Have You Played… Earth 2140?
Cyborg imitation
Command & Conquer will go down in history as a real-time strategy giant. Earth 2140 will be half-remembered as an imitator, a game that took as much of its lifeforce from Terminator 2 as it did from Westwood’s soldier-bossing. But I got to play this on a demo disc for PC Zone or something, and that makes it special, OK?
Earth 2140 (and the memory of that demo disc) epitomises for me the contrast between the explosive self-assurance of videogames and the reality of our homely mouse clicking. That clash between effervescent videogame pushers, with their dauntless zeal for cyberwarfare, and the child at home examining a menu screen. Don’t know what I mean? Let’s perform a small experiment. I want you to watch the entirety of this ludicrous intro sequence. Five minutes and 47 seconds of explosive 1990s action. Do not look away, do not pause, do not skip ahead. It is vital you watch and study the whole thing.
Done? Okay, now watch a bit of this.
Videogames.