Conclusion (and a word about the cast.)
So, is Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars worth splashing the cash on? The short answer is yes, but it does come with a couple of caveats that are worth remembering.
First, if you were expecting some new uber-all singing, ultra-cool RTS that blows everything else into the past, forget it. You’ll not find it here. Second, compared with other recent RTS titles, Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars sometimes feels like a step backward for the genre. There’s no armour or defence bonuses for terrain or position and no ground deformation of any sort. In fact, given Company of Heroes’ nearly entirely destructible maps, Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars feels like a highly polished update rather than a from-the-ground-up sequel. To be fair the game does take into account thinner rear armour and retreating as making you more vulnerable, but a key part of RTS titles is positioning your units for maximum effect balanced against survivability by using the terrain... which is what Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars lacks.
Well, just as you might find the gameplay less than groundbreaking, the fact that EA haven’t tried something new and have worked on improving, tweaking and polishing the C+C series leaves us with a game so smooth and shiny you could almost shave in it. The FMV sections aren’t the green screen back-dropped, low budget affairs from five years ago and the cast, though perhaps not the cream of the Hollywood A-list, are still well up to the job.
Click for larger imageJust as Clive Owen did a sterling job in Privateer all those years ago, EA are proving that getting hold of proper, experienced talent is essential if you want your FMV to work properly. Ironside, Williams and Kucan all play convincing if (especially in the case of Ironside) slightly stereotyped roles. The sexy Tricia Helfer and equally sexy Jennifer Morrison provide some welcome eye-candy as well as handling the majority of mission briefings. Oh, and let’s not forget the drop-dead gorgeous Grace Park, who incidentally starred in the recent Battlestar Galactica remake with Tricia Helfer, and is criminally under-used by EA here... but that’s just my personal opinion...
So out of the fairly crowded field of RTS titles, should you pick Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars? Well that purely depends on what you’re after from your game. Company of Heroes is probably the more accomplished game in terms of gameplay and mechanics but is far shorter. Dawn of War and Joint Task Force have bonuses due to terrain built in and Maelstrom has ground deformation and even player usable weather effects.
Click for larger imageAll of which places the mighty Command and Conquer series very much in the ‘everyman’ area of RTS games. What Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars does it does very well, very well indeed but it’s hardly pushing the envelope. However, as a way of marking a return to the market after a too long absence, Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is just about as perfectly formed as you could wish it to be and one that any RTS fan should definitely have on his shelf.
Pros
Small maps make for fast and frantic gameplay
Simple resource management lets you get on and wage war
Fair amount of difference between each faction’s units
FMV sections very well done
Highly polished and easy to get into
Works under Vista
Cons
Maps feel small compared to other RTS games
Limited and simplistic research tree
Limited scope for customizing units
HUD markers can take the fun out of exploring the maps
Units have mechanical ‘equal and opposite’ purposes
A welcome return of the Command Conquer series which couldn’t be more polished if you sprayed it with an entire can of Pledge
HEXUS Awards
Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
