Command & Conquer: Red Alert

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.

The Good
The sound - the tunes are nice, but so are the unit sound effects (particularly Tanya ("Ka-ching!!")).

The campaign - I was introduced to this game by way of "RA:Aftermath", which my brother and his friends liked to play in skirmish mode. One of those maps kept me going for several hours non-stop. But after enough of them, it became boring because they were basically all the same - once I figured out how to beat the computer, there was no challenge left (and the games became much shorter). When I acquired the original "RA" as part of the "Worldwide Warfare" pack, I decided to play the Allied campaign first. While there were only 14 missions, some were indoors, some had new units previously unavailable, and all in all there was enough variation and purpose to keep me going.

The cut scenes - the briefings (typically live actors) and opening/closing scenes (typically computer animation) for each mission are very well done. Much better graphics than the actual in-game stuff, actually (and which you never see at all in the skirmish games). There is also much more of it compared to other RTS games such as "Warcraft II", giving a better immersive feeling than that game.

The end game - the final Allied mission wasn't the pushover that I've encountered in other endgames. Just getting started was a challenge. And the AI was pretty aggressive about attacking my base (which I didn't really appreciate at the time!).

The Bad
The graphics - specifically the in-game (mission) graphics. Structures and landscapes are actually not bad, but most mobile units are clunky-looking. Human units in particular are small and hard to select out of a group.

The useless units - sandbags, walls, light tanks: what can they do that's worth spending money on? Chronosphere: the final mission introduces this expensive structure, but what is it good for? Sure, I can move a single unit far behind enemy lines, but not one powerful enough to do any real damage before it's destroyed (Tanya, who can blow up buildings, can't be moved this way).

The single resource - dull

The "kill everything" requirement - most outdoor missions are over long before this, basically when the AI can no longer fight back (it can no longer produce new units because you've destroyed all of some resource it needs (I like to destroy the construction yard myself, cutting off its technology tree at the root)). I use air power to reach that point, then "tank rush" just to get it over with. But it's boring (particularly if that last unit is a submerged Soviet submarine).

The air-power imbalance - it's probably not quite right to say I don't like this, because I exploited it often to win the game. Actually, I've used it to win "RA:Aftermath" skirmishes playing the Soviet side. It's probably best to say that the AI doesn't defend well against air power, mainly by not massing its available defenses well enough to beat an "air rush" attack, even though it is possible to do so for either side.

The Bottom Line
Well worth playing, but the single-player modes have a limited lifetime appeal due to increasing familiarity with the AI and its weaknesses. Perhaps the multiplayer modes are the long-term life of this game.

The Good
i liked this game for many reasons,a good storyline,great graphics but the idea of building your own army is iresistible.there is not many games as enjoyable as this.best of all,when you declare war on your one of your friends and hook up tv's and playstations,is as much fun to me as covering yourself with glue and peeling it off when it dries.(to me thats brilliant,ha ha)

The Bad
the one thing that bugs me is the game tends to slow down after a certain amount of time which is annoying if your trying to commit genocide!

The Bottom Line
if you think your a worthy opponent to bush or saddam hussein here's your chance to prove your metal! point is its an excellent game.