Xbox 360

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

En faisant ressurgir Alerte Rouge de l'oubli dans lequel il était tombé, Electronic Arts n'a pas fait que réveiller un grand nom, qui aurait pourtant suffit à déchaîner les passions à lui seul. EA a su faire mieux, en sublimant la série sans jamais la trahir, en la hissant vers un nouveau sommet. Servi par un gameplay intelligent foisonnant de trouvailles, ce troisième chapitre fera date dans l'histoire de la saga et même du genre STR en marquant une nouvelle étape. Pas tout à fait une révolution, mais plus qu'une simple évolution, cette dernière pierre à l'édifice Command & Conquer est un grand Alerte Rouge, tout simplement, et c'est tout ce qu'on lui demande.

Command & Conquer: Alarmstufe Rot 3 ist ein gewohnt gutes Strategie-Spiel, dass besonders für Kenner der Serie interessant sein dürft, denn die neue Fraktion der Japaner spielt sich sehr fordernd und komplex. Das trifft eigentlich auf das gesamte Spiel zu, weswegen Anfänger und Gelegenheitsspieler so ihre Probleme haben werden. Hat man sich aber erst einmal auf die abgedrehte Story und die abwechslungsreichen Missionen eingelassen, gibt es kein Halten mehr. Leider ist die Grafik eher durchschnittlich ausgefallen und wirkliche Innovationen bietet auch Alarmstufe Rot 3 nicht. Wer also schon einige C&C-Teile gespielt hat und auf der Suche nach etwas Neuem ist, der sollte lieber zu Tom Clancy's EndWar greifen.

Red Alert 3 is an RTS with a good dosis of comedy and numerous small but pleasant improvements. The addition of a third faction and co-op make that the game will be played for a long time and that's the most important thing!

A splendid RTS and one that provides plenty of enjoyment, especially if you can find a co-op partner to take along for the ride. This version is not quite as good as the PC equivalent but you won’t find many better on the 360.

That’s not to say Command and Conquer – Red Alert 3 is a bad game. The graphics are impressive: identical to the PC version, and EA have been thoughtfully generous in adding both online competitive and co-operative play over Xbox Live. For series veterans, the game has all the familiarity of previous Red Alert titles, and for newcomers to strategy, it provides an easy way into the genre. The sheer range of units is impressive, especially the naval ones, and even if they don’t quite transform the battlefield tactics in the way they’re intended to, their unique special abilities do provide plenty of fun.

Red Alert 3 has everything that characterises the series: ridiculous units, hilarious acting, mass offensives and improbable settings. Possibilities are extended, but with it come some bugbears. I just hope that each player gives it the patience it deserves - it will pay off. Console strategy fans rejoice - the perfect game for the genre is close to perfection.

Dennoch kommt die ganze Chose nicht ganz an Kanes Rache heran. Das Spieltempo ist ziemlich schnell und so kommt man mit der zwar sehr guten aber letztlich für das Tempo zu trägen radialen Steuerung nicht in jeder Situation hinterher. Zu viel Hektik lässt den Spielspaß dann leider viel zu oft in den Hintergrund rücken. Zuzüglich der kleinen Grafikschwächen und der Kürze der Kampagnen bleibt dem Spiel eine Topwertung daher verwehrt.

Red Alert 3 is a joy for fans and newcomers alike. With enough references to keep C&C stalwarts happy and a gentle learning curve to ease newbies into Red Alert 3’s barmy world of pseudo military techno-babble, wanton destruction and grade-A ham; the game manages to comfortably cover all bases. In short, Red Alert 3 makes for an exceptionally appealing RTS package. Throw in a fully realised co-op mode and fully featured online play and you realise that the guys at EA LA have thought of everything, making this a definitive RTS title more than worthy of your attention. It’s throwaway, popcorn stuff in narrative terms, but it has a genuine sense of the absurd that’s hard to resist.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 includes many elements that can make real time strategy games successful on consoles. The creation of an adequate control scheme and an online campaign are breakthroughs that when combined with the humorous and entertaining story should equal a superb package. However, it is because of the shortcomings specifically in mission design, graphics and online options that do not allow Red Alert 3 to be recommended outright unless you are a fan of the genre.

