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''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to pla ...
(RTS)
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
, first developed by
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to We ...
. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game ''
Dune II A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
'' and introducing trademarks followed in the rest of the series. This includes
full-motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...
cutscene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s with an
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast t ...
to progress the story, as opposed to digitally in-game rendered cutscenes. Westwood Studios was taken over by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...
in 1998 and closed down in 2003. The studio and some of its members were absorbed into
EA Los Angeles Danger Close Games (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC and EA Los Angeles) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in March 1995 as joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft (later moved to Mi ...
, which continued development on the series.


History

After
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to We ...
developed the critically acclaimed ''
Dune II A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...
'', ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through t ...
'' reported in 1993 that the company would not use the ''Dune'' license for Westwood's next strategy game "mostly because the programmers are tired of sand". The magazine stated that it would have "new terrain and enemies", and that "the design team is serious about doing a multi-player version". ''
Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Dune ...
'' was released worldwide by Westwood in 1995. The plot is set sometime in the near future where the Earth becomes contaminated by a mysterious substance known as Tiberium. A global war ensues between the UN-formed Global Defense Initiative to contain it and the cult quasi-state revolutionary Brotherhood of Nod, led by the enigmatic
Kane Kane or KANE may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Fictional entities *Kane (comics), the main character of the eponymous comic book series by Paul Grist * Kane (''Command & Conquer''), character in the ''Command & Conquer'' video game series ...
, which seeks to harness it. Highly successful, it was followed by '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' in 1996 which is set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union wages war with the Allies. Developed as the
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...
to the original, the ''Red Alert'' series was spun off into a separate, lighthearted and comic series, while the original game and its sequels became known as the "Tiberium" series, retaining its
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
and serious tone. The first game is sometimes referred to as ''Tiberian Dawn'' as a result. The original game was followed by '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun'' in 1999 and its expansion pack ''
Firestorm A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been us ...
''. In 2002,
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to We ...
released '' Command & Conquer: Renegade'', a
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
. ''Renegade'' was praised for its online features. A spin-off game in 2003, '' Command & Conquer: Generals'', set in a more realistic near-future and featuring the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, China and the Global Liberation Army was followed by an expansion pack, ''
Zero Hour Zero Hour may refer to: * Midnight, or 00:00 * Zero hour (1945), the capitulation of the Nazi government at midnight May 8, 1945 * Zero Hour (military designation), the scheduled time for the start of some event, especially a military operation ...
''. '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'' was released in 2007 and followed by the expansion pack ''
Kane's Wrath ''Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath'' is an expansion pack for the 2007 real-time strategy video game '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars''. Developed by EA Los Angeles studios and BreakAway Games studios, it was released on March 24, 2008 in ...
''. '' Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight'', released in 2010 as the conclusion to the ''Tiberium'' saga, received mixed reviews because of its deviation from traditional gameplay and story. The ''Red Alert'' series was continued by the 2000 title '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'', its expansion, ''
Yuri's Revenge ''Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge'' is an expansion pack to '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' developed by Westwood Studios. The game was released in North America on October 10, 2001Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'' in 2008, which introduced a third faction, the Empire of the Rising Sun, which resembles Japan with futuristic robotic technology. The series is primarily developed for
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tech ...
s running Microsoft Windows, although some titles have been
ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a Computing platform, computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) ...
to various
video game console A video game console is an electronic device that outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can be played with a game controller. These may be home consoles, which are generally placed in a permanent location connected to ...
s and
Apple Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and software ...
. Other games for platforms such as iOS and web-based have also been developed. As of July 2010, the ''Command & Conquer'' franchise consists of eleven games and eight expansion packs. The first three games of the series have been released as
freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...
to promote the successors. A free-to-play game, entitled ''
Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Dune ...
'', was in development with the studio
Victory Games Victory Games may refer to: *Victory Games (Avalon Hill) Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It ...
. It was set to be the next game in the series and was expected to be released in 2013. However, after a short alpha period the game was cancelled, and Victory Games disbanded by EA. The ''Command & Conquer'' series has been a commercial success with over 30 million ''Command & Conquer'' games sold as of 2009.


