Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Seriously? This is the longest gap between two titles in the overall C&C franchise, and they phone it in like this? I have to say, I enjoyed and got into every other installment up to this(yes, including Renegade, come on, it was OK... I actually had a bigger problem with Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge, pure camp), at their worst, I found *something* to love about them. Believe me, I have no axe to grind. It's quite evident that these have taken steps downward since EA took over. Hopefully it got better after this. Next to no upgrades(and yes, a couple of them are useful... however, handholding remains a constant requirement, men will wade through Tiberium, and tiny adjustments that ought to have come ages ago are not enough for these... come on, earlier, we got stealth and underground tunnels, this is a mere repeat showing) since Generals and Zero Hour, that this obviously builds upon. This is the first of these... think about that... that essentially does not, at all, introduce any new technology or units for you to use. With minor exceptions, everything here has been seen before. Oh, other than, of course, the Scrin(they're also faster, I think). Think YR, with Yuri's side, if less outlandish and, you know, *interesting*; they have freaky stuff(plenty of lasers and such... unfortunately, so do the humans, so there's barely a contrast, they simply... glow a lot, and other extra-terrestrial clichés), if it largely boils down to other versions of the regular ones(and a craft clearly stolen from the Protoss of StarCraft(that they continue to not top)... not the only theft in this). With a whopping five, count 'em, five levels(about a fourth of the other two campaigns, 18 each), they come and become a bigger part of the plot. Sort of. You know, once they actually show up. Do they come in peace? ... what do you think? No, they come to start to invade, and then leave sequel-bait. That's right, this is just to tide us over. The story-telling(consisting of the usual briefings(in which they will pose dramatically, and where the lighting now doesn't know the meaning of the word "subtlety"), where they talk to the camera that now moves(cinematography and editing are fine)... can someone tell me if I'm supposedly present in front of these people, or if it's transmitted, what, do they have a crew present to record these transmissions, I mean, this goes beyond talking into a receiver that stands still... oh, and there are a few CGI cut-scenes as well, they're reasonable(nothing special, if FX are good), if we care too little about what goes on for them to make much of an impact) spends all of its effort setting up the next one. No character is memorable(if Billy Dee gives it a shot... Holloway is rehashing Sawyer, Morrison is an annoyance and Ironside, well, he tends to dominate the screen, and it can't be all bad to see Rasczak kicking bug ass... and yet it didn't grab me; Kane is at his least intimidating and charismatic here, and yes, of course that continues to be far ahead of many others), no developments excite you, and the endings are extremely underwhelming. Acting ranges, and only half the main cast deliver noteworthy performances. There are hardly any compelling missions(nor any that take you over half an hour, or at least only a couple), and I frankly completed it, on Normal(three difficulty settings as usual), nearly without using any other method than rushing, and on occasion using superior firepower. MP only offers one rule-set, your standard battle(and teams, of course). Twenty arenas. Designs are honestly rather plain and forgettable. Music is passable(why is it so average? It has been steadily declining since Red Alert!), ditto voice acting(and the lines are dumb), and otherwise, sound is well-done, and it allows for mayhem, grandiose, with explosions and killings en masse. You probably already know that this looks great, and it can support a solid scale(until the AI loses track, anyway) of warfare. The graphics are the best thing about this, them, and the balance between the three sides, as it is mostly fair. There are less tactical opportunities in this than in earlier ones of the series, because of streamlining(cutting unique abilities) and, well, not putting them in the game. Every tank can now be made to efficiently take out troops, rendering the machine-gun ones and the like less useful. Changes are hit and miss; the two-button mouse is unnecessarily complicated to get used to, the vehicle production structure also repairs(straightforward, yes, but you can't tell a group to "go get fixed up" the way you could before, and if you send a bunch of ones into the radius where they will get a workup, the ones that don't require attention may block the ones that do), etc. You now train squads(and not only riflemen can garrison) at a time(think Zerglings), and don't worry, they control less awkwardly than the Angry Mob. Patrolling is possible, Plan Mode is useful(have the selected ones do specific tasks that you ask, in the order you choose, when you execute the command), and this adopts the "aggressiveness of the stance" feature from Age of Empires 2, where you can tell them to stand ground or be defensive. That you can assemble a Crane for an additional queue of constructing, and the same for training facilities is nice, and base expansion is very accessible. Frankly, Tiberian Sun is miles ahead of this. This tries to wow us with high-tech gadgetry, even though they already peaked with that(see sentence before this one), and it is so busy making sure they have a strong start-off point for the following one(remember how The Empire Strikes Back *didn't* suck, in spite of being the middle chapter? Or how about X2? It can be done, you know) that it forgets to give us any reason to become engaged in this one. I recommend this purely to forgiving fans. 6/10

I have thoroughly enjoyed nearly all of games in the Command and Conquer series, and I am pleased to say that Command and Conquer 3 was everything that I had hoped. A return to the Tiberium universe, sweet graphics, and of course, the fun and campy Full Motion Videos (FMVs). As this is IMDb, and not a games website like Gamespot, I will focus much of my review on the FMVs.

Cheesy is the key word that sums up the FMVs. But it's cheesy in a good way. There is some really good B-movie talent to ham it up, including Michale Ironside (Sam Fisher!), Josh Holloway (Sawyer from Lost!), and Billy Dee Williams (Lando!). Williams is really a sight to see as he overacts his way through the GDI FMVs as the sleazy GDI Director Redmond Boyle. Shannon Cook, John Huck, and Shauntay Hinton serve their roles as faux reporters quite well. Grace Park and Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Gallactica along with Jennifer Morrison from House add some much-needed female presence to an otherwise all-male cast. Of course, Joe Kucan's performance as the evil, sneering bald man Kane really took the cake. One thing I really relished was the use of jerky camera effects which gave a sort of "you are there" feel.

A lot of people out there seem to be against the game simply because it was made by EA. Well, that is a shame, since the game and its FMVs are good in their own right!

The twist in this series was intriguing but they could have gone further. Can't say much without this being a spoiler but it still was a pleasing time playing this game and reconnecting with the characters such as Kane

In terms of the Tiberium Wars and Kane story arc, this game is easily the most compelling and dramatic!

Command and Conquer has been an RTS milestone, still is, and I think it'll always be. It brings depth and infinite possibilities to the battles you can wage against multiple opponents with dozens of units, a nice building space and several creative superweapons to devastate your opponents. Plus in the PC, you can input army structure, army postures and positions, and the way they act to certain situations. Although because of all those things, Tiberium Wars can be slightly complicated, and so newcomers would have to delve deeply into strategies and commands before starting.

The campaign mode is quite enjoyable to play, with well-designed levels, cheesy but watchable cutscenes, and a few bonus objectives to kill some hours. The difficulty of them can be stressing at times, but it always keeps you striving at the correct pace. 9/10.

Skirmish is always something people love in RTS games, with you against an opponent or two, building bases, sending in huge armies, and just clashing to death. A great thing about playing against the computer is that you can change and modify their behaviour, like Rusher for waves of light, starting units or Tank for the more hardcore legions. Another interesting fact is the scope of the game. Most RTS games say "Build massive armies to conquer your opponents". Mostly they mean, small, little squadrons of units not massive, endless armies. But, with Tiberium Wars, you can literally build unlimited units, until your money runs out. 9/10.

A game for all RTS lovers, and fans of Command and Conquer.

Total Mark: 9/10

By HowlingRabbit334