Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

By William Barker

One of Westwood Studios' original hit games from 1992, Dune 2, is often remembered as the game that started the real-time strategy genre. It had smooth graphics, resources to harvest and protect, and plenty of subtle and not-so-subtle combat units that responded in real time.

It was, in a word, shit hot. It was the birth of arcade strategy, and it's earned a lot of people - including Blizzard's managing director - a lot of money. 

So much money, in fact, that if you poured all of the profits into a volcano, then fired an EMP device wrapped in a conductive polymer called 'Rysoplex' after it, you'd probably see some sort of visible reaction. Makes you think, doesn't it?

Westwood Studios became so successful with its real-time strategy license - Command & Conquer - that the company was eventually consumed by Electronic Arts, and became EA Los Angeles.

And now, some 15 years after Westwood Studios released one of the first RTS games, the company is back with a vengeance. And a fistful of cash that'd make Donald Trump drool like a ravenous rottweiler.

The cash that's gone into this game is obvious. Sure, the graphics and the gameplay are plenty slick, but there are high quality cut-scenes (think of it as extended segments from a B-grade movie) between each mission in the single player campaign, and they add a lot of atmosphere to the game, and a good sense of pace to the storyline.

The story is simple. No, wait, it's quite complex. Okay, so it's the future, let's say 2031 or something, and the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) has protected the earth from, and defeated, the terrorist faction called the Brotherhood of Nod. Which has nothing to do with Enid Blyton, bless her.

The GDI and Nod began fighting after a strange asteroid crashed to earth a few decades ago - this happened in the first Command & Conquer game, sometimes called Tiberium Dawn. This asteroid dumped a strange new mineral which quickly spread across the planet and proved deadly to most carbon-based life forms. However, it was also an incredibly energy rich resource, and was critical to the war machines of both Nod and the GDI.

Fast forward past the second game, Command & Conquer: Tiberium Sun -- where the tiberium crystals are beginning to cover the surface of the earth, mutate all living things, and generally screw up the ecology -- and you get to this one, called Tiberium Wars.

As it turns out, the Brotherhood of Nod doesn't appear to be as defeated as first thought and somehow it's enigmatic leader, Kane, has resurfaced. Cue slowly beating drums. 

Add to this emerging 'tiberium war' the threat of an entirely extra terrestrial species capable of destroying humanity as we know it, and you have yourself a rather cool plot with which to unfurl a bunch of involving missions.

Interestingly, the basic concept that was first popularised in Dune 2 hasn't changed much in the new C&C3 game. Sure there are tweaks that make it cooler, and graphics are splendid, but it's far from innovative. So much for 15 years of progress, huh...?

But that's not a terribly bad thing, because the formula still works. Here's how:

You start off most missions with a mobile base, and from this you can slowly build a whole bunch of buildings, harvest some tiberium to pay off the multi-trillion dollar war debt and hopefully have enough units to overcome your enemy's armies.

The gist of the game is simple. You need to develop a cash flow, so you build a tiberium refinery (more on the mysterious mineral in a jiffy), from whence a tiberium harvester emerges and collects the stuff. This is your cashflow. 

The problem is, there's one - and sometimes more than one - other group on the other side of the map doing the same thing. So, you and your rival are greedily making money, but you'll need to protect your cash crop with guns, knives, sharp sticks and of course tactical nukes.

Part of me wanted there to be more to this game than simply harvesting tiberium (making money), building a bunch of tanks, helicopters - sorry, orcas - and mech-a-bots and then sending them forth into battle. And when I think about it, there is a bit more to it, but fundamentally this game is still Dune 2, albeit with some of the sexiest cut-scenes ever made, combining real-time actors with rendered CGI that made this game cream his tweeds.

Unlike most of the C&C games before it, Tiberium Wars features decent computer AI, and early on in the single-player campaign you'll be challenged by onslaughts and sneak attacks from your enemies. This shifts the focus from 'slowly-slowly' tactics and careful base defense onto building heaps of refineries - allowing you to amass lots of money - then churning out large armies of units to repel your foes.

As well as making money and building combat units, there is a decent amount of strategy in the game. Every unit has a weakness which can be exploited, and defending your base against attacks - overt and covert - can be a tricky balancing act. Do you fortify or send out scouts to provide early warning? Creating strike forces of differing units is the key to any successful siege, and by the time I'd played through the two-and-a-half single player campaigns, and hit the online multiplayer arena, I realised there were a number of sure-fire tactics that worked better than most. 

So in retrospect, there is a good deal of strategy involved, but you could say the same thing about Dune 2 if you were so inclined...

The point I'm trying to make is that the development house formerly known as Westwood Studios have stuck to their guns here, which is pleasing in a nostalgic sense, but it also means that anyone whose played a real-time strategy Command & Conquer game before will know what to expect even before they hit the 'next' button on the software installer. Anyway, I've heard enough of this Dune 2 game: let's just finish this review and find a volcano.

Graphically, C&C: Tiberium Wars is a impressively vivid game. The graphics are not exactly cutting edge, but they are bright and everything moves very smoothly. There's also a lot of attention to detail, which is great if you have your PC hooked up to your 38-inch LCD television. Or if you just like detail. There's a large number of units packed in there, from the usual infantry, tanks and planes to some more vicious military hardware, including mechanoids with adaptable weapons. And then there's the Scrin units. Oh lordy...

The graphics engine is highly optimised (or based on old tech - one or the other), which means that it will run on lower end systems quite smoothly. We managed to get it working on a 1.8Ghz system with just 512Mb RAM, and it was quite playable (though it did had a 256Mb GPU). The various deserts and grassy plains that make up the major tilesets look good, and the cities in particular look gorgeous. There's plenty of eye candy too, including some dazzling lighting and particle effects that make for impressive laser beams, rail guns, and chunky explosions.

Meanwhile, the GUI (graphical user interface) is intuitive and efficient, which makes controlling everything hassle free. Adding to my GUI thoughts, and it's also easy to control and command your armies. You can place them in groups, order them to take up various states of alert so that they'll hold their ground and chase down foes without being told, and your armies will also gain experience as they rack up kills, which is a nice touch.

The single-player campaign game is brilliant fun, and like the games before it you'll have fond memories of progressing through the game. The cut-scenes that tell the story - while somewhat crappy - add a huge amount of fascination, and the multiplayer aspect is the icing on the cake, adding longevity to a title that is already quite involving.

There's so much to like about this game - I'm getting excited just thinking about playing it when I go home tonight after I've "taken care" of some highly suspicious neighbours and shaved grandma's wrinkled jowls. It's a lot of fun, it's easy to get into, and it's addictive. It's great for casual gamers and fans of the series. But at the same time, there's very little in the way of innovation. Perhaps this was intentional, as an 'up-yours' to the many other RTS titles that have become far more complex in recent years, but this won't please the hard core gaming fraternity.

And the verdict? Eight-five percent, I think. I found it to be an indulgent pleasure: it didn't strain the brain, but it did make me happy for hours at a time.

As it stands, this is yet another welcome addition to the Command & Conquer franchise, with all the bells and whistles of a top-shelf PC game. It's guaranteed to please, is as delicious as aRysoplex sandwich and should tide most gamers over for another 15 years. Simply put, this is good old fashioned gaming fun.

Game: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
System: PC
Players: 1-8
Online: Yes
Developer: Electronic Arts Los Angeles
Distributor: Electronic Arts

Rating: 85%

(Ratings Key/Explanation)