By Alec Meer on February 14th, 2008 at 10:16 pm.
Following yesterday’s shock-ish reveal, EA have let slip the dogs of press release, containing the first actual goss on Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3. Read on for alls we’ves gots so fars. Including pictures. Pretty, pretty pictures.
Key points:
- aping C&C3′s introduction of The Scrin, RA3 also has a new, third faction – the Empire of the Rising Sun (“UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER SEEN BEFORE!” – actual quote. Hmm), which will presumably continue the series’ proud tradition of affectionate racial stereotyping. The shtick is the Japanese Empire survived into the modern age – dare we dream of cyberpunk ninja, steam-powered samurai?
- It’s about World War III
- It sounds as though it may be a divergence from the pre-existing Red Alert plot into something new. But don’t quote me on that.
- Naval combat (conspicuously absent from C&C3) will be pretty meaty
- Tesla-tech returns
- The campaign is playable in co-op. This = ace.
- It appears to look pretty much exactly as you’d expect Red Alert in the Generals/C&C3 engine would look
- Intelligent dolphins!
- Armoured bears! Update – parachuting armoured bears, I hear.
First pictures – click through to see big’uns (that includes the splendid concept art at the top of this post too).
Here’s a short, staged interview with one of the producers, featuring A Very Excited Man With Slight Fear In His Eyes:
And here’s the worthwhile stuff from the press release:
“It’s been too long.” said Chris Corry, executive producer at EALA. “Fans have been waiting for a new Red Alert game for seven years, and we’re working hard to ensure its well worth the wait. The team is staying true to the series’ roots while adding new elements like a co-operatively played story-driven campaign, an astounding new faction that will shake-up the Red Alert universe as we know it, and units that will help make Red Alert 3 everything our fans have been waiting for. And by bringing naval combat into the heart of the game design, we’re transporting that fast, fun and fluid C&C gameplay to the high-seas in ways that you’ve never seen before.”
In Red Alert 3, the desperate leadership of a doomed Soviet Union travels back in time to change history and restore the glory of Mother Russia. The time travel mission goes awry, creating an alternate timeline where technology has followed an entirely different evolution, a new superpower has been thrust on to the world stage, and World War III is raging. The Empire of the Rising Sun has risen in the East, making World War III a three-way struggle between the Soviets, the Allies, and the Empire with armies fielding wacky and wonderful weapons and technologies like Tesla coils, heavily armed War Blimps, teleportation, armored bears, intelligent dolphins, floating island fortresses, and transforming tanks.
Red Alert 3 asks the question “What If?” What if every bizarre research project and technology experiment for the last 70 years had actually borne fruit? What if the Philadelphia Experiment, time travel theory, teleportation, invisibility, Tesla technology, and a hundred other intriguing research projects had all paid off and gone mainstream? What if the Soviet Union survived and thrived; what would it look like 10 years in the future? What if the Japanese Empire had never fallen and instead became the ultimate high-tech military superpower? The end result is an imaginative and playful vision of an alternate future filled with possibility.
Continuation of RA2. Looks crummy. :(
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Oh, whatifery, you are a constant source of interesting-looking games.
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So, it’ll have a similar theme to Red Alert games, using an alternate-alternate-alternate history? Sounds like fun.
Also, is anyone else having trouble getting sound from that flash player?
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Great news about the naval combat – the last RTS I played with naval stuff I enjoyed was Earth 2150 (especially its nuclear-armed amphibious tanks).
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C&C3 can go to hell as far as I’m concerned. Red Alert is where it’s at. :-)
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As cool as tesla boats are, they can’t be any kind of safe o_0.
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Very commercial… All EA style.
Keep up the good work, stupid businessmen
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@matt
no sound for me either
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TBH armoured bears are definitely where its at as far as strategy games go, I’ve noticed a distinct paucity until now.
Way to raise the bar EA.
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the C&C series is about the only good thing I can see from EA
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now lets hope that they at least let you zoom out and in :)
say SupCom style
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Is there an Animal the C&C games have yet to transmogrify into a tank?
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Transforming Tanks?
I assume that given that they must transform into giant robots. If Japan is involved then there has to be giant robots.
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Color me unimpressed. Generic units straight from the generic designers over at EA. They’re overly-detailed interpretations of the emotionless hunks of metal found in Chris Taylor games.
RA2 is one of my favorite RTS games, one of the reasons being that it’s extremely colorful, almost cartoony. Looks like they abandoned that.
Oh, and the story sound utterly stupid, even by RA standards. Time travel jumped the shark, really jumped the shark in Yuri’s Revenge.
/curmudgeon
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To be fair Rich, where else would you go in this franchise? I can’t see there being much past the time travelling aspect, unless they’ve managed to crack into another dimension or something.
And Tesla coils! Its bound to be good!
