Generals’ spans between present day and 20 years into the future, and offers
up a metaphor for today’s version of global warfare. Three very different sides
are fighting for supremacy, the superpowers of the United States and China,
along with an underground political terror organization, the Global Liberation
Army. Each employs very different tactics in their war efforts. For example, the
United States places a great deal of importance on human life, and thus has a
small, but very capable ground force among its weaponry. The Chinese, on the
other hand, have a massive swarming army that uses their numbers to their
advantage. China also has an affinity for fire and uses it in much of its
weaponry. Finally, the Global Liberation Army relies on sneaky tactics and being
hard to find…thus hard to kill.
Like most of this type of genre, the basic idea is to gather resources, build
a base, and create offensive and defensive units and ultimately obliterate the
enemy. One of the new features in Generals is that if you followed the tech tree
properly you can always have a constant cash flow coming in. No longer will
running out of cash make the game last forever. The US has the ability to build
a supply drop zone, China has hackers, and GLA can collect scrap for money. Of
course these become awesome targets of opportunity once all the resources are
tapped on the map. If you can stop an opponent’s money supply, you can really
gain an upper hand.
There are plenty of new weapons and tactics to go around. Assemble your army
with top-secret Aurora Strike Fighters, massive Dragon Tanks, Angry Mobs,
skilled Hackers and over 60 other distinct units. Bring death from above with
your side’s exclusive super weapon – the US Air Fuel Bomb, the Chinese Nuclear
Missile, or the GLA Scud Storm. The weapons at hand provide many levels of
strategy because you can actually upgrade units to carry optional weapons. Here
are some examples, but are not just limited to these. The US Humvee can carry an
optional tow missile, in addition to carrying infantry that can fire from the
vehicle. China has a devastating tank called the Overlord, which can be equipped
with either a bunker to carry infantry, a gatling gun, or a propaganda speaker
to heal units in a close proximity. The GLA can equip their scorpion tank can
carry an optional scorpion rocket. You can upgrade armor, range, firepower, etc.
Then there are the super-weapons and the General abilities that add more
firepower to the barrage of possibilities. These levels of strategy as I call
them will keep even the most dominating player at bay because the possibilities
seem endless. The only thing that caught me a bit off guard is lack of sea-based
units. No subs, carriers, hovercrafts, nothing. I guess that leaves room for EA
to make an expansion, but needless to say myself and many other C&C fans are a
bit disappointed.
The campaigns are decent, there is enough involved to keep it interesting but
they are a bit short. Gone are the famous movie style cut scenes from Yuri’s
Revenge and Red Alert 2. I’m really going to miss Tanya. The cut scenes that are
present like watching the game but do give a sense what is going on in the
campaign. On the flip side the amount of detail that has went into the graphics
is top notch. Vehicles explode into tiny bits with men being hurled into the air
and tires go bouncing across the map. Lots of details from vehicles to trees, to
bullet shells falling to the ground from a Comanche chopper.
The skirmish maps that are pre-made are a bit basic, but Westwood has
implemented a world builder so now the gamers have the power to create until our
little hearts content. Maps are already popping up in Forums and websites ready
to be downloaded.
Multiplayer is where this game is going to get re-playability time and time
again. No more agonizing IPX network crap to deal with. You can play on a LAN or
Online via TCIP. Getting set up can be tough so make sure you have the latest
patch. The documentation for setting up the buddy list is nearly obsolete, only
through trial and error and some help from the online chat could I set it up.
Considering most of the C&C community live and breathe online play, I was
surprised to see this left out at time of release. Another online gripe I had
was the online lobby. At the time of review fellow gamers were found cussing for
all to read at the online lobby. Yet while playing with some friends on a LAN
some of the most basic swear words were blocked out with ***. Go figure. In the
developer’s defense, they have been quick to fix some known issues. They
actually have moderators in the lobbies of their games to ask questions. In my
opinion when a game is released and you take the time to find and fix problems,
and have someone available for questions, that shows a big responsibility on the
part of the developers and should be mentioned. I wish other companies would
follow suit.
All in all this is a must have for any fan of the genre especially those who
love the C&C series. One thing is for sure; you must consider the behemoth of a
machine you will need to run this title to really enjoy what it has to offer. I
built a new system that I could later grow into with upgrades, but at least run
this game smoothly. It requires 800 MHz or equivalent. I tried it on an 850 with
a 32MB AGP card and let me tell you, if you want to enjoy the game you want at
least a 1.3 or equivalent. The game is a pig when it comes to power, but it is
sooooo worth it!
Well, Westwood and EA Pacific have done a wonderful job of bringing what is
sure to be a game of the year contender to the table. Holding true to the C&C
RTS series of games, Fans of the series will truly enjoy this latest
installment. It’s not just a bunch of eye candy either. Most elements of the
game have been altered a bit to give veterans of the series a real sense that
this is a new game and not just an upgrade, and those new to the series finding
a new enjoyment that will probably have them checking out the earlier titles.
| Reviewer’s Scoring Details |
Gameplay: 8.5
Once you get the hang of everything it isn’t difficult at all. I found
myself doing a little more micromanaging then I would have liked to, but
selecting and grouping units made everything much easier.
Graphics: 9.5
This IS the next generation of games utilizing the latest in visual
technology. The only down side is that you really need a powerful system to run
the game smoothly. This is probably one of the most taxing games I have ever
played, but is probably the most detailed as well. If you ever needed a reason
to update your old box, this is definitely it.
Sound: 9
I believe the audio portions of the game are top notch. The dialogue
complete with accents, (though sometimes an attempt) are decently done, and the
sound effects were awesome. Nothing like watching a GLA guy with his truck
exploding in to pieces out from under him being hurled end over end while
wailing in pain. That’s just beautiful!
Difficulty: Medium – Hard
I’m going for a happy in between here because for first timers, and even
some vets, there is going to be some learning curve here. After you master the
basics, there are difficulty levels of normal, hard, and brutal. You can also
toggle the amount of enemies you will fight on the skirmish maps. The true match
of wits will be found in LAN and online play.
Concept: 8.5
It’s a real time war strategy that takes place in the future. Going up
against a terrorist group may raise some eyebrows but the weapons and such are
set far enough into the future to really compare this accurately to today’s
world. In fact in my opinion this game should not offend anyone. All 3 sides
(USA, CHINA, GLA) are fun to play and provide so many levels of strategy that
the possibilities seem endless.
Multiplayer: 8.5
Westwood has done a pretty good job of setting up servers to host online
play. You basically log on and you can be quickly matched to certain criteria
that you select and you can be automatically matched up with someone who is
close to your same skills. You can also pick from a list of games that other
players are hosting if you want to check out the game before you are matched.
All games will run at the speed of the slowest computer in one given game, so
you can raise the bar on your settings to avoid a long slow battle. I thought
this is one of the best things I have seen in a long time when it comes to
online play. (I HATE LAGGERS) The downside at time of review is the problems
with connections, and the lack of documentation. One such a problem when
creating an account would give you a password error, yet no description of what
is wrong. Not enough characters, too many, requires a number, etc. Lack of
documentation for setting up a buddy list can be frustrating.
Overall: 9.1
In one word OUTSTANDING. Though a few gripes here and there, all in all a
fantastic title. Game developers are finally really starting to take advantage
of the gaming engines that bring us such beautiful visual displays that leave
our chins hitting the floor. Now we as gamers have to step up and by the
equipment to run these bad boys. Games like these not only lift the bar, they
annihilate it!
