Command & Conquer series
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Command & Conquer (often abbreviated as C&C or CNC) is a series of computer real-time strategy and first-person shooter games initially developed by Westwood Studios (1985 – 2003). It is sometimes referred to as the Command & Conquer universe or the Command & Conquer series to avoid confusion with the first game in the series, also called Command & Conquer.
The first installment of the series was released world-wide on August 31, 1995 and was simply named Command & Conquer, although fans often refer to it as Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn to also avoid confusion between that game and the series as a whole. The series is largely marketed for North American, European and Australian audiences, with many of the games also translated into other languages including German, French and Chinese. The series is primarily for IBM PC compatible computers, although some of the games have been ported to various video game consoles, and the Apple Macintosh.
In 2003, American game marketer and developer Electronic Arts purchased and closed Westwood Studios, absorbing it into EA Los Angeles which has become the series' current development center. The series is ongoing, but while some of the original Westwood C&C team remain at EA Los Angeles, most left to form the new games company Petroglyph.
As of 2006, seven games with various expansion packs have been released. An eighth game is due out sometime in 2007.
Overview
The series currently consists of three primary story arcs — the , the , and the . Westwood Studios hit commercial success when it released Command & Conquer game in 1995. The first game in the series built on the revolutionary ideas created in their 1992 release, Dune II and set the standard for real-time strategy games. It was followed up in 1996 by featuring a brand new storyline. The Windows version of Red Alert featured a graphical facelift as it could be run at a higher display resolution.After enjoying successes with various sequals and spin-offs on these two arcs, in 2003 a new game: ' was released by EA Los Angeles after Electronic Arts acquired Westwood Studios. As it introduced the first new storyline arc since Red Alert's release and departed from a number of established Command & Conquer conventions at the time it received mixed reactions from the C&C Community. In 2006, ' was announced marking a return to the classic Tiberian series story arc.
To date these arcs remain independent of each other, although various theories and beliefs have been shared by fans of the series that the first two arcs are connected based on supporting in-game references.
Each arc features expanson packs and sequels, and in 2005, was released and was a compilation of most of the released Command & Conquer games in all three arcs. The series as a whole is the best-selling real-time strategy series in history, selling in excess of 35 million units.
Command & Conquerisms
While the Command & Conquer storyline arcs are considered independant of each other, many gameplay elements are shared across the series. Initially Westwood Studios borrowed and built-on many concepts and styles of Dune II to establish the core interface and conventions used in their first Command & Conquer game. Subsequent releases built on these elements and very little variation was displayed until the release of Command & Conquer: Generals which changed a great deal in the way games were played out. This act was subject to heated debate throughout the C&C community which led to many fans claiming that the game was not a 'true' Command & Conquer game. With the next game in the series due out in 2007, it remains to be seen just how many familier elements return.Infantry
There are some very unique properties of warfare within the C&C universe. Strangely, these seem to be consistent between the Tiberian, Red Alert, and Generals series. For example, there are two main types of units: infantry and vehicles. Opposite to what would be expected in reality, infantry take minimal damage from rocket or missile attacks. An infantry unit may take hit after hit from a missile or rocket-armed adversary whereas a vehicle will be destroyed after just a few hits. There are exceptions, such as the Scorpion rocket in the Generals series. Infantry units display similar resistance to tank shells as well.Commando or Hero units
All games in the series have featured commando-type units. In Red Alert and Red Alert 2, the commando unit is agent Tanya. Tanya is basically a female version of the generic commando unit in the original C&C. The player is allowed to build more than one Tanya, even though the name refers to a specific individual who is key in the storyline. In the Generals series, the player can build more than one commando unit, however, only one commando unit at a time is allowed.Buildings
For the most part, buildings in C&C are disproportianately small compared to units. This disproportion reaches comical heights in Red Alert, which includes "indoor" missions taking place inside buildings.Superweapons
Command & Conquer series has a rich history of superweapons, providing each faction in each game with at least one such device. At a quick glance, the superweapons of C&C are:- Tiberian Series: In this "classic" C&C titles, the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) has access to an orbital weapons platform equipped with an energy weapon known as the Ion Cannon. This weapon fires a short burst particle beam which is ideal for precise attacks on specific targets.
