Nom: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Genre: RTS / STR
Format: Xbox 360
Temps passé: ~10 heures
Status: -
Collection: Non, revendu

À peine  touché à la campagne, j’ai fait presque exclusivement des matches online. Sachant qu’on est sur console, la maniabilité n’est pas si mauvaise. Graphiquement plutôt joli, belle ambiance, chouettes unités, bon gameplay.

Note/Appréciation: 80/100

Pewnego pięknego dnia, sprzątając szafki w moim pokoju, natknąłem się na dwa zakurzone pudełka. Nie musiałem się długo zastanawiać i jeszcze tego samego wieczoru na moim kompie wylądowały oddziały GDI oraz NOD’u – główni “bohaterowie” odsłony jednej z najlepszych serii strategii czasu rzeczywistego, czyli Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.

Dałem ukojenie swoim wspomnieniom i zagłębiłem się w fabule gry, która obok setek godzin spędzonych wspólnie w liceum była też pierwszą recenzją, jaką przeczytałem w śp. Resecie i już wtedy rozpalała moją wyobraźnię czyniąc czas oczekiwania na własną wersję gry czystą formalnością.

Nie dziwi więc fakt, że o ile kiedyś przejście TS’a zajęło mi około 2 tygodnie, tak obecnie, znając doskonale fizykę i położenie głównych celów misji ukończyłem główną część wraz z dodatkiem Firestorm w ciągu 4 dni. Tak jak i wtedy poczułem pewien niedosyt, którego nawet Skirmish nie był w stanie zaspokoić. Dlatego też postanowiłem skorzystać z możliwości, której dawniej nie miałem i podzielić się z Wami moimi refleksjami na temat tej niedocenianej przez wielu, ale jakże interesującej pozycji. Postaram się udowodnić Wam, że nie tylko Starcraftem rts stoi ale także takimi grami jak Tiberian Sun. Ale po kolei..

Stalin i kilka słów historii

Wiele lat temu, w czasach gdy rts’y miały się bardzo dobrze i gracze z zachwytem witali każdą nową pozycję z tego gatunku, firma Westwood stworzyła całkiem nową pod względem fabuły jak i rozwiązań grę – Command & Conquer.

Otóż okazało się, że na Ziemię spadł potężny meteoryt, niosący ze sobą zarodniki Tyberium – rośliny rodzącej kryształ o niesamowitych właściwościach. Był on szkodliwy dla wszelkich żywych stworzeń, ale wyjątkowo wydajny jako paliwo. Szybko zaczęły interesować się nim różne korporacje, a wśród nich także organizacje przestępcze, z których największą był NOD. Władze natychmiast zareagowały na taki stan rzeczy i przeciwko wystawiły wojska GDI (finansowane z pieniędzy podatników :]). Tak się rozpoczęła wieloletnia wojna, której wynik po części zależał od gracza. To, że nie będzie on prosty, dały do zrozumienia reklamy kolejnej odsłony z pod tytułem: Tiberian Sun obecne w instrukcji. Lecz z niewiadomych przyczyn gra szybko nie ujrzała światła dziennego, a przed nią był..

Red Alert, w którym poznawaliśmy kolejną alternatywną historię świata. Tym razem pewien zwariowany naukowiec przeniósł się za pomocą specjalnej maszyny w czasie i unicestwił Hitlera gdy ten był jeszcze dzieckiem. Miał dobre intencje, ale w wyniku jego działania Związek Radziecki pod wodzą Stalina zaatakował Europę i pozbawiony przeciwwagi zdobywał dominację nad światem. Przeciwstawili się temu Alianci doprowadzając do największej wojny w historii, zbierającej krwawe żniwo.

Pomimo tego, że Command & Conquer zdobył znacznie większą popularność niż Red Alert, to ten drugi wniósł wiele nowych rozwiązań do serii jak np. zwiększenie roli piechoty na polu walki, nowe maszyny latające, flotę okrętów bojowych, w tym też podwodnych, a także szereg rozwiązań taktycznych jak samoloty szpiegowskie, czy zrzut spadochronowy. Jedynym minusem była grafika. Z trudem można było dostrzec pojedyncze rozpikselowane jednostki na polu walki. Mimo to obydwie gry oferowały zabawę na najwyższym poziomie i po dziś dzień są kanonem komputerowych strategii rts, który wraz z Tiberian Sun, Red Alert 2, Generals oraz Tiberium Wars tylko utwierdziły pozycję Westwood na tronie zespołów specjalizujących się w tym gatunku gier obok Blizzarda – twórców Starcrafta oraz jego kontynuacji. Ale to już zupełnie inna historia, a my wracamy do..

Tiberian Sun, czyli zielone słońce

Oczywiście taki podtytuł, to tylko część prawdy, gdyż obok zielonych kryształów obecne są też niebieskie – znacznie rzadsze i cenniejsze od zielonych, a także bardziej wybuchowe Jak wygląda Tiberian Sun dzisiaj. Właściwie to szkoda w ogóle poruszać tą dyskusję, gdyż gra, która dostawała kiedyś oceny 8-9 w branżowych pismach, obecnie otrzymałaby co najwyżej 2-4 za sam klimat i rozgrywkę. Piksele siekają po oczach, a po kilku godzinach grania te ostatnie bolą, łzawią i odmawiają posłuszeństwa. Nawet aspiryna nie pomoże na nasilający się ból głowy.

Co w takim razie przyciąga do tej “męczarni”?? Otóż to, czym ta gra wciąż może się bronić, czyli doskonałą grywalnością, klimatem i fabułą. To co dla mnie osobiście stanowi największy plus, to przejrzystość pola walki. Bez trudu ogarniamy każdy skrawek mapy i każdą jednostkę będącą lub nie pod naszą kontrolą. Nie ma z tym problemu, gdyż rzut jest izometryczny, a wszystko dwuwymiarowe. Jest ładnie i może się podobać. To nie to samo co jednostki i grafika w Red Alert, tutaj nawet pojedynczy żołnierz nie umknie naszej uwadze, a jego zachowanie podczas chwili wytchnienia utwierdza nas tylko w przekonaniu, że jest prawie jak “prawdziwy”. Czasami czyści broń, czasami padnie, a częściej po prostu stoi czekając na nasze rozkazy. To samo tyczy się jednostek mechanicznych, które sprytnym zabiegiem starają się udawać trójwymiarowe. Każda rzuca cień i ma kilka animacji, co w połączeniu z ich liczbą daje pojęcie o pracy włożonej przez autorów.

Warto dodać w przypadku budynków, że także rodzaj mapy wpływa na ich wygląd, np. gdy prowadzimy działania na śnieżnej mapie – także budynki są przyprószone śniegiem. Niby szczegół, ale takich smaczków jest pełno i wpływają na pozytywny, końcowy obraz gry. Również design jednostek i budynków poszczególnych frakcji konfliktu został świetnie oddany i już po pierwszym rzucie oka widać, że NOD jest zły, a GDI to orędownicy spokoju i dobra. Wystarczy tylko przeciwstawić Temple of NOD jakiejkolwiek konstrukcji GDI, aby zrozumieć kto tutaj rządzi.. do czasu ;P

Postanowiłem przedstawić Wam każdą jednostkę i budynek występujący po obu stronach wraz z opisem jego funkcji. Możecie oczywiście opuścić ten akapit, ale będzie Wam łatwiej zrozumieć moje późniejsze słowa dotyczące taktyki, gdy będziecie wiedzieć o czym i o kim mówię.

