I recently played a copy of Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars from EA. And I must say, that the game is pretty good. It’s story makes sense and flows very well. However, it’s not all fun and games. This game can be very difficult and it requires a lot of strategy at times (some levels, this is not needed). This game also features live action acting (meaning real people act out the story sequences).
So, let’s get on with the story no? The game starts out in a cool login sequence and then gives you a Defcon rating of the day, which is low. In the future (2047 to be exact), the existence of humanity is at stake, thanks to a group called the Brotherhood of Nod (these guys are the bad guys, fyi). Nod believes that the element called Tiberium is needed to make the progression to the next stage of human life. Tiberium is a deadly element, and exposure to it can kill someone. During this review I played as the Global Defense Initiative (GDI, who are the good guys). There is an option later to play as the Nod but I didn’t decide to do so.
The first level is an incredibly easy level, you can wipe every Nod guy out in less then 30 minutes. And it gives you some ideas of what the game is like. Thankfully, the game automatically assigns your guys to attack enemies, if the enemies are in range. The game has great sound effects. Something that is normally not so great. But music..well…there really isn’t any..except if you listen really hard or are not blasting something you can then hear it. The music is not super great. It tends to loop and isn’t that enjoyable.
EA did a great job with the graphics, they tended to be very detailed. I personally enjoyed the explosion effects for the Ion Cannon, as they cause the huge explosions and are super cool. I could play with that thing all day (well maybe not). The terrain is partly destructible, donut shops are invincible (I think some EA employee likes donut shops) and some of the signs too. Cars can be destructible when you build things. Camera controls are great and are set for levels where you really need them. However, this can only be said about camera controls. Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars has some great levels, except boot camp. In boot camp, it wastes about 45 minutes of your life trying to tell you what everything does, it’s much better to just skip it when you are on the Xbox 360 (you will learn more if you just look at the first few pages of the booklet).
Oddly, the Video Uplink that occurs a lot caused my Xbox to lag for some reason, other times it doesn’t lag, not sure why some videos cause that to happen. Which brings up the point that C&C 3 has a lot of bad acting. Like seriously, it just doesn’t seem real. HELLO?! HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF PUTTING IN EMOTION? They sound like robots with crappy feelings. And it’s quite obvious when someone is about to run in, as the other person pauses for a little while. I laugh at their bad acting, it’s so cheesy. They hired good actors, but none really gave it any emotion (however the guy who played Darth Vader in Star Wars was pretty good).
Overall, this game is pretty good, probably the best in the Command and Conquer series.
So here are the ratings:
Sound: 9.9/10 -Awesome sound effects, gotta love those explosion noises. However the computer voice can get a bit annoying. Voice acting is done well.
Graphics: 8.7/10 – Explosions are awesome, and the world is very detailed. Most elements are destructible.
Story: 7.6/10 – The story is cool but it doesn’t seem real thanks to the actors. When you are briefed by the computer, it seems more realistic.
Controls: 6.3/10 – Controls, while seeming easy to learn, were actually harder. If by chance any video uplink, voice actor, or computer message happens, you will get kicked out of the interface. This is annoying when you are building something and just about to place it when something talks to you. The interface layout is odd. I would think it would be buildings and infantry near the top, as you use those the most. Holding the interface down and then building stuff is annoying. Especially since you have to have the interface open in order to place said building.
Playback: 7/10 -The playback in this game is good, but some levels you might not want to play again because of their difficulty.
Overall Score: 7.5/10 – It’s a good game, but it’s something that you will either blaze through or will spend your time on. Also destroying your own base doesn’t end the level for some reason (I ion cannoned mine [several times] and yet the level didn’t end).