[Multi] Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Preview

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The Command and Conquer franchise is undeniably one of the most well known RTS series' out there. Tiberian Sun was probably the first ground-breaking game of the series, featuring a game engine that gave you the impression of 3D terrain from the various levels of elevation. In fact, you could say that Command and Conquer was one of the first games that put Real-Time Strategy games on the "radar". So far, the series has sold about 23 million units worldwide.

Tiberium Wars begins in the year of 2047 and like the popular Tiberian Sun, the world is divided into different regions. In Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, this point gets proven further as a massive 20% of the world is totally uninhabitable (known as Red Zones). 50% are Yellow Zones; that being the Tiberium has not yet covered the area. The Brotherhood of Nod has also been known to be in these Yellow Zones. Blue Zones are regions that the GDI are located. In addition to these zones, there are also green zones, which will evidently be free of Tiberium. Play magazine says missions in these areas will be tactical.



There are two warring factions. The Global Defensive Initiative, which is a collection of the planet's most technologically advanced nations, and there's The Brotherhood of Nod. NOD's leader, Kane, is a military madman that has plans to conquer the world and 'transform humanity into his twisted vision of the future', as the press release puts it.



At some point, NOD launches some type of nuclear weapon at the Global Defense Initiative's (GDI) orbital headquarters, the Philadelphia, effectively wiping it off the radar. The Philadelphia marked the pinnacle of GDI military technology, and now the GDI forces are scattered.

By the time the Second Tiberium War ends, The Brotherhood of Nod has spread its poisonous agenda to the people with propaganda and deceit, effectively furthering its name to the masses. Because of this, Nod quickly gains support from multiple first world nations, and about 95% of third world countries.



The situation is grim and once more, Nod has the advantage over the Global Defensive Initiative. The GDI assemble their remaining troops, fall back, and prepare to launch small but thorough attacks that they hope will turn the tide of the war.

It is said that Kane is seeking an alliance with the Scrin, or is currently an ally of the alien species. Evidence of this is the Scrin technology that is native to the Nod Banshee, a flying ship that drops multiple green-colored plasma "bombs" on an enemy target, but nothing else in the game backs this up.



The Scrin that was seen earlier in Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun (or rather, a ship that belonged to the Scrin), are believed to make an appearance in C&C3. The Scrin are made out to be a highly advanced alien species, and they are believed to be the ones who are responsible for the origin and initial distribution of Tiberium. Speculation says that they are connected to Kane, the leader of NOD.

Evidence that another playable species (aside from GDI or NOD) points to the E3 teaser trailer: the camera zooms out to let you view a torn Earth, crushed, violated, and then the speaker says, "And then, they came", which hints at something that may be provided in the game.




Command and Conquer 3 will feature the right sidebar interface that was in every C&C game except Generals and Zero Hour, which was backed by the June 1st C&C3 podcast, and was also unveiled in an interview with IGN: "It's also worth mentioning the return of the side-bar interface: Our in-game UI for C&C3 is a side-bar that will feel familiar to C&C players but it has some added features that make it more useful - and make it feel interesting and new. We are combining the centralized production queues in the classic C&C side-bar with contextual space for selected units and structures. The new UI lets you quickly build units and structures, easily control grouped units, and access your build queues anywhere on the map - even in the middle of a battle. But you can still get lots of information about your selected units and activate their special abilities - which are pretty much expected in the latest generation RTS games. We think our interface for C&C3 is the best of both worlds."



Some noticeable changes to C&C3 include the return of mobile construction vehicle, along with resource harvesting (which was removed from C&C Generals and Zero Hour). Another change is that full motion video has come back to Command and Conquer after its absence from Renegade and Generals. Also, according to Play magazine, there will be a user friendly map editor, which is a definite bonus.

As for different game play modes, there will be an added Global Domination mode for campaign. There is also no population cap for players.



There are also several new units; however there is debate going on whether Electronic Arts will include Nod's Elite unit, dubbed Black Hand Shock Troopers. Much like GDI's Ghost Stalkers out of Tiberian Sun, these units will display the pinnacle of power and strength of the Brotherhood of Nod. EA has not yet released information on these units, or commented on the speculation that there will be up to 1, or possibly 2, new playable species. It is also questioned whether EA will have units within the game that will be able to control the weather.




Command and Conquer 3 will be released for PC, but there is also a great likelihood that it will be launched for the Xbox 360 with Louis Castle, the co founder of Westwood saying, "[...] and I know for a fact that they [the developers of Battle For Middle Earth 2 on 360] are doing this because these are the same guys, the same team, who's doing Command & Conquer 3 and they're definitely going to release it for the 360, you heard it here. And so what they are doing is they are really using Battle for Middle-earth II to sort of use it as a spring board to test, to see, how it is going to work for Command & Conquer 3, so they are trying to almost use this BFMEII as a beta; a very good beta."

Command and Conquer 3 will feature multiplayer support, sporting VoIP (voice over internet protocol). Details whether or not LAN support will be included have not yet emerged, although it is highly probable. Electronic Arts promises that they will capitalize on the C&C franchise by providing a unique user experience, advanced AI, a deep storyline, realistic graphics, stunning gameplay, and online support. We will have a full review when the game launches in 2007.