Command & Conquer: Generals

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Command & Conquer: Generals
Developer(s)	EA Pacific (PC), Aspyr Media (Mac OS)
Publisher(s)	EA Games (PC), MacSoft (Mac OS)
Engine	Strategy Action Game Engine (SAGE)
Version	1.08, December 2005
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh
Release date	February 10, 2003 February 14, 2003
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) PEGI: 16+
Media	CD-ROM (2) (PC), DVD (Mac OS)
System requirements	Intel Pentium 3/AMD Athlon 800 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, 32 MB AGP DirectX 8.1 compatible video card NVIDIA Geforce 2 or ATI Radeon 7500, DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card, 1.8 GB hard disk space, 8x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive. (PC) 1 GHz PowerPC G4, 256 MB RAM, Mac OS X 10.2.6, 32 MB video card, DVD-ROM drive. (Mac OS) Recommended: 1.6 GHz Processor, 256+ RAM, 64 MB Video Card, Directx 9c
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse

Command & Conquer: Generals is a real-time strategy game in the Command & Conquer series. Generals utilizes the SAGE (Strategy Action Game Engine) engine. This proprietary engine is an extended version of the Command & Conquer: Renegade 3D engine. Generals was released onto the Microsoft Windows platform in 2003, and a Mac OS version was released in 2004, marking the return of the Command & Conquer series to that platform. An expansion pack, entitled Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour, was additionally released for PC in 2003, and for Mac OS in 2005.

Plot

Generals takes place in the near future. Players are given a choice of three factions to play rather than the two in the early parts of the Tiberium and Red Alert series. In Generals, the United States and China are the world's two superpowers, and are the targets of the Global Liberation Army, a large, well-organized Middle Eastern terrorist organization with the arsenal/hardware of an irregular military force such as the Taliban accompanied by the fanaticism of al-Qaeda. The United States and China are depicted as allies in the series, and frequently co-operate with each other throughout the storyline against the Global Liberation Army, which is depicted as an omnipresent, borderless organization with unclear goals beyond opposition to and expulsion of both China and the United States. The three factions are thus engaged in a war similar to that of the real-life War on Terror.

The player can play any of the three sides in any order, with each side's campaign consisting of seven missions. For the storyline to make sense, the proper order to play is China first, then the GLA, then the USA. In this order, China retaliates for a devastating GLA nuclear attack on Beijing, eventually completely crushing the GLA cell masterminding all Pacific rim operations. (Events such as the destruction of the Three Gorges Dam and the use of China's nuclear arsenal are part of this campaign.) The GLA campaign then begins, with the organization trying to recover from its recent setback at the hands of the Chinese, by raising funds and instigating attacks against their American and Chinese antagonists, eventually culminating in the overtaking of the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the firing of a Soyuz launch vehicle bearing a biological MIRV at a nondescript city. At this point the American campaign begins, in which the USA engages the GLA across several locales, including Baghdad and the Caspian Sea, before defeating a rogue Chinese general supporting the terrorists and tracking them back to their base of operations in Akmola, Kazakhstan.

The Generals story is continued in the expansion pack Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour which leads to the US retaking Baikonur, the GLA dethroning the US as the world's last superpower, and China seizing the opportunity to take America's place as the world's only standing superpower.

Gameplay

Command and Conquer Generals operates like most other real-time strategy games, in that the player must construct a base, acquire resources, build various combat and support units, and defeat their opponent(s). Various unit types can be constructed, ranging from infantry to vehicles and air units. The player may control the United States of America, the People's Republic of China, or the Global Liberation Army, and each side has its unique characteristics and abilities. All sides share some similarities, such as training infantry at a barracks, building armored vehicles at a factory, and possessing "high tech" buildings needed to build more advanced units. All sides possess a means to acquire additional resources and funding, and all sides possess a unique superweapon.

The game's interface is similar to that of real-time strategy games such as WarCraft III or StarCraft. The player selects buildings to bring up build orders and purchase upgrades, and can select individual units to activate their special abilities. Structures are built by selecting dedicated builder units and placing the structure anywhere on the map.

As with other real-time strategy games, the various units have advantages and disadvantages against other units, and the player is encouraged to mix unit types in order to succeed and fight tactically with various unit abilities in order to win.

For example, rifle infantry are capable of quickly killing other infantry types, but are vulnerable to light vehicles and dedicated anti-infantry/anti-air units such as tankettes and APCs, which in turn are vulnerable to main battle tanks, which themselves are vulnerable to missile-equipped infantry and aircraft.

