Red Alert 3

[Roderick]

Well, they did it. Now I have to buy this thing.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40181.html

Tim Curry, George Takei and J. Jonah Jameson? And the dude from Brazil whose name escapes me? Where can I buy the DVD with with all the cutscenes?

[n0wak]

But that Russian actress is kinda hot though.

[Nappi]

I love how cheesy they have made the cutscenes look like.

Not sure what to make of the game itself though. Has anyone here tried the beta or something?

[Thrik]

A bit of Peter Stormare and Jonathan Pryce too.

The game looks promising. If it's got the same team as C&C 3 behind it then I have a lot of confidence in them delivering a quality RTS, although I am concerned that some of the things that historically distinguished Red Alert from regular C&C have been compromised a bit (Mechs?!).

[DanJW]

Not to mention Jonathan Pryce! Incredible cast indeed. Takei's 'all your base' line made me lol.

My misgiving about the RA3 footage is that the units have gone completely batshit insane with the scifi. Red Alert was always about WW2/Cold War era hardware, with an 'alternative' technology, 'secret history' twist. The real scifi stuff was left for the main C&C branch of games. Now RA is full of mechs and who knows what else? It's not really what I want

[Thrik]

Sniped. ;

[DanJW]

Gah!!

Also, in the words of one of the Gametrailers commenters; "are all the women in this game porn starlets?"

Edited September 20, 2008 by DanJW

[Nappi]

Had forgotten about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODR85iLunxU

[DanJW]

Ha yes, psionic schoolgirl, Akira style! I will accept that, since both the CIA and KGB/GRU did research into ESP during the real Cold War (and we had Yuri in RA2 - in fact 'Yuriko' mans 'Little Yuri', correct?)

[LOPcagney]

But they still have zeppelins. I think they may be trying to go for that whole retro-mecha-anime thing with the Empire of the Rising Sun, and as long as the cheesy cut-scenes are still in, so am I.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36360.html

Judging by this movie, the Japanese army is based around the idea of transformer-like adaptations.

Air-land

Sea-land

Air-sea

I think it's a cool idea.

[Thrik]

Trailer showing the cutscenes proper btw, for those who haven't seen it:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/38711.html

Who is the guy in the elevator beside Curry? I know I recognise him, but can't pinpoint where from at all.

[DanJW]

It's probably Andrew Divoff.

[Thrik]

Ahh, I recognise him as the crazy Russian bastard with an eyepatch in Lost.

[Roderick]

Not to mention Jonathan Pryce! Incredible cast indeed.

That's the name I was looking for. A bit less awkward than 'Brazil-guy'.

Or 'Tomorrow Never Dies-villain'.

[vimes]

No amount of tight female bodies and luscious womanly stares can replace Kari Wuhrer in my heart...

[Roderick]

I just love the marketing campaign for this game. Now they're playfully mocking other games like Starcraft and Dead Space =) How can you say no to this face?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0dqrhRbsJo

[ysbreker]

Sold!

[Thrik]

Eh? Isn't that the same video right up in the original post?

[Wrestlevania]

As much as I dislike RTS games, I've always had a soft spot for Red Alert 2. I'm definitely following this with interest...

[Scrobbs]

Have the C&C games progressed beyond 'Build up a force, send it over, whittle enemy defences, rinse, repeat' yet? Dune 2 was good, granted.

I can't play them since the Company of Heroes game model blew it away for sheer thrills and excitement.

[Thrik]

That's arguably one of the main draws of C&C, so no it certainly hasn't done away with that. You can certainly be tactical in C&C3 if you want though, as there is a lot of intricacy to the units. It's a very fun and exciting game, and I'd just get that rather than wait for Red Alert 3 if you're fancying some — it's excellent.

[Scrobbs]

That's arguably one of the main draws of C&C, so no it certainly hasn't done away with that.

As ever, people have differing opinions - I got sick of that game style ages ago. It wasn't until CoH opened my eyes to what RTS *could* be that I went back to the genre.

It's given me some of the most exciting gaming sessions of recent years, to the point where I remember once finishing a 45-60 minute 2v2 online match with my heart pounding, sweating and feeling a bit jittery. It really is that good.

[Wrestlevania]

Company of Heroes does sound good; setting up my "new" (as in "old"--but replacing my "dead" laptop) computer some time in the next few days, so I'll definitely give that another try. It crawled horribly on my laptop when I first tried it over a year ago.

As for Command & Conquer, it was the game that invented tank rushing. And I could imagine a rather large outcry from the faithful if this wasn't still the case. I can take it or leave it myself. I find computer opponents spammy and annoying, whereas playing in an alliance against friends was great fun.

But to recap: Woo! Proper desktop gaming, I return to you at last!

[Nappi]

I agree with Norfolk'n'Clue on Company of Heroes. I prefer the game's approach on RTS to the traditional gather-resources-and-by-a-shit-load-of-tanks gameplay vastly.

Still hope I will be able to enjoy Starcraft 2 and/or Red Alert 3.

[Roderick]

I don't know if Starcraft (2) fits that spammy rushy bill. Sure, there are some rush tactics (Zergling rush anyone?), but the units, especially in the upcoming sequel, appear to be much more specialised. Meaning they have one big strength, but also a few enormous drawbacks that you have to cover up with other units, causing the need to strategize and adapt.