| Red Alert 3 |
| Written by: Rodo Abad | |
| Posted on: Jan 29, 2010 12:00:00 AM | |
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Requirements
Installation Installation was just fine. I like it how RA3 automatically knows your resolution instead of setting it to the lowest one the game allows. This saves me some time configuring the game. Saved time = More game time.First Impressions I'm proud to say that I've played the original Red Alert game and that really help me get into RTS games. Back then it was all about speed and mass tanks and you and your opponent could either agree on two things - rushing is allowed or it's not allowed. Yes yes, back then in LANs where you see your opponent face-to-face you tend to talk first and agree on some player-made rules. And it was always an automatic win if you use an engineer to capture and then sell your opponents construction yard. Tanya's, spies, and demo trucks were pretty useful too in early and late game scenarios. However, as more and more units are added to the C&C series of games, players begin to develop new tactics and instead of just churning out a massive amount of tanks, new units begin to shine making the game a lot more enjoyable and unpredictable.
 Singleplayer If you're a veteran Red Alert player then playing the single-player game is easy...even on the hardest setting why? Because you already know how to manage your units properly. I'm not saying that the AI is terrible you know but a veteran Red Alert player will know what to do after just playing a couple of games. Mission-wise, there's three main sub-stories that you can play. And it was a good decision to let the player choose which sub-story they want to play first.
 Multiplayer This is the heart of all Red Alert RTS games and this is where things get messy (in a good way). Pretty much every second counts and your building placements count as well. Once you've organized that one, then it's time to optimize your tech tree build. It's not always a good idea to start making super weapons as soon as possible most of the time, you're going to lose if you do that in higher tier games. It's all about speed and accurate tech builds. You make a mistake...you're done. So that's why it's always a good thing to start playing with bots. Let them gang up on you because that's usually how intense it is when you're playing against a real person. Still...bots are predictable and you can almost always hold out until the AI glitches or something and then stops harassing you. Human players on the other hand will keep harassing you until you just go into turtle mode where you never venture out and expand. Map control is crucial into winning a game too. Once you ran out of ore and you don't have any oil rigs to help keep your economy running, you're done and I mean it...you just lost the game man.
 Final Thoughts RA3 is a genuine RTS game. The micro management is there, the intensity of multi-player games is there, and the unpredictability is there as well. I would suggest that you play a ton of skirmish games and optimize (yes I just used optimize on a game review) your tech tree build before even venturing out in multi-player. Sure you might be able to get a couple of wins when you play with newbies, but as soon as your rank gets higher and you play more and more experienced players, just a small mistake is enough to make you lose. I just hate it when it's a FFA game and you know that there's a couple of them in vent just waiting to gang up on you (taking turns to kill you). Which is why I never play FFA games anymore. Certain players just like to cheat in a legitimate way (is there such a thing?).Ratings
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Red Alert 3 is a real time strategy game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. The game takes place in a parallel universe in which World War II never happened. Just like the all the past Command and Conquer RTS games, RA3 still retains all the core mechanics of what a Red Alert game should be like. You still get harvesters, power plants, tech trees, and of course your super weapons.
Installer - Smooth as a baby's butt.
Graphics
- I like the overall graphics and style of RA3 but when you zoom in the opposite happens and you actually lose a lot of detail (units only), now they look like stick figures especially when you compare them to Company of Heroes models.
Sound -The voice overs are well done in my opinion except for the Japanese faction. It just doesn't really sound like someone from Japan you know? The accent just isn't there.