It’s weird how trends come and go. A couple of years ago, every publisher wanted a slice of the MOBA pie and the resulting flood of low-quality titles pretty much killed the genre for everyone but the biggest dogs in the yard. These days, Battle Royale games are all the rage and sooner or later that bubble is going to burst when the point of peak saturation is reached.
One genre I never saw being toppled from its perch? Real-time strategy. RTS games are very very far from being dead, but they’re also nowhere near as industry-defining as they once were. They’re the domain of a niche audience now, a genre for the patient and those who enjoy investing their time into hours of preparation before kickstarting a war on a global scale.
Age of Empires, Total War and the original StarCraft are great examples of RTS games at their prime before MOBA influences began creeping into them. It’s Command and Conquer that’ll always hold a special place in my heart. The original 1995 game is still an absolute legend, a combination of tight base-building and tense standoffs between rival factions. There was a quality in Westwood’s debut Command and Conquer that set the tone for the rest of the series, and established a fantastic precedent for the games that followed in its footsteps.
The sublime and silly Red Alert spin-offs, the exploration of the Tiberium Wars in Tiberian Sun and the new universe of Command and Conquer Generals that showed that the franchise wasn’t afraid to ditch its rulebook and try something new. Basically, there was a Command and Conquer for everyone. For me, it was Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars that signalled the franchise at its very best…and also became the last great game in the series.
Alongside the superb Kane’s Wrath expansion, Tiberium Wars was everything I wanted: Fantastic base-building mechanics with just enough micromanagement on the side, a varied army that relied on the skills of the three main factions and wonderfully absurd videos slotted between the campaigns. It’s also Command and Conquer at its visual best, transitioning from the classic 2D palette of the past and embracing 3D technology to deliver an unprecedented upgrade at the time.
Seriously, it’s like looking at cave paintings and then having your face slapped with post-impressionist art the second you turn around, it was that massive of a visual upgrade. Internally? It was an absolute blast to play. Maybe you were the kind of sneaky player who appreciated how the Brotherhood of NOD could sneak in a massive anti-air defense behind enemy lines. Maybe you enjoyed doing some turtling as the GDI so that you could gather enough resources to unleash a Mammoth Tank blitzkrieg.
Hell, maybe you even preferred the Scrin and their devastating superior technology. The combinations were brilliant, the detail was deep and each match was a satisfying race to see who could run out of disposable ground troops first. Truly magnificent stuff, made even better by the Kane’s Wrath expansion that dialled the silliness up to 11 and threw actual cyborgs into the unit mix. How can you not love those games?
With the older Red Alert 2 also proving to be a glorious step forward for the series, Command and Conquer had perfected itself by the time the Tiberium dust had settled in the third core game set in that specific universe. Command and Conquer simply couldn’t get any better. Sadly, it could get worse. 2008 marked the end of Command and Conquer’s run as a quality-RTS.
Gone was a lot of the strategy, replaced instead with an emphasis on smaller armies and a shallower depth to the units in Red Alert 3. Controversial DRM practises upset many fans, the single-player campaign clearly suffered from a lack of focus and it couldn’t stand next to Red Alert 2 on its best day. Command and Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight wasn’t much better either.
The end of a 15-year journey that began with the original game, Tiberian Twilight’s single-player campaign was a dismal disaster that had clearly lost focus of what had made the original games so special. Meanwhile, the higher focus on multiplayer did little to disguise the poorly balanced units, atrocious design and a severe lack of polish.
This was how Command and Conquer ended a gigantic tale of humanity’s greatest war, not with a bang but a whimper. Sure, efforts may have been made to continue Command and Conquer after Tiberium Twilight. Efforts that all came to nought, as a 2013 reboot based on the Generals spin-off went through numerous redesigns and reveals before being cancelled in 2013.
