RED ALERT III

[JanYpe 17]

Red Alert is supposed to be cheesy and over the top isn't it? I really like the water they showed in this trailer.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: JanYpe Red Alert is supposed to be cheesy and over the top isn't it? I really like the water they showed in this trailer.quote>

Yeah it is. I like the water also, but at the moment the game STILL looks like a crap C&C3 mod

Only a few months left... i've kinda lost most of my hope for the game. Maybe i'll have a little fun with it, but compared to stuff like WiC and CoH... the C&C franchise is nothing anymore.

[JanYpe 17]

I wouldn't say the franchise is down to nothing, but I agree it's all getting a bit disappointing. They seem to be too frightened to step off the old basic RTS model, so you end up with mainly cosmetic improvements. It makes the games both accessible and pretty, but there comes a point where the shiny pictures alone just don't cut it. The RTS genre hasn't been sitting still for the past years, and the C&C franchise has to show new depth instead of clinging to the gameplay we've seen since Dune 2 and C&C1.

From the looks of things, there could actually be more to RAIII than there was to Tiberium Wars. Using the water as an extra dimension of the aircraft like the trailer showed is a step forward, but at the same time similar to what they did with underground vehicles in Tiberian Sun.

[Haljackey 17,304]

Originally posted by: JanYpe The RTS genre hasn't been sitting still for the past years, and the C&C franchise has to show new depth instead of clinging to the gameplay we've seen since Dune 2 and C&C1.quote>

I agree.  Remember that EA has taken control now rather than C&C's original makers: Westwood studios.  EA has changed many things with C&C, with the most notable being C&C: Generals, which has nothing do do with the series.

However, Blizzard is making Starcraft II into a great new RTS game in my opinion.  I just hope that after it is released EA will follow suit and show new depth. 

-Heck, this can even be applied to city simulators (SCS and SCC vs CXL).

[Follarch 326]

coming from a seasoned Red Alert player, I can say this, they could have done a LOT more work on the looks of the buildings and units, they make them look like the game was made for five year old's who are obsessed with bright colors and fun shapes. A TRUE RTS war game needs to focus on the actuall look of war vehicles and structures. Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars took that award, very accomplishing game.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Originally posted by: Archean coming from a seasoned Red Alert player, I can say this, they could have done a LOT more work on the looks of the buildings and units, they make them look like the game was made for five year old's who are obsessed with bright colors and fun shapes. A TRUE RTS war game needs to focus on the actuall look of war vehicles and structures. Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars took that award, very accomplishing game.quote>

Really? You see, I don't think it did. I mean, look; C&C3 uses the same engine that C&C Generals did, albeit, a beefed up version. I can run it 'semi' smoothly on full graphics but it STILL is nothing Graphicaly compared to the likes of Company of Heroes and World in Conflict (wich I can run suprebly)... on those games, you can zoom into the warfare and see the expressions on the guys faces as they fight and watch their comrades get minced by artillery. I've always been an advocate of Gameplay before Graphics, but seeing C&C lag behind these simple but magnificent games is a real shame because its the ORIGINAL that shaped the genre so It should be the one leading the way! But EA are too busy making money to see the real art in game making these days, they expect the FMV cutscenes, franchise fanboys and rabid marketing to sell the game, instead of letting the game sell itself through sheer awe.

Lets add them up graphically shall we?

