There's nothing like good old fashioned time travel to muck up things and make for an exciting new combat situation. Just as it was in the first Red Alert game, this rendition explores a bizarre alternate timeline where Albert Einstein has been eliminated, preventing the invention of nuclear weapons, and allowing the Soviet Union to prosper unchallenged. But when the time-traveling assassins return to their time, they find themselves facing a new challenge from the Far East. Thus, the three factions of Red Alert 3 are set up: you get to wage war with the Allies and the Soviets, just like before, but now you also get Japan thrown into the mix. Let the chaos begin!
Just like in any other Command and Conquer game, you're given control of a battlefield, to build a base, create and army, and wipe out the enemy (or enemies). If you've played other real-time strategy games before, the setup is the same as always: you build a construction yard, gather resources, build more buildings, train infantry, build tanks and other cool things, and blow everything up! The cool thing about Red Alert 3 is that, in this alternate universe, you're given a plethora of weird and silly units to play with. You'll get boats and ships that can crawl on land. You'll see flying infantry that can transform into jet planes. The Soviets can train bears and use Tesla coils; the US has time-warping technology; Japan has giant robots. All three factions get one hot sexy commando chick that can single-handedly cause massive damage (although these units usually die easily). Each faction builds their buildings and units in different ways, and each unit has their share of strengths and weaknesses that make all three sides balance out.
Gameplay is as rewarding as most other RTS games. It can be frustrating to find yourself being wiped out if the enemy pulls out something that you're unprepared for, but it can also be rewarding when you crush your opponents with awesome technology. The control scheme is simple and easy; you have a good amount of control over everything, with only two mouse buttons and maybe a few keyboard shortcuts. My only complaint here is that it's almost too simple; resource gathering is pretty much simplified to the point where you don't have to worry about it unless the enemy targets your ore collectors, and when power gets knocked out, you have no control over which buildings are powered-down. However, the standard mechanics for garrisoning buildings, using special abilities, using command powers, and other recent C&C trends are there, and help make things versitile.
The story has an interesting premise, but as the game goes on, the actual events and politics of the thing barely matter. As expected, factions fight each other, join forces a few times, betray each other again, and it all ultimately works out so that every side gets a victory. The story merely serves to string all the missions together and give each mission a unique objective. Some of the missions have unique challenges, but most have been done before in other games. There are a few really outlandish missions that stand out though, such as seeing superweapons popping out of Mount Rushmore.
The game runs pretty smoothly. Graphics are on the same level as C&C 3, and it's not bad for its time, even if everything does look cartoony and blocky. Textures and renderings, on a good machine, can look really good. Controls are simple and effective. This game uses a plethora of awesome actors doing their best to delivery really hammy performances, to include the talents of Tim Curry, Jonathan Pryce, George Takei, and other familiar faces. Writing is pretty simple and silly. Designs for the game's settings, vehicles, buildings, units, and everything else are pretty decent and imaginative. Sounds and music are good.
Recommended for C&C fans, Red Alert fans, or RTS fans in general.
4/5 (Entertainment: Very Good | Story: Average | Game: Good)
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