Gameplay

The ''Command & Conquer'' titles are
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to pla ...
games, with the exception of the
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
'' Command & Conquer: Renegade''. A staple of the series is the parallel campaigns of various different factions to one central storyline. Games in the series also offered
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system ( couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
game options, via
LAN Lan or LAN may also refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in sp ...
and
modem A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more c ...
connection. All games in the series have also offered online play, as well as "skirmish" matches in which players can face AI enemies. All ''Command & Conquer'' real-time strategy games except ''Command & Conquer: Generals'' and its expansions have featured the "side bar" for navigation and control as opposed to many other similar games where the control bar is located on the bottom of the screen. ''Command & Conquer'' gameplay typically requires the player to construct a base and acquire resources, in order to fund the ongoing production of various types of forces with which to assault and conquer the opponent's base. All available structures of the faction chosen by the player are constructed on-site at so-called "construction yard" - which typically begin as large-sized vehicles capable of deploying themselves into the aforementioned construction yards, called MCVs or Mobile Construction Vehicle. When a construction yard has finished building a new structure, the player can select a spot near to a preexisting structure in order to place it, where the
prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is u ...
building will rapidly unfold in a distinctive manner. In all games in the series except ''Command & Conquer: Generals'' and its expansion ''Zero Hour'', funds are acquired by specialised "harvester" units which bring their cargo (Tiberium for the ''Tiberian'' series of games or ore or the more valuable gems for the ''Red Alert'' series) to a "refinery" structure. This in turn will convert the raw material into usable resources, expressed as credits. The raw materials themselves, in games released before ''Red Alert 2'' as well as ''Command & Conquer 3'' require storage space in the form of refineries and, in the case of excess, "storage silo" structures. In ''Generals'' and ''Zero Hour'', funds are collected by two methods: collection of supplies by specialised units and converted to money in "supply centers" or directly produced by specialised units, buildings, or tech buildings at a set interval of time. All factions have structures and units with similar functions at their disposal. However, they are adjusted to fit each faction's theme and have somewhat varying properties. Units can be classified into infantry, vehicles, and aircraft, each with their own subdivisions (note: in the ''Red Alert'' series there is also naval craft available). Unit effectiveness against opponents follows the
rock-paper-scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each ...
(
intransitivity In mathematics, intransitivity (sometimes called nontransitivity) is a property of binary relations that are not transitive relations. This may include any relation that is not transitive, or the stronger property of antitransitivity, which descr ...
) principle found in most
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to pla ...
games, and units' attack characteristics can vary according to faction. Virtually every type of structure in the series acts as a
tech tree In strategy games, a technology, tech, or research tree is a hierarchical visual representation of the possible sequences of upgrades a player can take (most often through the act of research). Because these trees are technically directed and acy ...
node, and additional units, structures and faction-specific abilities will become available as new structures are built and placed. Access to advanced units and abilities may be temporarily blocked if the required structures are destroyed or if they are not being provided with adequate power by the supporting "power plant" structures.


Multiplayer

Each ''Command & Conquer'' game has included the ability to play multiplayer games against other players. Each box of ''Command & Conquer'' contained two CD copies of the game, making
multiplayer gaming A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...
possible with a single purchase of the game. Westwood Studios advertised this on the packaging with the slogan "A second copy, so you and your friend can destroy each other." This resulted in ''Command & Conquer'' becoming the first RTS game title to feature competitive online play, and this is considered the most pertinent outside factor in the success of ''Command & Conquer''. All games in the series up to ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' featured two CDs that could be used for this reason. Later games did not. ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'' was noted for being the first RTS game to enable the campaigns to be played cooperatively online; others had only supported single player campaigns. However, it was only possible to connect to other computers through EA's servers and not with
LAN Lan or LAN may also refer to: Science and technology * Local asymptotic normality, a fundamental property of regular models in statistics * Longitude of the ascending node, one of the orbital elements used to specify the orbit of an object in sp ...
play. Games produced by Westwood use the proprietary Westwood Online system to facilitate multiplayer games over the Internet; ''Renegade'' also supported GameSpy. Games under EA's development continued to use GameSpy, but dropped support for Westwood Online in favor of using EA's own servers. The GameSpy master servers have shut down in 2013., but some game titles can be played via
Gameranger GameRanger is a software for Macintosh and Windows created by Australian developer Scott Kevill, which allows multiplayer games to be played online and provides social features such as chat rooms and voice chat. It was first released for Macintosh ...
.