GDI (kursywą oznaczone jednostki obecne dopiero po instalacji dodatku)

1. Radar
2. Barracks
3. Tiberium Silo
4. War Factory
5. Mobile Construction Vehicle
6. Construction Yard
7. GDI Power Plant
8. Harvester
9. Tiberium Refinery
10. Component Tower
11. Vulcan Cannon
12. RPG Upgrade
13. SAM Upgrade
14. Concrete Wall
15. GDI Gate

1. Service Depot
2. Barracks
3. Light Infantry
4. Disc Thrower
5. Medic
6. Engineer
7. Jump Jet Infantry
8. Ghost Stalker
9. Construction Yard
10. GDI Helipad
11. Firestorm Defence
12. EMP Cannon
13. Pavement
14. Firestorm Wall Section
15. GDI Tech Centre
16. Carryall
17. Orca Bomber
18. Orca Fighter

GDI Upgrade Centre z zainstalowanymi:
1. Hunter Seeker Control
2. ION Cannon Uplink
3. Drop Pode Node

1. War Factory
2. Wolverine
3. Titan
4. Hover MLRS
5. Amphibious APC
6. Disruptor
7. Mobile Sensor Array
8. rozstawiony Mobile Sensor Array
9. Limped Drone
10. Mobile EM-Pulse
11. Juggernaut
12. rozstawiony Juggernaut
13. rozstawiona Limped Drone
14. Mammoth MARK II
15. Mobile War Factory

NOD (kursywą oznaczone jednostki obecne dopiero po instalacji dodatku)

1. Fist of NOD
2. Mobile Stealth Generator
3. Mobile Repair Vehicle
4. Attack Buggy
5. Cyborg Reaper
6. Mobile Construction Vehicle
7. Harpy
8. Mobile Sensor Array
9. Attack Cycle
10. Artillery
11. rozstawiona Artillery
12. Devil’s Tongue
13. Stealth Tank
14. Banshee
15. Tick Tank
16. rozstawiony Tick Tank
17. Subterranean APC
18. Limped Drone
19. Cyborg Commando
20. Mutant Hijacker
21. Rocket Infantry
22. Light Infantry
23. Engineer
24. Cyborg

1. Laser
2. SAM
3. EMP Cannon
4. Tiberium Refinery
5. Harvester
6. NOD Power Plant
7. Construction Yard
8. Tiberium Refinery
9. Hand of NOD
10. Tiberium Silo
11. NOD Radar
12. Stealth Generator (opis poniżej)
13. NOD Tech Centre
14. EMP Cannon

^screen przedstawiający działanie Stealth Generatora. Jeżeli gramy przeciwko jednostkom NOD, efektem działania urządzenia będzie pusta przestrzeń widoczna w obrębie jego zasięgu. Są trzy możliwości zaatakowania tak chronionej bazy:

I. Ustawienie Juggernautów w pobliżu przewidywanej lokalizacji bazy wroga i zmuszenie ich do strzałów na ślepo za pomocą Ctrl’a. To samo z użyciem Orca Bomberów. Efektem będą chwilowe zaniki pola lub całkowite jego zniszczenie, przy celnym trafieniu.

II. Ustawienie w pobliżu bazy wroga Mobile Sensor Arraya, który odkrywa przed nami wszystkie niewidoczne budynki i jednostki.

III. Rzucenie piechoty na bazę wroga, gdyż budynki w jej pobliżu stają się widoczne. Ryzykowne zagranie, jeżeli w bazie znajduje się artyleria lub lasery (a w szczególności Obelisk of Light, który przeoczyłem robiąc screeny i powinien być zamiast jednego EMP Cannon), ale czasami skuteczne, tym bardziej gdy wśród żołnierzy będą medycy.. ale o tym później

1. Temple of NOD
2. NOD War Factory
3. Tiberium Refinery
4. Harvester
5. Laser Fence Post
6. Tiberium Waste Facility
7. Weed – Eater
8. Advanced Power Plant
9. NOD Power Plant
10. Construction Yard
11. NOD Gate
12. NOD Wall
13. Missile Silo
14. Hand of NOD
15. Tiberium Silo
16. NOD Tech Centre
17. EMP Cannon

^przykład zastosowania Limped Drone, czyli pluskwy. Obserwujemy kontem oka, na które pole Tiberium zmierzają żniwiarki wroga. Produkujemy Limped Drone i skierowujemy na docelowe pole lub drogę, którą podąża żniwiarka. Instalujemy pluskwę w ziemi standardowo klikając i czekamy. Nie musimy patrzeć na pole, tylko możemy się zająć ważniejszymi sprawami. Stosowny dźwięk informuje nas, że pluskwa została zainstalowana pod spodem żniwiarki. Po zaznaczeniu takiej jednostki będzie ona w żółtym, a nie standardowo białym okienku. Teraz wystarczy tylko śledzić na Radarze drogę, którą podąża oraz odkrywaną mapę. Tym sposobem uzyskamy wiele szczegółów pomocnych w planowaniu taktycznym ataku. Świetny patent :tak:

^screen przedstawiający zastosowanie “sterowni zasobników desantowych” czyli Drop Pod. Po zainstalowaniu odpowiedniego ulepszenia na budynku GDI Upgrade Centre, jesteśmy w stanie niemal w każdej chwili wezwać posiłki podczas ataku na bazę lub wrogie jednostki. Tym bardziej, że przysłani zostaną sami weterani (stosowna gwiazdka).

^przykład działania ION Cannon. Jeden strzał – jedna jednostka lub mniejszy budynek wroga mniej :]

^^nowy budynek o takich samych właściwościach ale innej nazwie dla każdej ze stron. Powyżej Fist of NOD, pod nim Mobile War Factory. Na wcześniejszych screenach możecie zobaczyć wersje mobilne tej konstrukcji, które w docelowym miejscu po prostu rozstawia się (nie można ich złożyć z powrotem i przestawić w inne miejsce oraz produkcja jest ograniczona do pojedynczej jednostki).

Mission Accomplished

Już wiecie jak wygląda Tiberian Sun. Dodam, że słucha się też z wielką przyjemnością, a to za sprawą doskonałej muzyki Franka Klepackiego. Jest dynamiczna i zachęca do gry. Mi osobiście zawsze kojarzyła się ze żniwiarką zbierającą Tiberium XD Znacie już większość plusów tej gry. Jest nowatorska, choć posiada kilka zapożyczeń ze Starcrafta (np. rozstawiane jednostki) oraz Diune 2 i 2000 (np. Disrupter przypominający Sonic Tanka, wykorzystujący falę dźwiękową do niszczenia wrogich jednostek i budynków). Wiecie też, że posiada doskonałą fabułę, a także filmiki przerywnikowe z udziałem prawdziwych aktorów.

Jednak TS nie jest pozbawiony minusów. Pierwszym i najważniejszym jest brak floty morskiej. Stanowi to znaczny krok do tyłu w stosunku do Red Alerta. Trudno podciągnąć pod nią amfibię i MLRS’a. Brak jednostek stricte morskich boli. Kolejnym minusem jest wszędobylska w GDI mania ulepszania. Podczas gdy NOD ma dostępną gotową Zaawansowaną Elektrownię, u GDI musimy kupować oddzielne turbiny dla każdej elektrowni. Początkowo nawet może się to podobać, ale później tylko denerwuje i zmusza do stawiania setek zwykłych elektrowni, gdyż nie ma czasu zajmować się pierdółkowatymi turbinami. Tak samo jest z wieżyczkami. NOD ma dostępny laser i sam’a, a u GDI musimy najpierw wybudować podstawę (tylko jeden rodzaj), a potem dopiero umieszczamy na niej sam’a, rpg lub działko Vulkan.

