This page is
dedicated to what I consider to be one of the greatest game series ever made,
Command & Conquer. I have been hooked on this series since its debut back in 1995.
I now own almost every incarnation of this great series on both the PC and
console and still play many of them on a regular basis.
Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios were the
creators of the Command & Conquer Universe,
founded in 1985 as "Westwood
Associates" and later renamed "Westwood
Studios" when they were sold to
Virgin Interactive.
Early well-known Westwood titles from this period include
Dune II,
The Legend of Kyrandia,
and
Lands of Lore.
Westwood's greatest success came with the release of
Command & Conquer.
Based on the gameplay and interface ideas of Dune II. They added
pre-rendered 3D graphics, video cinematic's, a streaming alternative pop\rock
soundtrack with some techno, and
modem multiplayer play,
setting Command & Conquer far above the rest.
In August of
1998, Westwood Studios
was
acquired by
Electronic Arts. In
response to what was seen as an unwillingness to maintain the Westwood brand and
independence from EA, many long-time employees quit over in the next few years
following the sale. Many hardcore C&C gamers, even myself, saw this as the
beginning of the end for the series we loved to play.
Westwood survived as
Westwood Pacific (Later EA Pacific) up until March of 2003, when they were
liquidated by EA games. Before this tragic event however, Westwood was able to
produce what some consider the greatest RTS games of all time, like Red Alert 2,
and even the FPS hit, Command & Conquer: Renegade. The final release from
Westwood prior to their liquidation was Yuri's Revenge.
EA
Games
The Command & Conquer series does
live on under the Electronic Arts brand. Although EA's first attempt to cash in
on the C&C name did not do so well. C&C Generals was seen by many fans as a
substandard product that was not deserving of the Command & Conquer title. It
was a not a bad game for the casual RTS gamer, but is by far the worst C&C game
in the minds of many.
Some redemption came from
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. EA had returned much of the series' feel and
style, yet altered some of the games controls from every previous C&C title with
mixed feelings from fans.
Now with the impending
release of "Red Alert 3", it seems EA may be at last retuning the Command &
Conquer universe to its former glory. I guess only time will tell.
Command & Conquer RTS
The Command & Conquer RTS
series of games is the best set of games in this category in the minds of many.
Westwood really broke new ground and set the the standard for what an RTS game
was supposed to be. Its not hard to see the immense success of the series based
on the sheer number of titles, expansions, and ports that were made. Even though
Westwood is no more, the series lives on and it still moving forward under EA
Games. Many of the games prior to Generals are now very hard to find. However,
you can obtain most of them in the "Command & Conquer: The First Decade" DVD
set, except Sole Survivor. EA excluded it from the set since its a multiplayer
only game and there are no servers for the game anymore. The DVD contains all
the games and expansions from the original through Generals Zero Hour.
Command & Conquer
Developers:
Westwood and
Looking Glass Studios
Publishers:
Virgin
Interactive - Nintendo - Sega
Release Date:
August 31, 1995
(PC)
Platforms:
PC (DOS/Win) -
Mac - N64 - PS1 - Sega Saturn
System Requirements:
DOS 5.0
or Windows 95, 60 MHz CPU, 8 MB RAM (16 MB preferred), 1 MB
DirectDraw
compatible video,
DirectSound
compatible sound, 30 MB HD space, 2x
CD-ROM
The game that started it all. I
purchased this title only about a week after it hit the shelves. Once I got it
home and installed, I found myself playing it night and day for hours on end.
The great storyline and addictive gameplay kept me wanting more. The original
DOS mode offered multiplayer action via modem, something else I took advantage
of. A good friend of mine, who was also a C&C player, wanted to be able to play
together. So I setup 2 computers is my home for this specific purpose. I wasted
many hours of my life on this game, and I don't regret a single minute of it. I
still play this game on my "Retro
Box" from time to time, as well as its Playstation and Nintendo 64
ports.
Multiplayer
Only / 1-64 Players / No active servers
Sole Survivor was online
multiplayer only and supported up to 64 players. Westwood was trying to build on
the popularity of its multiplayer support for Command & Conquer. The only
problem was, the grand army to army, base to base battles were not here. In this
game, you got control of a single unit, each unit having a specific set of stats
and abilities. You could either battle it out as a team, or even play some CTF
(Capture the flag). Although the game was fun, the fact that it was online
multiplayer only and had very little in common with the series, it did not last
very long and was not a best seller.
What can I say about Red Alert?
