Command & Conquer Red Alert 3

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Since the very first Red Alert came out so many years ago on the PC, I have been a fan. Red Alert was the first RTS (Real Time Strategy) game I had ever played and I absolutely loved it. Red Alert 2 was even better in gameplay and with the addition of Hollywood stars playing the character roles in the cut scenes, the game became even more fun.

When I first heard Red Alert 3 would be coming to the PS3, I was both excited and skeptical. Excited because of my love for the franchise, and yet skeptical because I had never played Command & Conquer on a console system. The mouse and keyboard interface was something I was not sure I could part with and I didn't know how playable the game would be without it.

With that said, I took a leap of faith and bought the game anyway. Although it is a different play experience on the console, I find that the new interface using the PS3 control pad is very manageable and after a game or two, it was no problem for me to know where to go and what to do. A radial menu has been added that allows you to select various construction options simply by pushing the stick in one direction or the other. Pretty soon you will find yourself knowing exactly what to click when, so don't let your familiarity with the keyboard dissuade you from buying and/or trying this game.

The graphics are crisp, although the tips and writing are a bit hard to read on a non HD television. The factions have a nice variety of weapons and styles and more has been promised via downloadable add-on content at a later date. The new Empire of the Rising Sun faction has some really cool new weaponry, including large mechs and transforming robots in the classic anime realm. There are a nice variety of included maps with more promised to come via download later.

Online play so far has been very smooth. I have played three online matches as of this review and have experienced no lag or connection issues when playing others. You also have the option to play the computer in skirmish/base building mode. Up to 4 players can play head to head online at a time.

The cinematics, although classically over the top, are great as always, with some great Hollywood talent playing key roles yet again. The soundtrack is awesome and keeps you immersed in the action. The soundtrack is included as a stand alone bonus feature on this addition as well, along with plenty of other nice bonus features and behind the scenes videos.

All in all, once you adapt to the interface changes, this game is good old Red Alert on steroids. You will have a blast and I think you will find that this is the first real console RTS to stay true to it's origins and keep the long time fan interested. It will also be easily adaptable to the new player who is making their first venture into the C&C universe.

If you still have any doubts, go online to the Playstation store and download the free demo. It lets you go through tutorials as well as two missions to get a feel for what the game is like.

I highly recommend this game to all fans of the PS3 and the Red Alert/C&C franchise.

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This latest installment of the Command and Conquer franchise was clearly built around what made the previous Red Alert installments popular. The story is zany and often cheezy. Big name actors play the parts of generals and commanders and even do so with real live-action footage. The graphics are great and I have not experienced any glitches at all. Online plays smoothly as well. When playing online, you can even pause the mission to talk to your co-commander(if it's not a computer!)

Overall, there is lots of attention to detail and plenty of options. You can choose between the Red Alert classics(soviets, and the allies) as well as the new faction, the empire of the Rising Sun. It's great fun and I think it's a worthy successor in the Red Alert series.

Those who are worried about the lack of mouse and keyboard controlls shouldn't be. The command menu works well and only takes a game or two to get used to. So far, my only complaint about the game is the price. I know the Playstation version had a couple small exclusive goodies, but we shouldn't have had to pay the full retail price when the game had already been out(and selling for much less)on PC and Xbox for over 6 months.

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There really seem to be only two true RTS franchises that made their way over to the consoles, so I thought it would be beneficial to compare and contrast the two.

After having played both games extensively, I don't understand the lack of press coverage this game is getting.

This game seriously superior to Halo Wars in Every Single Area.

The basic controls are pretty much identical, but there's a ton of advanced controls available as well that make this game a pleasure to play. I control the game faster with the PS3 version than the PC version using a mouse oddly enough.

The Graphics in this game are better than both Halo Wars and the 360 version of Red Alert 3. The extra time that EA spent polishing up the PS3 version of the game really shines through. The game has more depth and strategy than Halo Wars as well.

The game has three different factions that really play out very differently, and they're all a lot of fun to play. Reminds me of Starcraft. In Halo Wars, you're stuck with only one faction in singleplayer mode, and two in multiplayer that happen to play out almost identically.

And most importantly, the game has a lot more meat to it and is all around more fun than Halo Wars.

he basic controls were nice and easy to learn, but there's a lot of advanced controls (hold one button while pressing another, double tapping specific buttons, etc.) that will be picked up during the course of playing the game.

9.5 Presentation

The best cutscenes anywhere in any game, period! They really pull you into the story

9.0 Graphics

Better than the 360 version and most RTS games.

9.5 Sound

The Soundtrack Rules.

9.0 Gameplay

Great all around. But a split screen mode, mod support, and yes, KB+Mouse support would've been nice to have.

10.0 Lasting Appeal

There's tons of strategies to try out in single and multiplayer. I haven't been able to stop playing the game since I picked it up at launch.

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I used to play the 1st C&C and Red Alert 1 on a PC back in college and it's great to see a version for PS3. I've spent hours playing this game on a slow week night.

This version is great fun, somewhat harder to micromanage units with a console control, and I have yet to beat all the soviet AI commanders in skirmish mode on Medium. My only complaint is that about 30% of the time, if you load a saved game, there is no sound. I am using stereo 5.1 surround, but it seems EA should provide a patch to fix this issue, I've seen none yet. It works after I re-load, but kind of a hassle.

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Update. I have had this for about a week and I am very happy that I purchased the game. I have played two of the campaigns and I am finding them a challege which is good. Graphics are Great and yes, I am having fun. I am glad I made the purchase and I think most everyone else that is a fan of the series will as well.