Company of Heroes -

World in Conflict -

Generals -

C&C3 -

RA3 -

I admit, RA3 looks a little bit tasty in that shot But I tried hard to find the best pictures I could that show the graphics off the most (except the Generals shot, that ones for reference). As you can see with C&C3 and RA3 we are STILL stuck in the invisible command airship we call the sky, and we never really venture into the heart of the battle since, well... theres no point since theres really no graphics to show off down there. And THATS what bugs me! While Relic and Massive go through vast lengths to ensure the game looks amazing at every possible angle whereas EA find one thing, sticks to it and forgets about everything thing else. I.E, the atmosphere in Tiberium Wars... I mean, wow... its so Atmospheric I was almost sick... the lighting was almost top notch. But then in come the Units and you think to yourself that the graphics are infact, terrible... all the atmosphere is is 2 years of progress and the models are 1 week or afterthought. The same will go for, and does go for, RA3. The Water... yes, its nice., and even the explosions are decent now... but the explosions were decent back in 2006 when Company of Heroes was released... they were decent when World in Conflict was released a year ago... this is a new game now halfway through 2008 and we are still in the commanding blimp above the battlefield, surely its about time in C&C's life that we were able to go down there and simpathize with the soldiers (not in a FPS way) and watch them die as you send wave after wave into a wall of tesla coils. EA would have us believe computers are still not at the point of sustaining such a demanding game... which, as we can see from the smoothness Company of Heroes can run on any computer, not just a super-rig,  is absolute bollock sausages.

I know EA probably hear this every waking second, but they need to liven up and start making games that adhere to the graphical standards of today and not yester-year... this starts by them stopping the production half-assed unit and character models anjd start making decent, more life like ones, Sooner or later they will discover the advantage of this is that they WON'T have to hire expensive actors and spend an entire wasted year making FMV, when they could just animate the models instead to carry on the games graphical edge.

Well, I spilled my guts... hope you don't mind...

[BurroDiablo 222]

lol, I just relised something about the release date.

This is just a guess, but since Red Alert 3 is going OTT with all the Soviet stuff I thought maybe they should top it all off. Their going to release it on either; October the 25th or November the 7th... the day of the October Revolution. My bet is that they release it on Nov the 7th since its a Friday and new games are usually out just before the weekend (in Europe anyway. Usually when something is released on a Monday in the US, in the EU its released the following Friday. But RA3 has a worldwide release date, so theres no need for me to worry if people are getting in before me )

Anyway... i've been watching a few videos of this in my spare time and, well, its growing on me again. I think its because it reminds me ALOT of Red Alert 2, and dispite all the Anime crap they've spewed over the franchise, I feel that they haven't lost touch with whole Soviets V Allies theme. Doesn't seem like they haven't focused more on one faction than the others either... I mean, come on... stealing idea's out of Anime movies for a Japanese faction isn't really what i'd call devoting more time to a faction, it couldn't have taken much thought at all. In fact, I think the most thought probably went to the Allies... I mean, How the hell do you make a Technologically superior Faction without over stepping the the bounds of what they did with the Empire of the Rising Sun (or as I like to say,,,, ERS (Arse))? How do you Stereotype the Allies (Apart from making the Unit dialouge all about 'Protecting Freedom' 'Serving Liberty' 'Defending the free World'  and all that garbage like Generals) especially in the Buildings. The Soviets have Orthodox domes everywhere, so why can't the Allies have a few protestant Spires on buildings (yeah yeah, i'm kidding).

I bet EA overcome these problems though... more likey from stealing idea's than anything but I guess desperate times call for depeate measures. I just hope the plagiarising gits give these people some recognition...

[Deever 23]

I don't really approve of the Empire being made up of a bunch of anime stuff but I think the faction itself is pretty interesting. You can mess with people's heads with the Empire.

Oh, and if you guys haven't seen it yet, there's this video of a beta game lasting 40 minutes! The heck right? The battle is between the Allies and the Empire. I won't say who won but I can tell you that you'll know a lot of things about the Allies after watching that video. The only complication is that you'll have to download the video to see it.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Thanks Deever, i'm downloading it now. 319mb... takes about 15 mins. I'll have to watch it tomorrow though since its 4:30am where I live right now

[Follarch 326]

Really? You see, I don't think it did. I mean, look; C&C3 uses the same engine that C&C Generals did, albeit, a beefed up version. I can run it 'semi' smoothly on full graphics but it STILL is nothing Graphicaly compared to the likes of Company of Heroes and World in Conflict (wich I can run suprebly)... on those games, you can zoom into the warfare and see the expressions on the guys faces as they fight and watch their comrades get minced by artillery. I've always been an advocate of Gameplay before Graphics, but seeing C&C lag behind these simple but magnificent games is a real shame because its the ORIGINAL that shaped the genre so It should be the one leading the way! But EA are too busy making money to see the real art in game making these days, they expect the FMV cutscenes, franchise fanboys and rabid marketing to sell the game, instead of letting the game sell itself through sheer awe.

