Command & Conquer: Red Alert

aka: C&C 2, C&C:RA, C&C:RA1, Command & Conquer: Alarmstufe Rot, Command & Conquer: Alerte Rouge, Command & Conquer: Teil 2 - Alarmstufe Rot
Moby ID: 485
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

What if Hitler never existed? Einstein pondered the question and created a time-machine to eliminate Hitler as a young man, thus preventing World War II as history remembers it. However, Einstein stopped one evil only to create another - because Stalin's Soviet Union is now poised to conquer Europe... and Allies must stop them!

Command & Conquer: Red Alert can be considered a prequel to Command & Conquer. Like its predecessor, it is a real-time strategy with an isometric semi-top-down perspective using 2D sprite graphics engine. The player takes control of either the Allies or the Soviets, as he battles for destiny of the planet. Gameplay features are similar to those of the previous game, including building a base with some defenses, massing units, harvesting resources, etc. The game has a variety of environments in its missions, adding some indoor missions that use only infantry units.

Spellings

  • 커맨드 앤 컨커: 적색경보 - Korean spelling

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Credits (DOS version)

93 People (90 developers, 3 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 88% (based on 44 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 258 ratings with 16 reviews)

The apex of the C&C franchise.

The Good
It doesn't take much under the hood to run this game. The graphics aren't flashy but they get the job done and were pretty good at the time.

The multiplayer is where this game shines. Although there is really only one way to play (make tanks then attack), it is still somehow highly addictive and extremely fun, despite the fact that every game was the same. The action is fast from the start of a game, and missing one second can cost you the game. The controls are easy, and you won't waste any time trying to remember what to push to do a certain thing.

Games can be over in less the two minutes or can last a couple hours, depending on what map you choose to play on. The in game map maker helped keep this gaming going for as long as it has, because the most popular maps came out of that, not the maps that came with the game.

It was (see below) really easy to find a game and start playing right away, and when done with that game you could move right on to another without delay.

The multiplayer server is clean, simple, and easy to use. It rarely lags or crashes, and has no bugs.

The Bad
However, hardly anyone plays it anymore, so the whole reason for buying it, the multiplayer, has fizzled.

The single player missions were only average, but the nice pace kept me going till I finished them. Albeit a year after I bought it (why do single player when you can play multi?). The AI itself is horrible, but because of the way most missions are set up you don't notice. However, when you go to play a skirmish game, it is glaringly obvious. Beating the AI is like taking candy from a baby; incredibly easy.

Hardly any units were usable, and the dominant strategy by far was to pump tanks and run over your opponent with them. After a few years that gets boring, and not even new maps can save it.

Recently a rash of cheating has popped up, and RA is too old for Westwood to try to fix any of the cheats. The only way to know you're not being cheated on is to play a friend.

The Bottom Line
A fast and furious game. Very one dimensional but the multiplayer is a blast.

Windows · by Dr. Elementary (273) · 2001

The best of the C&C games, and one of the greatest strategy games every made.

The Good
I didn't really ever get into the single-player missions nearly as much as the multi-player options and more specifically the skirmish mode. The AI won't usually be able to put up much of a fight, but you can still draw lots of satisfaction in wiping out their bases, or just watching them get fried one by one as they walk up to your base's tesla coils. The game also has a great soundtrack that really works well with the battles.

The Bad
The cutscenes can often be rather cheesy, and logging on to play an online game isn't as easy as in this game's successors.

The Bottom Line
A classic strategy game that will never get old.

Windows · by Brian Jordan (19) · 2001

A typically bad Command & Conquer game.

The Good
The music and sound effects are OK, and so are the controls, but nothing more.

The Bad
I truly hate Command & Conquer. From the overhyped Tiberian Dawn this game should have been the downfall of Westwood. As an antithesis to the wonderful Dune II, C&C brought forth lacking gameplay, horribly dumb AI, completely pointless storyline and even the graphics failed to impress me.

This game is as bad as the first (albeit with a slightly improved engine, graphics-wise) and presents no real change from Tiberian Dawn, only with a new storyline (which is completely uncapitalized on) and slightly modified graphics. The units are equally dumb and the controls are equally bad (all three C&Cs have the annoying tendency to simply lose selection, which almost always happens during an intense battle causing you to have to reselect your units and losing valuable time).

In short, a very, very bad game.

The Bottom Line
A really bad game which should've brought Westwood's downfall but somehow actually gave the company a solid financial basis.

DOS · by Tomer Gabel (4539) · 1999

[ View all 16 player reviews ]

Discussion

Subject By Date
Anyone know whether there was multiplayer in PSX version? And Wan Dec 14, 2016

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Command & Conquer: Red Alert appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Freeware release

To celebrate 13 years of Command & Conquer and to promote the then-upcoming release of Red Alert 3, the game was made available for free on 31 August 2008. The link is available in the related web sites section.

German version

The German version removes Hitler from the intro and replaces all the soldiers with cyborgs.

Online servers

The game's online servers were migrated from the official Westwood Online infrastructure to the community-run XWIS (XCC WOL IRC Server), under approval and sponsorship from EA's German office on 20 October 2005. The Westwood Online domains have acted as a redirect to XWIS services since then, requiring no additional steps from the user to access the servers short of registering an account.

Sales

In 1998, the PC version of the game won the Platinum Award from the German VUD (Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland - Entertainment Software Association Germany) for selling more then 200,000 (but less then 500,000) units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • May 1997 (Issue #154) – Strategy Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
  • Electronic Gaming Monthly
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Strategy Game of the Year
    • March 1998 (Issue 104) - Strategy Game of the Year (Readers' Choice)
  • PC Gamer
    • April 2000 - -10 in the "All-Time Top 50 Games" poll
    • April 2005 - #17 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
  • Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland
    • 1998 - Platinum Award (more details in the "Sails" section)

Information also contributed by Grant McLellan, Sciere and Xoleras

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Related Games

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Released 2000 on Windows
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Released 2008 on Windows, Xbox 360, 2009 on Macintosh
Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Retaliation
Released 1998 on PlayStation, 2008 on PSP, PlayStation 3
Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Counterstrike
Released 1997 on DOS, Windows
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Commander's Challenge
Released 2009 on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, 2019 on Xbox One
Command & Conquer: Red Alert - The Aftermath
Released 1997 on DOS, Windows
Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge
Released 2001 on Windows

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by robotriot.

PSP, PlayStation 3 added by Charly2.0. PlayStation added by Kartanym.

Additional contributors: Cochonou, PCGamer77, Xantheous, Kasey Chang, Jeanne, paul cairey, Sciere, Alaka, Xoleras, Jang Eunsu, —-, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger, Plok, MrFlibble, FatherJack.

Game added November 28, 1999. Last modified March 19, 2024.