- Red Alert Series: In the original C&C Red Alert titles, both Allied and Soviet sides can build a missile silo to launch a nuclear missile, which is identical for both sides. Each side also has a distinct "lesser" superweapon that has more of a support role (rather than inflicting direct damage). The Allied Chronosphere enables the player to teleport one vehicle to anywhere on the map while the Soviet Iron Curtain makes a vehicle temporarily invurnerable.
- Generals Series: Each of the three factions in C&C Generals titles (USA, China and GLA) have a distinct superweapon. Also, as a first time in C&C history, Generals also features the ability to use multiple superweapons by building more than one superweapon structure.
China keeps up the tradition of nuclear weapons in C&C series and can build a missile silo to launch a thermonuclear ballistic missile. A very potent weapon, the nuclear missile deals heavy damage to a considerable area around its ground zero, and can destroy multiple structures and/or units in an instant. The nuclear explosion will also irradiate the area, damaging any units (and also buildings to a lesser extent) that stay near the ground zero for some time after the initial explosion. The nuclear missile is the slowest superweapon in the game in terms of recharge time between shots.
GLA (Global Liberation Army) has an array of SCUD missile launchers bundled together, called the Scud Storm. When activated, the Scud Storm launches a volley of SCUD missiles that rain down upon the target area. The random nature of missile hits creates a very large area of effect but also hampers precise targeting. The missiles also carry biological warheads (which can be further upgraded to carry a very deadly strain of anthrax) and contaminate the target zone in a similar fashion to the irradiation effect of the nuclear missile. This contamination lingers longer than irradiation and is particularly devastating against infantry while also damaging vehicles, but deals almost no damage against buildings. The Scud Storm recharges faster then the nuclear missile and slower than the Particle Cannon, and with a bit of luck about where the missiles land, it can be the most powerful of all the superweapons in the game.
Interface
All of the C&C games prior to Generals have a similar interface featuring a double columned scrollable build list on the right of the screen. If the player has met certain conditions (acquiring necessary technologies or having certain buildings or having enough money), he or she can select to build the buildings and units on the build list. Generals did away with this style of interface in favor of an interface more reminiscent of games like Age of Empires.Resource Management
C&C inherited many things from Dune. The spice in Dune became C&C's Tiberium. Tiberium must be "harvested" (by special vehicles called Harvesters) to obtain credits which can be used to things such as train infantry, build vehicles, and construct buildings. In Tiberian Sun, there are two (or more?) types of Tiberium that yield differing amounts of credits per amount harvested. It was also very toxic to infantry units. In the Red Alert series, the main item to be collected for harvesting was "Ore." It was similar to Tiberium, minus the toxicity of the latter, and its existence in the game was never explained. The more valuable substance in Red Alert were called "gems," whose existence was also never explained. Gems, however, did not regenerate as did the Ore/Tiberium. Control of the Tiberium on the game map was a vital part of the strategy. Generals de-emphasizes the role of resource management in game strategy. Instead of Tiberium, there is a fixed amount of "supplies" contained in boxes that can be retrieved by certain units called resource gatherers. The key is that, the supplies do not grow in amount or in physical dimensions. Also, tiberium is harvested by harvesters that have to travel to the tiberium field, harvest it, and return to a refinery to unload the tiberium for further "processing" into credits. In Generals, the building that turns the supplies into credits is almost always built adjacent to the supplies.Story arcs
Tiberian series (1995+)
- For more details on this topic, see .
The Tiberian series features two warring factions called the United Nations Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the quasi-state terrorist group, the Brotherhood of Nod.