Kolejne minusy wiążą się już z dodatkiem. Firestorm przyniósł ze sobą zmodyfikowanego Titana i Wolverine. Pierwszy i drugi został wyposażony w laser. O ile jeszcze laser przeciwpiechotny u Tytana rozumiem, bo dzięki niemu jednostka ta nie jest już tak bezbronna w starciu z piechotą (i można ją rozstawiać po bazie zamiast żmudnych działek), to funkcja lasera zestrzeliwującego samoloty wroga u Wolverine’a co najmniej dziwi, jak na gabaryty i zastosowanie docelowe tak małej jednostki. Do tej pory służyła ona do zwalczania piechoty i tak powinno pozostać. A teraz nie trzeba budować sam’ów, bo Wolverine znacznie lepiej i szybciej radzi sobie z siłami powietrznymi niszcząc je tylko jednym strzałem. Jest jeszcze kilka takich kwiatków, jak np. osławiony Juggernaut. Dodanie go do jednostek GDI wyrównało szanse z NOD’em i jego kultową artylerią. Pomysł ten IMO jest nietrafiony, gdyż właśnie po to wybierało się słabszą frakcję aby zwycięstwo z NOD’em dawało jeszcze większą satysfakcję. A teraz jest po równo. Co prawda Juggernaut strzela kilkoma słabszymi pociskami, dopiero w sumie równającymi się z jedną kulą artylerii, ale w starciu jeden na jednego wygrywa, gdyż przerwy pomiędzy strzałami są krótsze.

Tak więc aktualnie i NOD’em i GDI gra się niemalże jednakowo, ale wciąż pozostaje wielka przyjemność i miód płynący z gry, chwilami nawet większy niż w Starcrafcie (tak wiem, wszyscy fanatycy tego ostatniego mnie teraz w myślach linczują, ale spokojna głowa – podobny wpis kiedyś poświęcę ich ulubionej grze, w którą się kiedyś zagrywałem i jemu też posłodzę ;]). Dodatkowo wraz z Firestorm’em doszły nowe “przeciwności przyrody” w postaci dzikich zwierząt z wielką finezją i zapałem atakujących nasze jednostki. Wszystko to czyni grę niemalże idealną (oczywiście ze wspomnianymi wcześniej minusami), prawie tak idealną jak Red Alert 2.

^Hammerfest Base

Na koniec kilka porad taktycznych

- Pamiętajcie żeby tworząc piechotę “wyprodukować” też co najmniej dwóch lekarzy. Będziecie wtedy praktycznie niezniszczalni :]

- Kiedy będziecie mieli możliwość budować artylerię u NOD’u lub Juggernauty u GDI, nie wahajcie się ani chwili i przynajmniej trzy postawcie w swojej bazie.

- Pamiętajcie aby przy każdej ciężkiej jednostce powyższego typu postawić po jednym Titanie lub Cyborgu. Są one dobre w walce, ale mają słaby pancerz, dlatego należy je chronić.

- Gdy startujecie z bazą i warunki na to pozwalają wybudujcie jak najszybciej dwie Tiberium Refinery i dwie dodatkowe żniwiarki (w sumie będziecie mieć 4). Nie ma nic gorszego niż ostrzeżenie kobiety (GDI) lub faceta (NOD) o pustym skarbcu.

- Planując ofensywę zniszczcie lub przejmijcie inżynierami w pierwszej kolejności Construction Yard, a potem War Factory. Pierwsze aby raz zniszczone obiekty nie były odbudowywane, drugie aby przeciwnik nie wybudował Mobile Construction Vehicle, a tym samym drugiego Construction Yard’u.

- Inwestujcie w Orca Bombery i Banshee. Podczas nalotów niszczcie sukcesywnie sam’y niezapominając, że najważniejszy jest Construction Yard oraz artylerie i Juggernauty. Możecie sobie pomóc ION Cannon’em i Multi Missile’em. 6 Orca Bomberów w zupełności wystarcza aby pomimo sam’ów dolecieć i zniszczyć centrum dowodzenia czyli CY. Po każdej strąconej jednostce buduj niezwłocznie drugą.

- Pamiętaj aby rozbudowywać cały czas flotę swoich żniwiarek i Tiberium Refinery. Na jedną powinny przypadać maksymalnie 3 żniwiarki. Czasami bardziej opłaca się wybudować nową rafinerię niż żniwiarkę, bo ceny są porównywalne, a im bliżej rafineria pola tiberium (nawet tego znacznie oddalonego) tym krótsza droga transportu i deficyt Tiberium mniejszy.

- Gdy masz taką możliwość wybetonuj bazę. To mało kosztuje, a jest skuteczne przeciwko inżynierom wroga poruszającym się podziemnymi pojazdami APC.

- Zawsze pozostaw obok głównego budynku (CY) 2-3 Tytany, aby niszczyły Devil’s Tonque i APC z inżynierami.

To chyba tyle z najważniejszych rzeczy :]

pozdrawiam,
pit

I sincerely apologize for not being able to post for this long. Real life problems can really be a pain. And I’ll be out of town again for 3 days starting from tomorrow.

Anyways, the hunch I had in Hitman 4 turned out to be true. There is a working title : Hitman 5, and apparently it will have some sort of connection to the second Hitman movie. Nothing is known about the game, and it’s predicted that it’ll be released some time in 2010.

Then there’s Command & Conquer 4. This is the last game of the Tiberium Wars franchise, and luckily, Gamespot had an interview with one of the developers you can check out here.

I loved Tiberium Wars and I definitely look forward to playing this one !

EA accidentally announced Command & Conquer 4 via Twitter last night. How you can announce something by accident is beyond me but hey, we’re getting more Command & Conquer. EA have said that it will be an “Epic Conclusion” to the series. They also said that the game will have two campaigns which will both follow on from Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars and both can be played by yourself or cooperatively. The game will conclude the story and reveal “Kane’s motivations behind his decade-long plan”. It will also be introduced many new features which include a class based gameplay system, 5v5 objective based multiplayer, mobile bases and more.

Command and Conquer 4 will be released on PC sometime in 2010.

C&C3:TW is a great RTS game featuring traditional resource collecting, base building and troop manufacturing. It’s also one of the best of the C&C series.

Like most C&C games the campaigns and the factions are extremely well-built. The acting in the cutscenes aren’t so cheesy as the ones in Red Alert 3, and the two campaigns are very intense and exciting.

There are three factions in the game. The GDI, which are the good guys and want to protect Earth; NOD, the bad guys, who want to exploit the Tiberium for evil purposes and then there’s the invading alien Scrin. Both GDI and NOD are taken by surprise, so it’s an even bigger struggle between the camps.

The GDI are advancing.

There are only two campaigns, however. The GDI campaign, where you must protect Earth from the invaders, and fight off the terrorists at the same time. Then there’s the NOD campaign where you must exploit the Tiberium to use it against the GDI, but must fight off the Scrin too. It’s a pity that there’s no alien campaign, as it would’ve been really cool. The campaign also rewards you with medals.

