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Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3


An alternate universe where strategy meets comedy

Meanwhile, the Allies and Soviets have gotten makeovers - the commies in particular have some cool new units like the Sickle anti-infantry walker and the Bullfrog APC that launches infantry over obstacles. (RA2’s giant squid is notably absent). The Allies have incredible air power, with heavy bombers and fighters roughly as potent as two Soviet or Imperial planes. The new resource-gathering setup, which forces you to build refineries directly next to ore mines, will disappoint fans of the traditional gathering method (and fans of attacking harvesters). Personally, I never liked having to keep an eye on harvesters that would absentmindedly wander into hostile territory.

A special abilities skill tree unlocks unit upgrades and defense-crippling bombardment weapons that effectively prevent stalemates through combat experience, even if you can’t afford an expensive superweapon like the Allies’ proton collider cannon or the Japanese psychic decimator. (Due to Einstein’s absence, there are no nukes in RA3, but these newfangled superweapons do roughly the same thing.) It’s all part of the fast game plan to prevent deadlocks, and it is very effective - it’s impossible to maintain a static defense when you’re being constantly bombarded.

In the same spirit as the rest of the game, the signature live-action cut-scenes are ridiculously over-the-top, and you can tell everyone is having a blast not taking themselves the least bit seriously. Tim Curry is hilarious as the Soviet Premier, George Takei is somehow dignified even as he hams it up as the Japanese Emperor, and it’s hard not to crack up as mission objectives are laid out for you by “briefing babes” in low-cut outfits.


 
24 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
KitsuneFox  - 1 year 1 month ago 
Where does John Conner fit into the storyline?
tacolord  - 1 year 1 month ago 
....second...anyway,ok article..
:P
Bobic  - 1 year 1 month ago 
This is stupid.
rel123  - 1 year 1 month ago 
EA's PC games tend to be so bug-ridden that any promise that they might contain is completely buried in bugs created by a "we'll patch it later' attitude.
Example: Command and Conquer: Generals contains a huge bug with the LAN multiplayer that at random intervals just ends the game with no warning and no way to go back to what you were playing. They never fixed it.
I loved RA2 and I really want this to be good.. but I know it won't be. And don't even get me started on the inevitably draconian DRM that will surely be included with the software.
DisgruntledTable  - 1 year 1 month ago 
Oh man, I played Red Alert 2 for thousands of hours. Judging from this, RA3 will do the same.
Sizzler  - 1 year 1 month ago 
I want this.

Bad. What graphics card will I need, though...?
Sizzler  - 1 year 1 month ago 
Oh wait, I can just get this on the Xbox 360, nevermind.
KillDrone  - 1 year 1 month ago 
Who plays strategy games on the 360?

That's like heresy or something...
TrIp13G  - 1 year 1 month ago 
The same people that played Diablo on the PS1, I'd wager.
magicwalnuts0  - 1 year 1 month ago 
Yeah I don't know why anyone would want to play this on a 360. Regardless this game looks like it might be alittle too fast paced for me. I had enough trouble keeping up with C&C 3
sniper430  - 1 year 1 month ago 
i wouldve played diablo on the ps1 if i knew it existed
and you can zoom in, quite well actually in c&c generals btw
gr8 reveiw tho
cheapojoe  - 1 year 1 month ago 
@KillDrone. Well said friend. Very well said.
hunter.s.b  - 1 year 1 month ago 
i wont get this game because my pc is slow like shit
GodlikeApe  - 1 year 1 month ago 
I'm so getting this.

Also, Tanya was blonde in Yuri's Revenge.
So nerrr.
jimsondanet  - 1 year 1 month ago 
you wanna know who plays rts on a console?
people who dont have computers or one capable of playing these games duh
pfft!
but anyway looks like this might be one for my 360
Corsair89  - 1 year 1 month ago 
During the infamous Russian winters, one would think that the Russian chick with the sniper rifle on page two would be wearing something, you know, warmer.
alazar  - 1 year 30 days ago 
QUOTECommand & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is, in a way, not a direct sequel to the events of Red Alert 2. See, after Albert Einstein went back in time to kill Hitler, inadvertently creating an alternate time line in which the Allies are battling the Soviets for control of Europe, the Soviets, facing defeat, have gone back in time to kill Einstein and remove his history-changing inventions (like the A-bomb) from the equation. This creates an alternate-alternate time line in which the Soviets were winning until the Empire of the Rising Sun came out of nowhere to claim world domination for Japan. (Also, in this time line Allied commando Tanya is blonde for some reason.) Does it make a lick of sense? No. Is it a fantastically over-the-top story that perfectly sets the tone for a huge battle with equally absurd units? Absolutely.ENDQUOTE

