Command & Conquer

Tiberium series
Main article: Command & Conquer: Tiberian series

Command & Conquer, released on August 31, 1995, was the first game in the series and is widely considered as the title which originally defined and popularized the real-time strategy genre.[5][ ][!]["][9][1#] Command & Conquer introduced the warring factions of the $lo%al &efense 'nitiati(e )$&'* and the +rotherhood of ,od. Command & Conquer was well recei(ed and was widely praised %y critics- ./ommand 0 /on1uer is one of the finest, most %rilliantly-designed computer games ' ha(e e(er seen. said $ame2pot re(iewer /hris 3uda4.[11] Command & Conquer has attained 956 as an aggregate score from 7etacritic[18] with the less well recei(ed Covert Operations e9pansion pac4 o%taining an aggregate score of !86 after its 199 release.[13] Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, released on August 8!, 1999, ta4es place appro9imately 3# years after the e(ents in its predecessor. :hile the original Command & Conquer's plot was centered around an allegorical world politics setting, Tiberian Sun shifted this to a more sci-fili4e setting against the apocalyptic %ac4ground of ;i%erium %eginning to assimilate (ast portions of the <arth=s ecosystems. 'n 199", :estwood 2tudios, the de(elopers of Tiberian Sun, was ac1uired %y <lectronic Arts. 3owe(er, <A had no direct part in the de(elopment of the title. /ompared to its predecessor, Tiberian Sun relies hea(ily on science fiction technologies and introduces a new isometric game engine featuring (arying le(el terrain to gi(e the impression of a true 3& en(ironment. ;he full motion (ideo is also scripted differently> while the cutscenes of Command & Conquer and Red Alert were filmed from a first-person perspecti(e, Tiberian Sun used traditional cinematic shots for its ?7@s featuring well 4nown 3ollywood actors such as Aames <arl Aones of the original Star Wars trilogy and 7ichael +iehn of Terminator and Aliens. Tiberian Sun was not as well recei(ed as Command & Conquer with an aggregate score of "#6 and !36 for the title and its e9pansion pac4, Firestorm, respecti(ely. 3owe(er the solid storyline, new concepts, more realistic graphics, atmospheric soundtrac4 and traditional gameplay were praised %y critics, ma4ing up for its wea4nesses. Command & Conquer: Renegade, released ?e%ruary 8 , 8##8, ta4es place in the final days of the e(ents of Command & Conquer and was the last Command & Conquer game to %e created %y Westwood Studios %efore their li1uidation in 8##3. Bnli4e any other games in the series, Renegade is a first person shooter[15] gi(ing players their only chance to see the Command & Conquer uni(erse from a first person perspecti(e. Although recei(ing a(erage re(iews, with an aggregate score of !56 on %oth $ameCan4ings and 7etacritic, Renegade was praised for its online features- $ame2py awarded Renegade its 8##8 .:ish it had %een %etter. award, condemning the single player %ut saying that ./0/- Cenegade=s multiplayer was inno(ati(e and fun..[15] Dnline play was praised for encouraging teamwor4 and coordinated assaults, unli4e other contemporary first-person shooters.[1 ]

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, released 7arch 89, 8##!, was a return to the real-time strategy roots of the Command & Conquer series. As a direct se1uel to Tiberian Sun, Tiberium Wars is set appro9imately 1! years after the e(ents of Tiberian Sun and features the introduction of a third faction, the 2crin. ;he se1uel was highly anticipated %y fans and critics ali4e and attained an aggregate score of "56 from %oth $ameCan4ings and 7etacritic. C !amer B.2. ga(e the game its .<ditor=s /hoice. rating at 9#6, stating that .Dne of the greatest C;2 franchises of all time returns to glory., while E/ $amer BF ga(e it a more reser(ed rating of "86, stating that it was .A welcome, %ut limited, return.. 2hortly after the release of Tiberium Wars, the e9pansion pac4 Command & Conquer 3: "ane's Wrat# was announced. Celeased on 7arch 85, 8##", "ane's Wrat# limited the player to only the +rotherhood of ,od in the campaign mode, though the original factions and si9 new su%-factions are a(aila%le for the new strategic mode and s4irmish mode. Ceception was mainly positi(e with the e9pansion attaining an aggregate score of !!6. Command & Conquer $: Tiberian Twilig#t, released on 7arch 1 , 8#1#, sees a %ig change in gameplay from the pre(ious Command & Conquer %y remo(ing the resource gathering and %ase %uilding elements in pre(ious games as well as the remo(al of the third faction, the 2crin. 't is a direct se1uel to "ane's Wrat# )howe(er not directly following on from its storyline*, and is set 1# years after the game=s final e(ents, a time when ;i%erium has ad(anced to its ne9t e(olutionary stage, and is rapidly spreading across <arth ma4ing it soon to %e uninha%ita%le. ;he game came in for se(ere criticism from series fans for %eing so different to its predecessors.

Gameplay
;he Command & Conquer games %elong to the real-time strategy genre, with the e9ception of the first person shooter Command & Conquer: Renegade. A staple of the series is the parallel campaigns of (arious different factions to one central storyline. $ames in the series also offered multiplayer game options, (ia GA, and modem connection. All games in the series ha(e also offered online play, as well as .s4irmish. matches in which players can face A' enemies. All Command & Conquer real-time strategy games e9cept Command & Conquer: !enerals and its e9pansions ha(e featured the .side %ar. for na(igation and control as opposed to many other similar games where the control %ar is located on the %ottom of the screen. Command & Conquer gameplay typically re1uires the player to construct a %ase and ac1uire resources, in order to fund the ongoing production of (arious types of forces with which to assault and con1uer the opponent=s %ase. All a(aila%le structures of the faction chosen %y the player are constructed on-site at so-called .construction yard. - which typically %egin as largesized (ehicles capa%le of deploying themsel(es into the aforementioned construction yards, called 7/@s or 7o%ile /onstruction @ehicle. :hen a construction yard has finished %uilding a new structure, the player can select a spot near to a pree9isting structure in order to place it, where the prefa%ricated %uilding will then rapidly unfold in a distincti(e manner.

