Command and Conqure 3 Tiberium Wars

Those of us who've been playing games for some time now fondly remember the classic Command & Conquer games produced by Westwood in the mid-90s. Since the takeover of EA and the move to 3D the original magic has been lost. The previous C&C game - Generals - was a hit in the game-play stakes but was set outside the C&C universe and lacked the customary cut-scenes featuring real actors, drawing attacks from fans. Seeking to get back on everyone's good side EA has taken it upon themselves to make a return to the original (and my favourite) storyline involving the unstable resource Tiberium, with opposing forces Global Defence Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of NOD; headed by Kane.

It's clear from the outset that EA have pumped a huge amount of resources into C&C3. The production values are among the highest for any game I've played and everything has a glossy feel to it. The opening movie and cut-scenes that intersperse the missions are really grade A for videogames and despite the fact that some inherent cheesiness remains, they're entertaining and give Tiberium Wars an edge over its RTS competition, in particular Supreme Commander, whose CGI single player movies felt a bit archaic at times. Missions are varied and your objectives are always clear, with optional bonus objectives fleshing out the missions for those who don't feel the need to rush through the game

A return to the C&C roots is clear, with buildings needing to be built before placing on the battlefield, and they must also be placed close to another building. This will be a pain to RTS players who like to expand early but you can build an outpost unit that can deploy away from the base to facilitate further expansion. Still, it's annoying as outposts take time to deploy, and why switch from a system that was perfect in Generals? Requiring an outpost feels like a case of dumbing down and takes away the player's decision to build a defensive structure or something else to kick start an outpost; thus we lose some freedom and less players will be encouraged to build away from their default location. The GUI is also a shift back to the original games and sees a return to the old-style vertical bar, this time aided with tabs to choose between structures, defence, infantry, vehicles and air. It's a solid interface most will feel comfortable with. New to the series is the option of building a crane, allowing for a secondary structure build queue, which although good it's a shame to lose the construction dozers seen in Generals

Immediately you will notice most infantry come in groups, with approximately 7 in a rifle squad and 2 in a rocket squad. This removes the need to build infantry one by one and is a welcome addition, but it's a pain you can't select them individually. I've also noticed infantry have been toned down somewhat, making them less effective against vehicles. Speaking of toning down you can now only place 3 infantry groups in a building, which always feels like an unnecessary limitation. On the positive side we see the return of the engineer, a classic component of the original C&C that allows you to capture a building. This is encouragement alone to build base defences and is a welcome edition.

Rating: 8/10