This is rather interesting; an action game set in a universe previously only seen in RTS titles. Obviously, the first thing the players will look at is how well a job of bringing the well-known universe to life in a first/third-person game it does... and on that, this actually does really well. All the buildings(including the Obelisk of Light), vehicles(including the Mammoth Tank!) and guns that we know from the first game are there. For any fan of the franchise and any nostalgic, this is good stuff. Heck, they even got the real EVA, and Kane is featured, as well(unfortunately only animated, so Kucan doesn't get to command the screen with his presence in this title). This is the first of this kind of game the developers have tried their hand at... and with that in mind, they actually did pretty well. However, it does somewhat show, and this will by no means win out over any contemporary action or FPS titles. The graphics are fairly good, and there are few glitches. The AI is reasonable. The creativity and effort put into it does show, but the game does noticeably lack some things that other games of around this time had, such as interactivity with the environment. The weapons are fairly plentiful and reasonably nicely done, as far as animation, strengths and weaknesses and whatnot go, but again, compared to other titles around this time, it doesn't really match the competition. The multi-player mode is essentially a war simulator set in the famed universe, which is a rather good idea, and from what I can tell(though, admittedly, my experience with both that type of game in general and with playing this one are both nearly non-existent), it's one of the best things the game offers. The buildings and vehicles are featured, and like in the RTS titles, if you destroy an important building, the enemy will lose an important ability. The single-player mode is one long campaign, in which you play as one Commando unit. Whilst that in itself might make for a cool game... running around behind enemy lines armed with nothing but a high-caliber, accurate gun and a load of C4... the creators went ahead and added all the other weapons that were in the first game, as well as vehicles you can board(this is one of the first games that let you do that, although vehicle control is perhaps a tad awkward). Several new weapons are added, and whilst some of them are very cool, some are too similar. There are several laser/power rifles and a few guns that all fire Tiberium. Still, it all looks fairly nice, and some of them are quite entertaining to use. The plot(which isn't bad, if not particularly compelling) takes off a few levels in, and from then on out, the game focuses solely on that. There are twists, but they really aren't too surprising. There are occasional boss enemies, but the game and story fail to provide an interesting villain(those there are, can be difficult to take seriously... their voices actually sound pretty silly). The dialog displays constant efforts to make everyone sound hip and cool, clever and witty, and occasionally, it does work, and the game does feature one or two genuinely good exchanges. The difficulty is a tad uneven, but the game should be both challenging to the gamers who had a game-pad in hand when they were born, as well as accessible to those who have never touched a computer before, through the difficulty settings. The sound/music is fairly good. The scripting is a little muddled, with occasionally overlapping briefings and such. The game provides a training mission which will introduce you to most of what you'll need to know and understand for the campaign, and there is also something called "multi-player practice", which lets you do battle against non-aggressive(though not passive) enemies in a small level where you continually get helpful tips for multi-player. The game is of adequate length, and just barely ends at the right time. The level design is quite good, and the game shakes the linear quality right after the very first level. Some levels are downright memorable, and they do take you through some interesting places, including a submarine and some mountain areas. The single player is a tactical shooter, and at times, a pretty intense one. The action-packed and fast-paced intro movie doesn't delude the player or instill him with false hope. Throughout single-player, moving around on the map will let you know of secondary objectives, and some levels have hidden ones, as well. At the end of each level, you get a status report, similar to the RTS titles. There are a few shortcomings and bugs, but none prevent you from completing the game, and the game does utilize its potential reasonably. The level of detail, for example, is at times remarkable; blowing up the Hand of NOD is far more entertaining after you've entered it, finding beds, training grounds and more. The game also does a great job(more noticeable in multi-player, which I gathered from the practice rounds) of implementing basically everything we know and love from the RTS games. There are still engineers, buildings and vehicles can be repaired, you can purchase vehicles... the only thing that you really can't do in this, that those games allow, is create more buildings, and since both sides start with a fully functional base, it really isn't necessary. It is also worth noting how well this elaborates on what we saw in the first Command & Conquer; in addition to the Stealth Tank, for example, there are also troopers which feature the same invisibility cloak. Also, without detailing how, rest assured that there *are* super-weapons in this game. All in all, this could have been better, but this is a fine game if you want to delve into the Tiberium universe in first or third person view. I recommend it to any fan of both FPS and the C&C games. 7/10