Für Strategiespielfans ist das Spiel sehr gut geeignet, für alle Anderen ist zumindest die, wenn auch gut umgesetzte, Steuerung erst mal ein Hindernis. Aber sei es drum, Command & Conquer macht immer noch Spaß. „Schuld“ daran sind vor allem die sehr abwechslungsreichen Missionen und die genial inszenierten Filmclips, die insgesamt über eine Stunde dauern. Auch die hinzugekommene Armee sorgt für etwas Abwechslung bei den ansonsten ein bisschen angestaubten Sowjets und Alliierten. Eine weitere tolle Neuerung ist auch die stärkere Einbindung des Wassers und der Koop-Modus, der es endlich ermöglicht, zu zweit die Missionen zu beenden.

Red Alert 3 can be mistakenly seen as an outdated and underdeveloped strategy game, that’s if compared to modern real time strategy games such as Company of Heroes or World in Conflict, as those games in some way offer elements which are “innovative” and “groundbreaking”. What Red Alert 3 does though is offer a game which can be relative to its well received sequels and refreshing with its modernised outlook. It does try to offer new play techniques by focusing on the harnessing of water, yet falls short slightly due to balance and potential purposes of the feature, but it does make up for that with a simple but enjoyable co-op experience , accessible control scheme and lengthy campaign mode. If you can’t grab the PC version of this game, you should receive a very similar Red Alert experience with the Xbox version.

The control layout, though not perfect, is EA's best effort at adapting the classic RTS to the console yet. The command wheel, mini-map zoom, and ability to manage build queues from anywhere on the battlefield make for relatively smooth setup. Unfortunately, that's not enough to make a fantastic game. Red Alert 3 features nice presentation and a goofy, over-the-top story and unit design, but the campaign has some dull gameplay. The fast pace and required micro-management of individual units also makes Red Alert 3 a tough translation to the console. Though I didn't have much fun with the campaign and found the friends-only co-op play limiting, there is something worth looking at in the versus mode. Only a classic skirmish is available, but thanks to the interesting units and factions, Red Alert 3 can offer up a decent gaming experience.

Overall, between the inconsistent campaigns and the botched co-op feature, there's enough here to nibble away at what is an otherwise enjoyable RTS game, and you can add the finer points of control to that list of grumbles as well if you're an impatient sort. These issues notwithstanding, however, Red Alert 3 still represents an impressive leap forward for RTS on consoles in control if not content. It's not quite up to must-play status, but open-minded strategy fans will find much to enjoy regardless.

While certain issues are there, such as the lack of battling random people online or the slight framerate issues, other promising features have risen from the destructive ashes of rebuilding a franchise.

In the end, Red Alert 3's development team at EALA has completed the transition that began back when the developers at Westwood Studios' first decided to branch off the Command & Conquer universe. What was a tongue-in-cheek look at Cold War paranoia married to solid RTS gameplay has blossomed into a pure comedy that retains the easy to pick up gameplay of the best in the Command & Conquer franchise. It's not a game that will redefine strategy gaming, but it is an enjoyable ride.

In the big picture, if they would have attempted to make any of this outright funny, it might of worked. But watching the cutscenes and following the story, you’ll be repeatedly confronted with one really uncomfortable fact: they’re being serious. Maybe if the gameplay was really over the top and amazing, it would be worth sitting through the cut scenes. Or maybe of the cut scenes were just a little better done, the game’s inherent flaws would have become less important. It’s impossible to say. What is possible to say is that whatever small fun that can be gleaned from Red Alert 3 is not worth the hideously poor attempts at humor and bargain basement production values that envelop the final product like a shroud.

"Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3" é um jogo que repete sua fórmula sem nenhuma grande novidade notável, mesclando a tradicional mecânica da franquia com uma história apresentada em vídeo, com atores de carne e osso. E é esta apresentação com clima de filme B que acaba salvando o game do marasmo, com alguns momentos de bom humor e certa canastrice, uma vez que a campanha principal é limitadora e pouco empolgante. Com certeza no multiplayer o jogo ganha mais pontos, mas ainda não chega a mostrar nada que não tenha sido visto antes.