Games


''Tiberian'' series

''
Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Dune ...
'', released on September 26, 1995, is the first game in the series and is considered as the title which originally defined and popularized the real-time strategy genre. ''Command & Conquer'' introduced the warring factions of the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod. ''Command & Conquer'' was well received and was widely praised by critics: "''Command & Conquer'' is one of the finest, most brilliantly-designed computer games I have ever seen" said
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
reviewer Chris Hudak. ''Command & Conquer'' has attained 94% as an aggregate score from
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
with the less well received ''Covert Operations'' expansion pack obtaining an aggregate score of 72% after its 1996 release. The year in which C&C takes place is never specified in game but '' Command & Conquer: Renegade'' manual hints to take place between 2017 and 2020. '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun'', released on August 27, 1999, takes place in the year 2030. While the original ''Command & Conquer''s plot was centered around an allegorical world politics setting, ''Tiberian Sun'' shifted this to a more
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
-like setting against the apocalyptic background of Tiberium beginning to assimilate vast portions of the Earth's ecosystems. In 1998,
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to We ...
, the developers of ''Tiberian Sun'', was acquired by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...
. However, EA had no direct part in the development of the title. Compared to its predecessor, ''Tiberian Sun'' relies heavily on science fiction technologies and introduces a new isometric game engine featuring varying level terrain to give the impression of a true 3D environment. The
full motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...
is also scripted differently; while the cutscenes of ''Command & Conquer'' and ''Red Alert'' were filmed from a first-person perspective, ''Tiberian Sun'' used traditional cinematic shots for its FMVs featuring actors such as
James Earl Jones James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
and
Michael Biehn Michael Connell Biehn ( ; born July 31, 1956) is an American actor, primarily known for his roles in science fiction films directed by James Cameron; as Sgt. Kyle Reese in '' The Terminator'' (1984), Cpl. Dwayne Hicks in ''Aliens'' (1986), and ...
. '' Command & Conquer: Renegade'', released February 26, 2002, takes place in the final days of the events of ''Command & Conquer'' and was the last ''Command & Conquer'' game to be created by Westwood Studios before their liquidation in 2003. Unlike any other games in the series, ''Renegade'' is a
first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...
. Although receiving average reviews, with an aggregate score of 75% on both
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and Metacritic, ''Renegade'' was praised for its online features. GameSpy awarded ''Renegade'' its 2002 "Wish it had been better" award, condemning the single player but saying that "''C&C: Renegade''s multiplayer was innovative and fun". Online play was praised for encouraging teamwork and coordinated assaults, unlike other contemporary first-person shooters. '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'', released March 29, 2007, was a return to the real-time strategy roots of the ''Command & Conquer'' series. As a direct sequel to ''Tiberian Sun'', ''Tiberium Wars'' is set in 2047 and features the introduction of a third faction, the Scrin. The sequel attained an aggregate score of 85% from both GameRankings and Metacritic. ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' U.S. gave the game its "Editor's Choice" rating at 90%, stating that "one of the greatest RTS franchises of all time returns to glory", while PC Gamer UK gave it a more reserved rating of 82%, stating that it was "a welcome, but limited, return". Shortly after the release of ''Tiberium Wars'', the expansion pack '' Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath'' was announced. Released on March 24, 2008, ''Kane's Wrath'' limited the player to only the Brotherhood of Nod in the campaign mode, though the original factions and six new sub-factions are available for the new strategic mode and skirmish mode. Reception was mainly positive with the expansion attaining an aggregate score of 77%. '' Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight'', released on March 16, 2010, saw a big change in gameplay from the previous ''Command & Conquer'' by removing the resource gathering and base building elements in previous games as well as the removal of the third faction, the Scrin. It is a direct sequel to ''Kane's Wrath'' (however not directly following on from its storyline), and is set in 2062, a time when Tiberium has advanced to its next evolutionary stage, and is rapidly spreading across Earth, making it soon to be uninhabitable. '' Renegade X'', is a
free Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...
,
fan-made Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works ( fiction, fan fiction and review literature ...
remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the sa ...
of '' Command & Conquer: Renegade''. The developers received approval from EA to release their game, and it entered
open beta A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
on February 26, 2014. ''Renegade X'' includes a short single-player campaign called Black Dawn. EA announced in November 2018 its plans to remaster ''Command & Conquer'', including expansions and ''Red Alert'', for modern computer systems through
Petroglyph Games Petroglyph Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Las Vegas. It was founded in 2003 by Joe Bostic, Michael Legg and Steve Tall, programmers formerly of Westwood Studios, after that company was closed down earlier that year. ...
. It was released on June 5, 2020. The Remastered Collection received a score of 82/100 on Metacritic, with 48 positive, 10 mixed, and 0 negative reviews, indicating a "generally favorable" reception. Along with the release, EA also released the source code to the mod libraries for the base game and ''Red Alert'' into
open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...
as to allow players to build improved mods for the games.