This game was simply great in just about every aspect. It departed from the
GDI/NOD universe and stepped into an alternate reality where the great Albert
Einstein had created a time machine and traveled back in time and wiped Hitler
from existence in an effort to stop World War 2 from ever happening. In this
alternate reality, where Hitler never rose to power, there was nothing to stand
in the way of the Soviet Union doing just that. Stalin rises to power and the
world teeters on the edge of a new world war. You get to play as either as an
allied nation or Russia and one of its allies. With new structures, units, and a
compelling storyline, Red Alert made its mark on the RTS community and enlisted
even more hardcore C&C gamers to an already growing community.
The awesome sequel to Red
Alert, RA2 brought us back into the alternate reality of its predecessor with
updated graphics, sounds, new troops, vehicles, structures, and a continuing
storyline that made this one of my favorite games in the series. I still
play this and Yuri's Revenge to this day.
Tiberian Sun takes us back into
the universe of GDI and NOD and the ever sought after alien substance, Tiberium.
Taking place in the future after the original Command & Conquer, this game is
filled with new troops, vehicles, weapons, and structures to build and command.
Along with some of your old favorites from the original! Like RA2, I sill play
Tiberian Sun to this day and never get tired of it. This title rakes side by
side with RA2 in my favorites list.
Generals
Developers:
EA Pacific
Publishers:
EA Games
Release Date:
February 10,
2003 (PC)
Platforms:
Windows
System Requirements:
800
MHz CPU, 256 MB RAM, 32 MB AGP DX 8.1 video (ATI Radeon 7500+ or
NVIDIA GeForce 2+),
DX 8.1 compatible sound, 1.8GB HD
space,
CD-ROM
License:
Electronic Arts
(EA Games)
Expansions:
Zero Hour
Departing from both the Red
Alert and GDI/NOD universes, C&C Generals was considered by many hardcore fans
of the series to be the worst title under the C&C banner. Not to mention
Generals was the first title in the series to have no FMV cut scenes to tell the
story and it departed from the original user interface and base building
mechanics that has become a staple of the series. Not a bad game in the RTS
aspect, but not a true Command & Conquer title in the minds of many fans,
including myself.
Tiberium Wars
Developers:
EA Games
Publishers:
EA Games
Release Date:
March 28, 2007
(PC)
Platforms:
Windows - Mac -
XBox 360
System Requirements:
2.0 GHz
CPU, 1GB RAM, 128 MB ATI Radeon 8500+ or NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti +),
DX 9.0c compatible sound, 6.0 GB HD
space,
8x DVD-ROM
License:
Electronic Arts
(EA Games)
Versions:
Kane's Wrath
This was EA's first
attempt and stepping back into the original Command & Conquer universe
of GDI and NOD without Westwood. With the exception of a few control
changes to the mechanics of the games UI, such as reversing the right and
left mouse clicks, all in all its not a bad game. It was great to play
in this universe again with nice modern graphics as well as new units,
structures, and such to command. It "feels" a lot more like a Command &
Conquer game and is a big improvement over Generals, a definite
step in the right direction.
Red
Alert 3
Developers:
EA Games
Publishers:
EA Games
Release Date:
October 28, 2008
(PC)
Platforms:
Windows
XP/Vista - PS3 -
XBox 360
System Requirements:
2.0 GHz
CPU (Dual Core Preferred) , 1GB RAM, Higher end DX9.0c ATI/NVIDIA,
DX 9.0c compatible sound, 12.0 GB HD
space,
8x DVD-ROM
Well, I am really
looking forward to Red Alert 3, I just hope EA doesn't screw it up. From
the media that's been released so far, I have to admit I am getting my
hopes up. Returning to the FMV sequences to tell the story with a great
cast of actors (as seen on my main page), as well as what looks like
gameplay worthy of the C&C title as seen here in the video below. I guess I
will just have to wait and see.
Command & Conquer RTS Consoles
Consoles:
Playstation -
Nintendo 64 - Sega Saturn
Publishers:
Virgin
Interactive - Nintendo - Sega
Playstation Titles:
Original
Command & Conquer - Red Alert - Red Alert Retaliation
N64 Titles:
Original
Command & Conquer
Saturn Titles:
Original
Command & Conquer
The console
versions of these great titles were also a great deal of fun to
play. Being more into console gaming at the time these games were
released, they saw a lot of play time in my home. The Playstation
versions being my favorite for a couple reasons, it was my favorite
console, and the link cable. My friends and I would link up and
battle until the late hours of the night. Red Alert Retaliation was
my favorite console title and I still play it. It was a combination
of Red Alert and its 2 PC expansion packs, Aftermath and
Counterstrike.
The first
FPS game in this series is set in the universe of GDI and NOD. You
play as "Havoc" in a mission to stop NOD from creating Tiberium
enhanced super soldiers. This game is a great deal of fun to play,
although quite easy in single player mode. Take it into multiplayer
online play for hours of non stop action! There are still several
servers out there, going strong, for this great game. Check out
http://www.gamerz0ne.com for the best gameplay around!
