Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars - hands-on

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We battle GDI, Nod and - yes - the new alien race

Succeeding with Nod, meanwhile, still calls for a sneaky approach - scouting the enemy's base, hitting-and-running its weak points and infiltrating its strong points. In our second match, we had no luck moving our units past a heavily fortified wall of defense towers. The things just ate us to pieces. Instead, we ordered a pair of stealth bombers to fly discreetly over the wall, land next to the power plant being protected and attach an explosive that obliterated the entire base in one fiery moment. Sure, our pilots died, but a good Nod general understands that guerrilla warfare sometimes requires sacrifice.

Succeeding with Nod, meanwhile, still calls for a sneaky approach - scouting the enemy's base, hitting-and-running its weak points and infiltrating its strong points. In our second match, we had no luck moving our units past a heavily fortified wall of defense towers. The things just ate us to pieces. Instead, we ordered a pair of stealth bombers to fly discreetly over the wall, land next to the power plant being protected and attach an explosive that obliterated the entire base in one fiery moment. Sure, our pilots died, but a good Nod general understands that guerrilla warfare sometimes requires sacrifice.

So the GDI are still a serious, straightforward war machine, painted in drab camo colors, while Nod are still the flashy and bizarre comic book villains of the C&C universe, building giant temples to themselves and recruiting ninjas. Everything should be very familiar and comforting to long-time fans of the franchise. But what's new?

First, the look. The environments we tore apart were startlingly real world, strewn with apartment buildings, parking lots, traffic signals... even a softball field. Watching out-of-this-world units - rendered equally realistically - stride through these settings gave the game a cinematic science fiction appeal. And, perhaps for the first time, we actually felt like this story was taking place on our Earth.

So the GDI are still a serious, straightforward war machine, painted in drab camo colors, while Nod are still the flashy and bizarre comic book villains of the C&C universe, building giant temples to themselves and recruiting ninjas. Everything should be very familiar and comforting to long-time fans of the franchise. But what's new?

First, the look. The environments we tore apart were startlingly real world, strewn with apartment buildings, parking lots, traffic signals... even a softball field. Watching out-of-this-world units - rendered equally realistically - stride through these settings gave the game a cinematic science fiction appeal. And, perhaps for the first time, we actually felt like this story was taking place on our Earth.

Charlie Barratt
Charlie Barratt
I enjoy sunshine, the company of kittens and turning frowns upside down. I am also a fan of sarcasm. Let's be friends!