She r secsy rnt she ?

There is only one collectible resource in the game, similar to other C&C games. It’s the  green Tiberium, used to fuel the war effort of all camps. The aliens want the Tiberium, as it’s good for them as well.

Units move somewhat faster than in other games, which is a good thing, considering how slow they move there. All factions have their special units with special abilities. They feel unique, and their acknowledgement responses are well done. The general can use Command Points gained from completing objectives and killing enemies to purchase his own special abilities that can be used on the battlefield. These are extremely handy and help your units survive.

These are your targets.

Cutscenes, like I said, feel much more real and less cheesy than in Red Alert 3. It features the traditional briefings from the faction’s respective base.

Multiplayer and single player skirmishes are a blast. Lots of maps to choose from, and lots of positions where you can start from.

Overall, the great campaigns, graphics, factions and pretty much everything about it makes Tiberium Wars one of the best games of the C&C series.  I highly recommend you try out.

EA Brings Best-Selling RTS Franchise to the PLAYSTATION 3 for the First Time with Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition

Red Alert 3 Comes to PS3 This March With a Ton of Extras Including
Exclusive Multiplayer Maps, Over an Hour’s Worth of Bonus Videos and More

LOS ANGELES, Jan 21, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced today that the Command & Conquer(TM) Red Alert(TM) 3: Ultimate Edition will be bringing the best-selling Command & Conquer franchise to the PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment system for the very first time this March. The Ultimate Edition includes everything from last year’s award-winning release of Command & Conquer(TM) Red Alert(TM) 3, while taking full advantage of the PLAYSTATION 3’s Blu-ray disc capacity, offering an extensive array of exclusive bonus content, making the Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition the ultimate Red Alert 3 experience and an incredible value for PLAYSTATION 3 gamers.

“Our team has been dedicated to bringing the RTS genre to console gamers and we are excited to have this opportunity to introduce PS3 owners to Command & Conquer,” said David Seeholzer, Development Director at EA Los Angeles. “The PS3 is a very powerful platform, and the extra time we have had in development has helped us create the ultimate console RTS experience, with better graphics, improved performance, a ton of extras and some nice exclusive perks that cannot be found on any other version of Red Alert 3.”

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 blends the over-the-top humor and fast, fluid and fun gameplay the series is known for with exciting new innovations for the RTS genre, including fully co-operative, story driven-campaigns and an unprecedented emphasis on naval gameplay. PLAYSTATION 3 gamers will navigate the C&C style, action-packed gameplay via the Command Stick 2.0 interface, an intuitive control system that allows gamers of all skill levels to easily and efficiently command their units on the battlefield. Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition also packs in a tremendous amount of bonus content, including:

• Five exciting new multiplayer maps
• Behind the scenes videos and trailers, including Raising the Iron Curtain Documentary, From Pens to Pixels, the Girls of Red Alert 3, Bloopers & Outtakes, the Red Alert 3 Remix and many more!
• PS3 exclusive Command & Conquer TV programming, including PS3-dedicated BattleCast(TM) PrimeTime and a special episode of Command School focused on tips, tricks and strategies from the development team
• In-depth profiles on all the Red Alert 3 Units
• The official Red Alert 3 soundtrack

Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 also features the franchise’s trademark live-action movie sequences starring one of the largest and most talented ensemble casts in the history of video games, including (in alphabetical order) Gemma Atkinson, Gina Carano, Randy Couture, Tim Curry, Kelly Hu, Jenny McCarthy, Jonathan Pryce, Autumn Reeser, J.K. Simmons, Peter Stormare, George Takei, and a special appearance by David Hasselhoff.

The Command & Conquer Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition will ship in March 2009 for the PLAYSTATION 3 and has been rated ‘T’ for Teen by the ESRB and ‘16+’ by PEGI. For more information about the game, please visit www.commandandconquer.com. Fans of Command & Conquer can continue to get their fix 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Command & Conquer TV, EA’s dedicated online Command & Conquer network that goes beyond the game and brings players all the latest news, tips and strategies.

About Command & Conquer

The groundbreaking Command & Conquer franchise was one of the first to introduce players to the modern RTS genre, has spawned over a dozen PC titles, and ranks in the top 5 best-selling PC franchises of all-time according to the NPD Group. Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars^TM was the number #1 selling PC RTS of 2007 and won numerous awards, including the “Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year” award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. Additionally, Command & ConquerRed Alert2 and Command & Conquer Generals were the number one best-selling* PC RTS titles in 2000 and 2003 respectively. Collectively, the series has sold over 25 million units worldwide to date. The franchise boasts one of the largest and most active fan communities in the world. For more information on Command & Conquer series, please visit www.CommandAndConquer.com.

Quien dijo que no se podía jugar en Linux. Soy fan de estos juegos de estrategia y me pareció oportuno postear acerca de este juego y su instalación para que todos podamos disfrutarlo.
Para empezar debemos de tener instalado wine, si no lo tienen basta con un simple…

su -
yum install wine

Si tenemos la version DVD9, basta con ejecutar el instalador y seguir las instrucciones, si tenemos la version DVD5(2 DVDs) debemos copiar los archivos a nuestro disco duro y ejecutar el instalador desde ahí

Una vez instalado el juego y haber copiado el no-cd(es lo que nos permite jugar sin la necesidad de los discos, si no lo tienen pueden encontrar en www.megagames.com) nos hace falta copiar un archivo que forma parte del direcX d3dx9_29.dll en el directorio dentro de wine windows/system32 directory (usualmente esta en ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system32).

Con esto aparentemente ya está todo listo, podemos ejecutar el juego sin problemas aparentes, el unico detalle incomodo es que no se puede ver el cursor, para esto aplicamos un parche ya listo en rpm y eso seriá todo a disfrutar

I have done some evaluating over the past few days as I have written my work, and I have found that my inspiration comes as much from the artificial as much as it does the natural.

Firstly, my inspiration comes from, in large part, my own actions. As this story series is considered by myself to be my own autobiography, my characters and their actions are inspired by things I have actually done, said, felt, or thought. My character, Commander A9, takes his combat performance from actual combat in paintball, actual military training, and my videogames I play, namely Halo, Call of Duty, America’s Army, Ghost Recon, and other games, especially the Command & Conquer series (I have to include Command & Conquer 3 in this since it must be included in the stories as being part of the evolution of the Command & Conquer Tiberium Wars). A9’s thoughts and speech also come from my own. Much of his dialogue has been already spoken by myself in my actual life. when I type my characters’ dialogue, I actually speak in their tone and language and text, a process I call “running lines,” as in running lines of dialogue to examine its capability of seeming believable and logical to the reader.

Another form of inspiration comes from real-world events. Combat action in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Somalia, the recent Somali hijacking of a cargo vessel and world navies’ response to it, actions in Georgia during the Georgian/Russian “Ghost Recon” War of 2008, the fact that U.S. military technology has been sold to Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Egypt, peacekeeping efforts in the former Yugoslavia, and general civil unrest and economic collapse provide me with a limitless flow of ideas for my writing. As the world deteriorates in the Command & Conquer game series, so, too, must it deteriorate in my writing, for my writing must remain as true to the series as possible. Normally, I get my global chaos information by monitoring Yahoo! News and MSNBC (we all know Fox is a mouthpiece of propaganda, which received talking points from the government, essentially telling people what the government told them to say, and they complied http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtW4HOcdzQU. So much for “fair and balanced.”).

