Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3
Electronic Arts
PC (minimum specs 2.2Ghz processor, 1Gb RAM, 256Mb video card)
4 stars (out of 5)
Review by Simon Kemp
Unbelievably crazy weapons, over-the-top story, fantastically corny acting, brilliant game - it can only be the latest version of Command & Conquer.
Yup, C&C is back with Red Alert 3, the newest incarnation of EA's real-time blastathon - and I'm pleased to say that it's just as good as its predecessors.
In fact, Red Alert 3 takes the franchise to a whole new level of cheesy, politically incorrect madness.
This time we've got Sulu from Star Trek against the transvestite from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Well, almost. George Takei and Tim Curry star as the leaders of the Empire of the Rising Sun and the Soviets, respectively, with JK Simmons playing the US President, the crazy leader of the Allies.
These three head their factions in a world where (stick with me) Tim Curry has gone back in time to kill Albert Einstein, change the course of history and help the Soviets dominate the world. Unfortunately, his plan doesn't go completely to plan, and a new faction starts to take over Sulu's Empire.
The game plays very much like the previous titles in the series; you are set various objectives to complete, usually attacking various positions or defending important structures, with you controlling the action with a simple point and click interface.
The missions this time feature two commanders, and at the beginning of each chapter you have the option of going alone with the computer taking the secondary role, or playing co-operatively alongside another human player over the Internet.
This seems to work well and certainly adds another dimension to the game play. Usually, the computer will play safe and not get overly involved in the action so the addition of another human element just adds to the mayhem.
Whichever way you choose to play, you'll be playing on some great maps (28 of them) with some of the craziest weaponry seen to date.
How can a game that has war bears, navy dolphin, psychic teenagers and huge samurai robots possibly not be fun?
The story is predictably over the top and is told in a series of cut scenes in between the missions. Hamming it up with the acting heavyweights already mentioned are a huge cast, including Jonathan Pryce as a crazy Soviet scientist and a Lycra-clad Jenny McCarthy as Tanya, the Allies' secret weapon who, among several abilities, can travel briefly back in time to undo mistakes you've made.
As always, the Red Alert team have got the balance of madness and enjoyable game play and strategy absolutely spot on.
