Preview: Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars
03.27.07 - 12:35pm
Spring has sprung and it has brought a fresh wave of new video game releases. Just this month Supreme Commander launched and it set a new standard for Real-time Strategy(RTS) games to follow. This month the latest installment in one of my favorite series will be launching, Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Sadly Westwood Studios, the group that brought us the original CnC games, was shutdown in 2003 so I am very interested in seeing what Electronic Arts has managed to do to one of my childhood favorites.
This recent trend of releasing limited demos of video games is a great thing to do as individuals are no longer forced to pirate a game to preview it. About a month ago to this day the CnC3 demo was publicly launched and I downloaded it and then forgot about it. Three days ago I found the demo, installed it, and logged about 4 hours playing the tutorials, campaign mission, and a few skirmish maps. Right off the bat I felt very restricted in my ability to move and multitask within the game. Keep in mind that I have been playing Supreme Commander for the last 3 weeks so going from a very open free-flowing game to a controlled environment game was a huge adjustment. The controls involve your standard keyboard arrow control, edge-map scrolling, and a new right-click scroll feature. I wish a mouse-wheel zoom feature was included so that the screen would adjust focus to where the mouse was focused and zoom in/out on this focal point but this new feature was just introduced to the industry. Besides the new right-click scrolling your controls are pretty standard with hotkeys available.
Gameplay
This will make or break a persons decision to play this game, terrible graphics can be dealt with but terrible gameplay ruins the experience. Base deployment and development is a very linear process in CnC3, you don’t get individual construction units but a single construction yard that can be expanded with “cranes”. You cannot simply build a base at any location either, you must establish ground-control with either a construction yard or an outpost unit. This makes it considerably harder to develop a secondary base on the fly, in other games you could easily pick up shop and create an entire base within seconds, CnC3 requires much more planning to get anything done quickly. Unit construction is a similar process, you can queue up units and the more unit construction facilities you have then the more queues you can support. There haven’t been any departures from the original CnC units asides from a few tweaks of past units, I was hoping for some crazy mechanized units or atleast a few new aircraft like air scouts and strategic bombers. I don’t know if naval units will be available in this game, if there are naval units then I hope they make good use of them and don’t assign them to just support roles.
You will spend a lot of time micro-managing your units in this game as the amount of units you control will usually be under 50-60 units. On the skirmish map that was available I never had more than 45 units or so, anything more usually meant you were taking too long and building the incorrect units. You won’t be seeing any monumental battles in this game either, for those individuals that enjoy the Rambo feeling of controlling a few units at a time then this game will be for you. One great feature that was included is a waypoint/coordinated attack system. This system involves manipulating various buttons on the user interface and once mastered can be very useful in coordinating attacks and safely assaulting fortified positions. This system of buttons isn’t the most natural way to do the job but I have experienced worse systems.
Graphics
I cannot speak about how this game with perform in 8 player games but 1 vs 1 matches didn’t stress my hardware at all. I had all the settings cranked to the max including the anti-aliasing which was set to “level 4″, whatever that means. At a 1680×1050 resolution I never saw a drop in frames but I have also heard that the game is capped at 30 frames per second, a shame but then again usually 30 FPS is enough to satisfy even the most picky of gamers. The fact that this game barely stressed my hardware is both a positive and negative. This will make multiplayer games less frustrating when you are stuck playing against somebody with an ancient computer however the visuals could still use some work. Soldiers still look like crap, I have never seen a game adequately render human bodies on such a small scale but CnC3 does a great job of making them into little stick figures with terrible shadows. The textures and shadows used within the game just don’t cut it for current generation gaming, this looks like a game that was destined to be played on a console with it’s subdued graphics, awkward control scheme, and low hardware requirements. I think if this game had been released about 6-9 months ago it would have been at the top of it’s game but now it has to compete against Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander and it simply doesn’t stack up against the competition.
AI
The AI in this game is both absolutely amazing and downright stupid at the same time. I don’t know if this is just a feature of the demo but at times in the skirmish maps I will find the AI to be so aggressive it is scary and then times it will be as docile as a baby. There are various AI modes that are visible but not available so I guess you’ll have to purchase the game to actually see what the AI can do. I didn’t have a single problem with the pathfinding of units which is an issue in a few other games so that was a good thing, hopefully the campaign AI will be balanced enough that it doesn’t crush individuals while it gives good players a run for their money.
Conclusion
I may purchase this game just for the nostalgia effect that it provides as I sure could use some of that with how everything has been lately. I don’t see this game attracting very many aggressive players as the unit balance and linear motion of the game doesn’t cater to a very active player. I do however see this game selling very well to those individuals that just want something that is simple to play, results in quick matches, and looks great on mid and low range hardware. I guess you can’t satisfy everyone but from the looks of things EA didn’t completely butcher the series. I think the best part is the actor that plays Kane in all the videos still looks the same, he hasn’t aged a day since the first videos 12 years ago. I guess I should mention something about that, the campaign videos are amazing, they did a good job on making those. Now I just hope the final release will be worth the money and retain some sense of community months are launch. Now go out and buy your copies today as it has global launches ranging from today to this Friday!
Well, you have been a little too harsh here.
cnc3 is a great game and infantry look quite amazing, especially with their little animations. And seriously dude, have you used the ion cannon yet? Its absolutely amazing.
Tone down the insults, its a great game, hands down.
LONG LIVE COMMAND AND CONQUER!!!
(you have just been pwned…..)
Decadence, yes I have used the Ion Cannon and the effect was rather impressive however that is one single effect in an entire game. You think the cute animations that the units perform are great and that the units looks great? Go play a little SupCom and zoom in, the units are so detailed that you can make out individual joints, treads, and other minute details with hundreds of them being rendered in a single game. If you want to see well rendered soldiers then go play CoH, I hear the DX10 animations are mindboggling, the DX9 soldiers are simply stellar. Unit animations have been a part of the CnC series forever, still love the animations of the commando, that does make me laugh a bit. I don’t think I am being too harsh, CnC3 is competing with Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander, ever play either of those with the settings cranked to the wall? Play them, compare screenshots, and then tell me the units in CnC3 look good. If you want I can get you some widescreen screenshots with the settings maxed out, would take me 2 minutes. The ONLY thing visually that CnC3 does good in would be the flora, the trees are simply amazing. If I am dropping $50 on a game title I expect it to compete against the competition, I don’t pay for subpar goods. I’ll wait for CnC3 to hit the bargain bin and purchase it just for the nostalgic feeling I’d get playing it but that’s about it.
do not attempt to pwn me on my own site.
i have this game and i am a big fan of the series. I have the original tiberian sun and red alert 2 which were amazing for their time. I was dissapointed when EA came out with Generals. I didnt think it lived up to the cnc name. This time however, they got it right. This game was definately worth every cent and i would recommend it to any rts gamer.
I’ve never been much of a fan of C&C…