I sometimes neglect my Alienware Aurora R3 PC, I just get so wrapped up playing console games I forget about it. I decided on playing a PC game and went with Command and Conquer Generals. I played it when it was first released, which was nearly fifteen years ago now and I really wanted to play it again. I own Command and Conquer: The First Decade so thought this time when playing Generals I would also play the add-on Zero Hour.
I like Rice Pudding, I wouldn't have it all the time but it's tasty. Admittedly it doesn't look very appealing and it's quite simple but there is just something about it that gets me excited. I mean when Muller Rice Apple was first released I ate lots of it, even now I'm thinking about going and buying one. Rice Pudding can be served hot or cold, you can even add a little jam or fruit if you want to jazz it up. Playing Command and Conquer Generals I found my asking with this something simple and satisfying or was it just simple and horrible looking?
Story
The story is pretty straightforward, there is a group called The Global Liberation Army (GLA) they are a well-organised terrorist group that is quickly becoming a superpower due to their growing numbers and influence. It's up to the US and China to stop them at all costs. With the add-on Zero Mission, this story does not really change other than the introduction of someone called Dr. Thrax (an almost non-existent bad guy) that is responsible for the GLA's chemical weapons.
The little story there is not highly engaging and I certainly missed the video introductions that were present in the rest of the Command and Conquer series. I know sometimes they were a little cheesy but they were fun and featured some great actors including James Earl Jones, Udo Kier, Michael Biehn, Tim Curry and George Takei. When it came to the story and character development there simply wasn't any.
Visuals
After fifteen years Command and Conquer Generals has aged, but how many of us haven't? The backdrops look really nice and there is a bit of variety in the landscape, there are deserts, snow-capped mountains and in Zero Hour you even get to see a little bit of Germany. The important thing is not to zoom in on the infantry, they look like characters from a children's pop-up book. There were a few details I really liked in the game including watching buildings being slowly constructed and watching the roll-up door on the war factory opening and a new vehicle rolling forth. The GLA tanks were interesting as they looked like cars with the shell of a tank dropped on top of them, I imagine they would feature in 'My First Tank Book', but once you collect scrap from the wreckages of your fallen enemies they slowly look like a kick ass tank. Without a doubt the best looking unit was China's Overload Tank, it looks like a mobile fortress that has two massive cannons on it, you can either keep it simple or build Gatling guns, Propaganda towers or a Bunker on them.
While visually the game may have aged as a whole the backdrops look really good, as long as you don't look too closely at infantry units.
Music
The score is fairly diverse and each group has its own unique sound. USA features strings, electric guitar and overall has a very militaristic sound, similar to some modern-day war and espionage style films, it reminded me of some of the pieces used in the film The Rock. China makes use of Asian instruments including Pipa, Suona, Yangpin, Gong and Paigu drums. The GLA goes with a Middle Eastern/Arabic sound and features many interesting instruments such as the Oud, Ney, Riq, and Buzuq. The three style share one similarity and that is the use of electric guitar and drums to give a rock sound, these generally are reserved for the assault tracks. This diverse soundtrack was created by:
Bill Brown, an America Composer, and performer who has worked on a number of games including
Wolfenstein (2009), Lineage II Chaotic Chronicle, Quake III Arena, Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon.
Mikael Sandgren, a Swedish Composer, who has worked on games, movies and TV series. He has worked on Command and Conquer Red Alert 3, Dazed and Confused, Body of Evidence and Memento.
The soundtrack runs for over two hours and features more than fifty tracks, this includes the Zero Hour add-on. My favorite pieces included:
'Helix Amanda'
'Assault USA Main Menu'
'Peacetime USA 3'
'Peactime USA 5'
'Peacetime USA 10'
'Peacetime USA 11'
'Assault GLA 2'
'Assault GLA 3
'Peacetime GLA 6'
'Peacetime GLA 8'
'Assault China 2'
'Peacetime China 4'
'Peacetime China 7'
'Assault China 7'
While the soundtrack is nowhere near as memorable as say Red Alert it does offer a fresh perspective that makes from an entertaining accompaniment when you are planning the downfall of your enemies.