Lets add them up graphically shall we?

Company of Heroes -

World in Conflict -

quote>

...alright, I have to admit, World in Conflict is the most amazing I have seen, BY FAR, actually. Even beats the crap outta C&C 3, which is saying a lot, for me anyway. Company of Heroes is also something to drool over with everything. I mean, I look at the above screen and I see amazing terrain and skies, realistic vehicles and air units to the DETAIL.

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

Unless they change things up big time (or make it excellent with respect to the classics ) I don't think I could even bother with C&C anymore. I loved the old C&C, especially the RA games. But when we started getting into generals (just another blah RTS IMO) And the mixed response to C&C3, I basically started to disregard any C&C news (EA had a lot to do with it to). The final nail in the coffin for me came when I bought CoH, which played, and looked(no cartoony graphics), better than any other RTS I had played in a looooong time. Victory actually involved more than who could spam the highest tech tier first, It actually required TACTICS (and no resource gathering was a big plus). Although I might have some sentimental attachment to RA3, I have to see more from it than just a title and [not that] fancy graphics.

And on the note of graphics, I posted some pictures from CoH here a while ago and you can see them HERE.

Thats my 2 cents,

-Todd

[Soviet779 1]

Im a long time c&c fan but theyve trashed the series too much. The story line got messed up with red alert 2  however i liked the game and the story though so its forgiveable and it was fixable because westwood were working on a game (probably what got turned into generals by EA) that would make the story flow flawlessly, as red alert and the tiberium universes are meant to be the same, kane is in c&c red alert 1 on the soviet side, he kills stalin at the end. I read where westwood were taking the whole plot and it sounded amazing, then EA hands us generals and slaps us in the face again with c&c 3. Wheres the tiberium lifeforms? wheres all that weird plant life? wheres those tiberium sheep that attacked in tiberian sun?? Oh theyre all gone because EA totally buggered up the plot, wheres CABAL gone? He died apparently and was replaced according to c&c 3, the end of firestorm suggests otherwise.

Thats just the story side of things!! Damn did c&c3 get old fast, online was fun for a month or two, then everyone left, apparently theres usually less than 500 people online, that was months ago. EA messed up with c&c3 they will do the same with ra3, its a shame such an awesome franchise is now worthless. I would have a little hope for ra3 because im optimistic but after generals, cnc 3, simcity 4 being buggy as hell and simcity societies, ive had it with EA. They suck.

[BurroDiablo 222]

I agree about C&C3, that game was atrocious. Generals was okay FOR THE TIME, the graphics were considered quite decent when it was released in 2003... but their still using that sodding engine even today for RA3, trying to milk the SAGE teet's for the very last drops before it gets run into the ground by every other Strategy game.

I liked Red Alert 2 however... I mean, ALOT... even though I was probably too much of a PC ***** to remember fans of Red Alert being pissed by the light hearted direction westwood were taking the game, but I remember when I got it and I was stunned by how playable it was. I was still playing it a few months ago

When I take into consideration that, given the crappy Graphics and the Anime bile they've spewed into the game, underneath RA3 its just Red Alert 2... most of the Units are back, EA haven't even been bothered to change some of the voices (lazy sob's) and it pretty much plays the same. My thinking is; if I liked Red Alert 2, then i'll like Red Alert 3! After all, its pretty much a giant rip off. However, for long i'll like the game is questionable since nothing has changed much and I've watched alot of Videos people have made with the Beta. Not much will be a surprise to me when it is released, theres nothing really that groundbreaking (like Super Ultra Heavy Units... a Mothership Kirov maybe that can spawn other Kirovs... I mean, COME ON! I don't see EA coming up with this stuff) its just the bog standard EA speel that we always get.

