8/14/2023 0 Comments Who published command and conquer![]() There’s also an irresistible turn from Marcia Swayze, sister-in-law of Patrick Swayze, who has a seductive cameo as a newsreader. Indeed, this remaster is a welcome reminder of Joseph Kucan’s performance as one of the most memorable video game villains of the 1990s. Context for each mission is provided through iconic full-motion-video sequences, featuring performances that range from the laughably hammy (Dr Mobius) to the deliciously charismatic (Kane). It’s impossible to resist a devilish chuckle when first hearing the comically exaggerated, lo-fi screams of dying units – either yours or your enemy’s – or the ’80s-inspired bravado of your Commando (“I got a present for ya!”) Meanwhile, the ridiculous story entertains without descending to the levels of self-parody seen in later franchise entries. The whole game exhudes mischievous charm, encouraging you to take boyish delight in destruction and mayhem. The repetitiveness of its gameplay means C&C needs other sources of appeal, and fortunately it does. Once you’ve established your base, each map ultimately follows the same pattern, as you begin to build strong units and strive to make more efficient use of them than the computer, who blithely sends two or three tanks at a time to inevitable destruction. Fortunately, the game allows you to save and load as often as you want, allowing you to save-scum your way through seemingly impossible encounters. Each campaign features its tricky sections, with your AI opponent sometimes holding what seems like an insuperable advantage as you begin the map. Variety comes through the scenarios that begin missions, which often feature some kind of logistical puzzle that must be solved before you can establish a foothold. Later, most maps follow a standard format, the overwhelming majority tasking you with wiping out your opponent’s forces. Most should find that the simple joy of building tanks and grenadiers, and cheerily sending them off into battle, will be entertainment enough.Įarly campaign missions serve a tutorial function, giving you control of a few basic units and tasking you with a simple objective (defending a village as GDI razing it as Nod). There’s less variety, and less scope for customization and micro-management, than one might find in later RTS games, but this is only likely to be a serious issue for advanced players. ![]() Most units have a rock-paper-scissors relationship, so that even the most powerful vehicles can theoretically be countered by the right strategy. From a gameplay perspective, harvesting Tiberium is how you generate funds to develop your base and build the units necessary to take the fight to the enemy. ![]() Resource management is key to success in C&C, and most missions revolve around the harvesting of Tiberium, an alien mineral which eventually shapes the emerging story across the wider franchise. ![]() This means there are meaningful gameplay differences between the factions, even if the most effective basic strategy (build lots of tanks to overrun the enemy base) is common to each. The factions are quite distinctive: the GDI relies on heavy armour and air support, while Nod makes use of various sadistic technologies (like flamethrower-equipped tanks) prohibited by the Geneva Convention. There are two single-player campaigns – one for each faction – which see the GDI and Nod seeking to seize control of Europe and Africa respectively. Gameplay in Command & Conquer takes place across dozens of individual missions, each of which constitutes a skirmish between the United Nations-backed Global Defence Initiative, and the Brotherhood of Nod, an international terrorist organisation. It also presents an admirable tribute to an important piece of video game history. While the dated gameplay means the collection is unlikely to capture the imagination of younger gamers, the fidelity of this comprehensive remaster certainly makes this an attractive proposition for older fans keen to re-live an iconic experience. But nostalgia sells, and so EA Studios commissioned a remaster of C&C along with its prequel, Red Alert, released together in a bundle last year. A major commercial success in its day, the franchise went into vertiginous decline along with the rest of the RTS genre in the last fifteen years. Set in a quasi-realistic, alternate-history version of the present-day, C&C‘s seemingly conventional militaristic flavour was strongly laced with elements of sci-fi and black comedy, strands which became more apparent in its sequels. Released for PC in 1995, Command & Conquer was one of the earliest and certainly one of the most influential games in a genre formerly among the most beloved of “hardcore” gamers – Real-Time Strategy.
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