Essentially, I take events which I have undertaken or I have read and I apply them realistically to my narratives. The work mirrors that of Tom Clancy, famed political and military disaster scenario writer, whose work has been turned into several movies and videogames.

So, as is clear, as long as the world keeps going to hell, I’ll have more stories to write about.

Those who write fan fiction, in my opinion, do justice to the series in which their work is based off of, as long as they write a good story. And even then, by merely writing a story based off of a previously-created work, in my view, shows a form of respect to the work by sending the message that the work is worth having a second story created in its image. However, some have questioned the legality of fan fiction.

JK Rowling told the BBC that she was “flattered” by Harry Potter fans writing their own fan fiction based on her work. However, some authors have gone as far as to e-mail fanfiction.net, a major fan fiction-posting website, to have the fan fictions stories based on their work removed. Thus far, the website has complied with all requests. The problem is that some authors believe those who write fan fiction are either stealing their ideas or violating copyright laws (like it’s not about the love of your work anymore; it’s all about money, right?) (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3753001.stm).

What many people have forgotten is a doctrine which protects fan fiction writers from demands infringing upon their work. The doctrine is called “Fair Use.” Though it seems complicated, the doctrine essentially states that fan fiction writers can use whatever ideas are presented to them from the original work in order to write their own stories, as long as they don’t try to sell the fan fiction for monetary profit (that’s when copyrights start getting violated). (http://www.whoosh.org/issue25/lee1a.html)

Therefore, fan fiction writers can write about whatever they please and post whatever they want, just as long as they don’t try to sell the story for their own gain. So, it looks like I still have reason to write without worrying about some uptight copyright agency banging on my door.

De ceva timp, in Romania, a aparut un nou concept; si anume generatie Counter-Strike sau Generatia X. Aceasta se defineste grosier, ca fiind majoritatea persoanelor sub limita legala de varsta ce adopta ca sistem de valori o realitate computerizata, invaluita in ritmuri orientale furate.

Acestia accepta ca idoli persoane virtuale cu skill-uri si punctaje mai mari din jocuri On-line, vechile concepte de idoli televizati si persoane tangibile pe care te poti baza, devenind desuete, iar jocurile de “pac-pac” se transforma in meciuri de PGL la CS, si “V-ati ascunselea” devine automat Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars…

Comparatie:
inainte de ‘98: “Pac pac… te-am omorat! hai acasa ca deja e seara”
dupa ‘98: “Pac pac… headshot! gata bai ma duc acasa, ca acu trebuia sa ies de la scoala”

Desi toata lumea vorbeste despre asa-zisa generatie counter-strike, o face raportand-o intotdeauna vremurilor de dinainte de 89, dand acestui nou mod de exprimare sociala o tenta degradanta, risipitoare si chiar obsesiva. In realitate participam la un miracol social, o accelerare subita a schimbarii prioritatilor sociale ale adolescentilor din ziua de azi. Daca inainte era nevoie de cateva generatii bune sa evoluezi de la papusi din carpe la Barbie, astazi copii sar peste lantul evolutiv si devin din ce in ce mai prinsi in valul informatic, devenind adevarate enciclopedii de gaming.

Iata cativa pasi pe care trebuie sa ii urmezi pentru a te alatura curentului:

Frecventeaza salile de internet
Nu conteaza ca ai deja un supercalculator acasa sau ai cel mai scump abonament de internet, tot trebuie sa cobori pana la Net Cafe-ul din colt, sa faci un CS cu “baietii”. Si deasemenea, nu te sfii sa vii cu mouse-ul de acasa… cel de la sala e intotdeauna naspa.

Joaca WoW, DoTA si/sau CS
Pentru a iti gasi prieteni din aceeasi breasla trebuie sa frecventezi aceleasi locuri. Cele mai cautate sunt serverele de World Of Warcraft, DotA (Defense of the Ancients) sau cele de CS (Counter-Strike). In plus, incearca sa folosesti un nume cat mai rasunator, gen Violatorul, TacaPaca, Ciofu sau ZeulVostru.

Stai pe messenger minim 6 ore pe zi
Sloganul generatiei Counter-Strike este “Keep in Touch”, asa ca pentru o comunicare mai buna trebuie neaparat sa fii mereu conectat pe o forma de instant messenger, de regula Yahoo Messenger, supranumit si “pe mess”, unde lista de prieteni este sfanta si netransmisibila (decat in cazul unor anumite schimburi de id-uri cu fete).
In cazul in care ai un telefon mobil, trebuie neaparat sa iti activezi GPRS-ul sau WAP-ul si sa iti instalezi un messenger mobil… un individ nu-si permite sa nu fie online, nici macar in creierul muntilor sau autobuz.

Trimite mass-message
Nu rata nici o ocazie sa iti anunti prietenii de fiecare actiune pe care o intreprinzi in acel moment, fie prin mass-message-uri, fie prin statusuri cat mai explicite, in care sa descrii in detaliu ceea ce faci. Urmat bineinteles de numele melodiei pe care o asculti in acel moment.

Tine-ti telefonul la vedere
Preferabil in mana, pentru a nu rata nici un apel sau BUZZ!! pe messengerul mobil.

Asculta manele in tramvai
Daca doresti sa intri in randul celor multi, trebuie neaparat sa te dotezi cu tehnologie. Pana si producatorii de mobile se pare ca au inteles acest val, si parca au inceput sa lanseze telefoane cu amplificatoare de sunet incorporate. Daca nu ai un telefon mobil capabil sa “tipe” destul de tare maneaua preferata-n tramvai (cel putin un k750i), atunci nu te poti integra in generatia X.
Daca doresti sa fi si mai elitist, atunci cu siguranta ai nevoie de un MP3 player cu difuzoare incorporate. YP-k5 este solutia perfecta.

Foloseste abrevieri
Viata virtuala nu trebuie sa fie separata de cea reala, nici macar atunci cand vine vorba de lingvistica. Incearca pe cat posibil sa foloseste abrevierile folosite “pe mess” si in viata reala. Nu ezita sa rostesti “lol” cand cineva spune o gluma buna, sau “BRB” cand trebuie sa te duci la baie.cta.

Fa-ti cont de Hi5
Retelele sociale sunt noul messenger. Adauga-ti poze pana la refuz si indeamna-ti prietenii, din nou, prin mass-uri sa iti dea commenturi ca dai si tu inapoi. Incarca poze cat mai sexi si de la varste cat mai fragede… mai ales daca esti fata.

Disclaimer

Treze anos depois do primeiro «Command & Conquer» e para comemorar o lançamento do «Command & Conquer Red Alert 3», a Electronic Arts disponibiliza, à borla, o download da prequela daquele jogo: o «Command & Conquer: Red Alert».

São dois Cds de 500 Mb – um para os Aliados e outro para os Soviéticos -, compactados em Rar e compilados num ficheiro Iso. É de aproveitar.

Da ich mal wieder eine längere Zugfahrt vor mir hatte, hab ich nach Spielen für mein N82 gesucht. Wegen den Eigenheiten der Tastatur finde ich eigentlich alle Spiele mühselig, wo man zuviel und zu schnell herumdrücken muss. Ein Strategiespiel sollte da eigentlich angenehmer sein als so manche Action-Games.