I want some freaking imagination!!!

EDIT-

Also, for those of you who haven't seen it... here are some BETA vids detailing all the Factions-

Allies VS Empire

Soviets VS Soviets VS Soviets

Empire VS Allies

[Soviet779 1]

Hollyoaks hottie gemma atkinson is the new Lt Eva:

In case you guys didnt know. I think theyve got Jenny Mcarthey to play tanya too.

[underwearman2007 0]

man i wish my computer could play RA3 or WoC without doing this: . and all this time-travel-worldwar 4- soviet- riot stuff really hurts my brain. though i really like the new tanya , and Japan looks like it could kick the Soviet and Allies' asses into the next milennia then do it again.

[Haljackey 17,304]

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http://www.gametrailers.com/player/40181.html

Maybe RA III Isn't so bad after all...  

[Godzillaman 21]

EA seems to be getting desperate, using good looking girls to advertise their games...

[SimHoTToDDy 2,938]

All I can say about that video is, to quote the online game junkies, "LAWL!!!1!"

[GMT 389]

IDK if that's something for you, but I found a nice thingy at the C&C site, it's called "Red Alert 3 Step" and goes pretty much like this:

1) dl Red Alert 1 (basic game) for free

2) pre-order Red Alert 3 and recieve a free Red Alert 2

3) receive Red Alert 3 on release date

looks like my official and inofficial add-on discs for Red Alert 1 come back to life ^^

EDIT: isn't one of the girls Autumn Reeser?

[toxicpiano 125]

looks like a hideous excuse for a red alert game

[BurroDiablo 222]

Silence heretic!

Originally posted by: GMT IDK if that's something for you, but I found a nice thingy at the C&C site, it's called "Red Alert 3 Step" and goes pretty much like this:

1) dl Red Alert 1 (basic game) for free

2) pre-order Red Alert 3 and recieve a free Red Alert 2

3) receive Red Alert 3 on release date

looks like my official and inofficial add-on discs for Red Alert 1 come back to life ^^

EDIT: isn't one of the girls Autumn Reeser?quote>

Doesn't appeal if you bought the "First Decade" box set a few years back (which I did). EA feel like they're going to gain customers from this minor bout of generosity, but in reality, they're just encouraging people to download Pirates since the CD Protection is the same as Spore (although, they upped it to a max of FIVE installs). Funny thing is, the Pirated copies usually come without the SecuROM protection so you can install a pirated copy as many times as you wish. If that's the case, why the hell would anybody BUY the game? EA are thinking with their wallets YET again. Heres a suggestion for EA - Instead of Punishing the people who BUY the game, Reward them. Don't boast about how, if you buy the game you get to play online and your are entitled to Technical Support (zomg), that does not appeal to many people. Instead, make content available for download FREELY to EXPAND the game and the gameplay! New Maps, New Units, New Abilities... the Ability to download the Expansion packs for a discount price. You want people to buy your games, you need to start treating the consumer with respect.

[Haljackey 17,304]

So get this,

I bought the game today, and I DON'T have enough digits in my registration code! 19 instead of the needed 20.

I did a search for this and it appears that a few copies have 19 digits printed instead of 20. I have to register for an EA account, send them an email and attach a scanned copy of the back of my manual showing the 19 digits. Then wait for a response...

Either that or "guess" the last digit (a-z or 0-9). The problem is that installation quits if you fail to input a valid code after 3 attempts! So tedious...

Ugg!

