparison to GDI and NOD of C&C. There are many units which are exclusive to a faction. While Soviet appear to be impenetrable with their Tesla Coil and Mammoth Tank, Allies have the naval artillery cruiser which are the most powerful firepower of the entire game, as long as you have access to water.

There are some serious AI issues in the campaign. You will often see your harvesters or submarines getting stuck. This one I remember from the original game. But there are also problems with the enemy AI, where the enemy stops responding to you efficiently as soon as you destroy some harvesters or power plants. I am not sure if this comes from the original game or if it is a problem with the remaster.

In most aspects, Red Alert is better than its prequel Command & Conquer. It offers more strategic depth with a wider range of units. But in terms of offering a good campaign challenge in medium difficulty, Red Alert pales in comparison to C&C. The enemy in C&C is smarter. Again, this may be an issue with the remaster but not the original game. I am not sure.

9.5/10


Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Counterstrike

Before Half-Life Counterstrike, there was Red Alert Counterstrike… This is the first expansion for C&C Red Alert and overall, a much better one than the Covert Operations (expansion to the original C&C). There is a story and there are some good cutscenes, although they are not as good as in Red Alert. I have played the Allied Forces campaign first and I was left disappointed with the lack of naval war, which I believe is one of the most enjoyable aspects of Red Alert (especially if you are playing for the Allied Forces). The Soviet campaign, however, makes up for it with numerous missions in which you will engage in naval combat, including those you will capture and use Allied naval units.

Last but not the least, Red Alert: Counterstrike also features a short secret campaign named “It Came From Red Alert!”, similar to Funpark in the Covert Operations. However, this time, dinosaurs are replaced by giant ants. I have found the ant missions much more enjoyable than the dinosaur ones for C&C. It features some special cinematics, as well as its own story. And the half serious & half comical tone perfectly matches the overall tone of C&C series.

Overall, Red Alert: Counterstrike is a great expansion and you should definitely not ignore it. Counterstrike does not add any new units and that’s a drawback. However, what this expansion already offers definitely makes up for it.

9/10


Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Aftermath

Among the original C&C and original Red Alert games, I consider Aftermath to be the best expansion. It offers a variety of missions, which never get boring and difficulty throughout the campaign is just right. It offers plenty of new units including Chrono Tank, Field Mechanic, Tesla Tank among others… Yes, there is not much flow to the story and some of the cinematics are just fillers used repeatedly. However, if you take into consideration all the new units, new tracks to an already amazing soundtrack and dozens of multiplayer maps, Red Alert: Aftermath is a must play expansion, if you consider yourself a C&C: Red Alert fan.

9.5/10


Some words on the Remastered Collection:

This is almost a perfect remaster of one of my favorite game series of all time. Remastered graphics are beautiful and true to their original spirit. Press space anytime and you can switch to old graphics.

Red Alert medium difficulty felt easier than original medium and hard felt much harder than original hard. So I feel there are some issues with the difficulty balance in the remastered collection.

Overall, if you consider yourself remotely interested in RTS games, you have to purchase this collection. It is a great remaster; it blows new life into the multiplayer scene and it brings back Command & Conquer franchise from the grave. I am only hoping we will see a similar treatment to other titles such as Tiberian Sun, Renegade among others.

