Author: scharfschutze
Type: PC Game
Released: 1996
Designer: Westwood Studios
Publisher: Westwood Studios
Genre: Real-time strategy
In Westwood's classic RTS game Command & Conquer, gamers were introduced to a unique style of gameplay, as well as a unique, pre-apocalyptic world in which to wage war. Inevitably, the success and acceptance of Command & Conquer's style and substance led to demands and plans for a sequel. The result was 1996's Command & Conquer: Red Alert.
Red Alert is not an immediate sequel to Command & Conquer: it's actually more of a prequel. In the intro video to the game, we learn the basics of the story. In 1946, Albert Einstein creates a time machine, travels back to 1924, and eliminates Adolph Hitler before his rise to power. His hope is simple: prevent the horror of the Second World War. However, with one madman eliminated, the world is left with a second maniac that no longer has any checks on his rise to power: Josef Stalin. Without Hitler to unify Europe in arms, Stalin swarms across the border towards a bewildered Germany and Eastern Europe. Here the game begins, with you in command.
In Red Alert, like in the original Command & Conquer, you take command of one of two sides in the war. In this case, the player controls either the desperate Allied high command or the immense Soviet war machine. The sides are split roughly the same way as GDI and Nod: the Soviets favour air power, mass numbers and brute strength; the Allies go for naval supremacy, manoeuvrability and subterfuge. The two sides are both interesting to play, and like in the original, you'll find yourself having to learn different strategies to control their various quirks.
The Allied unit grouping is, as I said earlier, based on mobility and flexibility as their primary doctrines. Both sides have access to the basic Rifleman, but the Allies have Bazooka infantry that can cut Soviet armour and aircraft to pieces in minutes. As well, the Allies have access to the Medic, who heals your infantry and saves you the cost of having to rebuild your forces after each and every attack. It's always a good idea to have at least one Medic with any infantry force. The basic Allied tank is the Light Tank, augmented later by the Medium Tank. Both are somewhat lighter than the basic Soviet armour, the Heavy Tank, so be wary. The Allies have access to mobile Artillery to bombard bases. Once a helipad is built, Allied players can utilize Longbow helicopters that employ anti-tank rockets to attack either vehicles or buildings. But it is at sea that the Allies shine. While the Soviets have access to only one combat vessel, plus the Transport ship, the Allies have access to three: the cheap, fast Gunboat, the triple-role Destroyer, and the massively powerful Cruiser. Gunboats fire short-ranged cannons and drop Depth Charges on enemy subs; Destroyers drop more powerful charges and can attack land and air units with a deck-mounted missile launcher; and Cruisers can barrage ground targets from absolutely insane range with massive cannons. As well, the Allies can utilize the services of the GPS satellite, giving them a view of the entire map, once they've built a Tech Centre. To round out their arsenal, the Allies can use a teleportation device called the Chronosphere.
To square off against this force, you can also choose to play as the Soviet Red Army. The Red Army, in game as in history, is a true advocate of the "meat-grinder" tactic: simply throw as many troops as you can at the enemy. The Soviets, as such, do not get access to a Medic unit. But they do get to use the Grenadier and Flamethrower infantry to chew up enemy foot troops. As well, the Soviet player gets almost complete dominance of the air, with two types of buildable aircraft - the strafing Yak fighter and the MiG missile attack aircraft. Yaks are devastating against infantry and unarmoured vehicles (like the Allied Ranger unit); the missile run employed by the MiG, on the other hand, will easily demolish most buildings and tanks with only two or three MiGs. The Soviet helicopter, the Hind, is a bit of a trade-off versus the Longbow; its twin machine-guns have more ammunition, but they aren't very useful against vehicles. However, get three or four Hinds gunning at a single tank, and it will die. I guarantee it. The Soviet armour is also larger and slower than Allied equivalents; the basic Soviet vehicle is the twin-gun Heavy Tank, followed by the truly massive Mammoth Tank (as effective in Red Alert as it is in Command & Conquer). At sea, the Soviets only get one naval unit (plus the Transport): the Submarine. This is a nifty little boat that can demolish the navies of unsuspecting players, but beware: in Red Alert (for whatever reason), the Submarine must surface to fire torpedoes, leaving it momentarily vulnerable to a quick-thinking human opponent. Also be wary of both Gunboats and Destroyers - these Allied ships have access to Depth Charges that can turn your Subs into sardine cans. Once an airfield is built, the Soviets have access to paratrooper drops, bombing runs, and spyplane raids. To top off the Soviet arsenal, they can build and deploy Nuclear Missiles. Fun…
The construction system is the same as in the original Command & Conquer. After deploying the Mobile Construction Vehicle into the Construction Yard, you can build various buildings to wage war. The main changes between Command & Conquer and Red Alert are the base defences. The Allies can use anti-tank Turrets, anti-infantry Pillboxes, and the extremely annoying Camouflaged Pillboxes; the Soviets get access to the Flame Tower and the ultimate base defence: the powerful, long-ranged Tesla Coil. This electricity-spouting weapon of mass destruction delivers up to three powerful blasts in the span of a second. It does have two weaknesses: it must charge up after every salvo (a matter of two or three seconds, long enough for a large tank force to destroy it) and it cannot attack units within a certain distance.