''Red Alert'' series

'' Command & Conquer: Red Alert'', released on November 22, 1996, is set in an alternate universe 1950s and was originally made to be the
prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...
to ''Command & Conquer'' establishing ''Red Alert'' as the
prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...
of the entire ''Tiberium'' series of games.
Louis Castle Louis Castle is an American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios, designing the PC game ''Blade Runner'', and collaborating with Steven Spielberg on the '' Boom Blox'' and '' Boom Blox Bash Party'' video games for th ...
has said that connecting ''Red Alert'' with the ''Tiberium'' series was a "failed experiment". ''Red Alert'' introduces the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and the
Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...
as rival factions roughly analogous to
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
of the Cold War. The game was received well by critics and has the highest average score of any ''Command & Conquer'' game with an average of over 90% from
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, unlike the title's two expansion packs, ''Red Alert: Counterstrike'' and ''Red Alert: The Aftermath'' of which both received below average reviews for the series with 63% and 70% average scores respectively. Both expansions gave the game more missions and more units. For PlayStation only, there was also a separate release to the original called ''Red Alert: Retaliation'' which included all the maps, missions and units of ''Red Alert: Counterstrike'' and ''Red Alert: The Aftermath'' as well as some newly filmed cut-scenes only available with ''Red Alert: Retaliation''. Before being re-released as
freeware Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for t ...
on 31 August 2008 by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted th ...
''Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' had sold over three million copies. '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' was released on October 23, 2000. It featured a Soviet invasion of North America with tanks, conscripts, large
airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...
s, and psychically dominated anti-ship
giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family (biology), family Architeuthidae. It can grow to a tremendous size, offering an example of deep-sea gigantism, abyssal gigantism: recent estimates ...
. Since that game lacked reference to the ''Tiberian'' series, the connection established in the first ''Red Alert'' game became unclear. However, it has been implied by the original creators of the series, now working at
Petroglyph Games Petroglyph Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Las Vegas. It was founded in 2003 by Joe Bostic, Michael Legg and Steve Tall, programmers formerly of Westwood Studios, after that company was closed down earlier that year. ...
, that ''Red Alert 2'' takes place in a parallel universe that came about as a result of time travel experiments taking place some time into the ''Tiberian'' series. ''Red Alert 2'' was received fairly positively with an aggregate score of 86% from GameRankings. An expansion pack to ''Red Alert 2'', '' Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge'' was released on October 10, 2001. In ''Yuri's Revenge'', an ex-Soviet figure named Yuri, tries to conquer the world using psychic technology and his own private army. The expansion pack received mostly positive reviews.
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
reports an average score of 85% based on 31 reviews, making ''Yuri's Revenge'' the best received expansion pack in the ''Command & Conquer'' series. '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'', released on October 28, 2008, followed up on the story of ''Red Alert 2'' and continued the series' more "light-hearted" take on ''Command & Conquer''. It introduced many new comical units and the Empire of the Rising Sun faction, an
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
inspired version of the
Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...
. Executive producer Chris Corry stated in a pre-release interview that ''Red Alert 3'' will further differentiate the playable factions from each other and "
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up the silliness in their faction design whenever possible". This approach was seen as popular with ''Red Alert 3'' obtaining an aggregate score of 82% from Metacritic. A stand-alone expansion to ''Red Alert 3'', '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising'' was released on March 12, 2009, to fairly poor reviews for the series with an average score of 64% from Metacritic. Another downloadable standalone game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 was released known as '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Commander's Challenge'' which contained the Commander's Challenge mode of Uprising for consoles. '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' was released on October 16, 2009, for
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which was a continuation of the story of ''Red Alert 2'' and takes place before ''Red Alert 3''. It contained two factions, the Allies and Soviet Union with a third faction, the Empire of the Rising Sun, to be added in its expansion pack. This version of the game is not available in some regions (e.g. the UK). The Chinese developer
Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. () is a Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimedia companies in the world based on revenue. It is also the wo ...
made a new
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
version of ''Red Alert'', with a highly mixed reception from fans online.


