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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.
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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
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 |
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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)
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!)
Kartanym (12710) added Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (Windows) on Oct 24, 2000
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