Im Netz hab ich eine Handy-Version von C&C3: Tiberium Wars entdeckt. Nachdem ich es auch auf Vodafone Live! (mein Internetportal am Handy) gefunden hab, hab ichs mir gleich runtergeladen.

Innerhalb von 10 Sekunden war das Spiel auf meinem Handy, das Installieren dauerte dann etwas länger. Nach kurzer Ladezeit ist man dann schon im Hauptmenü. Wenn man Kopfhörer hat, kann man auch durchaus die Musik anlassen, die ist nicht schlecht.

Wenn man das Spiel startet, bekommt man Anweisungen für die nächste Mission. Nachdem man alles gelesen hat (oder auch nicht ^^), kann man dann losstarten.

Das Spiel gliedert sich in 2 Phasen: Zuerst ist man im Bau-Abschnitt und kann einige Gebäude ohne Zeitlimit hochziehen. Wenn man fertig ist, gehts in den Echtzeit-Modus, wo man seine Trupps auf der Karte herumschickt. Die Gegner kommen aus allen Richtungen und versuchen meistens, die Gebäude der Basis zu zerstören. Das muss man natürlich verhindern.

Wenn man eine Mission geschafft hat, gibts noch eine kleine Statistik. Bis jetzt macht das Spiel einen sehr guten Eindruck auf mich. Ich bin schon gespannt, wie die anderen Missionen sind. Angeblich gibts alle Einheiten aus dem PC-Spiel auch in der Handy-Version.

Thought I’d make this a bulk post, I mean, I’m lazy. Too much clicking involved to make two posts that could be posted in tandem right? I hope so.

Anyways…Tiberium Wars is a great game now that EALA released the patches for it. But damn was the game glitched at 1.00, kinda sad. A buddy of mine, Blbpaws (he’s the PR guy and the “boss” of the project), at Generals World recently announced his second mod, The Forgotten. His first mod, All-Stars, which was for Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour, used up too much bandwidth on download day that Generals World’s host brought the site down for a day. If only EA would release a Mod SDK for Kane’s Wrath (which was finally patched after over 3 months of horrible bugs and disconnects)…I know for a fact Blbpaws would transfer the mod over to Kane’s Wrath. Alas, he and I do not believe there will be a Mod SDK for Kane’s Wrath since it took so long for the first patch and because Red Alert 3 is under development.

For those of you who know the storyline behind the Tiberium branch of C&C, The Forgotten are the mutants who appear and play a major role in the earlier games yet are all but pushed out of the picture (they make their appearance as Mutant Marauders with their capturable Mutant Hovel) in Tiberium Wars and Kane’s Wrath. From what forum posts say at Generals World, Blbpaws and his team are bringing back a couple of old NOD and GDI units (some are modified) as scavenged vehicles. I guess The Forgotten are going to be  mainly old-school tech…with an ion storm power of some sort. Looks promising in my eyes and I wish them the best of luck.

As Lion’s Red Alert Den (RADEN) reported, it appears that James Hannigan will be composing music for the upcoming Red Alert 3 soundtrack. Unlike Bill Brown, Steve Jablonsky/Trevor Morris, James’ music is much more orchestral than the composers I mentioned. The quality sounds great, judging from his music jukebox he has on his website and sounded a bit more memorable than the previous music done for Tiberium Wars. If you listened to track 2, “Primus”, the music has more electronica elements, and track 21, “Cygnus”, has plenty of electronica with sampled electric guitar riffs. Based on my analysis, I predict that the Red Alert 3 soundtrack will be more orchestral that touches on 3 elements: Empire of the Rising Sun (more Japanese ethnic sound), Soviet Union (bombastic sounding), and the Allied (more patriotic/heroic). Some electronica pieces may appear in the game as well.

PC Gamer also noted that “Hell March” will make a return to the Red Alert sequel but it’d be hard to say how it’s going to composed. However, it’s obvious Frank Klepacki will not be able to compose Red Alert 3 due to his commitments to Petroglyph Games as sound designer/music composer and not to mention his side-projects and other live performances outside of his workplace. As soon as more details appear, I will update this blog.

I just stumbled upon some videos of Westwood Studio’s early work on what appears to be Command and Conquer 3:Tiberium Twilight before being consolidated by EA Games. This is interesting because Westwood would properly continue the C&C Tiberium storyline. According to the pictures and videos of their C&C3 early designs, it would follow GDI’s attempt to remove Tiberium from Earth when they discovered more information from the Tacitus after Firestorm. Here are the videos I found on Youtube.

This video clip is voiced over, probably by Frank Klepacki, as an example of how the game’s briefing will be done.


The two videos above shows the unit’s status bar. The top is the health meter but what is the bottom meter for?

Another video of what would the interface be like if Westwood were to continue to produce C&C3.

This is how Westwood came up with the unit upgrade system. The animation looks pretty nice.

I found numerous images from TJ Frame’s website of what appears to be his work on C&C3’s third side, CABAL. They consist of mechanized robots resembling hydras, dinosaurs, dragons, spiders, etc. However, his website went down for good. He even did some work on what Generals would look like. I will cover these topics in the near future as soon as I can find them and upload them to the blog.

Credits go to YouTube’s RogueThoughts, CNCNZ, and cncsaga.com for the video clips above.

It’s the weekend before my midterm is due and I feel like crap. Stuffed nose, sore throat, headache, fever, a few aches and pain. It fucking sucks. I popped some meds earlier and continued to work on the midterm. I am pretty sure it is done but I may tweak it a bit as Tuesday gets closer. There isn’t much else I can write for it so I am semi happy with it. My computer science teacher thought it would be an awesome idea to make the last lab of the year due Wednesday so I get to make a four page website. I’ll probably end up doing that Tuesday night.

In other news I have been playing Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars lately. I managed to beat the GDI campaign so far (this is my first time doing the campaigns in the game even though I have had it for a while now). After working on the midterm I started the Nod campaign. Should be interesting.

And as for Grand Theft Auto IV, well I won’t be getting it until Wednesday or Thursday as I could only afford 2-day shipping from Gamestop and the fact I am saving gas by not going to the store. It also lets me have time to do the website as I would end up playing the game all day and forget. Although I am hoping there are no big assignments next weekend as I will be playing all damn day once it arrives. It is going to own so hard.

Interesting villains in videogames can be surprisingly hard to come by.  Thanks to the veritable bevy of clones, cheap knockoffs, strange Japanese games, and sheer, unadulterated crap on the market, it’s easy to find one’s attention wandering when pondering which bad guys are actually worthy of the title, and thus your time.

But of course, like moustachioed, beret wearing wheat being sifted from the generic, nuke-possessing, stupid-name-wielding chaff (how’s THAT for a metaphor?), there are a few examples of true, interesting, honest-to-Bill-Gates villains just waiting to receive your worship and adulation…before executing you in true villain style, no doubt.

For you see, complex characters (good or bad) are always about motivation; a bad guy that wants to destroy the world simply because he was christened Baron von Evilpants III is not going to be anywhere near as interesting as a character who wants to destroy the world due to the unbridled torment and infinite pain caused by selling his soul to the Chaos God of Confectionary for immortality and an endless supply of Tiny Teddies.  Even when they’re our enemy, we still want to know why they tick, and we definitely want the ticking to have some sort of significance.   

So in order to honour those villains (or really, the writers behind them) that stimulate our collective minds, and to help you all get your evil on, I’d like to present to you this, the first part of my Top 5 Most Interesting Gaming Villains of All Time; they may not always be the nastiest bad guys you’ve ever come across, but they’re definitely more than just the clichéd, caricatures you see in so many games (and movies, and books, and…).

