Red Alert 2
Red Alert 2, yeah right ... was my first thought when I first read about the game at Gamespot. Felt a bit sceptic in all, after all it would even be using a trimmed down version of the Tiberian Sun engine. Still, there is something about a new C&C game which awakens a primal need inside me, a need to get it as soon as I can. Consequently, I bought it the day it was released, then let it spend the weekend in my backpack traveling to Lund and back. So, I didn't even install it until Sunday night, and then problems with the Allied CD stopped me from getting too excited about the game. The player seemed to lose track of the disc and had to spin down and up again, once it even locked up the computer. Can't concentrate when I know things aren't going as smooth as they could, so I gave it back and got another copy. Same problem again! However, it did go away after a while and some gentle brushing of the disc, think the paper that held it inside the box was the source of the problem. Anyway, things worked better and better, and as a matter of fact both campaigns are now over, six days after purchase and four days of gameplay. But hey, it was good while it lasted!
As the name of the game kind of suggests, it's Allies against Soviet once again. This time around it's mostly on american ground though, the plot is that a Soviet led by a Premier Romanov and hungry for revenge after the first war invades the USA. The story progresses, as usual, mainly through the filmed sequences between the missions. And how nice they are! Movie quality is even better than in Tiberian Sun (may be just my impression though, haven't done any careful comparisons or anything) and there's also a distinct lack of any short rendered sequences almost completely lacking any connection whatsoever to the mission. The whole mood is radically different from the previous C&C:s too. You may not like it, but there's a lot more humour involved and everything feels more "comic book-like" or whatever. I like it, it's so much more than those static cameras you got used to before, and there are lots of nice props used everywhere. And, and this is a big one for me, connections briefing/mission is better than ever before. I really like when people point at a map and say that this is where you're going. Plus you recieve a lot of movie transmissions during missions that further connect missions and plot and makes you feel there was contact between mission designers and video production.
In sharp contrast to the enormous crate of a package that was the Tiberian Sun box, the box of Red Alert 2 is positively microscopic. It's the same kind of box that DVD movies come in, and to me it's a good thing. About time those huge space consuming boxes shrink a bit. Wouldn't be all bad if that proved to be a saving enabling a little cut down on game prices either, but that might just be wishful thinking ...
"Gentlemen, time is running out." Yeah, the music's got voice samples in it for the first time since original C&C, and I love it! The step up in memorability from Tiberian Sun is incredible. Hell's March is back of course, and there are some other pieces which seem familiar as well. Bigger and better than the rest, but I still remember the C&C soundtrack as the king of the hill. Voices for units are improved too, there's more variation than before, and more humour in those too. The Soviets sound a lot better than in Red Alert, no more talking through the nose and I'm very thankful for that. The Desolator, a special unit which can irradiate the area around him, says "There goes the neighbourhood", and he means it ... Sometimes they feel a bit silly though, the Tesla Trooper says stuff like "Rubber shoes in motion", "Surging forward" and "Commencing shock therapy" ... And couldn't they have let the GDI commando make a return? "That was left handed!" is still the greatest thing a unit in a C&C game has ever said ... Hope he comes back some day ...
The units, yes ... The talk about balancing the units high instead of low, making differences larger instead of smaller to balance things, sounded great to me. And it is! After the mission where you plow straight through three enemy bases with a dozen unsupported Prism Tanks you'll be a believer too. Don't think it's unbalanced though, but the campaign computer AI isn't set on defeating you at every chance. This was extremely evident in the second last Soviet mission. I started the mission for the first time, and soon my insufficiently protected base got flooded by computer units crushing everything in sight. All that remained were my two Kirov airships. Those are slower than slugs but drop very powerful bombs and can take one hell of a beating before going down. With those two airships I completed the rest of the mission! The computer seemed to go into passive mode after destroying my base, and definitely didn't build any more units capable of taking out flying opponents. Since both Kirovs were veteran units they could do slow hit and runs on enemy air defenses, pulling back and repairing after each run since the computer neither chased them or rebuilt defenses. Wierd, clear case of breaking a mission in an unintended way ...
Otherwise the missions are all high quality with fairly standard objectives. All are completable on first play, no need to play once just to get your bearings, and all are very entertaining. The pace is higher than before, money rolls in at a much nicer speed than you're used to (especially for the Allies since their Chrono Miners teleport home once they're full) and you'll get your base up in no time. Still, the beginning of the mission remains crucial. That's when the tough strikes come, once you start striking back for real you won't have to worry much. The best place to defend yourself is right outside your opponent's Construction Yard, with many unit types able to level bases in minutes (if not seconds) you want to make sure conflicts take place as far way from home as possible ... Makes you wonder if rushing will become an issue with this game ... That missions often take place in real locations and have lots of famous buildings in them are pluses too. In all, great work on mission design, even if it really isn't anything new at the core.
The above is true for the whole game really. At heart, it's the same old C&C as usual. More polished, new units and new story, but nothing revolutionary. But hey, why change a winning formula when it still works? Red Alert 2 is simply damn fun to play, even if it isn't 3d. Even Westwood seems to be heading 3d RTS now, like everyone else. With this one they've at least made sure that 2d goes out with a huge bang.
Game related notes ...
