What's up, everyone! This time, I review a classic from the late 2000s, which has been regarded as the last decent Command & Conquer game of the franchise. Does this game live up to that statement over a decade and a half after its release?
Let's find out!
The Command & Conquer series revolutionised the real-time strategy (RTS) genre in the same way as Doom revolutionised the first-person shooter (FPS) genre.
During the very early 90s, strategy games, in general, were bland, all of which were turn-based, similar to the Sid Meiers civilisation series, in 1992 first game that we would recognise as an RTS game, Dune 2: the Building of a Dynasty was released, Developed by Westwood Studios. This Title Was Attributed to Be the Grandfather of the RTS Genre, As It Introduced the Majority of Mechanics Still Used in RTS Games We Play Today.
So, the Next Time You Board into a Multiplayer Battle on Halo Wars 2, Think of Dune 2.
Obviously, Westwood was Far from Done with the Genre. Westwood Took the Foundations, Mechanics, and Core Gameplay of Dune Two, and Take It to a Modern Setting. The Very First Game of the Command & Conquer Franchise, Dubbed Tiberian Dawn in the USA Was Released.
Since then, the Series Had loads of Highly Successful Entries, For Example, Red Alert 2 was released in 2000, and Generals was released in 2003.
FUN FACT: did you know that Command & Conquer: Generals caught the attention (not in a good way) of various governments of the world.
Due to the similarities between the events of the game, and the Iraq war, the game had to be censored in Germany. They replaced units, and buildings from the Global Liberation Army (GLA) and replaced them with a more robotic faction.
The game's faired a lot worse in China. Due to the events of the Chinese campaign of the game i.e. the nuclear bombing of the Forbidden City, in Beijing, and the intentional destruction of the Three Gorges Dam, the Chinese government outright banned the game!
Anyway, back to the game at hand
This game was released on 20 March 2007 and is set roughly 17 years after the events of Firestorm, the expansion pack to the game's predecessor, Tiberian Sun. An unknown, toxic element known as Tiberium has grown to a considerable threat to the planet's ecosystem. As a result of this, the world's political borders and territories are segregated into zones, Which are classified by levels of contamination, thanks to Tiberium.
A massive disaster, caused by Nod once again, plunged both factions into a new global conflict.
You play as a commander on either side of this conflict, as you play through each faction's campaigns to resolve the conflict.
The accessibility scores are as follows –
Visibility 10
In the game set-up screen, in skirmish and multiplayer battles, the colours of each and every player can be customised. The campaign's colour scheme is also very colourblind-friendly.GDI units and buildings are in gold, Brotherhood of Nod units are represented in red, and Scrin units are represented in purple.
So, a player with colourblindness will be able to differentiate who controls what unit, or structure during campaign missions. A player with a visual impairment can play this game with no issues.
Audibility 0
On the PC version, which was used to test it, there is no subtitle function whatsoever in both the base game and its expansion. So, this game is completely inaccessible for a player with hearing impairments.
Mobility 9
I rose par for the course with most real-time strategy games, this game is primarily controlled by the mouse. If you are familiar with entries of the franchise, this game should be very familiar to you.
On the console version, the controls seem to be feeling a little clunky. You pull and hold the right trigger to expand the interface, and then you use the interface to construct buildings and train units. This interface does vary between the base game and its expansion pack.
To be fair, when the console port of this game was released, RTS on console was in its infancy. So, a player with a mobility impairment might want to go for the PC version.
Gameplay 10
This game retains the charm that the Command & Conquer franchise is famous for. The majority of mechanics and gameplay still have the unique style of pacing, which the franchise is famous for. This is a perfect blend of classic gameplay, mixed in with new mechanics to make this game stand out from the crowd.
For example, when a structure on the battlefield is garrisoned, each faction can use the abilities of various units to clear enemy units out in a single attack. In terms of lifespan, this game is extremely long. This game can be cleared in 23 1/2 hours. The expansion pack and another eight hours to the playtime.
However, the official multiplayer's servers were shut down by EA In 2014, due to the shutdown of the Gamespy Network. However, you can still play online via multiplayer software, for example, GameRanger, and cnc.net. In the console version, you are by far worse off.
The servers were shut down on 9 November 2022. So, if you are hoping to play multiplayer with your friends on the Xbox version, you are fresh out of luck.
In summary, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is an excellent RTS experience both on console and on PC. With the multiplayer servers shut down on the Xbox 360 version, a key portion of the game has been removed, as you are reliant on the single-player content.
The expansion, on the other hand, has exclusive content to their own, unique versions. The PC version has Global Conquest mode.
Global conquest is very similar to the Creative Assembly's Total War series. You are presented with a campaign map which allows you to manage your armies, and bases as you take command of one of the game's three factions, destroy your opponents, and conquer the world, with real-time battles thrown in the mix. Each faction has its own alternate victory conditions to keep the gameplay exciting.
The console version of Kane's Wrath has Kane's Challenge, a mini-campaign which allows you to pick a faction, and take on the various challenges, as you prove your with to the Leader of the Brotherhood.
Better still, this game is backwards compatible, which allows you to enjoy both the base game and the expansion when your Xbox One or Xbox series consoles. Also, due to the game's age, it doesn't require a lot of firepower in your PC to run this game.
So, if you are an RTS enthusiast who is looking for a low-spec-friendly game to play over the Christmas period, this game is highly recommended!
OVERALL SCORE 72.5%
See you guys in the next review!
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