This is the first paragraph. It doesn't say anything that's necessarily inaccurate, but it needs to be pointed out that this consumes a whopping 20% of the entire article, and what is it? A plot summary with a little bit of fluff. I thought a review was supposed to, you know, REVIEW the product, not waste time with a history lesson. If you need to summarize the plot, then link to a preview or something. Reviewers have to keep their reviews short (in this case, it's under 800 words) in order to maintain user attention. That's sad in its own right, but when you waste 20% of your "allotted" words on basic facts that you could have linked to, there's something wrong....

QUOTE No one can accuse Red Alert 3’s graphics of not being bright and colorful enough, though it’s fair to say the gameplay may be too fast-paced for its own good. Why bother with notifications that your units are under attack when by the time you hear them and figure out where the attack happened, your troops are probably already dead? I also have the same problem here that I do with all C&C games: you can’t zoom out in any meaningful way. But any game in which a giant laser cannon pops out of Teddy Roosevelt’s head on Mt. Rushmore is a winner in my book.ENDQUOTE

1. This isn't SupCom. There's no need to zoom out. Just think about it. Use some simple logic. Maps are small, army scale is small, what POSSIBLE good would being able to zoom out do for this game? Not being able to zoom out is something you should be accustomed to in C&C games, meaning playing without zoom should be second nature. Why a non C&C player is reviewing a C&C game is beyond me.

2. Too fast paced????? LOL. RA3 is probably the slowest paced C&C game ever made. Not that that's a bad thing, but I'd just like to point out that saying it's "too fast-paced" is like saying the speed of light is slow. It's not a matter of opinion. It's a FACT that RA3 has slower production and combat pacing than any C&C game prior to it. If that's still "too fast paced", then I must question the point of your playing RTS games. Saying things like that in a review is frightening actually. It's a reflection of the sad state of the genre where everything is being slowed down and dumbed down at the expense of people who are capable of handling more.

3. Why bother with notifications? Because there's this massive plastic button on your keyboard called the space key. It gets you to the notification instantly. It would be useful to know such things before you make statements like that, because it actually has an impact on the validity of your complaint. It's a given that if you actually knew that, or could play the game at a competent level, then there would be no need for that sentence.

4. The last sentence cracks me up. Yeah that's right. Any game with frickin' lasers is a winner! Yeah ok MiniMe God forbid gameplay, puzzle solving, and interesting challenges make it into the winner's circle along with your lasers (absolutely NONE of which were mentioned in your review, other than complaining about the fact that they make the game "too fast" for you)

This review has about as much substance as ass vapor, and I have to wonder exactly WHAT the justification for the 92% score actually is. 92% is fine (I'm not complaining about the score), so long as it's actually backed by something more substantial than "Lasers FTW"

Verdict? FAIL.

Many thanks to AGM launcher for original text
physcodemon  - 1 year 30 days ago 
Did anyone else notice that Gina Carano must have been cold when they shot that photo?
lordkemo  - 1 year 30 days ago 
Is there any DRM with this game? If so what are the restrictions? I though PC Gamer said they were going to include this in games from now on????
Corsair89  - 1 year 30 days ago 
@ alazar:
Get over yourself. Seriously. No one gives a shit. It's just one review, so calm down and shut the fuck up.
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The Knowledge
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Genre: Strategy
Release date: Oct 28, 2008
Published by: Electronic Arts
Developed by: EA Los Angeles
Franchise: Command and Conquer
Min system requirements: P4 2GHz, 1GB RAM, GeForce 6800/Radeon X1800, 6GB HD space, Internet connection
Recommended system: Dual-core CPU, 2GB RAM, GeForce 9800GT/Radeon 4850
Multiplayer Modes:
Online
8 player VS
9 AWESOME
Read the review