Reviewed: November 18, 2008
Reviewed by: Roger Cox

Publisher
Electronic Arts

Developer
EA Los Angeles

Released: October 28, 2008
Genre: RTS
Players: 1-6

8
9
8
9
8.5

System Requirements:

The original Red Alert story was set in an alternate time-line where Albert Einstein travels back in time and removes Adolf Hitler with the hopes of preventing World War II. Unfortunately his plan backfires and Stalin invades Europe. In Red Alert 2 the Soviets invade the U.S.A and are able to do so with mind control technology. Red Alert 3’s story has the Soviets traveling back in time to kill Einstein. This is done to weaken the Allied force, but it has in turn created a split timeline where a new faction is formed called The Empire of the Rising Sun. It is essentially set in a parallel universe where World War II never happened and these three factions are fighting independently against each other.

The Red Alert series has been one of my favorites since I was a kid. I remember waking up in the morning with nothing to do but play Red Alert all day. Dialing up using a 56k modem and playing online was still new at the time and I remember using our one telephone line constantly. Those were the golden days of my youth and I always think back to them when playing a Command and Conquer game.

Red Alert 3 finally delivers a real-time strategy game that can be played cooperatively. It has been a dream of mine for years and it is great to see a developer make a leap of faith and try something new and challenging. It is hard enough making a well balanced single player experience, let alone one that can be play cooperatively and has a fun multiplayer aspect to it.

The biggest questions most people have are concerning co-op story mode. While co-op works well, it is really a mixed bag. Certain missions are overly easy, too hard, or just right. One mission in particular proved to be impossible for me to beat on medium difficulty in solo mode as well as cooperatively. Although this was a problem, most of the missions are well balanced, extremely fun, challenging, and rewarding. It is kind of a disappointment that you will more than likely have to adjust the difficulty on a per-mission basis. Single player is essentially the same way. There are certain missions where you will need to play cooperatively in order to beat the game on medium difficulty. I have always considered the medium difficulty to represent normal, but there are missions that I could not beat and I deem myself a veteran real-time strategy player.

Something interesting to note is that the game advises you to play as the Soviets first before attempting to play as the Allies or Empire of the Rising Sun. There is a very good reason for that. It is hard to play with the weaker factions. The Soviets seem much stronger than the Allies and The Empire. This is because it requires a greater understanding of each unit and their respective abilities when playing with them. The Allies and The Empire’s units are not nearly as powerful as the Soviets, but they make up for it with their other abilities. Unfortunately it takes a lot more time and strategy to win with them.

The Empire is definitely the weakest of them all. This is mainly due to their weak air units. If you like strong Tanks and general weapons then the Soviets are the best to play with. If you want a harder, more strategic game then you will enjoy the added challenge of playing with the other factions. Constructing walls are pointless, but for whatever reason satisfying. Enemy tanks can easily plow their way through the walls while infantry will have a difficult time getting through. Tesla Coils are still as powerful as ever and are my personal favorite defensive tool. Just make sure to construct anti-air cannons beside it.

The water looks amazing in Red Alert 3. It appears as though it has multiple layers and comes across has having different levels of depth. When a ship sinks, you can watch as it falls to the bottom, and stays there. The top of the water glimmers realistically in the light and it moves as though it is an ocean. Units, structures, and landscapes are amazingly well detailed.

While the game doesn’t feature any weather effects, the snow on the ground glistens in the sun. Lighting is amazingly all the way around and real-time shadows are tied to everything in the game. Even structures produce real-time shadows during construction.

Red Alert 3 hosts an excellent cast of male and sexy female actors. The cast includeds J.K. Simmons, Jonatha Pryce, Gemma Atkinson, Jenny McCarthy, George Takei, Kelly Hu, Tim Curry, Andrew Divoff, and Peter Stormare to name a few. J.K. Simmons does an excellent job playing the role of President Howard T. Ackerman. George Takei plays the role of Emperor Yoshiro who wants to conquer the world.

The entire cast is excellent and players will enjoy the girls tight, skimpy outfits. The same nostalgic, female voiced “Building” verbiage is still intact and the way the units talk when selected/commanded is very reminiscent of the original. The audio team did a great job keeping the feel of the game consistent with previous versions and they have succeeded.

The music in the game feels very familiar because composer Frank Klepacki returned to assist with the production. I did however get tired of some of the background music during skirmishes because I found it to be repetitive. It is almost entirely hard rock that sounds the same and can get old. This is all personal preference, but I expected more variance in the music and you should be able to adjust it. It still boggles the mind that very few companies let you import your own music and replace the game’s default selection.

Value could only be higher if the game was balanced better. It has plenty of content otherwise. Playing through each of the three campaign modes will take you around 12-14 hours to complete. After that you could play through it again with a friend or play multiplayer online. Skirmish mode has always been a personal favorite of mine and one that I will continue to play the most. Finding people to play with is not an issue when you go online. There are always several thousand players to compete against or team up with.

Red Alert 3 is an extremely fun real-time strategy game that does a great job of satisfying fans of the series while making it fresh. The balance could have been better and is still being tweaked by EA. While I complain about balancing, I have to admit that it is still better than 90% of the other strategy games out there. Certain missions are overly difficult and will frustrate players to death while making co-op mode mandatory to beat the game on the medium and hard difficulties. It is really cool being able to play through the story with a friend, but I can’t help but feel like it hindered the single player experience to some extent.

This game is a must for any real-time strategy fan, especially for those that enjoy the Command and Conquer series. Red Alert 3 is a really enjoyable, high quality strategy game that has a few minor balancing issues. This is yet another sequel that is destined to become another classic in the ongoing Command and Conquer legacy.