Kane is back. What more needs to be said? Well a lot more in fact. It seems a lot has happened since Kane was supposedly killed, and not for the better either. From the new technology to the inclusion of a third race, C&C3; Tiberium Wars is faithful to the old while bringing in the new.
It’s still all about the unnatural tiberium. A deadly plant type substance that threatens to take over the world. To deal with this threat, its 3 sides against each other that have different ideas on how to combat the problem. GDI (Global Defense Initiative) are the good guys trying to save the world, the Brotherhood of Nod (or just nod) are evil, hell-bent on destroying gdi and the SCRIN, a mysterious alien race who invented tiberium that we have no idea about apart from their name.
One of the first things you will notice when inserting the DVD (or cd’s), is the slick install interface. It looks damn fine, one of the best I’ve seen so far. It’s a pretty big install, roughly 6gig of space needed, but it installs quickly so you will be up and playing in no time. One thing that those who played the original will notice is that FMV sequences are back. And with REAL actors as well.
FMV sequences are back. And with REAL actors as well.
This would have to be the most wonderful graphics I've seen in an rts. From the explosions to the animations to, hell, even the death sequences its all pretty. Even the weapons in the game sound beefy, big explosions sound like big explosions, machine guns sound like machine guns. And the best thing of all, you don’t need a beefy system to run it. I’ve had it running on an athlon xp2600 with a gf6800 to a core2duo 6420 with an 8800gts, it looks and sounds pretty. Admittedly, I had some of the settings turned down on the older system, but was still damn pretty.
Game play is intuitive, it’s very easy to get in as it’s easy on the beginners and extreme for the hardcore gamer alike. On easy setting, it’s that, easy, on the hard setting, well lets just say you will be reloading saved games very often as it can be a very cruel mistress. But there has to something negative, right? From using gdi mammoth tanks to tank rush, to 10 or so nod upgraded avatar warmechs with stealth and flame abilities to the near impossible scrin annihilator tripods with force fields, it can be easy to win a battle with just a few units. It seems that in the later missions, you want to win? You build up base defenses, then 10 to 15 heavy units as above, and do the good old fashioned “tank rush”.
You build up base defenses, then 10 to 15 heavy units as above, and do the good old fashioned “tank rush”.
Its not that it lacks a bit of creativity in playing, it’s just a very solid and refined way of taking the old strategies and using new units to annihilate the enemy.
C+C3: TW still uses the tech tree in progressing with units and buildings as with the previous games. The General Abilities that were found in C+C:Generals are found here as well. they are still a special ability that are placed on the left side, like the buildings bar on the right, but this time you have to have the building and to use the ability costs money. An example is the ion cannon; it needs the ion cannon control building. But even then, it still costs money to actually fire it. Till then, it’s just a big expensive building that you can’t do anything with. Once the ability has been used, it has to be recharged, which can take up to 5 mins in some cases.
The gdi, for example, are great all rounders. From early on, once you have the grenadiers and the apc available, they are a devastating unit when combined. I found that these are the best units to build till you can get the mammoth tank. Killing all units quickly (except air), 15 of these guys can level a base in seconds. The only things that are going to stop these guys are air attacks. 1 or 2 Venom Patrol craft can easily take out an entire group of apc units very quickly and easily. But by far, mammoth tanks re where the gdi are at. Upgraded with lasers, they are an unstoppable force when in a group of about 10. Rockets for anti air and ground units, lasers for infantry and armor, and 2 cannons for armor, this will kill anything. Best unit in the game.
Nod is a different kettle of fish. Until you can get the Avatar Warmech, just plenty of attack bikes and attack buggies will do. These 2 units combined can attack the air and motorized units (with the bikes) and infantry (with the buggy) and will annoy the hell out of any gdi command. The Avatar Warmech is a big hulking mech that comes standard with a laser attached to one arm. He can be upgraded by destroying a Flame tank for attacks from infantry units, and stealth abilities from the stealth tank. Know which way the enemy is coming from? Put a couple of these babies in a choke point and let rip when they get close. They take heaps of damage, and also deal heaps. Lovely weapon.
The Scrin are the 3rd and last group. You have to complete the gdi and nod campaign to unlock the campaign. And compared to the 12 or so maps the gdi and nod have, its disappointing to have only 6 for these guys. Then again, the scrin campaign feels like it was tacked on as an after thought. They don’t have as many units either. The only 2 units worth worrying about is the mothership, which only 1 can be deployed at a time. It’s a huge ring aircraft that every player gets alerted to when deployed. This thing sucks up damage like no-ones business, but will destroy all buildings with 1 hit. The other unit worth noting is the tripod. A huge hulking avatar with lasers that can be upgraded with shields that can take on any ground army and buildings and reduce them to rubble very quickly.
If you have played any other c+c game, you will feel right at home, with the click and drag controls to a third of the screen taken by build options.
If you have played any other c+c game, you will feel right at home, with the click and drag controls to a third of the screen taken by build options.
You can queue up soldiers and vehicles, but not buildings. And ai is a step above, get shot at, and not just the one that got shot will follow its attacker, but those units around it as well. Even if they do sometimes lead you into a trap, but that’s half the fun, isn’t it?
Multiplayer is something that was high on the agenda for EA:LA. The sides are very evenly balanced, and with subsequent patches, have even refined that more. One thing I did notice was that the GDI were favored heavily by those I played against. Has something to do with getting steamrolled by 10 or so mammoth tanks methinks.
So all up, I found it very pretty, with excellent effects and a decent soundtrack. I don’t know how many times I found myself saying just 10 more minutes to be still playing 2 hrs later.
My score would be
Graphics 9
Sound 8
Game play 8.5
Replay value 8
FMV sequences are back. And with REAL actors as well. 
