Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (Windows)

Discuss Review + Want + Have Contribute

Description

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 takes place approximately two decades since the first Red Alert and, unlike the original, has no relation at all to the Tiberium universe. It is a conventional real-time strategy game which, in terms of gameplay, still faithfully continues the Dune/Command & Conquer lineage.

Although the Western Allies have installed a lackey as the Premier of the Soviet Union, their spies and relevant contacts suddenly go silent with the appearance of a powerful Soviet psychic named Yuri, who turns out to be Premier Romanov's advisor. Soon afterwards, the Soviet Union launches an overwhelming invasion on North America and Europe on land, air, and sea. As is usual, the player joins the Allied or Soviet side in the singleplayer campaign (with 12 missions for each faction) as of that point in the storyline. Whereas the technology level in the original Red Alert had World War II and Cold War-era weapons mixed with a few technologies inspired by failed real-world experiments, the arsenals of both sides in Red Alert 2 predominantly include technologically advanced units and structures such as teleporting Chrono Legionnaires, chain-connecting Prism towers, cloning vats, weather control devices, etc. However, the storyline's tone is considerably more light-hearted than that in previous Command & Conquer games, and following in the footsteps of Tiberian Sun, more known actors were brought to act in the full-motion video cutscenes.

The game uses a modified and optimized engine from Tiberian Sun and expands the gameplay in multiple ways. Both factions are completely distinct both functionally and visually, civilian structures can be garrisoned by each faction's basic infantry unit for increased firepower and rate of fire, the Allied IFV is included as the first customizable unit in the series (which can change its weapon and function based on the carried infantry unit), and there are neutral "tech" structures which bring bonuses to the players who capture them (e.g. oil derricks bring a small but frequent flow of income, airports allow deployment of paratroopers...). Like in the original Red Alert, factions are split into countries (5 Allied countries, 4 Soviet ones) in skirmish and multiplayer, but instead of having hidden production bonuses, each country has a unique unit, structure or support power that the others do not have access to. Aside from the aforementioned main singleplayer campaign, there is a vast number of skirmish/multiplayer maps, short co-op campaigns, and the return of the World Domination Tour multiplayer mode (unavailable in LAN) which was adapted from the Firestorm expansion for Tiberian Sun.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "Command & Conquer: Alerte Rouge 2" -- French title
• "Command & Conquer: Alarmstufe Rot 2" -- German title
• "C&C:RA2" -- Informal title

Part of the Following Groups

• Command & Conquer games
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert series
• EA Classics releases
• EA Value Games releases
• Famous Person: Albert Einstein
• Game feature: BGM / music player
• Game feature: FMV / cutscene player
• Game feature: In-game screenshot capture
• Games with downloadable official map/level editors
• Games with game altering copy protection
• Games with randomly generated environments
• Live action cut-scenes
• PC Gamer Presents Games
• Setting: Alternate history
• Setting: City - Chicago
• Setting: City - Moscow
• Setting: City - New York
• Setting: City - Paris
• Setting: City - Washington, D.C.
• Setting: Country - France
• Setting: Country - Poland
• Software Pyramide releases
• Theme: Psychic powers / Psionics
• Visual technique / style: Voxel graphics

User Reviews

If you want a deeper strategy game, look elsewhere. If you want one of the most entertaining arcade war games ever made, look no further.	Kaddy B. (796)
Better than Tiberian Sun by far.	Kartanym (12710)
Just another so-so RTS game	Rick Jones (111)
The Best of the C&C's till now	Krystman (8)
It SUCKS.	Tomer Gabel (4634)
This is what real-time strategy games used to be like before age of empires....	James Kirk (168)	unrated
An excellent fast-paced RTS, don't miss it!	KaiserChicken (12)
If you liked Tiberian Sun, you'll probably like this...	Dr. Elementary (297)
A worthy sequel to a classic strategy game!	Brian Jordan (20)
A good, fast RTS game!	Jeff Watts (21)	unrated

Critic Reviews

IGN	Oct 24, 2000	9.3 out of 10	93
GameOver	Nov 10, 2000	92 out of 100	92
ESC Magazine	Dec 08, 2000	9 out of 10	90
Eurogamer.net (UK)	Nov 07, 2000	9 out of 10	90
Gameplay (Benelux)	Oct 30, 2000	87 out of 100	87
PC Player (Germany)	Oct, 2000	85 out of 100	85
GameSpy	Oct 31, 2000	80 out of 100	80
Daily PC Game Reviews	Apr 08, 2011	8 out of 10	80
GameGenie	2000		80
Computer and Video Games (CVG)	Nov, 2000		80

Forums

There are currently no topics for this game.

Trivia

Best Buy release

When first released, Best Buy had a special offer: the Command and Conquer Soundtrack Collection (soundtrack from ALL C&C games) on CD for the first 100 buyers of RA2 in every store.

Cover

To avoid sensitivity issues after the terrorist attacks on the WTC, EA is offering distributors and retailers new boxes that remove the "The Invasion Has Begun" motto and the pictures depicting NY under attack.

Editor

FinalAlert was released alongside the patch 1.005, and it allows creating both multiplayer (skirmish, LAN, on-line) and solo (campaign) missions. You can level up terrains, place military units and buildings, civilians and objects.

Music

Listening to the game's music very carefully, in the track Blow It Up to be exact, you can notice the following text being said: "Gentlemen, this is a nuclear device, time is running out". Also, like in the first version of the song, in Hell March 2 you can repeatedly hear: "Die Waffen, legt an!" ("Ready your weapons!" in German).

Sales

In 2000, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 won the Gold-Award from the German VUD (Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland - Entertainment Software Association Germany) for selling more then 100,000 (but less then 200,000) units in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Awards

• PC Player (Germany)
  • Issue 01/2001 - Best Strategy Game in 2000
• Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland
  • 2000 - Gold Award (more details in the "Sales" section)

Information also contributed by MAT, Kasey Chang, paul cairey, Xoleras and Zovni

Related Web Sites

• Command & Conquer (Official series website)
• Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 on Wikipedia (Information about Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 on Wikipedia.)
• Planet Command & Conquer (The epicenter of everything Command & Conquer, including files, articles, and everyday news!)