Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars
I have been waiting for months to play Command and Conquer 3, my friends and I have been drooling on every screenshot, movie, and article you can find on the net. I was extremely excited to get this game and put it in my PC as I knew what awaited me: pure RTS bliss from one of the granddaddy’s of this genre. After playing this game for a few missions, I realized how much I truly missed this series, playing Generals was great, but nothing beats the original game Universe.
Incase you didn’t know the story for Command and Conquer, here is a quick rundown. The game is set in the year 2047, and there has been a long and vicious war between the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and The Brotherhood of Nod. Both of these factions are fighting over an alien resource called Tiberium, which is a green crystal that is both extremely powerful and dangerous for the environment. It has come down to whoever controls the stockpile of Tiberium will hold the fate of the planet in their hands. In Command and Conquer 3 both GDI and Nod are about to find out that they are not alone in the Universe and that they have a hunger as well for this precious resource. Now you will have to fight off two different factions if you want to become the ruler of this world, are you up to this monumental task?
As stated previously in Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars you will get to play as three different factions. Before you rush off and go into a skirmish to try each race out, I highly suggest playing though the campaigns for each race to get a firm understanding of how each faction operates. The way the mission structure is designed will allow you to get acquainted with all of the faction’s military units and tech tree that will help you out when playing against human players. It also shows you how to counter act some of the opponents military, which is also very useful.
Once you are finished with all of the games campaigns, you will want to hop in to the multiplayer aspect where this game really shines. The multiplayer for this game is really well done. Playing online or even on a LAN gave no difficulties. The only thing that is a disappointment is that there are not unique and new multiplayer modes for this game. It is a shame, but what players are given is great. One of the things that I like the best is that if you decide to play against computer AI, there are five different AI personalities that help give the game diversity.
First off there is the balanced typed that favors an even handed style of gaming, meaning it doesn’t go all out offense or defense. Next up is the Turtle which focuses on all out defense and resource gathering. The opposite of this is the rusher which will set out immediately attacking you once you start the game. Then there is Guerilla which means you must always expect the unexpected, this AI type will harass you with many diversion tactics to get you confused before it goes in for the kill. Last up is the Steamroller which likes to beat you with overwhelming forces. It is great to have this many options to play with if you are hankering to play a computer to get your skills up.
BattleCast is new and allows you to view various battle matches going on throughout the world. If you think that you are the best around, then you can prove it by “televising” your matches to other players and show them how you get things done. This is a pretty cool option if you want to learn various skills and strategies from other players around the world to use in your own games. There can also be an announcer that tells you what is going on in the game. This feature is bound to get better as players get to know more about the game.
The graphics for Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars are really outstanding. All of the character models are extremely detailed and have a nice animation set. Then you have the environments that are being overrun with the Tiberium and just look dilapidated. The best part is when you start to fight and destroy enemy buildings that people are taking cover in start to chip away until they come crumbling down realistically. Then you have all of the enemy gun and laser fire that sparks up the battlefield rains down a beautiful looking death to your soldiers. Everything in this game looks just fantastic; you can tell the developers took plenty of time with the graphics engine as it shows.
What I really enjoy about the Command and Conquer series is that the developers do something different then everyone else for their cut screens. Instead of using the in-game engine or getting CGI movies, the developers get real live actors and make it seem like you are watching this on TV. It really draws the players into the game and makes it feel more realistic. When you see the news conferences and various actions from both sides going on makes you want to get into battle and fight the enemy as soon as possible. The actors did a great job of conveying the seriousness of what was happening during the game and made it really believable.
The music is wonderfully done. The musical score will carry you throughout all of the missions egging you to continue on your quest to beat your enemies. During the more tense moments the music picks up and has you ready for the impending battle that is just ahead. To compliment the music the sound effects are also really well done. The various explosions that you will hear sound extremely realistic and give you the sense that you are in the middle of a heavy battle for life. Lastly the voices for all of the units are really good and have some pretty hilarious lines.
Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars is rated Teen for animated blood, mild language, and violence.
The system requirements are as follows:Windows XP or Vista (32 bit)2.0 GHz or greater processor512 MB of RAM8X or faster CD/DVD drive5.6 GB of disk space64 MB Video CardDirect X 9.0c
