In the golden days of real-time strategy (RTS) games, two titles from two major studios stood out; one was Warcraft/Starcraft and the other was the Command & Conquer series. Now, with the former having sullied itself thanks to a failed remaster, it’s up to the Command & Conquer series to show the world how it’s done with its recent decent remasters.
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is mostly good and should spark some nostalgia, prompting a look back at old Command & Conquer games. They are the pinnacle of stripped down wargaming on PC and these games best represent the series and its roots.
Updated June 23, 2022 by Michael Llewellyn: Alongside the original Dune, the Command & Conquer series is still considered one of the best real-time strategy games of all time. The long-running series has had some hits and misses with its less-than-stellar free-to-play spinoff and the poorly executed Renegade FPS series. However, thanks to Petroglyph Games taking over the remastered collection, the series has renewed interest among fans old and new. Petroglyph is a studio made up of former members of Westwood Studios, the original developers of C&C, and fans are hoping that their next project will be a new entry in the series. This list has been updated to include spin-off titles and the new remaster released in 2020.
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Released:
1999 -
Developer:
Westwood Studios -
Platform:
personal computer
For some strange reason, Metacritic has yet to rate Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. It is the sequel to the original 1995 Command & Conquer game and follows the story of the global war caused by the otherworldly resource called Tiberium.
Tiberian Sun was released in 1999 and used an updated graphics engine and interface that would later serve as a precursor to children’s classics like Red Alert 2. Don’t be fooled by the lack of scoring, Tiberian Sun is worth a try.
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Released:
2009 -
Developer:
EA Los Angeles -
Platform:
PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
As a stand-alone expansion to Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3, Uprising continues the Allied story by including four campaigns. Campaigns are smaller in scale as they include 3-4 missions each.
However, the story is straight to the point and the quests are exciting that C&C fans will appreciate. It also focuses on the rise of the Commando known as Yuriko Omega and the Empire of the Rising Sun.
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Released:
2010 -
Developer:
EA Los Angeles -
Platform:
personal computer
Coming in as one of the weaker Command & Conquer titles is the fourth game in the series, Tiberium Twilight. It was released in 2010 at a time when the video game industry had moved away from real-time strategy games and was beginning to explode into the first-person shooter (FPS) genre.
As a result, Tiberium Twilight was poorly received. He tried to change the formula of Command & Conquer too drastically, but failed miserably by introducing a system that was too strange. Tiberium Twilight also spoiled the supposed end of the Tiberium saga.
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Released:
2018 -
Developer:
Sequoia EA -
Platform:
Android and iOS
Tiberium Twilight was so bad that even an iOS and Android game was able to get a higher score. That game is Command & Conquer Rivals, which received a rating of 71 on its iOS platform.
It is a stripped down formula of the established Command & Conquer games and blends collectible card game mechanics with the RTS genre. Command & Conquer: Rivals is also modified well enough that it can be played at a fast and frenetic pace on a smaller screen with less than optimal controls.
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Released:
2002 -
Developer:
Westwood Studios -
Platform:
personal computer
Command & Conquer: Renegade marks the first time the developers tried to do something different. Rather than an RTS, Renegade is a weird FPS that was released in 2002.
The game puts you in the shoes of a GDI commando who must fight against the forces of the Brotherhood of Nod to rescue his fellow kidnapped scientists. It was a strange change in the genre and something that didn’t take off despite being a “good” game.
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Released:
2007 -
Developer:
EA Los Angeles and Breakaway Games -
Platform:
PC and Xbox 360
Command & Conquer games traditionally allow us to play as the good guys and the bad guys. Command & Conquer 3 Kanes Wrath is a standalone expansion that focuses on the leader of the Brotherhood of Nod Kane and his rise to power.
Despite its slightly above average score on Metacritic, Kane’s Wrath was well received by fans of the series. Additionally, the Xbox 360 version features a challenge mode where you face off against 9 factions. Along with its predecessor, Kane’s Wrath once again proved that a complex RTS can work well on a console.
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Released:
2008 -
Developer:
EA Los Angeles -
Platform:
OS X, PS3, PC and Xbox 360
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 was released in 2008 and went down in gaming history as the last good Command & Conquer game for PC and consoles. It was extravagant, vibrant and sexy.
That’s just one of the game’s draws, of course. The other is a refinement and improvement of the Command & Conquer gameplay loop and the introduction of a wacky new story separate from the first two games.
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Released:
2020 -
Developer:
petroglyph games -
Platform:
personal computer
Released in 2020 only for PC, the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection includes the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert, as well as all its expansions and all previously exclusive console content.
The collection includes over 100 missions, enhanced 4K resolution, improved cutscenes, new online features, and more. It’s an incredible value to many and is the best way to experience the first two iconic RTS games on a modern machine without any of the drawbacks of running older games on a high resolution screen.
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Released:
2000 -
Developer:
westwood pacific -
Platform:
personal computer
Before Red Alert 3 tried to make the series a comedic cheese party, there was Command & Conquer Red Alert 2. It was one of the most popular real-time strategy games of the early 2000s and is generally appreciated for its alternative and more violent version of the Cold War.
Red Alert 2 was World War 3, where the Soviet Union is controlled by psychics and crackpots left over from the Czars, while the United States is controlled by cowboys and Republicans. It was a glorious period in gaming where everyone was on board with black satire and propaganda.
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Released:
2003 -
Developer:
Pacific EA -
Platform:
Mac OS and PC
Command & Conquer never really delved into contemporary settings until they introduced Generals. It was a modern version of the formula and featured precise, even well-known factions such as China, the United States, and an Al Qaeda bootleg called the GLA.
The graphics were also in full 3D and each of the three factions offered very different styles of play. It was even successful enough to get an expansion that doubled down on explosions and weapons of mass destruction, but sadly not successful enough to get a sequel.
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Released:
2007 -
Developer:
EA Los Angeles -
Platform:
Mac OS, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360
It wasn’t until 8 years later that Tiberian Sun got a scholarship. That’s why 2007’s Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was a beloved belated sequel. It continued the story of the Tiberium Saga with GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod, Kane returning as well.
More than that, Tiberium Wars also introduced a third faction to the fray: the alien Scrin. There was no doubt that it was the most beautiful game in the Tiberium series that even its sequel, Command & Conquer 4, fell short and could not compete.
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Released:
nineteen ninety six -
Developer:
Westwood Studios -
Platform:
PC and PS1
After the success of Command & Conquer in 1995, developer Westwood Studios came up with some bigger ideas in the form of Red Alert. It was Cold War porn at its finest and reimagines what an all-out war between the Soviet Union and the United States would look like.
It didn’t look as glorious as the more graphically advanced Command & Conquer games of the 2000s era, but the fast-paced gameplay and ridiculous storyline made it more than memorable, iconic even.
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Released:
nineteen ninety five -
Developer:
Westwood Studios -
Platform:
PC and PS1
Speaking of iconic video games, here’s Command & Conquer. It is the game that started a franchise of its own and put an electrifying spin on the RTS formula where the interface was simplified so that one can focus on the war and the action.
It also marks the beginning of the Tiberium Saga where the two warring factions of GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod engage in asymmetrical warfare. Fortunately, fans can finally relive these moments again with the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection.
