Windows

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Kann man einem Programm vorwerfen, zuwenig Verbesserungen im Vergleich zum Vorgänger zu bieten, wenn dieser bei seinem Erscheinen nahezu perfekt war? Eigentlich nicht, zumal Red Alert ganz klar mehr als eine bloße Dreingabe ist - nämlich das beste Echtzeit-Strategiespiel, das es zur Zeit gibt! Was Red Alert in Sachen Pixelfeuerwerk abbrennt, ist fast schon beängstigend.

No game is ever perfect, but this is as close to gaming Nirvana as you're liable to get. There are enough quibbles to knock a point off, but a Westwood patch could remedy this via some simple gameplay balance tweaks. I wouldn't be surprised if they did just that. There were several patches to Tiberian Dawn that did more to address gameplay balance issues than to fix bugs. I do recommend, though, that you buy and play through Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn before tackling Red Alert. Red Alert contains enough advanced concepts that it's much easier for C&C veterans to handle it; and playing Red Alert first would spoil you for the original, which would be a shame, because it's a damn good game, too.

It's a compelling package - one of the best you'll find in the world of PC games. Red Alert belongs in the same category as Civilization II and Quake, games that followed legendary predecessors and immediately eclipsed them. One can only wonder where Westwood can take us from here.

Inderdaad beste lezer, Red Alert, het langverwachte vervolg op Command & Conquer is in ons midden. En het is schitterend/fantastisch/briljant (schrappen wat niet past). Vandaar ook de bijzonder hoge score, die je wellicht reeds stiekem gecontroleerd hebt. Nu deze eerste en belangrijkste verwachting is ingelost kan je twee dingen doen. Ofwel hou je die onrustige ademhaling en hoge hartslag aan, door onmiddelijk in je camouflage uitrusting en bijbehorende APC te schieten en gillend richting softwarewinkel te rijden. Eenmaal aangekomen, steek je de lange rij wachtenden voorbij, sla je met de vuist op het aanrecht en schreeuw je: "My base is under attack!" De verkoper zal dan wel weten waar hij aan toe is. Ofwel neem je rustig even de tijd om verder te lezen, een optie die wij niet helemaal onsympathiek vinden.

I was so worried that I'd be here right now writing, "Well...yes...it's great, but we saw it years ago in Dune II," just like I did with my C&C review. And this time I'd planned to swallow a cyanide pill. But I'm not. There are enough tweaks here to ensure it satisfies completely. It's about as different as Civ 2 was to Civ, but the differences are more exciting, if that makes any sense. The deeper you look, the more you'll find.

This game’s a classic with almost anyone who’s played it, even those who’ve come to it fairly recently. It’s certainly retro but it paved the way, no arguments, this game’s still not bad, but with other modern offers in a sea of Real-Time Strategy at relatively low prices it’s probably best just to find a friend who’s actually got it before you spend any hard earned pennies.

Alt i alt er Red Alert et rigtig godt bidrag til Command & Conquer serien, og den store succes, spillet allerede har fået hos forhandlerne overalt i verden er fuldt fortjent.

Red Alert er et fremragende spil for én spiller mod computeren. Missionerne er blevet mere avancerede end i forgængeren, og selv rutinerede museryttere vil få deres at se til. Red Alert er et spil, der er meget svært at slippe.

In many ways, Red Alert is nothing more than a continuation of the first game, with a host of reused assets, a relatively small amount of new units, and the same exact formula of base-building mixed with puzzle missions. Likewise, in many ways, Red Alert would set the standard for every Command & Conquer game to come. It proved the value of taking the time to tell a story (and reveled in its cheesiness), gave a new idea of how to do balance under traditional C&C rules, displayed awesome variety with its missions, and solidified the C&C concept. If you enjoy RTS games, you owe it to yourself to play this one. If you're looking for a title to introduce you to the genre, few of the early RTS titles will make an impression like this one will.

Despite the apparent dominance of Quake and its ilk in the PC gaming world, strategy games actually represent the favoured game style in the sector. Of these, the 2D top-down real-time variety is among the most popular.

So what's it all about? What is so special about this game that makes hundreds of thousands of people around the world prepare nine months in advance, and take off time for work to play a game? Perhaps it's the fact that Red Alert sits in a genre called the real time strategy game, which combines the strategy thinking required in a game like Panzer General, the fast reflexes and skill as required in a game like Doom, and the resource management that is found in games such as Civilization. Perhaps it's the fact that the game incorporates interesting and detailed plot lines, with high quality video sequences that address the player in the first person. Perhaps it's the fact that this game allows gamers to play against each other across a network, or with Kali - across the Internet. Or to steal a little of Kali's thunder, two player across the Internet using Westwood's own server.

Trotz neuer Einheiten, trotz neuer Story und trotz neuer Missionen: Command & Conquer: Alarmstufe Rot bringt den Spielspaß, den man vom Vorgänger gewohnt ist.

Man! It's three in the morning and your base is under attack! That's the addictive nature of Command & Conquer: Red Alert: you'll play it all night, every night and get up and play it some more. If you were hooked on the original, get ready to be hooked again. If you never played Command & Conquer, check out what you've been missing.