As the game progresses and the player defeats enemy units in battle, the player will gain "experience" points, which are used to purchase "Generals Abilities," unique abilities that range from enhancing units and unlocking new unit types to powerful air strikes, one-shot enhancements to units, or targetable "spawn points" to drop or create groups of units anywhere on the map.

As individual units attack and defeat enemy units or capture buildings, they gain "veterancy" and become more powerful, much like the General commanding them. Higher-ranking units attack faster, have more health, and can self-repair.

Factions

Each of the three factions has a play style in accordance with their real-world counterparts.

USA

The United States is the most technologically-advanced faction, and fights with a combination of powerful ground units and a large, versatile fleet of aircraft. USA forces rely on skill, mobility, and high technology to defeat the raw firepower of China and the guerilla tactics of the GLA. USA ground vehicles can construct unmanned drones to support and repair them in combat, and American troops and vehicles make extensive use of laser technology to guide weapons and defend against attack. American infantry have a number of special abilities, and include stealthy long-ranged snipers and a powerful commando named Colonel Burton with a number of abilities revolving around demolition and stealth. The USA also fields the largest air fleet in the game, including attack and transport helicopters, fighter planes, high speed bombers and stealth bombers. American Generals' abilities revolve around air power, including air strikes by A-10 Warthogs and fuel air bombs.

The USA has a major disadvantage, however, in that it has the slowest resource gathering in the game, in comparison to troop costs, it has a less stable supply of power than China, and its high-tech units are very expensive. This can be remedied by building a large amount of Supply Drop Zones. If not, this forces a USA player to construct a smaller, more specialized army than a Chinese or GLA player, and work to minimize losses. Chinese and GLA opponents can easily swarm a small American army and overwhelm it.

China

The People's Republic relies largely on brute force and sheer numbers, culminating in a variety of powerful and heavily armored tanks, and has limited air power. China's playstyle emphasizes direct assaults and sheer power to defeat American technology and GLA stealth. Chinese troops and tanks gain special bonuses when in groups, and make extensive use of propaganda (passive healing) to support their troops. China has a wide range of vehicle types, including several specialized tanks and two artillery units. Chinese forces also make heavy use of gattling, nuclear, and napalm weaponry to destroy the enemy. China also utilizes advanced electronic warfare technology, including elite hackers, a spy called Black Lotus, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. The Chinese "nuke cannon" and "inferno cannon" are the only artillery units whose shells cannot be intercepted by any defenses.

China has a major disadvantage in that its ground forces are generally slower than those of the other two factions. Due to having virtually no fast attack units, except for their MiGs, China is forced to make large, ponderous assaults with heavy units, a tactic that can be countered by the GLA's speed or the USA's air power. However, the Chinese forces are well-suited to winning drawn-out battles of attrition.

Global Liberation Army

Being technologically disadvantaged, the GLA has comparatively weak (though highly mobile) ground vehicles and no air force, prompting the use of guerrilla tactics such as mining, suicide bombing, hijacking, and ambushing.

The GLA has a larger array of infantry types and vehicles to make up for this disadvantage, and has the widest range of stealth options. The GLA also has a very powerful economy, with various resource-gathering techniques such as salvaging wreckage, gaining cash bounties on destroyed enemy units, and building multiple "black market" structures to bring in large amounts of money over time. Also, the GLA are unique in that they have no energy requirement for any of their structures or units. The GLA's upgrades make it more powerful when fully equipped, transforming a relatively weak group of units into a more respectable threat. The GLA is also unique in that its structures, particularly base defenses, rebuild themselves over time unless completely destroyed; this makes it difficult to permanently damage the GLA with many single-shot weapons or units.

The GLA's toxic weapons, suicide units, and stealth and surprise abilities enable it to hit enemies from unexpected directions, and its powerful economy, combined with cheap, fast units, enables it to flood opponents with sheer numbers. The GLA's primary disadvantage is that, in terms of firepower, range, and durability, its units are outmatched by Chinese and American units, and it has a complete lack of air power. This forces a GLA player to outmaneuver or outnumber opponents, as in an even, direct confrontation the GLA will lose to superior Chinese firepower and American technology.

World builder

Generals also includes a map editor named World Builder for the PC edition only. The World Builder includes features such as:

• A terraforming tool.
• An intelligent road system, able to detect when the player wants an intersection.
• A tool to scatter flora around the map.
• Waypoints and area triggers that the AI can use. Waypoints also determine starting points for the players on a skirmish map.
• A scripting system that was meant for the missions in the single-player campaign. This scripting system is very basic but sufficient for basic, static campaign mission scripting. However, it is criticised for its lack of capabilities regarding alternative map programming and dynamic scripting. Examples of RTS game editors with more advanced scripting editors is Warcraft III's World Editor released three years before Command & Conquer: Generals.

