Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

After a long hiatus, the Red Alert branch of the Command & Conquer series of games is back.

In keeping with the series's trademarks, the Allies and the Soviets are at it again, with well known units such as the attack dog and the Kirov bomber coming back to our screens.

However, this title takes a leaf (or a few) from other titles of the genre, such as Command & Conquer Generals ("General Points" and "General Abilities" mechanics, a third faction, Empire of the Rising Sun). Sea-faring units are back and greatly emphasized, as are the amphibian abilities of many units.

As seen from the multiplayer beta and various teaser trailers, the graphism is very much reminiscent of it's predecessor, Red Alert 2, but the graphics quality is cutting edge, taking full advantage of current High Defenition technology.

The storyline is yet largely undivulged, but promises to be as compelling as any in the series, and, naturally, narrated in several live-action sequences acted out by a star-studded cast.

A must have title for series buffs, genre enthusiasts and casual players alike.

The problem I found with this game was the fact that yet another "alternative universe" had to be created to introduce the Empire of the rising sun and this new alternative universe was created when the Soviets travel back in time to get rid of "Einstien" who was responsible for the Allies high tech weaponry such as the Chronosphere, It would've been better if they found a better storyline to do that instead of copying what was already done in the 1st Red Alert, in the 1st Alert it was a great idea to have an alternative universe but why do it again? The original alternative timeline that was introduced in the 1st Red Alert was fine as it was, getting rid of Hitler to allow the Soviets to rise made perfect sense in the original since without Hitler Germany wouldn't have started World War 2 and thus never attacked Russia (See World war 2 History for details :D) This game has some plot holes for instance, with Einstien gone the Soviets no longer have Nuclear weapons which makes sense but wait who made the Chronosphere with Einstien gone? I know someone else did but it never is explained. Onto the gameplay; the fact that most units have more than one ability is very interesting but one major critcism is the way ore is collected; I know it's a lot easier and reduces the focus on resources but it just doesn't feel the same as the classic resource gathering in previous installations which is a pity even so the game is very fun to play and it's nice to see Naval Combat once again because none of us have seen that in Command and Conquer since Yuri's Revenge but I think naval combat was a bit overrused this time though since almost every mission has it as well as the ability to build bases on water which departs from the fun of a classic Land Battle most of the time (I know the U.S.A in C&C Generals had Ships in some missions but they were really only providing firing support and had no other roles aside from that and the enemy couldn't really counterrattack). The missions in the game can be a challenge which is great to see once again as personally I felt Red Alert 2 was too easy. Music is great to listen to as well. I just wish this had the classic feel of it's predecessors, it comes close but something is still missing, I really would've preferred a good old battle between the Allies and the Soviets without a third faction because now the Empire Of The Rising Sun is the ultimate threat all of a sudden which spoils the effect of how fearsome the Soviets were in previous games except for Yuri's Revenge since Yuri was the main threat in that case. I really would've liked to see the Soviets as the main threat once again in this game. This game would have been a lot better if it felt like a true sequel to Yuri's Revenge because with the new time line taking place in RA3 I don't know whether to call it a Sequel or a Prequel to Yuri's Revenge since it clearly erases the events of Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge and is bound to have changed the 1st Red Alert as well since Nuclear weapons no longer exist. This game is apparently an alternative war to Red Alert 2 since it happens around the same time but it would have been nice if it felt like it continued on directly from Yuri's Revenge instead of making a new time line but then again by Yuri's Revenge a storyline that made sense went out the window and I guess this game took it one step further but even so Yuri's Revenge felt like a sequel whereas this felt like something entirelly different, though Yuri's Revenge messed around with time travel at least what was occurring felt like the classic timeline we all know and love that was established in the original with some slight changes. I'm not saying the storyline had to be built on common sense but it should have really been written to continue on in the same timeline at the end of Yuri's Revenge or at least planned out better without creating an entirelly new timeline. Personally I think it would have been nice to have a classic Allies vs Soviets battle again without any interference from other factions.

Overall: Good Gameplay and well worth getting but the storyline could have been better but that doesn't mean you won't enjoy it but should there be a sequel to this let's hope the storyline is better :)Sadly the storyline in this leaves a lot to be desired.

To be perfectly honest, I miss the days of red alert one and two. The franchise really took a different turn with this final installment. The characters weren't as gritty as they were before and the thread of the storyline didn't seem to go anywhere.

In saying this, the soundtrack was pretty awesome. The game itself was pretty playable. The new Rising Sun faction just aren't as interesting to watch and this storyline takes away the authenticity of Red Alert. What ever happened to the mind controlling Soviet characters like the one played by Udo Kier in the second installment?! Anyhow. Not a bad play, not great either. 6/10..

I discovered I missed out on C&C 3 and 4. I go online and WOW! Every game and expansion for $10!! The third was good but the fourth was a BIG disappointment! I found myself going back to the older games I remembered and I am stuck between RA2 and RA3. These games still got me playing all day unintentionally because they are so fun. I'm my top 10 games for sure :)

The game isn't great but the controls are a bit wierd