Command and Conquer Generals (PC M15)

By PETER ELEY

(Herald Rating * * * * )

Red Alert 2 has survived on our hard drive for the past three years.

But it may be time to wipe it. Why? Because Command and Conquer Generals takes the core of the game, adds truly impressive 3D graphics, refined artificial intelligence and in doing so creates the best real-time war game around.

Red Alert is, of course, also a Command and Conquer game. The series grew out of the first real-time strategy game, Dune2, and has run to about 20 titles, of mixed quality.

C&C Renegade wasn't too hot, but Generals will stifle any critics who thought the franchise might have run out of ammunition.

Generals will be familiar territory to anyone who bought the excellent Red Alert expansion, Yuri's Revenge.

That add-on gave the game a new dimension by differentiating the various sides in terms of structures and weapons.

Generals takes that further, and the three factions, the US, China and the Global Liberation Army have widely differing structures, units and superweapons.

The game puts them at odds in the near future in scenarios that resemble present conflicts. Play as the US and the first mission is to neutralise the GLA Scud site in Baghdad, for example.

The missions follow the tried and tested C&C mix of expansive strategic battles and smaller, individual missions, and can be played from any of the three sides.

This makes the game great value, and its longevity is increased by its skirmish mode, which gives players a series of one-off scenarios to play against the computer or online.

Unlike Red Alert, there's no random map mode, which gave that game endless playability.

The graphics are striking with superb detail, and the unit structure seems better balanced. Players need to work out strategic options, which positions to defend and make good use of territory, particularly high ground. Computer opponents soon work out your weak spots, and will attack quickly and in force.

A departure from earlier C&C games is the Generals structure, which sees sides earn bigger and better weapons and abilities as they gain experience points from battles.

Effective use of these is crucial, and a few sessions will be needed to work it all properly.

A tip: air power is crucial in skirmishes and later missions. Planes have more firepower and better armour than those in Red Alert. Some advanced ones fly at supersonic speed and have stealth cloaking devices which make it tough for anti-aircraft defences.

It's hard to fault the game apart from on a couple of points. There is a lack of naval units. Then again, there are so many ground units to get to grips with that that omission is probably no bad thing.

And some of the special abilities you earn as a general seem to give you quite an unfair edge in skirmish mode on low difficulty settings.

Note that the game requires an up-to-date graphics card. My nVidia 32mb only just coped despite tonnes of system ram and a fast processor. Time to upgrade.

EA Games

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