Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars

Thanks to my dad this is a series I have spent a lot of time with over the years and Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars was the game that showed, EA knew what they were doing with this series. It managed to walk a very fine line between being very familiar to what made the series so popular all the while adding in a few new things, some of which would be things people liked in Red Alert 2.

Three For One!

One thing I love about this series is how serious and full on the stories always are and Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars is no different. This time, we have three campaigns to enjoy. The campaign in total is close to forty missions so it is going to keep you busy for a very long time. You can play as the GDI who are basically the good guys of this world and who are trying to keep the planet from descending into chaos.

You can also play as the NOD, a group of fanatics that are led by the series villain Kane. And then we have a new faction, The Scrin which is a race of alien beings. The “war” revolves around an extra-terrestrial substance Tiberium that is taking over the planet and each side of the war has a different “relationship” with this stuff. As you would expect the campaign is very cinematic and I found the story to be fantastic.

Do What You Want

As well as the single-player campaign mode, you can also have some fun in Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars with the skirmish mode. This is a great way to play around with tactics and learn strategies and get a better idea of what you are doing. This will all serve you well if you decide to jump into the games multiplayer which is still pretty active to this day.

This Feels Familiar

The overall gameplay of this game is very satisfying. The basics are the same as they have always been. No matter the side you are playing as you will be building a base that you can use. You also need to train your units so that they are ready for war and of course, you need to manage your resources as well. This all builds up to you sending out your units to do battle. Each of the three factions has a very different kind of playstyle. The GDI, for example, are the heavy hitters looking to blast anything away.

The NOD is sneakier and they like to work in the dark, sneak in, destroy and get out of there before people really know what has happened. The Scrin use alien technology including black holes to their advantage. Overall, the gameplay is a ton of fun and I like how deep it is, but not at the expense of it being hard to get into.

Pros:

• I thoroughly enjoyed the story
• The Scrin are a lot of fun to play as
• It is easy to get into for new players
• The multiplayer is still very active
• I enjoyed playing skirmish mode

Cons:

• You do need to have a bit of patience
• I wish the campaign had a few more Scrin missions

OK, real-time strategy has never been the sexiest of genres. But EA is looking to build off the momentum it garnered with its 360 RTS The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth (which nabbed our Game of the Month award last August) with its latest in the legendary Command & Conquer series.

"Tiberium Wars still follows our philosophy of 'One Button to Rule Them All,'" says Senior Producer Mike Glosecki, "by allowing players to do all of the basic commands--selecting, moving, and attacking with their units--by just using the A button." Keeping it simple, in addition to some multiplayer modes not found in the PC version, is what EA hopes will help rope in more casual but cerebral-minded gamers.