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Bears! Raaar!
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Oh everybody hush up.
They have not said nearly enough to warrant any “EA sux” or “generic units”. But from their past I can see a slew of fun traditional stratedy games with a sense of humour. It may not be as exciting as a new Relic series but at least wait for gameplay footage before dismissing it.
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I came
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I think it’s pretty interesting mind that they’ve gone for the “Eastern” third faction – perhaps to also appeal to Generals fans, as I think it’s fair to say that the Chinese were probably the best side to play as in Generals. The GLA were pretty cool mind. But not a patch on a terrorist organisation as NOD.
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I, as a Asian, am highly offended by this negative stereotyping by the fascist cultural imperialists, and demand that they reverse this decision immediately.
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Armoured Bears? Are the soldiers going to have Daemons?
Still, I do prefer the RA series. Mainly for the high silly factor.
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Refreshing to see an evil Asian power that isn’t China or North Korea for a change.
Also, armored bears? I’m even more sold.
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I might have to get this game for the Armoured Bears.
Take that, Northern Lights!
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I read that there will be samurais with laser swords and airplanes-transforming-robots. Oh yes, Japan in RA style.
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This seems to be Red Alert dragged through a thicket of pop culture references then forced to wear an ill fitting 3D smock – still preferable to Generals 2.
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Ahhh, Red Alert, you’re back to steal my time away :) Oddly enough I’m hoping they release a mac version of this, then I can beat the grin right of the face of my smug mac loving flatmate :)
Tesla Bears ftw!
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“UNLIKE ANYTHING YOU’VE EVER SEEN BEFORE!”
In an Auschwitz way, or a Skittles-flavoured milkshake way?
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(Trailer’s replaced with a working one now. Sorry!)
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Please will you Eff off with your pointless addition of a third side. Red Alert should be Allies v Soviets, just like C&C proper should be GDI v NOD.
If you want to add a third faction have an expansion pack like Yuri’s revenge. Why do you have to add “fun” new ideas which change the game premise completely?
I’m not saying it won’t be good, it looks great but can’t you just stick to the original ideas behind the games, it really frustrates me when they try and make something “better” by doing this.
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I, as an Asian, welcome the technological superiority of our Eastern overlords.
For maximum effect, the dolphins should be bitter and sarcastic like the ones from Grant Morrison’s “The Filth”.
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I really like the concept art. Shame the actual game looks nothing like it.
Though I enjoyed the extravagant silliness of RA2, I have to admit I wanted a return to the slightly bleaker styling of the first Red Alert.
Red Alert: Primary Colour Generals is not for me.
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Ah now you see I’m pretty up for this, even though C&C3 left me colder than an eskimos…something.
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Co-op campaign? I’m sold on that alone I think.
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I think the co-op campaign is the only thing that seems interesting. The rest is just a big “meh”, especially the fact that they’re using the Generals-engine again.
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Sweet! I used to love the original Red Alert, and although the second one wasn’t as great, I am definitely excited about this one. =)
If it turns out to be not-so-good, oh well.
If it turns out great – awesome!
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Yay Red Alert! It’s always had a place in my heart, being one of the only RTSes I could play well. Plus, you know, communists and nuclear missiles and tesla coils etc.
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Did you not play C&C3 or the EA LOTR games? The engine has been upgraded several times and is in nothing like the mess it was in Generals.
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is this guy kidding…? is he speaking about the old good Red Alert story as a… new idea!?
Oh boy, this guys and their millions… They are just SO afraid of fucking it up, all the time, that they are indeed fucking it up all the bloody time…
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Probably better than Generals. That’s err, about it. Still, I liked the first RA quite alot, so lets hope for the best. And are there buildable silos in this game? I want my portion of “Silence needed.” :P
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I hated generals a lot. I felt like I was playing a shitty beta that couldn’t decide where to fuck up the most.
I loved RA2 though, damn that game had good music.
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‘OMG TWO SCREENSHOTS IT’LL BE RUBBISH’.
C’mon, guys. In all the Tiberium posts everyone was screaming ‘RA3 PLZ’, now you’ve got it, you’ve seen next to nothing about it, and you’re slagging it off?
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This looks kickass. I loved C&C3, so hopefully this will be even better. Whats wrong with wacky technology? As long as its balanced effectively, the more the better.
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armored parachuting BEARS!
I love it, imagine a hoard of armored bears capable of deploying anywhere on the map.
I think i just creamed myself
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Well, they are right – I’ve never in my life played a game with Armoured Parachuting Bears. That is, in fact, a first.
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Parachuting Bear Cavalry.
Now you’re DEFINATELY fucked!
I think I got me a strategy with this…
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Damn it, I so want an armoured bear. See, I spelled it with the ‘u’. Even though Firefox says it’s wrong.
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