Command & Conquer: Generals

Command & Conquer: Generals is one of the most recent real-time strategy games in the Command & Conquer series. Generals utilizes the SAGE (Strategy Action Game Engine) engine. This proprietary engine is an extended version of the Renegade 3D engine, and Electronic Arts has not made any announcements as to whether or not it will license the SAGE engine to other developers, however it has been used for other EA games such as The Battle for Middle-earth.

Generals was released onto the Microsoft Windows platform in 2003, and a Mac OS version was released in 2004. Generals marked the return of the Command & Conquer series to the Mac OS, and the first new game since Command & Conquer (although plans for a Mac OS version of Red Alert were under way before being scrapped).

Plot

Though bearing the name of Command and Conquer, the story bears no relationship to the storylines of the Tiberium and Red Alert series.

Generals takes place in the 2010s. Players are given a choice of three factions to play rather than the two in the early parts of the Command & Conquer and Red Alert series. In Generals, the United States and China are the world's two superpowers, and are the targets of the Global Liberation Army, a generic Middle Eastern terrorist organization with an unclear agenda. Both the United States and China are depicted as the protagonists in the series, and frequently cooperate with each other throughout the storyline. The three factions are thus engaged in a war similar to that of the real-life War on Terror.

The player can play any of the three sides in any order, with each side's campaign comprising seven missions. For the storyline to make sense, the proper order to play is China first, then the GLA, then the USA. In this order, China retaliates for a devastating GLA nuclear attack on Beijing, eventually completely crushing the GLA cell masterminding all Pacific rim operations. (Events such as the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam and the use of China's nuclear arsenal are part of this campaign.) The GLA campaign then begins, with the organization trying to recover from its recent setback at the hands of the Chinese, by raising funds and instigating attacks against their American and Chinese antagonists, eventually culminating in the overtaking of the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the firing of a Soyuz launch vehicle bearing a biological MIRV at a nondescript city. At this point the American campaign begins, in which the USA tracks the GLA back to its global capital (which includes a confrontation with a rogue Chinese general and GLA sympathiser at one point).

Each of the three factions are depicted in a different manner: the United States uses expensive state-of-the-art technology such as airborne drones and laser defences, while China uses older combat-proven technology such as modernized napalm and Gatling guns. (China's strength also rests in its sheer numbers - "horde bonuses" are given to large groups of units). The GLA, being technologically disadvantaged, often resorts to guerrilla warfare to achieve victory in the battlefield.

Unlike Tiberian Sun or Red Alert, Generals has no major characters other than that of the in-game heroes (where they only play a minor role) and the player, portrayed as a general in whatever army is being played. The player earns Generals Experience in order to rise in rank and receive new abilities, such as the ordering of airstrikes or the immediate repair of units in a certain area.

Despite the generally positive spin on China in the series, the Generals series, interestingly enough, is banned in China, probably due to the depiction of a nuclear attack on Tiananmen Square in the first mission of the Chinese campaign. Throughout the game China also shows a degree of indiscretion with nuclear weapons, albeit restricted to the lower tactical nuke yield range.

The Generals story is continued in the expansion pack Generals - Zero Hour.

Generals presents players with a separate musical score for each faction. The game's opening and ending theme music during the China campaign features China's national anthem, March of the Volunteers. The United States' theme music consists of epic, militaristic scores composed by Bill Brown. The GLA faction's theme soundtrack can be described as a combination of Middle Eastern sounds coupled with heavy metal music, similar to the Somalian sequences in Black Hawk Down.

Criticisms of Command & Conquer: Generals

Although Generals is officially listed as a Command & Conquer game many fans of the C&C series were upset over various changes implemented for the game, namely the use of Command & Conquer in the game title and the balance of power presented in the game.