Gameplay
Command and Conquer at its core is rather simple: build up a base, train an army, defeat your enemy. There are many moving parts and that is what makes it such an enjoyable Real Time Strategy game. I love the peacefulness of building up a base, adding defenses while at the same time building a small army to take down my enemies. The picture above gives a great snapshot of that, I love the dashboard which has only improved since the early games, everything you need is right in front of you. The three campaigns/sides are very different and because of this, I have given each of them their own dedicated section.
China
This will sound like a strange statement but I love propaganda, more specifically the propaganda towers, I love the healing abilities it gives to units. I found it was great to have when enemies attacked the base but also was great when it was made mobile, with some careful planning the loss of units could be greatly reduced. China has so many great units including the Nuke Canon, Helix Helicopters, and the Overlord Tank. The Nuke Cannon is powerful as hell but is made more tactical by using Neutron Shells that kill humans but keep vehicles intact so you can steal them. The Helix Helicopters are like floating fortresses which can be equipped with Gatling Cannons, Propaganda Towers or Bunkers to hold infantry. The best unit of China's was the Overlord Tank, big, powerful, and is like the daddy to all the other units by keeping them safe, plus one of its catchphrases is 'extra large' said in a really deep voice. The weakest unit was the Dragon Tank that while it sounds cool is just flamethrower on wheels that are easily destroyed. Overall I found China to be the superior force and loved their campaigns the best.
USA
One of the best assets are the General Abilities, these can be purchased by gaining experience points, the best ones to me are the Stealth Fighter, Fuel Bomb, A10 Strike and Para-drops. There are some really interesting units, one of them being the battle drone which can be equipped to most vehicles, they not only offer good defense against infantry but also do the automatic repair which is pretty nifty. My favorites units were the Comanche helicopter fast and have a powerful rocket attack and the Microwave Tank which could disrupt buildings stopping the needless destruction of units, also great for making popcorn. There were some great missions but by far the toughest was 'Black Gold', it features a large oil field you have to fight for control while building up your base and stopping enemies attacking you from multiple directions. Overall team USA had some interesting units and abilities but was nothing compared to China.
GLA
They are low maintenance and don't require power plants to power buildings. I should feel bad about this next part but I don't, there are 'workers' you use to construct the buildings that have many different catchphrases including: 'please don't hurt me', 'ow, okay I go', 'you change your mind often' and 'does it have to be so far?'. I never felt guilty about ordering them around because they just complained so much. There were a few units that stood out including Marauder Tanks that could be upgraded by collecting scavenged parts, Angry Mobs who were funny but also truly destructive and the rocket buggy, great for distance attacks, however, if they get looked at for too long they fall apart. A special shout-out to the bike units, add a gun you get gun bikes, add a rocket and you get rocket bikes, the only downside is that they are really weak to pretty much everything. One of the most powerful weapons in the GLA's army is the SCUD Storm, two or three launches of this chemical weapon can wipe out an entire base. My favorite mission was 'On The Waterfront' which involves you jumping from one island to another while making use of the USA's particle cannon. Overall the GLA would have to get second place, some interesting units and it's hard to ignore the power of the SCUD Storm.
Outside of this, all sides have the ability to gain auto repair/healing once individual units gain enough experience which I found to be a great perk. The only thing really lacking gameplay wise was the lack of a Naval presence which I really missed. Overall many, many great hours of gameplay to be had.
Final Thoughts
So after forty plus hours (this time around) how did I feel? Pretty good. It can be tough trying to stand the test of time and after fifteen years Command and Conquer Generals certainly does it's best. The original problems it had when it was released years ago still haunt it now. There is a lack of any story and some of the visual close-ups are a little hard to take. That being said the game has an interesting and diverse soundtrack, along with some really great gameplay. This was not an easy one to score, overall I give this one 3 out of 5
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