Soundtrack

Generals presents players with a separate musical score for each faction. The United States' theme music consists of epic, militaristic scores composed by Bill Brown. China's musical themes feature apocalyptic, orchestral scores combined with East Asian instrumentation. The GLA faction's theme soundtrack can be described as a combination of Middle Eastern sounds coupled with heavy metal music, similar to the music in the Somalian sequences in Black Hawk Down.

Comparisons to real life weaponry

Command & Conquer Generals features many units that exist in real life, but many of these units vary from their real-world counterparts. For example, there are differences between airborne munitions used in the game and their real-life counterparts, including the usage of carpet bombing, fuel air bombs and MOAB weapons.

Armor

Tanks and mechanized vehicles generally utilize real-world references, but vary from their real-world counterparts in some respects. For example, while the main battle tanks of each army are generally accurate, China's Battlemaster Tank is modeled after the obsolete Soviet-made Type 59. The main battle tank for the USA side is named the Crusader. It most closely models the US Army's M1 Abrams, though the "Crusader" name is from the M109 self-propelled howitzer.

Aircraft

Some other vehicles are completely fictitious, such as the Tomahawk Missile Launcher, the Overlord Tank, and the Microwave Tank. Other units, such as the RAH-66 Comanche, and the Aurora Bomber, are canceled prototypes.

Superweapons

The tactical nuclear weapon and Scud missiles exist in real life, but the damage inflicted by these weapons has been altered for game balance. It should be noted that Generals, being solely a game designed to provide entertainment, as opposed to a simulation, is expected and required to sacrifice realism as described above in order to provide game balance and other gameplay issues in order to create a properly entertaining and challenging experience.

Reception

Generals received mostly positive reviews. Based on 34 reviews, Metacritic gives it a score of 84/100. Generals has also received the E3 2002 Game Critics Awards Best Strategy Game award.

Command & Conquer Controversy

Fans of the C&C universe noted that Generals was the first ever "C&C" RTS game that did not include full-motion video cutscenes to tell the story, and, also, that it departed from the unique interface and base-building mechanics that had characterized all of the previous C&C RTS titles.

China Controversy

Despite the generally positive view of China in the series, the Generals series is banned in mainland China. Throughout the Chinese campaign, the player is occasionally made to utilize heavy-handed tactics such as leveling the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre after it becomes a GLA base and destroying the Three Gorges Dam to release a flood on GLA forces. Chinese forces also liberally use nuclear weaponry in-game, albeit restricted to the lower tactical nuclear weapon yield range.

German Controversy

In the beginning of 2003, a regular localized German version was released in Germany.

Due to the upcoming Iraq war, the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons) put the game on index two months after the initial release, stating that the game would give underage people the ability to play the upcoming war in Iraq, before the real war had even begun.

The sale and marketing of the game were prohibited throughout the Federal Republic of Germany. Later, in the same year, EA released a new version called "Command & Conquer: Generäle", which did not incorporate real world factions or any relation to terrorism. For example, the suicide bomber unit was transformed into a rolling bomb and all other infantry were changed into "cyborgs" in order of appearance and unit responses similar to earlier releases of the Command & Conquer franchise.

Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour

In the expansion pack to Generals, dubbed Zero Hour, the USA campaign involves the continued deployment of United States' forces in areas such as Kazakhstan to combat the forces of the GLA. At the end of the USA campaign, the GLA is all but defeated and a majority of its forces either captured or fled. The GLA campaign picks up at the end of the USA campaign where the player must command the badly damaged GLA. Throughout this campaign, the GLA slowly begin to rebuild their forces to rise up again at the USA. Eventually, the GLA grows powerful enough for the player to command an assault on the West Coast of the United States. This damages the USA reputation and results in the USA recalling forces from Europe to strengthen Homeland Security.

In the final campaign of the game, the player commands forces of the People's Republic of China which have agreed to help Europe repel any GLA attack. Utilizing tactics such as Tank warfare, Tactical Nuclear Missiles and more, the player is able to successfully repel the GLA's assaults on European soil. As a result, China is thrust on to the world stage and the player is hailed as a hero by the Chinese people.

References

1. ^ CNET News: Banned in Beijing: China cracks down on games. (January 26, 2005)

See also

• Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
• Command & Conquer: The First Decade
• Act of War: Direct Action

External links

• Command & Conquer: Generals Official Site
• Command & Conquer: Generals at Planet C&C
• CNCDen.com
• CNC Generals World
• Command & Conquer: Generals at MobyGames
• Command & Conquer: Generals guide at StrategyWiki
• CNC Guides