The in-game environment is just as good as its predecessor, and some nifty new effects have been added. Of particular note is the ability to demolish bridges in real-time. In the original Command & Conquer, bridges could be found destroyed, but they were not destroyable in-game. In Red Alert, bridges will go down if too many rounds are put their way, so watch out when crossing a bridge under tank or artillery fire. As well, trees (which will still burn when flamed) will collapse under heavy bombardment.
In-game videos are just as enjoyable as in the original Command & Conquer, with the Allied Generals Stavros and von Esling countered by Soviet Generals Kukov and Gradenko. As well, you are introduced to a character that plays a much bigger role in the sequel (Red Alert 2), Tanya Adams, called a "professional volunteer" by von Esling. The Soviet videos of course almost always have appearances by Josef Stalin, as well as his quietly evil mistress, Nadia. There's even a cameo by the villain of Command & Conquer, Kane (I won't tell you where exactly, but he's there…).
As in the original, there are thousands of user-designed maps available for Command & Conquer: Red Alert. My copy of the game came with one of the more popular Westwood-designed series, The Aftermath. This is a far more enjoyable add-on than the Covert Ops add-on for Command & Conquer for the sole reason that Aftermath adds new units to the mix. The Soviets get Shock Troopers carrying miniature Tesla Coils (far less powerful than the original) and Tesla Tanks (almost as powerful as the tower). The Allies get the use of Chrono Tanks (which are equivalent to a Medium Tank except for their ability to teleport themselves around the map) and the devastating M.A.D. (Mutually-Assured Destruction) Tank. DO NOT, for any reason, deploy this baby near your base, or you will have a whole lot of your own popcorn to deal with. If deployed, it detonates with extreme force, damaging almost anything within a full two-screen radius. The Allies also get to play around with Mechanics (a Medic for vehicles).
For whatever reason, I found that the graphics in Red Alert were actually a step down from the original Command & Conquer. I think that may be that while the original takes place in either bland green or desert tan environments, Red Alert's maps are either somewhat bright green or white snow, allowing more of the flaws of early graphics to come through. On the plus side, infantry models finally have a little more uniqueness to them (except the Soviet ones, who are always red).
Effects: 7.5/10This category exceeded the original, but not by too much. The main reason I give it a higher rating is the greater variation of sounds, and the slightly more emotional unit speech. It's still limited compared to StarCraft or WarCraft II, but at least they sound a little more human…
Gameplay: 9/10Red Alert beats its predecessor in this category because of the new dimensions it added to the game. In the original, both sides had a helicopter unit, and the Allies occasionally had the support of AI-controlled gunboats and A-10s. In Red Alert, both air and naval warfare are completely under the control of the player. This adds a whole new dimension to how you play the game, and the addition of Super Weapons (nukes and the Chronosphere) do quite a bit in keeping a player on his or her toes.
Replayability: 7/10 (with The Aftermath installed, 7.5/10)The addition of difficulty levels for the Campaigns and a Single Player Skirmish mode went a long way towards improving the replay value for this game. However, the different countries available in Skirmish mode (the Ukraine, Germany, England, and the USSR) are not very well defined, and I've never figured out the difference between them. A good idea, but not very well carried out.
Overall: 8.5/10With some minor graphical deficiencies, Red Alert nonetheless managed to top its predecessor in almost every category, and is still almost more beloved than the original Command & Conquer. It's certainly a game for anybody who likes a good fight, and is still enjoyable eight years after being created. How many of us have cars that old?