Rhodri
Goods Engine
You spin me right round
Posts: 407
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Post by Rhodri on Oct 31, 2008 0:31:34 GMT
Command and Conquer is without a doubt one of the best RTS series to grace the PC. With a history spanning some 15 years with 9 main games, 7 add on packs and 3 sub series. And this week, we now celebrate the latest addition to the series: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Discuss this wonderful series here!
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Cranky
Main Line Engine
The docks...
Posts: 1,660
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Post by Cranky on Nov 1, 2008 22:54:28 GMT
RED ALERT 2!!!!!
God I love that game. I have the First Decade which has all previous releases up to CnC 3. Red Alert 3 is gonna be AWESOME. George Takei everybody!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2008 18:18:13 GMT
I can only properly remember the PS1 version but I love it very much, especially when I play it these days because it takes me back to when I was first playing it back in December 1998.
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Rhodri
Goods Engine
You spin me right round
Posts: 407
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Post by Rhodri on Nov 2, 2008 21:00:48 GMT
Ok, I got RA3 on Friday and played it through the night to 6am, in which time, I completed the Soviet campaign. Currently, I'm half way through the Allies campaign. These are my opinions so far.
RA3 feels true to the RA sub series of C&C, it's full of humor, the animation has a cartoon feel to it, the score is epic and the acting is brilliantly over the top. The cast EA has gathered with without doubt has the biggest lineup of big name actors in the whole C&C universe to date.
Now, the game play. The main attention I guess is the return of Navel warfare. Personally, I feel it lacks the depth and importance in missions that RA2 had (remember the ones in Pearl Harbor and final Soviet mission?), it is great to see the return of the Dreadnoughts and the Dolphins ("Since childhood, I've dreamed of torpedoing Dolphins!" says a Soviets sub as it destroys an Allied dolphin. lolz)
One part of the game that I had no idea of before hand was the building systems that each side works with. The Soviet building method is like the one from Tiberian Wars with elements of Generals thrown in, with the Allies working on a modified version of the classic method (placing new structures doesn't expand your build radius, you' have to deploy a MVC at the edge of the build radius to expand), while the Empire works on a system similar to Generals. Plus, when placing buildings, RA3 has returned to grid placing (but you still rotate buildings)
The special abilities that each unit has adds a lot of depth to the game, such as the Allies helicopter, which has a freeze ray (freeze your foe solid and a single round from any unit shatters them) and a shrink ray (allowing any vehicle to squash the tiny foe). Some of these abilities might seem infantile, but bring a load of fun for the users and frustration for the victim.
Plus, the support powers from Generals is back, and here the humor remains. For example, you can use the Magnetic satellite power to suck units. Combining it with the Orbital dump (bring a satellite down smashing down to earth) you can bring to the units back down to destroy the enemy with a deadly attack.
The unit balance is again top notch. With the classic Soviet Apocalypse, building a squad of them in RA2 would ensure victory in any case. However, against the Empire with their transforming units (from ground to air) and the removal of tank's anti air weapons, you have to have the Bullfrog anti air and infantry transporter (comes with a man firing cannon!) to back them up.
Now, one of the most controversial new elements is the Co-commander, an AI Ally who you can give orders to. In other C&C games, you are alone, and if you do have AI assistance, its near useless. Here however, there is an Ally in EVERY mission. Not only that, they can win missions without you having to do a thing! Its good to have some form of help, but they make the missions too easy. (It should be noted, that you can play the main missions in Co-op mode and work with a human Ally)
The missions themselves have the classic RA humor, partially the Allied mission at Mount Rushmore!
Overall, there some gameplay improvements made from Tiberian War and it combines methods from Generals and RA, but I feel something has been lost in translation. Never the less, RA3 is worthy of a place in the C&C universe by paying tribute to what the series is famous for.
8/10
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Cranky
Main Line Engine
The docks...
Posts: 1,660
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Post by Cranky on Nov 2, 2008 22:42:57 GMT
I picked up RA3 as well and boy is it good. The story is amazing, the units are colossal, and the Empire of the Rising Sun are completely amazing. The Empire have this one unit in campaign only thats a giant mech, its crazy good.
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Post by Aidan on Jan 29, 2009 5:34:14 GMT
I have fond memories of playing my brother's copy of Red Alert. Unfortunately, I was never any good at it. The gameplay was pretty impressive and I liked being able to build factories, control vehicles and the like. I also found the music quite catchy, too.
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