''Generals'' series

'' Command & Conquer: Generals'', released on February 10, 2003, has a plotline which is unrelated to the other games of the ''Command & Conquer'' series. ''Generals'' is set in the near future and features the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
, China and the fictional terrorist organization, the Global Liberation Army. ''Generals'' uses an engine dubbed
SAGE Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...
(or Strategy Action Game Engine) and is the first fully three-dimensional ''Command & Conquer'' real-time strategy game. After its release, ''Generals'' received mostly positive reviews. Based on 34 reviews,
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
gives it a score of 84/100 which includes a score of 9.3/10 from IGN. ''Generals'' has also received the E3 2002
Game Critics Awards The Game Critics Awards are a set of annual awards held after the E3 video game conference since 1998. The awards are given to products displayed at E3 with the title Best of E3 of their category. Format The nominees and winners of the awards a ...
Best Strategy Game award. One review noted that ''Generals'' was the first ''Command & Conquer'' real-time strategy game that did not include full-motion video cutscenes to tell the story and that it departed from the unique interface and base-building mechanics that had characterized all of the previous ''Command & Conquer'' RTS titles. An expansion for ''Generals'', '' Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour'', was released on September 22, 2003, to further the ''Generals'' storyline. ''Zero Hour'' added 9 new armies to the game, over a dozen new campaign missions, and a gameplay mode known as Generals Challenge. Unlike ''Generals'', ''Zero Hour'' featured the return of full motion videos to the series. ''Zero Hour'' obtained much the same reception as ''Generals'' with an aggregate score of 85% and 84% from GameRankings and Metacritic respectively. After EA Los Angeles started up their new internal group Danger Close and switched its focus to the ''
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...
'' series, EA launched a new studio named
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to continue the ''Command & Conquer'' franchise. On December 10, 2011, Electronic Arts posted that the next game in the series would be '' Command & Conquer: Generals 2''. Three days later, a new browser-based, free-to-play MMO ''Command & Conquer'' game was also under development, under the name '' Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances''. On December 15, ''Tiberium Alliances'' began a closed beta. In August 2012, ''Generals 2'' was repurposed to a
free-to-play Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
game known as simply ''
Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Dune ...
''. The new game would have been based around the ''Generals'' franchise. However, following feedback from players who were able to play the alpha trial, the game was cancelled in October 2013. EA has said that the franchise will continue, but has given no other information at the time.


Recent

EA revealed '' Command & Conquer: Rivals'', which was under development by the newly formed EA Redwood Studios and released for
Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
and
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mobile devices in December 2018.
Petroglyph Games Petroglyph Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Las Vegas. It was founded in 2003 by Joe Bostic, Michael Legg and Steve Tall, programmers formerly of Westwood Studios, after that company was closed down earlier that year. ...
released remastered versions of ''Red Alert'' and ''Command and Conquer'' in June 2020, where both games have been updated with features that improve gameplay for players while also including all expansions initially released for the games.


