Ok, there’s some good news and some bad news. The good news is that yet another of the hugely successful modern/future strategy series, Command and Conquer is out. Sadly they couldn’t be imaginative to think up a title, so they called it Red Alert 3. The bad news is that I have never played any of the C&C series so the plot will be probably hard to follow, as from what I have worked out :
The Red Alert series is set in an alternative history , created when Albert Einstein travels back in time and removes Adolf Hitler to try to stop World War II (Far out or what?). This backfires and results in a Soviet invasion of Europe by Stalin, which serves as the backdrop for the first Red Alert game.
Red Alert 1 is an exploration of the beginnings of the alternate history leading to the Tiberian series and is the prequel to the original Command & Conquer game. With the release of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, this connection however would become unclear, with fans of the series split as to whether or not the time travel excursions of the series were forming a separate continuity or just another side adventure on the way to the Tiberian era. However, it has been implied by the original creators of the series, now working on Petroglyph Games, that Red Alert 2 takes place in a parallel universe as a result of time travel experiments taking place some time into the Tiberium storyline. Whether or not the current developers of the C&C series are going to follow through on this explanation, however, is unclear.
If that paragraph made sense to you then please leave a comment, starting @Unmouldeddoor3
In Red Alert 2, the Soviet Union invades the United States, using mind control technology to capture US forces and deactivate the United States’ nuclear arsenal. In the expansion Yuri’s Revenge, Soviet Premier Romanov’s adviser Yuri attempts to overtake the world using his psychic dominator technology. A last-second attempt to stop Yuri’s plans sends the player back in time to the conflict occurring in Red Alert 2, but instead of fighting against the Soviets/Allies, the player fights against Yuri. Unlike Red Alert, the Red Alert 2 games do not make any explicit or passive references to the Tiberian series.
In Red Alert 3, the Soviet Union travels back in time to kill Einstein in order to weaken the Allies. However this act has created a split timeline which caused a new secret empire to rise from the east, the Empire of the Rising Sun. The Empire uses Mecha Robot Technology which is able to transform into different forms.The Soviets, Allies and Empire are all at war with each other with no alliances between any two factions.
So if, like me, you are confused, and have never played a C&C game, read on. For any fans of the series, stop reading and buy the game now. In your incapacitated mental state you are sure to like it – it even has stompy Japanese robots!
From the moment you start up this game it is clear that it is a lighthearted affair. A live action intro establishes what’s going on, then you are shown a cartoony menu. It’s best to play the tutorial first (Something I wouldn’t normally do, but this is complicated), and straightaway you can see the actual game itself’s graphics are cartoony, and the three tanks of the different factions are constantly bickering. Unlike Empire Earth III, this game manages to be funny well.
However, a laugh this game may be, but underneath the good-natured exterior are the makings of a brilliant game. It is reasonably simple to use, as strategy games go, and it has the unique feature of every single unit having at least one special ability. They have managed to make the factions (Alliance, USSR and Empire of the Rising Sun) remarkably different, each looking different and having unique ways of building. One poor point (In my view – hardcore RTS fans may disagree) is that everything has a health bar – so being shot by a tank will not kill infantry instantly, for example. The gameplay (as far as I can work out – I have only played the game for a few hours) is fun and engaging, and, though it is set in an alternative reality, without a timeperiod (well, not one easy to work out, anyway) does not seem too far fetched.
The graphics are good, if nothing to write home about (They, too, are cartoony) but you can tell quite a bit of work has gone into the game engine itself. A lot of work has also gone into the numerous live action cut-scenes, which are far better than any tacky CGI ones.
I just love this game. The quirky features never end, such as the USSR bullfrog transport unit, which, to transport infantry over large distances, fires them out of a man-cannon. The comments made by the units are not annoying, as they were in EE III. After the grittiness of the Tiberian games this is refreshing, and certainly one of the best strategy games out there. It has certainly done it for me, and I, as I said in the Podcast, don’t even like C&C games. If you want a fun, distracting, RTS game for PC (Or Xbox 360 – which it is coming out for in November), I urge you to buy Command & Conquer Red Alert 3 now. Its not without its faults, but its still great.
Nometet.com says: 
+Funny, cartoony
+Scantily clad Russian ladies in leather
+Alternative history – it must be good!
-Not gritty?
