Command & Conquer The First Decade – PC – Review

Command and
Conquer The First Decade is probably the best compilation of games from any
genre all in one DVD. The C&C series started back in 1995 with Command and
Conquer, which at the time was one of the few, if not the only real-time
strategy type games. They paved the way into gamer’s hearts offering not only
exciting game play but offered titles that had great graphics, compelling
storylines, exceptional acting and fantastic sound effects and music. These
attributes provided the groundwork for some of the best titles in the industry
and a fan base like no other.

There are 12
titles in the collection spanning over 10 years from 1995-2003. Not quite a
real 10 years, but seeing as there has not been a release of any C&C games
since 2003 it’s close enough. Twelve titles in nine years is still pretty
remarkable and shows that Westwood Studios kept working hard to keep the fans
happy. The bonus DVD is certainly worth viewing. It goes on about all the
development of all the games and into some detail about how the fan base grew
as the series progressed. Has about an hour of content and I highly recommend
watching it if you purchase this excellent title.

Command &
Conquer The First Decade
will combine the following titles:

• Command & Conquer™(Aug.
  1995)

• Command & Conquer The
  Covert Operations™ (April 1996)

• Command & Conquer™Red
  Alert™ (Oct. 1996)

• Command & Conquer™ Red
  Alert™The Aftermath™ (Sept. 1997)

• Command & Conquer Red Alert
  Counterstrike™ (Mar. 1997)

• Command & Conquer™Tiberian
  Sun™ (Aug. 1999)

• Command & Conquer™ Tiberian
  Sun™ Firestorm (Feb. 2000)

• Command & Conquer™ Red
  Alert™ 2 (Oct. 2000)

• Command & Conquer™ Yuri’s
  Revenge™ (Oct. 2001)

• Command & Conquer Renegade™
  (Feb. 2002)

• Command & Conquer™Generals
  (Feb. 2003)

• Command &
  Conquer™ Generals Zero Hour (Sept. 2003)

Visually you
can definitely see the progression of technology as you play through each of
the titles noticing how the graphics and game play improved over the years as
computers advanced over time allowing for better visuals and more in-depth
game play. Though the earlier titles may not be as pretty, they still provide
some awesome gaming that any RTS fan will surely enjoy. Personally, my
collection only involves Red Alert 2 through Generals Zero Hour. Now I was
able to play the earlier titles to see how the series evolved over the years.
Wow, was I impressed. I have always loved the fact that the games involved
real actors – some of which you have actually seen in real Hollywood movies. I
have always felt in any game that when you use real talent it always helps the
storyline in any genre. It surely beats bad voice-overs from the local college
trying terrible foreign accents that you know you yourself could do better at.
Just one more accolade to add to the long list of paramount attributes in the
development of a great series.

All the titles
have top-notch sound effects and the music is still the best I have ever
heard. The voices were great and I always liked the different sound bytes you
would hear when selecting a unit. I.e., Tanya with her “Shake it Baby” … and
yes she is still smoking hot! When you have 100 units doing different tasks,
planes flying over dropping bombs, guys being blown to oblivion, buildings
pumping out units or being destroyed was like overload to my ears because it
sounded so good. It’s a wonder that my ears didn’t bleed. The sound effects
had me so immersed in the game that when I heard the nuclear alert go off I
wanted to hide under my desk. In short, these games all had unique qualities
and pushed the envelope at the time of their development. If there were not
hardware limitations it would interesting to see what else they could have
come up with.

All the
storylines were so creatively done it’s a wonder that Westwood or EA has not
jumped on the bandwagon and gone Hollywood. I could see how some of the titles
could certainly be spun to be a box office hit. Heck, cast Kari Wuhrer (Tanya
the gorgeous agent from red alert 2) in it and I would sure be at the box
office! In all seriousness the creativity was second to none and I surely hope
that in 10 years we will be looking at a second decade of hits.

Gameplay:
9.0
After the
initial set up it’s a snap to get on with the gaming. All the games are on one
DVD, which eliminates fumbling around with different CD’s. Even if you own a
few of the titles it’s worth picking this up and having them all. I have
always been a fan of the series because playing was very easy with a small
learning curve and adjustable options.
The storylines are epic
in their own right and Westwood has made it a practice to use some real
Hollywood actors, which proves that they take great measures to make a good
game into a great game.

Graphics:
8.0
Keep in mind
that some older games are on the disk so compared to today’s graphics they
don’t even hold a candle to them. Some of the more recent titles like Generals
still look good despite being a couple of years old. C&C has always pushed the
envelope to invoke new technologies in their games. This used to be a bear on
older PCs. Today’s PCs can take the abuse these titles hand out easily, which
make playing them now pretty much trouble free even on the highest visual
detail settings.

Sound: 9.0
Still sounds
great after all these years. I do not believe that any of the games are
surround sound supported, but still sound good in stereo. The music from these
game is some of the best I have ever heard.

Difficulty:
Medium
You can
toggle many of the settings to make the game as easy or as hard as you like.
Experienced players will find the multiplayer useful for those all-out
slugfests.

Concept:
8.0
I like what
EA has been doing with some of their legacy titles like the Sims and the C&C
series. For those who might have tried a few games on the disc, it makes
purchasing this compilation worthwhile.

Multiplayer: 9.0
Still one of
the best multiplayer games I have ever played.

Overall:
8.8
One of the
best values around.