Chronology

;
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to We ...
(1995–2002) * 1995 – ''
Command & Conquer ''Command & Conquer'' (''C&C'') is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game '' Dune ...
'' ** 1996 – '' Command & Conquer – The Covert Operations'' * 1996 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' ** 1997 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Counterstrike'' ** 1997 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert – The Aftermath'' ** 1998 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert – Retaliation'' * 1997 – ''Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor'' * 1999 – '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun'' ** 2000 – '' Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun – Firestorm'' * 2000 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' ** 2001 – '' Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge'' * 2002 – '' Command & Conquer: Renegade'' ;
EA Los Angeles Danger Close Games (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC and EA Los Angeles) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in March 1995 as joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft (later moved to Mi ...
(2003–2010) * 2003 – '' Command & Conquer: Generals'' ** 2003 – '' Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour'' * 2007 – '' Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'' ** 2008 – '' Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath'' * 2008 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'' ** 2009 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Uprising'' ** 2009 – '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Commander's Challenge'' * 2010 – '' Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight'' ;
EA Phenomic EA Phenomic was a real-time strategy video game developer, headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, and founded as Phenomic Game Development in 1997 by Volker Wertich, who had previous worked in Blue Byte and developed ''The Settlers'' and ''The Settl ...
(2011) * 2012 – '' Command & Conquer: Tiberium Alliances'' ;EA Redwood Studios (2018–) * 2018 – '' Command & Conquer: Rivals'' ;
Petroglyph Games Petroglyph Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Las Vegas. It was founded in 2003 by Joe Bostic, Michael Legg and Steve Tall, programmers formerly of Westwood Studios, after that company was closed down earlier that year. ...
(2020) * 2020 – '' Command & Conquer Remastered Collection'' See also canceled ''Command & Conquer'' games.


Music

Much of the music for the series was composed and produced by
Westwood Studios Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to We ...
' former sound director and
video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...
composer
Frank Klepacki Frank Klepacki (; ) is an American musician and video game composer, best known for his work on the ''Command & Conquer'' series. Having learned to play drums as a child, he joined Westwood Studios as a composer when he was 17 years old. He has ...
for the early games, with composition duties being taken on by several others following the liquidation of Westwood Studios in 2003. Klepacki returned to the series in 2008 to assist with the soundtrack for ''
Red Alert 3 ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in October 2008 in the United States and Europe for Microsoft Windows. An Xbox 360 version was ...
''. The music has been received positively by critics, although praise was higher with earlier entries. The original score for ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' was composed by
Frank Klepacki Frank Klepacki (; ) is an American musician and video game composer, best known for his work on the ''Command & Conquer'' series. Having learned to play drums as a child, he joined Westwood Studios as a composer when he was 17 years old. He has ...
and was voted the best video game soundtrack of 1996 by
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
and Gameslice magazines. Among his most famous songs from the series is the theme of ''Red Alert'', titled "Hell March", which accents the style of the game with adrenalized riffs of electric guitar, the sounds of marching feet, and synthesizers to a dramatic chant. Originally intended to be the theme for the Brotherhood of Nod faction in the ''Covert Operations'' expansion to the original 1995 ''Command & Conquer'' game, the track eventually ended up enlisting itself as a staple in the ''Red Alert'' series instead, and a second version of "Hell March" was specifically created for '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2''.


Reception

The ''Command & Conquer'' series have been a commercial success with over 30 million ''Command & Conquer'' games sold as of 2009. In 1997,
Screen Digest Screen Digest Ltd was a company providing business intelligence, research and analysis on the global media markets based in London, United Kingdom, that has grown out of a monthly journal of that name that was founded in 1971. It was acquired by th ...
said it was "probably the world's biggest PC CD-ROM entertainment franchise to date." Games in the series have nearly consistently scored highly on video game
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
websites
GameRankings GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
and
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which collect data from numerous review websites. As noted in the table below, the highest rated game is ''Command & Conquer'' with a score of 94% from Metacritic. The highest rated game averaged over both sites is ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' with an average of just over 90%. As a series, ''Command & Conquer'' games have averaged approximately 80% when including expansion packs and approximately 84% without. ''Command & Conquer''s long history resulted in Guinness World Records awarding the series six world records in the Guinness World Records: Gamer's Edition 2008. These records include "Biggest Selling RTS Series", "Most Number of Platforms for an RTS", and "Longest Running Actor in Video Game Role" for
Joe Kucan Joseph David Kucan is an American video game developer, director, actor, screenwriter, and casting director for various gaming companies and films. He is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. He is well known for his role as Kane from the ''Command ...
, who has played the part of Kane, the villainous mastermind of the series, for 15 years.


References

;Notes *


External links

* * *
Command & Conquer Wiki
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