The original Command & Conquer (also referred to as Tiberian Dawn) was made by Westwood Studios in 1995, and distributed exclusively by Virgin. The opening sequence shows animation of the bombing of the fictitious Great Trade Center in Vienna. This act is blamed on NOD terrorists and their leader, Kane. It serves as the beginning of the Tiberian series storyline. The conflict centers on control of a new resource called Tiberium, an exotic substance that extracts minerals from the land it sits upon and deposits them in above-ground crystals that are simple to process into useful materials. It was speculated that Tiberium was named after the Tiber River where it was first discovered, yet the Brotherhood of Nod's leader, Kane, claims to have named it after Tiberius Caesar, having discovered it himself. However, Tiberium is also extremely toxic and mutagenic. Almost certainly extraterrestrial in origin, it is thought to have come to Earth in a meteor impact. There is speculation that it may be an alien terraforming agent.
While the GDI focuses on research on making Tiberium into useful materials and mitigating the damage to Earth's people and ecosystem, Nod's position is to embrace Tiberium as the herald of a new age. Nod has done heavy research into Tiberium-based technology and weaponry, and its leader, Kane, has designs to convert the entire planet to a Tiberium-based ecosystem. The GDI was created by status quo nations to counter Kane's plans for a new world order. The Brotherhood of Nod excels at manipulating the media to turn world opinion against the GDI.
The Tiberium series has always utilized heavy biblical undertones. Kane, the leader of Nod, is clearly a variation on the spelling of Cain, the first murderer. Indeed, Cain was banished for his crime to the land of Nod. It is unknown if this is an assumed name of a madman or truly Cain. Kane's murder of Seth, the officer who instructs the player at the beginning of the series and Kane's "right hand", is a further biblical reference, although in the bible Cain murders Abel and Seth is given to Adam and Eve in place of the murdered Abel.
C&C was one of the first to utilise real-time gameplay, and cinematic animation sequences. To fund your campaign, you are required to harvest and sell Tiberium which "grows" from the ground as a green (with a rarer, and more valuable, blue variation) crystal-like substance. Because of its high toxicity, troops must not be marched through Tiberium fields or they will weaken and die.
On April 19, 2006, [PlanetC&C] released an [image] of the front cover of the June edition of the US PC Gamer Magazine, with "Command & Conquer 3" announced as a new title to the series. The magazine claims to have a first look on the new game, and has confirmed that the game will be set in the highly anticipated Tiberium Universe. The next day, Electronic Arts officially confirmed the new Command & Conquer game to be named Command & Conquer 3: The Tiberium Wars (working title). The announcement was made on a new website dedicated to the new game.
Games in the series
- Command & Conquer (known as Tiberian Dawn in the C&C community)
- *The Covert Operations (expansion)
- * (expansion)
- (Officially announced April 20, 2006, by EALA)
Red Alert series (1996+)
- For more details on this topic, see .
The Red Alert series is set in an alternate timeline, created when Albert Einstein travels back in time and makes contact with Adolf Hitler in an attempt to prevent World War II. This backfires and results in an unchecked Soviet invasion of Europe by Joseph Stalin. This Stalin-led invasion of Europe serves as the backdrop for the first Red Alert game. Two expansion packs for the original Red Alert were released: Counterstrike and The Aftermath. New units, missions, multiplayer maps, and music were included in the expansions.
The Red Alert series was originally an exploration of the alternate history leading to the Tiberian series, and even Kane made some appearances. With the release of Red Alert 2, the connection became somewhat unclear, with fans of the series split as to whether or not the time travel excursions of the series were forming a separate continuity or just another side adventure on the way to the Tiberian era. Some state that the timeline depends on which faction wins the battle in Red Alert: if the Soviets succeed in conquering Europe, this triggers the events in Command & Conquer; if the Allies defeat the Soviets, the Red Alert 2 timeline follows.
