Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 (Xbox 360)

...Middle Earth and Westwoods own Command & Conquer 3. While these games were praised for their creative control schemes and ease of use, they both lacked something, something you only get from playing with a keyboard and mouse. So does Red Alert deliver where all other strategy games seem to fail?

The first thing I would like to mention before jumping into the control scheme and interface are the visuals. Red Alert 3 looks good. The ...
...only build close to they're Command Center. The Empire were my favourite though, while a lot of the old units from previous games are featured in the game in the other two factions, the Empire has a whole new batch of units that we've never seen before, and they're some of the coolest in the game. For example, they have a subermine that can jump out of the water and transform into a fighter for air combat. How cool is that? Not only is it cool, it ... more

The first installment of the ever popular Red Alert has been released on the Xbox 360. For years Real Time Strategys have been isolated to the PC due to they're complexity and the need for an effective user interface and control scheme that a gamepad isn't able to deliver, however in recent years a few RTSs have made their way to the console scene, games such as Lord of the Ring: Battle For Middle Earth and Westwoods own Command & Conquer 3. While these games were praised for their creative control schemes and ease of use, they both lacked something, something you only get from playing with a keyboard and mouse. So does Red Alert deliver where all other strategy games seem to fail?

The first thing I would like to mention before jumping into the control scheme and interface are the visuals. Red Alert 3 looks good. The colours are vibrant and have character, the camera is fully rotatable, and these is very little slowdown which is great as almost every RTS experiences slow down. The maps are also attractive, many have important landmarks that look well, and even better if they are destroyed. The water effects deserve a mention, which is good because a lot of fighting takes place on water due to the number of ampibious units. The sound is also great, each faction has its own music which really adds to the experience, see how long you last before humming the Soviets tune the next day in work.

If you've ever played any Red Alert game you know what to expect from the campaign. Its like a cheesy B-movie, but in a good way. The story is based around Soviet scientists who go back in time to kill Albert Eintein, therefore altering the time continuim. Coming back they realise things have changed, a new power has risen in the form of the Japenese Empire and are proving a threat to the existing super-powers of the Allies and Soviet Union. There are great real action sequence between missions that help to pull the story along, and the cast is excellent with big names like Tim Curry, J K Simmons and Jenny McCarthy (You'll know them when you see them). Each faction has its own campaign and storyline and you can play through the game with any faction in any order.

There are a wide range of units for each of the factions, and the thing that impressed me most is how unique each faction is and the different type of play they require. For example the Russians can build anywhere, but the Allies require hubs to expand to a different part of the map, originally they can only build close to they're Command Center. The Empire were my favourite though, while a lot of the old units from previous games are featured in the game in the other two factions, the Empire has a whole new batch of units that we've never seen before, and they're some of the coolest in the game. For example, they have a subermine that can jump out of the water and transform into a fighter for air combat. How cool is that? Not only is it cool, it leads to a whole new strategy require for both Empire players and their enemies.

Now that I've got everything I like about the game out of the way, lets concentrate no my gripes. Lets start with the control scheme. It's probably the best control scheme on a console game I've ever played. Almost every action you need to take are handly packed into the triggers, when pressed they bring up a quick menu in which you can select to build more tanks, set rally points, sell buildings and basically everything you need to do. It is quite impressive what Westwood have managed to achieve. But it doesn't stop the game becoming what every other console RTS has become, boring. Every game, without a doubt, ends up as: Player builds base, Player collects resource, Player builds army, Player attacks enemy, if enemy still alive, rinse, lather and repeat. This is fine for the first few plays but every game basically becomes the same. There are no raids, no rushes, and the fact that ore collectors are so robust means that its actually hard to hit someones economy. This really decreases the replay value of the game, even online.

So I had to weigh up the good and bad points and I decided its not worth it. Red Alert 3 is not a viable game, save your money, buy something else. I would rather have a game that looked poor, sounded poor and had little variation in units but I could play for years (a la Age of Kings) than one that I got bored of in less than a week. Its just not possible to have a good RTS on a console. Yes, this is probably the best RTS on a console to date, but its still not a good game. I couldn't recommend this to anyone.

Andy Creighton 

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