Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Stevie doles out the destruction

More Images

For many gamers, real-time strategy titles and home videogame consoles are generally considered to be as compatible as Britney Spears and sane behaviour. Indeed, ever-faithful PC fans are prone to exclaiming that RTS games without the integral gameplay mechanics provided by keyboard and mouse quickly render console iterations little more than blasphemous false idols worshipped by only the weak and misled.

For all intents and purposes that belief has generally rung true over the years, with the likes of RTS giants such as StarCraft and Command & Conquer remaining tightly connected to their PC followers while successive console-based genre attempts have failed to impress thanks to underpowered hardware and ill-suited gamepads, with their fiddly, annoying button controls. However, Electronic Arts' impressive Xbox 360 version of The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II revealed, perhaps for the very first time, that processing power was finally making the grade, and that a relatively intuitive and easy-to-grasp control system was (and is) possible when mapped to a console's somewhat cumbersome controller.

Which brings us nicely to EA's Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, which attempts to deliver one of the most iconic PC franchises ever created over onto the Xbox 360, while building on the successes registered with Battle for Middle Earth II and also strives to iron out its occasional gameplay flaws. And the end result is, by and large, a convincingly solid creation that offers surprisingly comfortable controls, lovingly rendered aesthetic in-game presentation (this is an EA title after all), an intriguing plotline, plenty of challenge, and consistent RTS gameplay that bridges the yawning genre quality chasm that used to exist between PC and home console.

As with all Command & Conquer titles, Tiberium Wars is built around the age-old struggle between the armies of a tyrannical madman (Kane) bent on world domination, and the combined forces of mankind standing bravely as the planet's last line of defence. In this case, the player initially assumes the role of a commander in the Global Defence Initiative (GDI) as it fights against the onslaught of a shadowy superpower known only as The Brotherhood of Nod. It is, however, worth noting - for the more black-hearted gamers - that the player can also approach the single-player game from other faction perspectives as a longevity-boosting unlockable feature.

The game's narrative is bolstered somewhat by a fairly recognizable live-action cast list that includes the inimitable Michael Ironside (perhaps best known in gaming circles as the long-standing voice of Sam Fisher from Ubisoft's Splinter Cell series), Billy Dee Williams (The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi), Grace Park and Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica), and Josh Holloway (Lost). Thanks to a precarious balance of forced gravitas tempered with liberal amounts of both ham and cheese, the cast do their utmost to lend Tiberium Wars' cliched mission-based plotline an air of authenticity - though clearly EA's paycheques were modest.

Gameplay is, of course, largely governed by base building, structure expansion, troop training, vehicle construction, and good old resource (Tiberium) retrieval, processing, and management in order to provide the fuel and economy necessary to amass a greater and/or more effective force than that of the A.I. opposition. Mission variety, though in the main centred on the aforementioned basics, does throw up occasional tasks that involve only the strategic use of limited troops and vehicles in order to better hone a player's tactical approach - rather than merely relying on the creation of as much force as possible before then blindly hurling it all forward into battle.

While tab bar control and resource distribution in Tiberium Wars is certainly similar to that which EA utilised so well in Battle for Middle Earth II, consisting of an easily accessible HUD selection of command orders and a mini-map radar, the game's much improved graphical performance ably removes the annoying scroll sticks and glitches evidenced in the Lord of the Rings RTS. The frame rate and scroll efficiency in Tiberium Wars are both smooth and dependable, and the Xbox 360 copes admirably when on-screen action shifts some way beyond frenetic - which is often. Furthermore, although there's no failsafe replacement for PC controls, using the gamepad's analogue sticks to swivel, shift, and zoom the camera, as well as environmentally place the control cursor to select and order troops, vehicles, and buildings, is certainly slick and intuitive enough to almost banish any surges of mouse pining.

Beyond the attraction of the triple-perspective single-player campaign (not just GDI and Nod) that challenges the player to 35 scaled difficulty missions, Tiberium Wars also offers up Skirmish mode, where players can take part in a variety of single battles against up to four (customisable) A.I.-controlled opponents in a clash of military battlefield prowess. Thanks to the continuing draw of Xbox Live functionality, players can also face-off against up to four multiplayer opponents in a selection of Live modes including, Versus (much like Skirmish), Capture and Hold, Capture the Flag, and King of the Hill. Live players can also take advantage of the game's multiplayer Vision Cam feature - if so equipped - in order to display their ugly mugs on-screen during battle (those unable to use a Vision Cam will still be able to view those who can). Also, the intriguing addition of Live Whispering means players on differing sides of any given battle can choose to talk only to their team-mate(s) for extra strategic immersion.

If any criticism can be levelled at Tiberium Wars it mainly stems from the distraction of detail discrepancies, such as the on-screen briefing, objective, and individual tab description text, which is ridiculously small and hard to read if not viewed on an HDTV (a complaint also lodged at the likes of Capcom's Dead Rising and Lost Planet). Also, the green screen environmental backdrops, special effects, and character lighting used throughout the game's 90 minutes of live action sequences tend to make the actors' efforts seem distinctly 'Babylon 5' in terms of overall quality - a minor complaint that does eventually rankle considering the otherwise high level of battlefield oomph displayed by the in-game graphics. And, frustratingly sporadic access to super weaponry and its seriously heavy-duty effects placed to one side for a moment, the game's core mission structure offers up little by way of originality, though, to be fair, there's only so many ways to dole out destruction.

That said, the main achievement of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars - which rises above all other minor concerns - is that it represents the first genuinely appealing real-time strategy success on a home videogames console. And, what's more, it carries the Command & Conquer banner with an almost effortless pride. When viewed as a whole, Tiberium Wars is packed with immersive action, gorgeous visuals, upgradeable battlefield hardware, a plethora of destructive choices, and a reassuring conviction and self-belief that may just be remembered as the blueprint from which all other console-based RTS titles will be built.

87%

By Stevie Smith