Currently, the latest incarnation of Command and Conquer is an upcoming mobile game, but it’s just…not…the same. I played it a few weeks ago and while it’s definitely an alright game, it kind of feels like an example of a mobile device skinning the franchise alive and rubbing itself on your mum while it wears the skin of its nostalgic victim.
I miss that series. I miss the action, the satisfaction of seeing units earn a veteran status and battles that were Pyrrhic victories. I miss trying to figure out how Westwood managed to coax some great Hollywood actors to deliver some godawful and cheesy lines between missions and the glee of experimenting with units to discover wonderfully deadly new combinations.
There’ll never be a game like Command and Conquer ever again…or at all, as EA allows the series to lapse into obscurity. Still, at least we’ll always have Tim Curry…AND SPACE!
Last Updated: June 28, 2018
G8crasha
June 28, 2018 at 14:24
I miss it as well! I still wear the Red Alert 3 shirt I received, albeit around the house!
MaSeKind
June 28, 2018 at 14:33
Haha, me too. The logos have been washed off a bit so it doesn’t look so good anymore
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:36
I sometimes walk around humming or whistling the Russian National Anthem…and randomly say “For Mother Russia” sometimes…
BakedBagel
June 28, 2018 at 14:35
Im still playing Dawn of War: Dark Crusade.
Still one of the most interesting RTS games ive played. I need another. DoW RTS’s went to shit 🙁
Captain JJ
June 28, 2018 at 14:39
Yea. Good one that.
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:47
Ever tried DoW Soulstorm?
Yeah, DoW 2 they down scaled to accommodate the swarmyness of the Tyranids on their old engine. They promised us the best of DoW 1 and DoW 2 in DoW 3…they did not deliver 🙁
BakedBagel
June 28, 2018 at 14:47
Of course ^^
but the necrons were nerfed into the ground in SoulStorm. But equally as great, could even be better due to the size of the campaign 😀
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:49
I have heard great things about community mods for it. Still need to try them myself though.
BakedBagel
June 28, 2018 at 14:50
Also. ive never understood
“Why are there no powerful woman in gaming??”
Im like ??? Sisters of Battle ???
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 15:01
They would have been my first 40K tabletop army had it not been for a lack of plastic models and a codex in 2014!
Captain JJ
June 28, 2018 at 14:35
“Currently, the latest incarnation of Command and Conquer is an upcoming mobile game, but it’s just…not…the same.”
That’s being too nice Darryn. The real truth is that EA is capitalising on the name and nothing else. It’s not a C&C game, just a mobile “strategy” game with the same name.
Original Heretic
June 28, 2018 at 14:49
RTS games – the reason I miss PC gaming.
BradeLunner
June 29, 2018 at 00:26
Even me (Trevor Noah impression)
Mark Treloar
June 28, 2018 at 14:51
Where it started for me
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c704ef52e270af74be48cb8155694833867371d679d3f8d1268b5040c1f4f662.png
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 15:09
Are that Dune?
Mark Treloar
June 28, 2018 at 15:12
That are indeed
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 15:12
Noice. Let the Spice flow
Mark Treloar
June 28, 2018 at 15:13
There is a browser version available
Mighty Meh
June 29, 2018 at 10:45
You can also get it for android and a pretty decent port i might add
Admiral Chief
June 28, 2018 at 15:53
Ahhh a man of culture!
HvR
June 28, 2018 at 16:03
Dune 2 sparked my interest in RTS, C&C cemented my love for it
ziplock9000
June 29, 2018 at 09:29
Dune for me too. It’s considered the granddaddy of RTS games.
HvR
June 29, 2018 at 10:02
Think there was an RTS-like Batteltech game actually before it. Also made by Westwood
But yes Dune 2 was very close to the eventual RTS recipe and was quite an success. C&C perfected it and even gave them a Guinness Book of World Records entry
ziplock9000
June 29, 2018 at 10:04
Yes I played it on the C64, but it’s quite different to what followed. That’s why Dune is considered the root of all RTSs that are basically distant clones.
