Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3

[Zor]

So, what is your opinion on the latest installment in the Red Alert Universe?

Zor

[Samuel]

That they decided to exaggerate the over the top cheesy cartoony feel. I'm going with Stark on part of this- there is no way they are going to be able to balance it. It should be fun as hell though.

[starfury]

Looks like Starcraft 2 graphically but with the advantage of having hot actresses providing Cheesy but cool FMV.

[wautd]

Only saw the beta at a friends place but found it quite underwhelming. Uninspired gameplay and the graphics were closer to Red Alert 2.5

[Samuel]

So it will be like Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, but with more nudity? For mindless violence, I use DoW and for nudity I use the net.

How will things turn out? We will see...

[Lonestar]

So it will be like Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, but with more nudity? For mindless violence, I use DoW and for nudity I use the net.

How will things turn out? We will see...

What the hell are you talking about.

[Samuel]

What the hell are you talking about.

The other C&C game came out recently with the same basic RTS formula. Of course, this one seems geared towards a certain demographic with the number of hot chicks and near nudity.

For blowing stuff up and mindless base building, I already have games to do that.
I don't buy games for fan service.

As for my final line, it is from the intro to Red Alert 1. The first line is a question from his assistant, the second the reply from Einstein.

[TC Pilot]

The other C&C game came out recently with the same basic RTS formula. Of course, this one seems geared towards a certain demographic with the number of hot chicks and near nudity. For blowing stuff up and mindless base building, I already have games to do that. I don't buy games for fan service.

I usually respond with much gnashing of teeth and wild gesticulations to reminders of how markedly the Red Alert series declined after the first game and any mention of how RA2 + 3 are carrying on the legacy of "quirkiness" or "silliness" of the original.

Clearly this game is an abomination.

As for my final line, it is from the intro to Red Alert 1. The first line is a question from his assistant, the second the reply from Einstein.

*gnashes teeth* *gesticulates wildly*

"Congratulations professor! With Hitler removed..."
"Time will tell. Sooner or later....time will tell." *cue Hell March*

[Samuel]

Hey, I couldn't do the true quote without sounding like I was talking to myself! Sorry that I butchered it so badly.

What was so great about the first one though? I heard it had terrible balance problems that resulted in constant tank rushes. I only got to play it a little bit (start of the Allied Campaign) so I don't know how magical it was. What was so special about it?

[TC Pilot]

What was so great about the first one though? I heard it had terrible balance problems that resulted in constant tank rushes.

Why should it have to be balanced? The game is "Oh my God super-Stalin Red Army invading Europe" Soviets vs. "Oh fuck we're barely surviving" Allies. Both sides have advantages, and both sides are playable against the other.

What was so special about it?

Partly the gameplay isn't bland "Rock beats scissors beats paper beats rock" gameplay that's become endemic to RTS games these days, partly because it isn't laugh-out-loud easy to beat, partly because it takes itself seriously, and partly because I'm looking through the lense of nostalgia, even though I still play it now and again after over a decade since it came out.

[Lonestar]

The other C&C game came out recently with the same basic RTS formula. Of course, this one seems geared towards a certain demographic with the number of hot chicks and near nudity.

For blowing stuff up and mindless base building, I already have games to do that.
I don't buy games for fan service.

As for my final line, it is from the intro to Red Alert 1. The first line is a question from his assistant, the second the reply from Einstein.

I was referring to the comment about nudity, dingus.

[Samuel]

Oh that. The game has a former porn star in it. And the female leads are half dressed.

[Lonestar]

Oh that. The game has a former porn star in it. And the female leads are half dressed.

Not with a Teen rating they are.

[erik_t]

Oh that. The game has a former porn star in it. And the female leads are half dressed.

ZOMG CLEARLY THIS IS DIFFERENT FROM THE E3 ADVERTISEMENTS OF EVERY OTHER GAME EVER.


Blizzard would have done the same, but not even South Koreans know which parts of a Zerg are naughty.

[KrauserKrauser]

Has anyone actually played the game and is willing to comment on it?

I was planning a Best Buy run for Fallout 3 and possibly Red Alert 3, but would like a review first.

[erik_t]

I haven't yet, but I echo your thoughts. I don't have a Windows box right now, so I'm not exactly desperate to spend money on it, but I would like to know how it came out.

[Zac Naloen]

It's fun, it's cheesy, it has zero depth.

Game play is still "build the biggest army of the best stuff and win". Resource gathering is more Generals than C&C 3.

Did I mention it's fun?

I haven't tried coop campaign yet, but as soon as I do I shall complain about the idiots on the interweb and proclaim it a failure when I get bored in a couple of weeks.

[defanatic]

Just thought I'd pitch in my opinion.

Gameplay is ok. I'm only playing on medium, and the AI hasn't beaten me yet. Sometimes the AI taunts you during skirmish matches (with voice-over), which is kind of annoying because it takes up the minimap. It is apparently supposed to happen a bit, but for me it only happens when the AI first encounters one of your dudes and when the AI loses.

I have only really won once using Tier 3 units (apparently, at odds with the above poster's comment), and that was my first game. Most of the time, stuff dies quickly enough to their specific counters. Even tier 1.

Hammer tanks can be pretty entertaining when you have a small army of them with secondary weapons. Indeed, they are starting to be one of my favourite units already.

