Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	10
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	10
PlasmaFactor:	10
Overall:	9.6

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Review
July 29, 2007 by Ryan Lodata

In 1995 Westwood Studios released Command & Conquer (Tiberian Dawn), which revolutionized PC gaming. Twelve years later, Electronic Arts has released Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, the seventh game in the Tiberium series. Tiberium Wars expands the Tiberium storyline and introduces a new playable faction, the Scrin, as well as several new units and strategies to add to your Command & Conquer arsenal.

Out of this World

In a world where the face of the Earth is scarred by a Tiberium-infested atmosphere and plagued by war, The Brotherhood of NOD and the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) battle it out for control of technology and Tiberium fields. Unlike earlier versions of C&C, this one has a new player in town…Aliens. If you didn’t get enough of the movie Independence Day then you should get your hands on a copy of this thriller.

The Scrin are a new breed of competition among the powers and a formidable one at that. Specializing in air power, the Scrin launch a massive invasion of the Earth to collect up all Tiberium resources on the planet and kill off all other possible threats.

As a commander of either NOD or GDI the opening campaign missions center on the age old conflict between NOD and GDI and their fight for power. The battlefield is not only large but detailed, with opening missions taking place in realistic locations such as the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia and the Hampton Roads area.

A significant change from Command & Conquers: Generals is that Tiberium Wars brings back the old school Command & Conquer interface. For those nostalgic gamers, this definitely adds to the Command & Conquer experience. For new fans, the controls are extremely easy to adjust.

Not only do some units return from the previous title Tiberian Sun but of course they added some new ones and boy do they look sweet. I would be under exaggerating when I say that EA knows how to teach old units new tricks. Even if you’ve played the whole C&C lineage everyone can find quite a bite of new stuff in every map.

NOD to 3D

The structures of NOD and GDI look relatively the same as they did in Tiberian Sun except for most upgrade buildings such as the Communications Tower, Ion Cannon, etc. Basic buildings such as the War Factories and Barracks look slightly different but have some new features like repair bots and unit combinations. Bringing these structures to 3D makes them all the more realistic.

The NOD Avatar is an especially versatile unit that can combine with four other vehicle units to increase damage dealing. The upgrades for GDI were a little disappointing in the fact that they lack spunk. Compared to the Scrins’ plasma shields and NOD’s Avatar, the best upgrade GDI has is the railgun which we’ve all seen in some way, shape, or form. Though GDI has a new bird in the sky, the new aircraft I felt could have had more of the same…spunk.

Explosions look much more realistic with the new graphics; a little less fire and a lot more debris. Even the infantry units pack more graphical punch with higher detail of movement, firepower, and unit kills. Air units have significantly improved since the last release of Tiberian Sun. Air units now have upgrades and also hold more firepower for battlefield longevity. GDI’s new air unit can even switch between air to ground attack and air to air combat, making this unit the most versatile and deadly craft in the air. Delicious.

Screaming Scrin

The sound in Tiberium Wars is simply amazing. Everything from the sound of mammoth tanks rolling to Scrin infantry firing their plasma guns is in great detail.

The ambient sounds are very crisp, clean, and realistic and makes you feel like you are really in a Tiberium-infested Earth.

The in-game music of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was very intense and energetic. It truly provided a heart-pounding and emotional experience while fighting to save the Earth from the invading Scrin. The same is true if you are playing as the Scrin and invading the Earth…you feel as if you must destroy the corrupted and evil human race.

Overall, I was extremely impressed with everything that has been done with the sound in Command & Conquer 3. EA has done such a great job with the sound in the game that I cannot see any area that would need more improvement.
 

Lights, Plasma, Action!

One thing that the Command & Conquer series has always been great at are the movie-style cut-scenes. Tiberium Wars features an all-star cast including Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, Batman) as the GDI Director, Michael Ironside (Total Recall, Starship Troopers), Grace Park (Sci-Fi’s Battlestar Galactica) as well as CNN News Anchor Shannon Cook and the gorgeous Jennifer Morrison (as a GDI intelligence officer, whose shining beauty leads you through the GDI campaign). Fans of the previous Command & Conquer titles will be extremely pleased with the reprisal of the role of NOD leader Kane by Joseph Kucan.

The visual effects in the cut-scenes were on point and readied you for each campaign mission, as if you were playing an interactive movie.
 

Fun with the GDI

One cannot go without mentioning the improvements made in graphics and not be excited. The terrain details as I mentioned earlier are ridiculously cool. As long as you meet the computer requirements, your picture of the battlefield will be astounding. Unit movement has also been significantly improved, even compared to the last title in the franchise, Command & Conquer: Generals. Some things I thought looked particularly awesome was that on some occasions the Tiberium actually created ion storms around the field which gives the crystals a misty glow but damages your units if they happen to run into it.

 

A Beautiful Work of Art

EA’s latest addition to the Command & Conquer franchise, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, is a game that I would not miss for the world. If you are the type to wield the power to crush armies, exert tactical warfare, and engage in a high action futuristic battle for the survival of Earth, then you’ve found your match. Tiberium Wars is one of this year’s titles that you don’t want to be left out of.