Command & Conquer controversy

Some fans of the Command & Conquer universe and its alternative Red Alert universe have had reservations about the use of the words "Command & Conquer" in the title of Generals due in large part to C&C's style of gameplay. In every other Command & Conquer game released players have had FMV briefings which tie the game's missions and plot together, the control bar for construction of structures and units has been to the extreme right of the screen, there has been no "middle man" (a unit needed to build other structures), and all plot lines are centered either between the Allies and Soviets (Red Alert), or GDI and Nod (C&C). Generals, on the other hand, departs from conventional Command and Conquer themes: The GDI, the Brotherhood of Nod, and the tiberium resource are not present in this game. This game is not part of the 'Red Alert' theme either, it is an entirely separate, original game world; some players resented this. Unlike previous C&C games, Generals and the Zero Hour expansion were developed by EA Los Angeles, after EA Games absorbed Westwood Studios. The game mechanics display an influence from other RTS games, such as Blizzard Entertainment's StarCraft and the more recent Warcraft III. The control bar is now at the bottom and several units have special action buttons (cfr. the Warcraft series 'magic spells'). Many units' attack and defense can also be upgraded in specific buildings much like in the Blizzard RTS games. There are no FMV briefings for upcoming missions (although there are still briefings), and the introduction of a "middle man" when building has been met with some resistance. Unlike in the previous C&C games, a player can build as many superweapons as he has the funds for; this last issue has been a major sore point for online players of Generals who will frequently cap Superweapons (the game was patched to include this option when setting up a server) or ban them altogether. As a result of these changes, some fans of the series argue that it is not a true Command & Conquer game.

Military enthusiasts in the USA also criticize the Zero Hour expansion for painting a bleak picture for the US's outcome in the 'War on Terror' as China emerges the true victor in the end (after the US recieves a major setback at the hands of the al-Qaida-like GLA). (However, the game is entirely hypothetical, being set in the future.) As detailed above, the Chinese government banned the game.

The Balance of Power

The balance of power in Generals is varied.

The United States of America focuses its military on technologically advanced equipment and precision tactics; it uses such advanced weaponry as stealth aircraft and lasers, while its infantry are the best equipped. Such a philosophy is evident in the American superweapon: the particle cannon, capable of causing more localised and precise damage than the other factions'.

While the USA prefers to surround itself with advanced technology, the Chinese faction relies on brute power and sheer numbers. The Chinese tanks are the strongest in the game, and include the enormous twin-cannon 'Overlord'. In the game, they appear to have no qualms in using low-yield nuclear weapons and napalm. Their superweapon, the Nuclear Missile, reflects this approach, causing indiscriminate damage over a wide area.

The Global Liberation Army, or GLA, uses uncoventional stealthy and sneaky tactics. The Global Liberation Army is the most resourceful faction, and while its tanks and other machines are the weakest, they are also the cheapest. The GLA also use biological and chemical weapons, even spraying toxic substances from converted tractors. The GLA's superweapon is the SCUD Storm.

Overall, if used correctly, each side is just as powerful, if not more (depending on the players), than the others.

Other facts of gameplay

These points are acquired through the destruction of enemy buildings or units, and allow the general to increase in rank (you start off as a one-star general). Higher ranking generals are given access to greater capabilities and off-map support such as artillery strikes and air support. Five-star generals have access to the most powerful abilities.

Each of the factions in Generals is unique in regards to units, base structures, and resource gathering. Even so, all three sides rely on barracks to produce infantry and some type of tank factory for the procurement of combat vehicles. One of the main goals of Generals is balancing, from the beginning of the game to advanced stages; every side has enough power to survive. This is unlike Red Alert 2, for example, where the Soviets are nearly unstoppable at the start of the game with their Rhino Tank rush; conversely the Allies have no match at the end using the Battlefortress-Guardian GI combo or the prism tank and rocketeer combo in the original version.

Awards

E3 2002 Game Critics Awards: Best Strategy Game

Third-party modifications

Command and Conquer: Generals has a relatively strong online community. Among the community members are mod-developers. Below is a list of some of the mods that have been in development for Command and Conquer: Generals and Generals Zero Hour.

For the Zero Hour expansion only

These mods do not work on the "First Decade" collection version of "Generals".

External links

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