9.5/10

[b]Command & Conquer:[/b] The original game that gave rise to one of the most entertaining strategy game series ever made, that is until EA acquired Westwood and killed it. Command & Conquer takes Dune II, dresses it with more realistic alternative history setting, improves the gameplay mechanics and introduces some of the best video game cinematics of all time. It is by all means the definition of old school RTS. It is very fast and extremely fun. The music is second to none, except its own sequel, Red Alert. Yes, when you remove the nostalgia goggles, there are some problems with it. The campaign AI cheats and the missions are very scripted and the harvester AI can be really dumb at times. Like most RTSs, multiplayer is not that great, which is probably one of the reasons that the genre is on life support nowadays. You can’t really enjoy a multiplayer game where players build a base, defenses, an army and do strategic attacks. No. Players will probably attack immediately, with everything they have and the game will most likely end in less than 15 minutes. That said, I refuse to take my nostalgia goggles off. I love this game with a passion. As a teenager, I used to love the charismatic leader of Brotherhood of NOD, Kane. And after all these years, he is still one of the best video game characters ever created. This is Command & Conquer baby. This series was only surpassed by StarCraft (which heavily imitated it but at the same time improved it greatly) and the original game still holds up. Long live Kane and the Brotherhood of NOD! [b]9.5/10[/b] [b]Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations[/b] The Covert Operations is the expansion for the original Command & Conquer and it’s a step back from the main campaign. You won’t really find a proper story, nor will you watch awesome cutscenes C&C series are known for, which led me feel like I was playing some skirmish missions thrown in randomly. The difficulty felt artificial and there were several missions where I could only progress by saving and loading, trying to second-guess what the game designers had in mind in order to progress. I enjoyed the secret Funpark missions which adds dinosaurs. A goofy and short little campaign… Overall, C&C: The Covert Operations is still a good game, but pretty much everything good about it, it owes to the mechanics of the original game. It is, however, a sloppy campaign and a step back from Command & Conquer. I have revisited the original C&C numerous time, but I don’t think this expansion is something you would keep coming back to. [b]8.5/10[/b] [b]Command & Conquer: Red Alert[/b] Red Alert was my favorite game as a child. I spent hundreds of hours playing the campaign, skirmish missions and multiplayer on 56k internet. Revisiting was a big nostalgia trip for me and also interesting to see how it compares to the original Command & Conquer after all these years. Let’s start with the music. Hell March is one of the best video game songs ever, if not the best. The entire soundtrack is nothing short of a masterpiece, puts you in mood and is a great fit for the fast-paced gameplay of Red Alert. The story is a cheesy alternative history. Einstein invented a time machine and made sure Adolf Hitler doesn’t come to the world stage. This, however, makes Stalin rise as the absolute power in WWII. There are unforgettable characters from Tanya to Nadia, and more importantly Kane (I had erased from my memory that Kane appears in Red Alert. Without spoiling anything, let me just say it was a pleasant surprise). The cinematics have always been a strength of Command & Conquer series and Red Alert doesn’t disappoint. I especially enjoyed the ones with Tanya. Gameplay is enhanced in some ways. The two factions (Allies and Soviet) are more distinct from each other in comparison to GDI and NOD of C&C. There are many units which are exclusive to a faction. While Soviet appear to be impenetrable with their Tesla Coil and Mammoth Tank, Allies have the naval artillery cruiser which are the most powerful firepower of the entire game, as long as you have access to water. There are some serious AI issues in the campaign. You will often see your harvesters or submarines getting stuck. This one I remember from the original game. But there are also problems with the enemy AI, where the enemy stops responding to you efficiently as soon as you destroy some harvesters or power plants. I am not sure if this comes from the original game or if it is a problem with the remaster. In most aspects, Red Alert is better than its prequel Command & Conquer. It offers more strategic depth with a wider range of units. But in terms of offering a good campaign challenge in medium difficulty, Red Alert pales in comparison to C&C. The enemy in C&C is smarter. Again, this may be an issue with the remaster but not the original game. I am not sure. [b]9.5/10[/b] [b]Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Counterstrike[/b] Before Half-Life Counterstrike, there was Red Alert Counterstrike… This is the first expansion for C&C Red Alert and overall, a much better one than the Covert Operations (expansion to the original C&C). There is a story and there are some good cutscenes, although they are not as good as in Red Alert. I have played the Allied Forces campaign first and I was left disappointed with the lack of naval war, which I believe is one of the most enjoyable aspects of Red Alert (especially if you are playing for the Allied Forces). The Soviet campaign, however, makes up for it with numerous missions in which you will engage in naval combat, including those you will capture and use Allied naval units. Last but not the least, Red Alert: Counterstrike also features a short secret campaign named “It Came From Red Alert!”, similar to Funpark in the Covert Operations. However, this time, dinosaurs are replaced by giant ants. I have found the ant missions much more enjoyable than the dinosaur ones for C&C. It features some special cinematics, as well as its own story. And the half serious & half comical tone perfectly matches the overall tone of C&C series. Overall, Red Alert: Counterstrike is a great expansion and you should definitely not ignore it. Counterstrike does not add any new units and that’s a drawback. However, what this expansion already offers definitely makes up for it. [b]9/10[/b] [b]Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Aftermath[/b] Among the original C&C and original Red Alert games, I consider Aftermath to be the best expansion. It offers a variety of missions, which never get boring and difficulty throughout the campaign is just right. It offers plenty of new units including Chrono Tank, Field Mechanic, Tesla Tank among others… Yes, there is not much flow to the story and some of the cinematics are just fillers used repeatedly. However, if you take into consideration all the new units, new tracks to an already amazing soundtrack and dozens of multiplayer maps, Red Alert: Aftermath is a must play expansion, if you consider yourself a C&C: Red Alert fan. [b]9.5/10[/b] [b]Some words on the Remastered Collection:[/b] This is almost a perfect remaster of one of my favorite game series of all time. Remastered graphics are beautiful and true to their original spirit. Press space anytime and you can switch to old graphics. Red Alert medium difficulty felt easier than original medium and hard felt much harder than original hard. So I feel there are some issues with the difficulty balance in the remastered collection. Overall, if you consider yourself remotely interested in RTS games, you have to purchase this collection. It is a great remaster; it blows new life into the multiplayer scene and it brings back Command & Conquer franchise from the grave. I am only hoping we will see a similar treatment to other titles such as Tiberian Sun, Renegade among others. [b]9.5/10[/b]