Now it’s time to leave fantasy behind and head back into the world of sci-fi.  Our fourth interesting villain is quite possibly my most favourite character to ever grace a video game; and yes, he still lives…:

Kane – Command & Conquer Series (PC/OTHERS) 

Fight!

Win!

Prevail!

If any character in gaming history has ever summed up what it is to be an interesting villain, it is the messiah-like figure that is Kane.  He is the Prophet of the Brotherhood of Nod; the semi-religious, entirely terrorist organisation which exists in the alternate reality Command and Conquer Universe originally brought to us by Westwood Studios (now swallowed whole by the uber-beast that is EA).

But the back story of Kane goes far further than his merely being the L. Ron Hubbard of C&C; throughout the various games in the series, it is frequently implied that Kane is none other than Cain from the biblical story of Adam and Eve; you know the one that became the first murderer by killing his brother Abel, and was banished by God (who was apparently a lot more active back in those days; less carbs in His diet?) to forever wander the land of Nod. He’s also been blamed for starting WW2 by controlling Stalin in an alternate-future (this is no longer canon, unfortunately) , and is apparently immortal; he’s well over a hundred years old (possibly thousands if he is the biblical Cain), has been impaled, and even supposedly killed by an orbital laser cannon!

Played by Joe Kucan (who was the FMV director for Westwood), Kane became an instant classic when he ruthlessly executed his traitorous lackey Seth on camera during a cutscene in the original C&C (Tiberian Dawn).  Over the course of the numerous games and expansion packs, Kane continues to show a truly villainous ruthless streak, frequently killing underlings who betray or fail him, experimenting on his own followers and innocent civilians with the alien (and highly deadly) Tiberium crystals, and seeing his entire loyal organisation as little more than an expendable tool to aid his own “ascension”.

Besides being a total bad arse, however, the main selling point of Kane as an incredibly interesting villain is the sheer magnetism and charisma that Joe Kucan brings to the part.  I’ve referred to this man as being immensely scary for how well he portrays a sociopathic character like Kane, and those comments still stand; it is impossible to imagine any actor ever playing this role as well as Kucan, because he IS Kane.

His performance as the Prophet is a masterfully feverish portrayal of a man who believes wholeheartedly that he is the Messiah of mankind; and woe betide any fool who gets in the way of the Brotherhood using the Technology of Peace to aid humanity’s (and Kane’s own) ascension to the next evolutionary stage.  Every immensely quotable speech he makes is packed full of such meaning and sense of purpose that it is perfectly feasible to imagine the poor and downtrodden of a ruined world flocking to him in droves to “save” them.

The fact that he is as tactically savvy and cunningly manipulative as he is charismatic ensures that the Brotherhood of Nod will always go from strength to strength, even with the occasional temporary setback like being pretty much annihilated repeatedly (cough).  Kane routinely manipulates the media, various governments, the Global Defence Initiative (the successor to the UN), and even his own organisation to achieve his ends; he has often faked his death where necessary, and even engineered the appointment of a particular politician as leader of GDI just to manipulate him into destroying Kane’s Temple with the Ion Cannon, thus awakening the alien Scrin and beginning the invasion of Earth (also a part of Kane’s overarching goals); talk about convoluted long-term planning that would make Machiavelli’s head explode!

Kane really is the ultimate interesting villain, combining the maniacal-yet-enthralling oratory skills of a Hitler with the military genius of a Napoleon; not to mention the willingness to sacrifice his own people possessed by Stalin.  Whether fighting with or against him, every time Kane appears he will command your attention, and I challenge anyone to tell me that they have never been drawn to the idea of joining the Brotherhood simply due to the sheer power and magnetism of his presence.

Peace through Power! 

Kane gives Seth a rapid demotion (sound lags a bit behind the video unfortunately, still awesome)

Only one more left now; Kane is such an incredible villain, who is worthy enough to follow him in this list? Stay tuned for tomorrow when the next classic villain is revealed.

- Tim Sweeney

(Please note that all images and videos appearing in this article series are not my property, but were instead sourced from Google Images and Youtube for non-commercial purposes; if there is an issue with my making use of these, please contact me and they will be removed immediately)

(A very hearty thank you to GamingSA for supplying Kane’s Wrath to me for review)

The greatest gaming villain of all time finally gets a game focused solely on him; well, an expansion more precisely, but it still counts!  Kane’s Wrath, the inevitable expansion pack for Command and Conquer 3, is here and it’s going to fill in all those gaps in the C&C back story, as well as giving us so much Joe Kucan action that’s it is almost too much to handle.

Kane’s Wrath begins with a 13 mission campaign, played as the Brotherhood of Nod; the quasi-religious terrorist nation headed by the titular goateed one.  Beginning immediately after the end of C&C2: Tiberian Sun, and finishing up at some point past the end of the most recent game, the primary purpose of the campaign is to obviously fill in some of the glaring gaps in the storyline; how is Kane still alive? What happened to the Brotherhood after it fragmented in the last game, and how did it reunite? Just what happened to those stupid looking GDI mechs from Tiberian Sun, and what were they thinking designing such a dopey looking unit in the first place?

Which brings us to the second major change to the game: the introduction of ‘factions’.  Each team now has two sub-factions, which have new units, new support powers, and often a very different way of playing.  The Global Defence Initiative get a faction which is into old-school experimental technology (including the stupid looking mechs, who make their ungainly-looking return), and a faction with hard-as-nails elite units; Nod has the pyromaniacal, infantry focused group and the high-tech cyborg faction; and the alien Scrin get hit-and-run psychic powers and slow, steamroller teams.  Honestly, most of it has been done before in other games, but at least these additions bring a bit of variety to the three available armies (which look a little lacklustre these days when compared to the multitude of different factions found in Dawn of War and other games).

Speaking of Dawn of War, the most significant change to the C&C experience brought about by Kane’s Wrath is the inclusion of a new, Risk-esque “Global Conquest” mode.  Here the player is given a map of the world and charged with building bases and armies with which to conquer/defend cities (depending on faction), and of course wipe their enemies out.  Again this has been done before (see Dawn of War: Dark Crusade or Soulstorm for recent examples), but it nonetheless adds a welcome element of strategy to C&C3, and is a great deal of fun.  The presentation is top-notch, and the whole thing manages to feel tactical and deep without diluting what is essentially a game about speed and quick thinking.

Apart from these new features, everything else remains pretty much true to Tiberium Wars.  Graphically the game is pretty much identical, with the only real changes being to the new units introduced (including the rather impressive new epic units) and the occasional pretty environment.  The game still plays in much the same way, and if you weren’t sold on C&C3 (or its earlier incarnations for that matter), then Kane’s Wrath isn’t going to be the game that brings you into the fold.

Nonetheless, Kane’s Wrath is a welcome addition to the Command and Conquer franchise.  Being an EA series, there was always going to be at least one expansion pack made to distribute to the masses; thankfully, Kane’s Wrath comes across as more than just the shameless grab for cash that it could have been.  Instead, this expansion pack adds some new content, a fun new campaign which should please the story enthusiasts, a great tactical game mode, and of course a massive amount of Kane!  It may not set the world on fire in the originality stakes, and it almost certainly won’t attract any new players to the franchise; but, then again, expansion packs aren’t really known for that, are they?

