Author: Jason Logue

Introduction

Imagine for a second that it is 1995. A flash new 133 MHz Pentium PC takes up valuable space on an often too-small office desk. The office smells of a mix of stale pizza, spilt beer and stinky feet (that's only because my wife made me keep my army boots in that room), and in the middle sits a dishevelled, unshaven man with eyes glued to a computer monitor. The reason for his unwavering gaze was the phenomenal Westwood Studios release, Command & Conquer, a game that was also a strong factor in the lack of personnel hygiene and quite a few shakes of the head and under-the-breath comments from his new wife. I still remember getting to the point in the final GDI mission, after what seems now to be weeks of continuous gaming, when the announcement "Nuclear launch detected" squawked over my tinny little multimedia speakers. NUCLEAR WHAT! The manual does not say anything about nukes; what the hell is going on?

Time warp forward five years to last month. A new computer, a new office, that same musty old boot smell and a larger mess not created by non-stop gaming sessions but by a little person who seems to be able to crawl faster than I can walk, and "Nuclear launch detected" booms over my subwoofer sound system. Big deal! Ho hum! Whatever, just get it over with so I can clean up the mess and get on with finishing this mission.

A squadron of Harriers attacks a Russian base after an Allied spy has disabled the power.	Albert Einstein has been indulging in a few Twinkies since the last war.

Yes I'm sorry to report, and this is very hard for me to say given that I'm a devoted fan of the series, that the spark has gone. Westwood Studios may have produced one too many in the Command & Conquer line-up without offering any real change. Red Alert 2 has succumbed to the sequel syndrome.

Red Alert 2, as the name would suggest, follows on from Westwood's previous title in Command & Conquer's alternate universe. It is an isometric-view real-time strategy game (RTS) that will be instantly familiar to most gamers, as this system has been the standard by which games of this genre have been judged for the last couple of years. Players have the choice of protecting the US and free world from invasion by joining with the Allies, or leading the advance into the capitalist homeland by joining the Russians. The game offers two single-player campaigns, one from each side, using scripted missions and a variety of multi-player options. Red Alert 2 includes a wide variety of unit and structure types, some of which make their return to the campaign while others are battlefield debutantes. As well, perennial favourite Albert Einstein returns to impart his wisdom, but I must say old Albert may have been indulging in a few too many celebratory dinners since the first game as he has certainly stacked on the weight … his hair however has not changed. Like other games in the series, Red Alert 2 uses full-motion video cutscenes to link missions, but the usual quality acting as evidenced in Tiberian Sun is bordering on high-school production in this release. Since when do special forces soldiers prance about in crop tops with tight-fitting pants anyway?

Installation, Documentation & Technical Issues

The manual includes a brief campaign outline, the obligatory tech tree, and information on units and structures. As well, large sections of the manual are devoted to the various forms of on-line play and connecting to Westwood Online. Similarly, two sides of the reference card are devoted to multi-player tactics, leaving me with the impression that the developers saw multi-player as the strongest element of the game.

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