Command and Conquer is arguably the defining real-time series of the genre's long history. Its most recent iterations, whilst technically sound in almost all respects have (arguably) failed to live up to the legendary status of the older titles, games that shaped a generation. Now, however, I'm glad to report that with Tiberium Wars, Command and Conquer has returned to its roots to produce a modern title with a decidedly retro charm to it.

Tiberium Wars returns the series to the ongoing battle between the forces of GDI and Nod, introducing a brand new third factor, an alien race known as the Scrin. Research into Tiberium, the mineral that lends its name to the game's subtitle, has escalated over recent years seemingly in ex-Nod leader Kain's absence. Now, a new chapter unfolds itself through some cleverly crafted campaigns for all three factions, escalating the war that has been raging for decades now to an almost galactic level.

Because of this rather intricate story, C&C3 feels very plot-driven, rather than simply an excuse to indulge in destruction on a widespread scale. Beginning the retro feel you'll experience continually through the gameplay, Tiberium Wars marks the return of the occasionally cheesy but always infinitely entertaining cut-scenes with semi-recognisable human actors (apparently, one of the guys is out of hit US medical drama House, but I can neither confirm nor deny this as I don't watch the series). These sometimes overly dramatic scenes break up the linear mission-based campaigns and give a genuine sense of purpose to the otherwise senseless (read: fun) explosive action.

It's also beautifully presented. The most obvious change in Tiberium Wars would have to be the rather hefty graphical upgrade it's received over its most recent predecessor, Generals. The level of detail has been upped significantly, ranging from the smallest of touches on units like decals, colour schemes and even in some places visible emotion among infantry to cataclysmic, impressive looking explosions brought on by super weapons.

The maps on which you'll do combat are also superbly textured, but this can actually cause a small conflict in terms of gameplay. Namely, units and structures are textured so well that they completely fail to stand out from each other. I often found myself preparing to attack an enemy base when all of a sudden, my carefully crafted death squad of a dozen or so tanks, expensively accumulated and meticulously way-pointed, seemingly went AWOL, only for me to find them camouflaged against a nearby civilian structure. Still, as long as you keep a tight reign on where your army is heading, for the most part you'll be fine.

The audio is suitably dramatic for both cut-scenes and battles, thundering out a heavy rock/techno soundtrack to your acts of wanton destruction. It's satisfying if not quite adrenaline pumping stuff and obviously serves the purpose well, although if you're not into the rock/techno scene then you might want to disable it all the same. Voice acting too is perfectly adequate with each unit shouting affirmatively their respective orders, although these voices can become tedious after being repeated the fourteenth time in two minutes. A little more variety would have prevented this, but honestly there's not a vast amount of room for creativity with voice-overs and we should at least be thankful that they sync properly, especially during cut-scenes where the over-the-top sense of drama could've been ruined by badly implemented audio.

The essential gameplay structure of Tiberium Wars is the same as its always been. Simplifying slightly, you build a base. From that base you then construct an army consisting of infantry, vehicles, planes, boats, etc. Lead your army into your enemy's base and blow it up. Lather, rinse, and repeat as required. It's a tried and tested formula that C&C3 is allowed to adhere to strictly since, let's be honest; it's one of the series' that started the whole genre in the first place.

However, I was over-simplifying somewhat as the subtle individual skills of different units will add a great deal to the strategic possibilities during a battle. You'll need to carefully manage your resources, being sure to route them where necessary at a given moment whilst sparing a thought for the next few minutes. Skirmishes will become fast and frantic for the most part, if a little too frantic at times. One downfall here is that whilst there is a huge array of units available, you'll find yourself all too often turning to the most reliable, easily produced heavy artillery since battles end in a matter of minutes, rather than the hours some missions took in earlier C&C incarnations. It's a slightly different path for the series, attempting to inject a sense of immediacy and pace but occasionally simply detracting from the potentially intense strategy of a drawn out fight.

Again with the retro feel, once you've completed the relatively long campaign, fans will be drawn towards the Skirmish mode, where you set conditions for a battle of your own and go at it on whichever map catches your eye. Here, you'll end up fighting against the AI and if you want a challenge on harder difficulties, the game will be only too happy to oblige. You'll really need to keep your wits about you to take on the higher levels as the AI won't be caught out by the few cheap tricks you'll likely be implementing, probably without realising, against medium and lower level armies. It's a solid lasting challenge with potentially infinite replayability and the skirmishes against real people are much the same.

That's just it, really. Everything is much the same as it was last time, but a bit better. The graphics have been improved, the unit numbers have increased, as has the size of the battlefields, the subtleties in strategy and at a superficial level, the tempo of the soundtrack et al. I think this is where opinion will largely be divided on Command and Conquer 3; people looking for some great leap forward for the genre are not going to find it here. But honestly, that's looking at it in the wrong way.

If you take Tiberium Wars for what it is, rather than what a fair few unrealistic hopers wanted it to be, then it's incredibly difficult to find fault. The retro touches like the return of cheesy cut-scenes, the universe itself and the focus on Tiberium in its decidedly science fiction storyline have had just the right amount of effort applied to make this an incredibly refined experience. Yes, skirmishes can be a little shorter than they used to be, but the slight refocus on frantic explosive is all the progression the series really needed.

Rather than make something new and try and force a gaming revolution, have taken something old and evolved it, with impeccable results. 3: Tiberium Wars takes a deserving place in the 'legendary' line-up and will prove the perfect fix for long-time fans as well as a shining example to the few people still new to the genre.

90%

By Zayne Finch

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