Red Alert 2 is the sequel to Red Alert and has an expansion pack, Yuri's Revenge. In Red Alert 2, the Soviet Union invades the United States, using mind control technology to capture US forces and deactivate America's nuclear arsenal. In Yuri's Revenge, Soviet Premier Romanov's advisor Yuri attempts to overtake the world using his psychic dominator technology. A last-second attempt to stop Yuri's plans sends the player back in time to the conflict occurring in Red Alert 2, but instead of fighting the Soviets/Allies, the player fights against Yuri. Unlike Red Alert, the Red Alert 2 games do not make any explicit or passive references to the Tiberian series, leading some to believe the Red Alert series is diverging from the Tiberian series.
The Red Alert games typically are released following the release of a game in the Tiberian timeline. The next game in the Tiberian timeline, Tiberian Wars, has been announced, with no announcement of a third Red Alert game that can be taken with credibility and certainty, as the people who announced it have all left EA over the past few years.
Westwood also released a music disc with the music from the Red Alert series. This disc was bundled with some later versions of the game.
Games in the series
- * (expansion)
- * (expansion)
- *Retaliation (console version of Counterstrike and Aftermath)
- * (expansion)
Generals series (2003+)
- For more details on this topic, see .
Command & Conquer: Generals is the most recent game bearing the Command & Conquer brand, though its plotline is completely unrelated to the other games of the series. Also unlike previous C&C games, Generals and the Zero Hour expansion were developed by EA Los Angeles, where some members of Westwood Studios were transferred to when EA shut down Westwood's Las Vegas studios.
Players of EA's previous game may note similarities between that game and Generals. Its entirely possible that Emperor was an early prototype for Generals especially regarding its 3D capabilities.
It uses an engine dubbed "SAGE" and is the first fully three-dimensional Command & Conquer RTS game. Fans of the C&C universe were quick to note that it was the first ever C&C RTS game that did not include full-motion video cutscenes to tell the story, and also departed from the unique interface and gameplay mechanics that had characterised all the previous C&C RTS titles. [link] Because of this, some fans of the series state that Generals does not deserve the C&C label, and that EA has turned Command & Conquer into a brand name for generic real-time strategy games.
In Generals, there are three different factions, which maintain a balance of power: the USA which adopts emergent technologies and support units; China, which swamps defences with vast numbers of tanks and troops, and the Global Liberation Army, a terrorist network which uses low-tech ingenuity and guerrilla tactics. The Chinese and the USA are targets of the GLA.
This story is followed by the game's expansion pack: Command & Conquer: Generals: Zero Hour.
Generals: Zero Hour adds many new additions to the original, for example each team now gets three generals to choose from, while the basic faction still remains available. Each of these Generals has a "speciality", which means they focus on certain aspects and their available units are themed to reflect this. For example, one USA general prefers laser weapons, and hence only has laser tanks and laser turrets, replacing some of the standard USA tanks. There are no new factions added to the game, it is still China, USA and the GLA. It also includes full-motion video cutscenes in the form of news reports before every single player mission.Even though this game is an improvement over the last one, fans still argue that this game still does not deserve to be called a C&C game due to its new RTS-style game play that differs from the older C&C games.
Although the game was a best seller among PC games, EA has yet to make any announcements for a second installment as of June 2006.
Games in the series
- * (expansion)
Evolution of a trademark
Over the years, some C&C Games had more specific Command & Conquer logos. The initial C&C DOS Logo was Gray.
A golden version of the same logo was used on C&C'95, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and their expansions.
The Command & Conquer: Renegade logo uses the same gold logo, but embeds it in a background with metal texture.
The Command & Conquer long logo was developed for Generals with a completely different design and the words being placed horizontally, instead of the vertical alignment of the previous version. The same logo was also used for Zero Hour, the expansion to Generals.
The C&C3 Logo seems to be combining aspects of all previous logos. The font is in the Generals long-logo style, while the words are placed vertically like in the classic variant.
External links
Official websites
- [Homepage]
- [Official FTP site]
- [Strike Team] - Support site for online play
Other
- [CNC3Files]
- [CNC Wiki]
- [A comprehensive resource outlining the complete story line]
- [Command & Conquer at IMDB]
- For a list of fansites, see the [Command & Conquer] entry at the Open Directory Project.
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