Early game AT infantry are still fairly useful late game, but the anti-infantry infantry are not so much (being quite bad), although they are the only units that can clear garrisons (one at a time though, no generals style flashbang). Indeed, garrisoned troops are quite good, as their range is doubled.

Still haven't really figured stuff out yet, but I'll get there.

[eyexist]

I inherited a copy of RA3 Premiere Edition, and beat the allied campaign on hard without breaking a sweat.

And after being propositioned by Eva in a white dress and Tanya in black (a homage to RA2) I find out that David Hasselhoff was the VP, and is now the new POTUS.

[Stormin]

Since this game doesn't really interest me but I do play Warhammer, anyone willing to PM me a Kossar's helm code if they are never going to play War?

[Shogoki]

Latest RA3 madness

Starring non other than the Hoff himself.
Plus bike stunts with explosions on the background.

[Dartzap]

The first Allied mission amused me greatly. "Quick! We must defend the gay capital of Britain against the big hairy aggressors!"

[Covenant]

Sorry for the long post. These are my ever-critical first impressions. Will someone just hire me already?

Game runs smooth and fine for me. I turned down stuff I don't need like shadows and water and crank up the blinkies, anti-aliasing and the resolution. For a game that looks this nice, it runs really well. I can see why they chose this aesthetic. I would have preferred that they had simply made Company of Heroes with more humor and Tesla Coils, but this is a fine alternative for the system cost it takes to run. The animations are pretty good too, though the completely stationary hover units are very poorly done. I could animate you an ambient idle animation in 30 seconds.

The humor, writing, and voiceacting seems high quality and plentiful. I enjoyed playing the tutorial just for the narration, and I feel they did an excellent job explaining mechanics without making me feel like I'm on a leash. Aside from a few control burbs too, it all handles well, so the experience of playing is very enjoyable. Plus, the Co-Commander is a nice addition. Anyone who plays Supreme Commander should look into the Sorian AI package, as it had done something similar (sadly, better) before this. Despite being a pale copy of an independant modder's AI package, it's still better than most simply because I can give it basic commands, and that matters a lot. No-friends Skirmish Players rejoice! If you are a casual RTS'er then this game would probably be the best entry into Strategy I could name, overall.

I'm frustrated by the multiplayer unit balance. At the moment it seems like it wants me to make combined arms forces to get anything done, yet there are occasionally units which defy that--such as the combination of Helicopters and Jets that the Japanese get. I love the idea, but fast-moving, easily accessed air units without a base-limiter to reload is extremely unbalanced against the Soviet's shitty airforce and the Allies' good but expensive to maintain airforce. Getting a mecha bay before I get air superiority units can be a tad rough, but that itself is a bit of an issue. Furthermore, all sides lack an effective AA turret, which is really inexcusable. With uninterceptable artillery like navy ships and mobile guns so easily obtainable, there's no reason to let Death From Above be so easy to do.

Once the entire unit spread opens up you have more options with regard to force composition, but still some large issues persist, like the lack of good guard mechanics, the CNC style vehicle movement with very minor upgrades (ability to dictate facing is pleasent, if had to make work) and the complete lack of CNC Generals-era improvements to Unit interception. This is pathetic, as these are advances they made way back in the day, and they were awesome. The "Air Intercept" function of Generals was, I have to say, the best and most satisfying Air simulation in an RTS I have ever had the pleasure of employing. To remove that is criminal, especially considering how common and powerful air units are in this game.

On the flipside, all the special powers are pleasent. Some of them are extremely useful, others not so much. While many people complain about all the amphibious powers, I have to say that I endorse them fully, though the allied land-battleship is a bit absurd. Not only is it a total piece of shit that's barely worth building, but it should be buildable from a tank depo as well, if you ask me. Many units are like that, and should have been buildable from multple locations like a few are. The Bullfrog AA transport is, for example, available from the tank depo and the water plant. But the Tesla Crawler which is also a boat is only available from the navy yard. I understand why, but it they had made it nonexclusive, we could have seen much more depth.

Also, there's no upgrades. There's veterancy, but no unit upgrades. This is only important because it means a race up the tech tree is the best policy, and it is... overall. There's one passive upgrade per nation from their upgrade tree, and the upgrade trees are fairly shit. Company of Heroes again is superior here, allowing for in-game alteration of subfaction. This is much more akin to the Generals function of an upgrade tree, where some upgrades can accept more slotting, but it feels less satisfying. Not that we needed more ways to pound a base, but clicky powers are fun.

My verdict is that it's not as bad as I thought it would be, but not much better. Give Stark and I a half hour and we'd turn it into something more interesting, I'm sure. I'm going to see how easy it is to Mod. Might be fun to fix the damn game before EA does.

[Shinova]

The cheesiness is great though. Attack bears? Suck enemy vehicles into space and then drop them on your foes later on? Bring it! And the Japanese mecha are the cherry on top.

[Covenant]

I think this board alone is alright with the cheese and humor factor, everyone else is whining themselves to death. I do have to say that the factions make almost no sense now though, but that's mostly a "Huh? Why can that do that?" sort of thing. You really need to play each faction and click the unit videos (what a great idea!) to get an understanding of what the hell is going on. Certain things, like the cryocopters, are really unbalanced unless you treat them like a giant unit covered in cannons. It's hard to tell what's deadly and what's not.