'n all games in the series e9cept Command & Conquer: !enerals and its e9pansion, %ero &our, funds are ac1uired %y specialized .har(ester. units which %ring their cargo );i%erium for the Tiberian series of games or ore or the more (alua%le gems for the Red Alert series* to a .refinery. structure. ;his in turn will con(ert the raw material into usa%le resources, e9pressed as credits. ;he raw materials themsel(es, in games released %efore Red Alert ' as well as Command & Conquer 3 re1uire storage space in the form of refineries and, in the case of e9cess, .storage silo. structures. 'n !enerals and %ero &our, funds are collected %y two methods- collection of supplies %y specialized units and con(erted to money in .supply centers. or directly produced %y specialized units, %uildings, or tech %uildings at a set inter(al of time. All factions ha(e structures and units with similar functions at their disposal. 3owe(er, they are adHusted to fit each faction=s theme and ha(e somewhat (arying properties. Bnits can %e classified into infantry, (ehicles, and aircraft, each with their own su%di(isions )note- in the Red Alert series there is also na(al craft a(aila%le*. Bnit effecti(eness against opponents follows the roc4-paper-scissors )intransiti(ity* principle found in most real-time strategy games. @irtually e(ery type of structure in the series acts as a tech tree node, and additional units, structures and faction-specific a%ilities will %ecome a(aila%le as new structures are %uilt and placed. Access to ad(anced units and a%ilities may %e temporarily %loc4ed if the re1uired structures are destroyed or if they are not %eing pro(ided with ade1uate power %y the supporting .power plant. structures. Command & Conquer )a%%re(iated as C&C or CnC* is a real-time strategy (ideo game franchise, first de(eloped %y :estwood 2tudios. ;he first game was one of the earliest of the C;2 genre, itself %ased on :estwood 2tudios= landmar4 strategy game (une ' and introducing trademar4s followed in the rest of the series. ;his includes full motion (ideo cutscenes with a nota%le ensem%le cast to progress the story, as opposed to digitally in-game rendered cutscenes. :estwood 2tudios was ta4en o(er %y <lectronic Arts in 199" and e(entually closed down in 8##3. ;he studio and some of its mem%ers were a%sor%ed into <A Gos Angeles, which continued de(elopment on the series. ;he first installment, Command & Conquer, was released worldwide %y :estwood on August 31, 1995. ;he plot is set sometime in the near future where the <arth %ecomes infected %y a mysterious resource 4nown only as ;i%erium. A glo%al war ensues %etween the B, formed $lo%al &efense 'nitiati(e to contain it and the cult 1uasi-state re(olutionary +rotherhood of ,od, led %y the enigmatic Fane, which see4s to harness it. 3ighly successful, it was followed %y Command & Conquer: Red Alert in 199 which is set in an alternate uni(erse where the 2o(iet Bnion wages war with the Allied :est. &e(eloped as the pre1uel to the original, the Red Alert series was spun-off into a separate, lighthearted and comic series, while the original game and its se1uels %ecame 4nown as the .;i%erium. series, retaining its sci-fi and serious tone. ;he first game is sometimes referred to as Tiberian (awn as a result. ;he original game was followed %y Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun in 1999 and its e9pansion pac4. 'n 8##8, a first person-shooter set in the Tiberium uni(erse, Command & Conquer: Renegade, was released and praised for its online features. ;he highly anticipated Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was released in 8##! and followed %y the e9pansion

pac4 Command & Conquer 3: "ane's Wrat#. Command & Conquer $: Tiberian Twilig#t, released in 8#1# as the conclusion to the Tiberium saga, recei(ed noticea%ly more mi9ed re(iews %ecause of its de(iation from traditional gameplay. ;he Red Alert series was continued %y the 8### title Command & Conquer: Red Alert ', its e9pansion, )uri's Revenge and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in 8##", which introduced a third .<mpire of the Cising 2un. faction. A spin-off game in 8##3, Command & Conquer: !enerals, set in a more realistic near-future and featuring the Bnited 2tates, /hina and the $lo%al Gi%eration Army was followed %y an e9pansion pac4, %ero &our. ;he series was originally mar4eted to an Anglophone audience, though many of the games ha(e %een translated into other languages including $erman, ?rench, 2panish, 'talian, Cussian, Forean, and /hinese. ;he series is primarily de(eloped for personal computers running 7icrosoft :indows, although some titles ha(e %een ported to (arious (ideo game consoles and the Apple 7acintosh. Dther games for platforms such as iD2 and we%-%ased ha(e also %een de(eloped. As of Auly 8#1#, the Command & Conquer franchise consists of ele(en games and eight e9pansion pac4s. ;he first three games of the series ha(e %een released as ?reeware to promote the successors.[8] <A had confirmed that a new free-to-play game, entitled Command & Conquer, was in de(elopment with the studio @ictory $ames. 't was set to %e the ne9t game in the series and was e9pected to %e released in 8#13. 3owe(er, after a short alpha period the game was cancelled, and @ictory $ames dis%anded %y <A.[3][5] ;he Command & Conquer series has %een a commercial success with o(er 3# million Command & Conquer games sold as of 8##9.