Ocelotty1
June 29, 2018 at 13:07
Hated the last super map (Enemies across the entire top) when you got bogged down, and ran out of the finite supply of spice. Loads of Fremen warriors though
Mark Treloar
June 28, 2018 at 15:17
original command and conquer had an epic game exploit
justlikemo
June 28, 2018 at 14:17
oh yeh, and if you bought the special edition of Red Alert 3 you could drool over a life size pic of Dasha Fedorovich
justlikemo
June 28, 2018 at 14:21
oh and guess what they were leaked https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/4650f1fbcc2efda799bef91ea1991dcf1f4b65ed09543d0008f5fe5e5367098b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/29575fdfb7f61778f1dcb60bcd648713df1b9d325d8f37436157e93fc431dba5.jpg s what they were leaked https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ff36c03a2eeca9561715d2917d84ac0a689c4ad60cb758da4cd1f0d4f697eca0.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/132aaf2ddb132b4a3ade5bca686f846e6b1d930551a62e77d86cd8afebd8adaf.jpg
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:37
For Mother Russia!
justlikemo
June 28, 2018 at 15:22
Yes, We all would for Russia’s Mother
BakedBagel
June 28, 2018 at 14:49
Yes capitalism is bad, communism is the best
?
MaSeKind
June 28, 2018 at 14:37
OMW I forgot I have these somewhere.
jimz0r
June 28, 2018 at 14:28
But Darren, they are making the mobile game you’ve always wanted!
*pukes uncontrollably*
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:37
*joins the puking*
Captain JJ
June 28, 2018 at 14:33
I really miss good RTS games. They are quite few and far between these days. Only recent-ish one that I really got into was Grey Goo. Ashes of Singularity was also nice, but the units felt very limited and samey.
Everything else has been this fast-paced thing where little focus is placed on actual management and strategy and it just becomes a rush game.
If there’s one that I’m really looking forward to though it’s Iron Harvest.
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:35
Ashes of Singularity – I still need to finish it. DoW3 did not scratch my itch and I found the campaign…boring to say the least. Still actually need to finish SC2 Protoss campaign, but it too felt empty to me 🙁
Captain JJ
June 28, 2018 at 14:37
DOW3 was also the whole rush battle thing. No proper building of a city/town/empire. Just rush to get the buildings you need and destroy the opponent. No heart.
The problem with SC2 for me was that it just took too long between expansions. By the time protoss came around I’d moved on and didn’t even bother.
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:38
That sums up my feelings on it well.
Captain JJ
June 28, 2018 at 14:39
You should check out Iron Harvest though…I only have the kickstarter link here though… but it was fully funded. o/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/kingartgames/iron-harvest
BakedBagel
June 28, 2018 at 14:47
PSA:
All DoW after SoulStorm are not real and need to be purged.
R1ker
June 28, 2018 at 14:58
I thought i was the only one that felt that way over the Protoss campaign. Finished the other 2 but i think i only got about halfway with Protoss and lost interest.
BakedBagel
June 28, 2018 at 15:20
I suggest barging through it.
The end was PogChamp as fuck if i remember.
For the Emperor!
June 28, 2018 at 14:34
I cannot get myself to finish reading this article as the nostalgia is too strong! I want REAL C&C!
Original Heretic
June 28, 2018 at 15:38
Man, this article has me thinking of all the awesome RTS games I used to love jamming.
Mech Commander, now that I loved the ever living crap out of. No base building, but you really needed to have top notch strategy in some of those missions.
Mighty Meh
June 29, 2018 at 10:47
The feels :<
makiHyunda
July 21, 2018 at 00:33
Excellent article. But I disagree. There can and will be more if someone just has the balls to kick starter or make one. Maybe it won’t be ea but it can be a new franchise which draws from the well and millions will flock to the simple honest gameplay.
Marsel De Klerk
December 3, 2018 at 07:44
I love command and conquer. Miss the old ones.