$20 Game of the Week: Command and Conquer 3 (PC, Xbox360)

After Command and Conquer: Generals took Command and Conquer in another direction (by way of a new universe) Command and Conquer 3 marks a return to form for the series. The Tiberium crystals have returned, the goofy live-action cinemas have returned, the command bar has returned, and most of all, the messiah himself, Kane has returned, and Electronic Art’s real time strategy franchise has never looked better.

C&C3 takes place a few years after the Second Tiberium War (in C&C: Tiberium Sun). Kane is seemingly dead and the Brotherhod of NOD has seemingly been scattered. However, things are anything but calm. The world’s surface is becoming increasingly poisoned by Tiberium radiation, with many parts of the world becoming unsuitable for human life. Unfortunately, these contaminated areas of the world house much of the worlds population, with the Global Defense Initiative’s headquarters being located in the uncontaminated blue zones. With civil unrest increasing throughout the population, it’s the perfect opportunity for NOD to bolster its forces. When the alien Scrin show up, the stakes have never been higher for the GDI.

When you hit the battlefield, you’ll have several units at your disposal for whatever faction you’re playing as. The single player missions are large and complex, and the feature several optional objectives you can compete. Completing these secondary objectives will award you with information about the game’s units, as well as news logs which give a greater insight into the world of Command and Conquer. The gameplay still boils down to the RTS basics: gather resources, build your army, then steamroll the enemy. However, C&C has never been the most complex RTS franchise, and there is still a lot of strategy involved. It doesn’t completely abandon C&C Generals’ ideas either. The game uses an enhanced version of General’s SAGE engine to power its graphics, and there is more of an emphasis on research and unit upgrades. There are also special commander abilities which function similar to the Generals powers, and units are more individualized for each of the three factions. However, the Scrin campaign, which must be unlocked, is woefully short.

You can also take the game online and compete against other players in matches that can be broadcast for spectators worldwide. You can even use EA’s battlecast to set up matches with other players. The Xbox 360 version even lets players use their vision camera. Speaking of the Xbox 360 version, while a joystick can never be a suitable substitute for a mouse and keyboard, C&C 3 has a pretty good control scheme which was adopted from EA’s Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth 2. It makes it simple to create and select units, and it helps make the RTS genre more accessible on consoles. PC users can download the SDK and create their own modifications as they see fit.

The game’s graphics and music do an excellent job of conveying the image of foreboding doom, making you feel that it’s time to pull out all the stops in every battle you fight in. Longtime series fans will enjoy the live action cinemas, which include talent such as Michel Ironside (Splinter Cell’s Sam Fisher), Josh Hollloway (Lost), Billy Dee Williams (Lando), and of course, the messiah himself, Joseph Kucan, who reprises his role as series villain Kane.

C&C 3 does an excellent job of returning the series to its roots. While it may not bee as deep as Starcraft or Empire Earth, C&C 3 maintains its status as one of the most significant games of the RTS genre. It’s too bad that the planned FPS spin-off was canceled.

Oh and for more C&C 3 fun, grab the Kane’s Wrath expansion pack. It features a new campaign for NOD, new units, and subfactions for multplayer.