Game Over Online ~ Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

GameOver Game Reviews - Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (c) Westwood Studios, Reviewed by - DaxX

Game & Publisher Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (c) Westwood Studios
System Requirements Windows, Pentium II-266, 64MB Ram, 350MB HDD, 4x CD-ROM
Overall Rating 80%
Date Published Wednesday, December 6th, 2000 at 03:49 PM


Divider Left By: DaxX Divider Right

Interest in the Real-Time Strategy genre has certainly waned in the past few years. Tiberian Sun, the sequel to Command & Conquer, was met with decidedly unimpressed reviews. Is Red Alert 2 going to be win over the hearts of the very same reviewers that slammed Westwood's last attempt? I think so. This game is definitely not revolutionary by any means, but it's a solid and polished game that is one of the only jewels to be placed in the RTS crown recently.

Graphics:

Good, not great. This game takes place in real cities, which means you'll see quite a few unique landmarks as well as a variety of civilian buildings. There are multiple levels of terrain that adds a bit of variety to the levels, although the implementation of the "levels" on grass or dirt result in weird and ugly angled ground instead of a smooth gradient.

Units are pleasant to look at and well animated, but very small. This might be a product of me playing at 1024x768, but it's often hard to tell units apart. It's also very common (especially with Naval units) to get units really crowded together. This is especially a problem when you're trying to select a single unit (for example a dolphin in a group of ships) - it's next to impossible.

Red Alert 2 uses a modified Tiberian Sun engine, which means the lighting effects are quite nice. Unfortunately there is no concept of time in RA2 so there is no day/night missions that were a neat concept in Tiberian Sun. Prism towers fill the screen with flashes of blue laser light, smoke comes off the tanks being shot at, potholes form where tank shells hit.

The mini-map is alright in RA2, it has some nice effects such as highlighting areas which are under attack or are otherwise worth noting. But, the map itself is pretty tiny so forget trying to move units by clicking on the map. It's very un-precise. I also found it pretty hard to see your units on the map.

[ 40/50 ] Gameplay
[ 08/10 ] Graphics
[ 07/10 ] Sound
[ 09/10 ] Multiplayer
[ 08/10 ] Controls
[ 08/10 ] Fun Factor

 

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Rating
80%
 

 

 
 

 

 

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