Command & Conquer became synonymous with real-time strategy gaming when the very first game in the series was released in 1995. Yeah, we can all remember the high points like Tiberian Dawn(1995), Red Alert(1996), Tiberian Sun (1999), Red Alert II(2000), and recent Renegade (2002). Now, the real-time strategy genre comes back with Generals in full 3D. This is the first 3D C&C RTS game, and in fact, the first one with a totally new engine. Contrary to what others say, the move from the traditional 2D to 3D is a welcomed move for me and many other RTS fans of the C&C series. The C&C series being 2D was a great series already, but making 3D just blows me away, especially for a game this beautiful. So, can Command and Conquer: Generals live up to the standards set by its predecessors?

Command & Conquer Generals takes the C&C series back to its root. Basically, Generals is all-new Command & Conquer, with a modern conflict inspired by events relevant to today. Set 20 years in the future, the game involves three sides, the United States (US), China and the Global Liberation Army (GLA), each with its own campaign, story, units, upgrades, structures, and general abilities. This time, China and the USA are dealing with a common threat, the GLA terrorists.

The U.S. is full of high-tech hardware (Cold Fusion Reactor, Particle Cannon), using plenty of bombs, missiles (Patriot Missile System, Tomahawk), jet planes (Raptor, Aurora Bomber, B-52 Bomber, Comanche +rocket pods, Stealth Fighter +laser missiles) and powerful armored vehicles (Paladin Tank, Humvee, Ambulance). The most effective weapon is Particle Cannon (with 4 minute countdown) that fires a beam from above that can tear through anything. The beam doesn't stay in one spot, it slowly moves around the area you targeted for a few seconds.

China's main strength lies in its large population, and they actually gain a support bonus when they group together, firing faster and causing more damage. The Chinese are armed with units like the Inferno Cannon (artillery), Mig, Dragon Tank (can be ordered to lay down a small wall of flame), Gattling Tank and Troop Crawler (lightly armored infantry transport) which comes complete with twenty Chinese soldiers. The Chinese has a strong assortment of infantry troops, including The Hacker who can disable enemy structures using a computer virus and Black Lotus Black Lotus - China's hero unit - she can capture enemy and tech structures, steal cash. They also have the Nuke Cannon that fires a long range tactical nuke and is extremely effective against structures and infantry, and super weapon - Nuclear Missile which will launch a Nuclear Missile at a targeted area resulting in huge explosion. If you build China fast you can bum rush the enemy and win.

Finally, the GLA are low-tech scavengers, but they are sneaky and flexible - they will adapt to the battlefield and have a surprise element in them. The GLA can produce Technical (pickup truck with a gun), Radar Van (can spot hidden enemy units within range), Quad Cannon (strong against infantry and aircraft), Toxin Tractor (clear buildings of enemy soldiers and contaminate the land), Rocket Buggy, Marauder, Bomb Truck (suicidal truck), SCUD Launcher (long range weapon), Stinger Site (anti-air defensive structure), Tunnel Network (used to quickly move infantry and vehicles between locations) and the Scud Storm - GLA's super weapon that launches (5 minute timer) a volley of missiles at it's target. The missiles not only explode on impact, but leave a toxin residue. Much like the U.S. and the China, also the GLA has a strong assortment of infantry troops, including the RPG trooper (strong against tanks), Terrorist (suicide soldier), The Hijacker (he can capture y enemy vehicle) and Jarmen Kell (he is camouflaged when not attacking). The GLA are probably the most challenging to play for being so unconventional, once they infest an area, they're very hard to get rid of.

With that being said, the units of each side are well designed and balanced. For example, each side has a special unit, Col. Burton for the U.S., Black Lotus for the China, and Jarmen Kell for the GLA. All three units have special abilities that are different but similar enough to where each has a balanced set of advantages and disadvantages. There's also veteran system for all units which makes veterans shoot faster.

In terms of gameplay, only little has changed from the original C&C games - make buildings, collect resources, make a massive army, point and click your way to victory. In other words, Generals doesn't add any revolutionary changes to the formula, but instead concentrates on pure battle. Anyone that has played any of the Command and Conquer games already knows what this game is about. A new addition to the game is the point system - the generals system. I suppose this is where the whole "Generals" thing came from. What the generals system does, is it rewards you for attacking. With those points you can purchase (with points not money) new upgrades or technologies. I must admit that Generals has an intriguing and satisfying single-player experience. Honestly, it was really hard for me to write this review instead playing the game :P The single-player simply rocks, only the campaigns could be longer (Generals contains 7 missions for each side + plus the skirmish with up to 7 AI players) and be interconnected. The three parts to the single-player campaign can be played in any order and are designed to be about the same difficulty. You probably noticed from screenshots, that a new interface puts the construction bar at the bottom of the screen as opposed to the side, and allows for a greater degree of multitasking to be done by the player. In addition, you can minimize it so it doesn't hog up a portion of the screen. Generals is the first game that has sort of a fuzzy logical AI element, meaning that the computer reacts to your actions with a mind of its own. It's sometime pretty cool, however the units don't respond to attacks that exceed their own weapons range, unless they are in guard mode.

For those who have broadband, DSL or Cable or higher, Generals works even better in its online multiplayer mode. There is a lot of replay value here, you can wage war against 7 other people or have 2-4 teams (depending on how many players in available). With players on high end computers along with broadband, you will be playing some great matches with blazing connections to have no lag issues.

Having done many real-time strategies before, I feel Westwood has perfected the formula with this one. This is by far the best C&C game, and quite possibly might be considered one of the finest games that has ever been released. If you are a fan of C&C, you will certainly like C&C Generals. If you can't surpass the system requirements though, don't buy the game. And if you do, don't complain that the game doesn't work :P


System Requirements:
Minimum: CPU: Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 800Mhz, 128MB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 2/32MB RAM, 1.8GB HDD Space.
Recommended: CPU: Intel Pentium III or AMD Athlon 1.8GHz or faster, 256MB RAM or more, Nvidia GeForce 3 or better
Reviewer recommends: XP 2200+ or Pentium 4 2.2Ghz, 512MB RAM, GeForce Ti4600/128MB

Additionally, the following specifications are required for multiplayer:
- 256 MB RAM for 3-8 players
- One set of game discs per player. Disc 1 and Disc 2 cannot be used simultaneously for multiplayer games.
- Internet (2-4 players): 56Kbps or faster direct Internet connection
- Internet (5-8 players): Cable, DSL, or a faster direct Internet connection
- Network (2-8 players): TCP/IP compliant network

Note: Some PCs equipped with the VIA KT133a chipset might encounter problems with Command & Conquer Generals.