The first thing that struck me about this latest addition to the Command & Conquer franchise is that they seemed to have dumbed it down quite significantly, as if paving the way for a new generation of Command & Conquer fans. Unfortunately in doing so I fear they may have just missed the mark in keeping the returning fan base entertained. The game looks complicated to begin with but to be honest it’s a fairly easy trek even on the harder modes; everything is handed to you on a plate and it makes no attempt to try and challenge you as much as the previous titles in the series have done.
The battles are very samey (that’s not a word apparently but I’m using it) and with frequent playthrough’s can become very predictable. But as I mentioned, it seems to be an attempt to bring in an all new fan base. Gone are the parade of famous faces from the full motion video but a few old friends and enemies have been drafted in for nostalgias sake. Kane is looking as bad ass as ever although this time (apparently) he’s fighting with the GDI in order to help prevent the spread of Tiberium and to halt the impending rise of a sub sect of his Brotherhood of Nod.
The game itself is no longer a collect the resources in order to win the battle type strategy game, instead you have to collect more power nodes than your enemy in order to progress. This seems a little bit odd as the original gameplay style was in a state of if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it but sill I found it moderately enjoyable for a while. It was like playing capture the flag with war machines.
Anyway, the plot is paper thin but then again Command & Conquer was never meant to be Oscar worthy stuff but in this case it really annoyed me. It’s never really explained why Kane wants to help the GDI, but again this really shouldn’t affect a game which in essence could really be good without all the extra bits that seem to have been tacked on as an afterthought.
One major annoyance is the fact that you have to be constantly online in order to play this game. If you lose your connection for any longer than a few minutes the game resets and you have to start all over again. Now what happens if you don’t have regular consistent access to the net? Come on folks, think of your fans, think of the fact you’re going to lose money because of this apparent switch of loyalties to your customer base.
The Online mode is where the game actually shines, with hundreds of other players always ready to do battle with a match making system that actually works. I found myself actually looking forward to playing the multiplayer battles more than playing through the main storyline as they are always unpredictable and thankfully nobody is taking things too seriously as yet.
I would recommend this game to fans of the series only if they must complete their collection, but newcomers should certainly pick this up as they will have no expectations and it really is quite good fun to play.
VideogameUK verdict: 7/10