Graphics: 7/10 (Cutscenes are as brilliantly hammy as ever; otherwise the game is identical to C&C3.  Pretty, but hardly graphically intensive.  Oh and the Steel Talons recycling of the old Tiberian Sun mech units is amusing, but they’re still stupid looking.)

Sound: 7/10 (Some new music (including what sound like remixes of some franchise classics), but still essentially the same; thankfully this isn’t a bad thing, as the unit sounds and SFX of Tiberium Wars were fine.)

Gameplay: 8/10 (Pure, fast paced RTS action, now with added sub-factions and new units for extra fun; still superbly balanced, and the addition of a new campaign and Global Conquest are icing on the cake.)

Longevity: 7/10 (Singleplayer campaign is of a decent length and difficulty, and straight multi is still a good deal of fun, but the real meat is in the Global Conquest mode; adding an infinitely replayable, strategic campaign was a stroke of brilliance.)

Overall: 7.5/10 (A well executed expansion pack with many solid features, but only one real stroke of genius that significantly changes the way the game is played; even then there’s nothing particularly new or revolutionary here.  Despite this lack of real originality, Kane’s Wrath has a lot to offer to the fans of Tiberium Wars; just don’t expect it to change your mind if you aren’t one of them.)

-Tim Sweeney

Cominciano a comparire ulteriori dettagli su Tiberium, il secondo fps della serie Command & Conquer (e primo gioco di una probabile serie spin-off), dopo C&C Renegade.

E’ appena comparso un’analisi su PlanetCNC (noto sito su C&C) dedicata allo sparatutto in questione che fornisce ulteriori informazioni sulla storia, sulle armi utilizzate e sul gameplay. Eccovi una traduzione libera:

Storia

La storia inizia 11 anni dopo la fine della Third Tiberium War (terza guerra del tiberium). Gli Scrin hanno lasciato la Terra e Kane è sparito. Uno dei maggiori residui del conflitto è la Scrin Tower, torre costruita dagli Scrin sulle coste italiane lungo il mar mediterraneo, che nel frattempo è rimasto senza acqua, sostituita dal tiberium.

La torre è monitorata dalle due fazioni rimaste, GDI e Nod. Mentre i primi la vedono come una minaccia, i secondi la vedono come un luogo sacro (i devoti seguaci dei Nod vanno in pelligranaggo alla torre). Tuttavia qualcosa sta cambiando a ground zero. Qualcosa sotto la torre sta cominciando a risvegliarsi. La terza guerra del tiberium potrebbe essere solo l’inizio…

Il Protagonista

Il protagonista di Tiberium è Ricardo Vega, uno dei comandanti fondamentali dalla terza guerra del tiberium. Poco dopo la fine della guerra, disilluso dalla guerra tra GDI e Nod, Ricardo decide di lasciare i GDI e aiutare a ricostruire le città distrutte nel conflitto. Ma il commando GDI ha qualcosa in mente per Vega.

Ritorna in servizio come Forward Battle Commander e a capo della squadra RAID. Commandato da nessun all’infuori di Michael McNeil, veterano della Second Tiberium War (seconda guerra del tiberium, gioco C&C Tiberian Sun), Ricardo commanderà la sua squadra in pericolose missioni intorno, o anche dentro, la torre Scrin.

Le armi

La principale arma da fuoco di Vega sarà un GD-10, un sistema modulari 4 in 1 di armi. Le armi consistono in:

• Mag rail, un railgun automatico (simile all’arma utilizzata dal commando in Tiberium Wars)
• Energy Cannon, arma con mirino che spara un concentrato fascio d’energia ad una lunga distanza. Praticamente un fucile da cecchino
• Grenade Launcher, un lancia granate altamente esplosive
• MLS, un lanciamissile, in grado di sparare missile che si dividerà e colpirà nemici multipli

Oltre al GD-10, Vega potrà usare altre armi o gadget tecnologici, come il jet-pack dei Zone Troopers o del commando (Tiberium Wars).

Game play

Tiberium è un sparatutto tattico, simile a Rainbow Six o Ghost Recon con la possibilità di commandare più squadre. La squadra ha un ragionevole intelligenza artificiale, ma tutti i suoi movimenti dipendono dal giocatore.

Per chiamare rinforzi, il giocatore deve rendere sicura l’area di “sbarco”. Una volta fatto, può prendere e scegliere quali unità da mandare sul campo di battaglia. Il giocatore ha a disposizione Orca, Titan e tutti i tipi di fanteria.

Il gioco dovrebbe essere non lineare. Il giocatore avrà un set di obbiettivi, ma dovrà decidere quali completare e con quale unità. Questo è designato per obbligare i giocatori ad effettuare decisioni tattiche.

Il multiplayer sarà un misto del classico Conquest da Battlefield e Domination Mode da World In Conflict. Ogni giocatore avrà accesso certe squadre, le quali verranno comandate per prendere le fessure di tiberium ed altri checkpoints. Una colta in possesso di molti più punti controllo rispetto all’avversario, partirà un timer. Una volta che il timer raggiungerà lo zero, la partita finirà.

Sviluppo

Tiberium è sviluppato dalla EA Los Angeles. Il motore utilizzato è ancora sconosciuto, ma utilizza un avanzato audio e tecnologie visuali. La grafica e il sonoro daranno una esperienza molto realistica.

Gli ultimi due anni di sviluppo sono stati spesi in concept e artwork. EA sta trattando questo come una nuova proprietà intelletuale, ancora basato sulla bibbia di C&C e permettendo un tempo di sviluppo maggiore del solito.

E’ dall’anno scorso che circolavano voci (inclusa la comparsa sul sito della EA di un’offerta di lavoro per un progetto chiamato allora C&CX) su un possibile fps della serie Command & Conquer basato sull’universo Tiberium, riportato recentemente al top del mercato videoludico grazie a C&C Tiberium Wars.

Solamente oggi (dopo due anni di pre-produzione, secondo il comunicato) Electronics Arts ha annunciato ufficialmente lo sviluppo di Tiberium, il nuovo fps (il secondo della serie, dopo C&C Renegade) basato sulla serie Command & Conquer.

Il gioco darà inoltre inizio ad una serie spin-off chiamata Tiberium, basata sulla serie C&C ed incentrata totalmente sul minerale alieno della storia.

Il gioco verrà sviluppato per pc (windows, come al solito) e per le console Play Station 3 e xBox 360. La storia sarà ambientata 11 anni dopo Third Tiberium War (narrata in Tiberium Wars e dalla sua espansione Kane’s Wrath) e il giocatore impersonerà Ricardo Vega, un personaggio proveniente dal romanzo Tiberium Wars di Keith R. A. DeCandido.

La storia sarà incentrata sul comandante GDI Ricardo Vega, richiamato dal pensionamento per comandare la squadra RAID (Rapid Assault and Intercept Deployment) dislocata nella zona rossa sul Mediterraneo. La squadra sarà composta da fanteria (missilistica e non), Titan (una delle unità-simbolo in C&C Tiberian Sun, un camminatore) ed Orca (le unità aeree). Inoltre le armi ricalcheranno quelle viste nella serie di RTS.

Il gameplay dovrebbe essere una sorta di mix tra Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, Battlefield, Rainbow Six Vegas e C&C Renegade.

Il gioco uscirà nell’autunno del prossimo anno, dopo l’uscita dell’espansione di TW, Kane’s Wrath.