At least the game comes with a hot poster of all the girls in the cast. That should keep me entertained as I await a reply from EA.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Yes yes, Sex sells... EA have probably resorted to the lowest of all marketing tactics. Its worked though, sadly. I got it a few days ago and I've experienced my first fist biting crash... It stops me progressing to the next Soviet Mission (Allies or Empire I could tolerate not caring for the Story, but the Sov's seem to be the main theme this time round and I can't NOT know the entire story). One thing I do love however... the MUSIC. Holy hell, EA have out done themselves... this (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rda1Uq9ATig - sorry, no proper link since Simtrop hates Google Chrome (or vise versa) ) has got to be the Sovietest (such a word?) song evar. I couldn't be more Russian even if it manifested itself in Lenin and did a Vodka fuelled Cossak dance; I FREAKING LOVE IT!!! The game however, slightly lack luster and not as action filled as I'd hoped. No Nukes is a devastating twist, but maybe the Premiers little scientist buddy will bring forth his Nuclear knowledge in an Expansion pack or something *crosses fingers, toes and eyes. Dies from Hemorrhage*

[SHADD0W09 2]

ti you got the premmier edistion and want the extra maps here is the right adress http://www.ea.com/redalert/premier/ its not the one printed on the sheet 

if playing game on line you will find me there mame shadd0w09

[BurroDiablo 222]

Meh... completed both the Soviets and Allied missions (just the Empires to do now). I'm very surprised how very little there is to this game - the only Landmark in this game is the Statue of Liberty, that is it! In RA2 there was the White House, Pentagon, Eiffel Tower, Houses of Parliament... honestly, the list can go on. Maybe they were allowed to be a little more liberal with what they could blow up in the days before 9/11, but 7 years on that excuse really should have faded into the distance. Also, the characters are a lot less memorable than the ones in RA2. Even Sam, the Premiers Terrapin, was more memorable than most the people in RA3. The Premier should be a moronic eccentric, and his advisor/closest General should be a calculated and dark Psychopath... but both should not be the same as the other, that just calls for a boring scenario with predictable and boring dialogue. EA need to hire some more inventive script writers...

[toxicpiano 125]

The script is dire to say the least. It's like some kind of terrible pastiche of previous games, it's too sexed up and too cliched and why was it necessary to include gundam in red alert? Every conceivable sterotype of post war Japan they could find has been put in.

[Haljackey 17,304]

Originally posted by: toxicpiano  Every conceivable sterotype of post war Japan they could find has been put in.quote>

That's what happens when you take a trip in a time machine .  Remember, there is no post-war Japan because WWII never happened.

I gotta say though, I would have expected the cinematics to be a little more "professional" since this is the biggest-budgeted game for cutscenes.  Nothing could ever beat Red Alert II, but Red Alert III hasn't even come close!

Best,

-Haljackey

[BurroDiablo 222]

Yeah, its not as near as wacky or as funny as Red Alert 2... its just pure cheese. They are all terrible actors... the Soviets can't get the accent right, Krukov sounds French and Cherdenko sounds like a Yorkshireman with a cold. And EVA... christ, could they not have found somebody with a more "neutral" sounding English accent? The most convincing actor is J K Simmons, the guy who plays President Ackerman... Ackerman probably has the most convincing storyline as well... and the most agreeable end (heheh). Also, I'm disappointed that they didn't do this the way they did C&C3... that the Story is the same but from different perspectives, instead of each Campaign leading your forces to Victory over your 2 enemies, then only 1 of the story lines continuing in the next game (most probably the Allied storyline since that's always the case)

[frdrcklim 139]

Knowing that RA3 would no longer appeal to me, I just watched the campaign on youtube. The intro was really not well-thought of. And to kill Einstein the same way Einstein killed Hitler is cliche. I laughed when the woman information officer wondered nukes WTH? These live-action sequences are no longer inspiring, just plain boring. At least in RA, there were scenes of what's happening in the battlefield. Even Stavros, decided to go out from the safety of his tent to kill Stalin himself in the Allied campaign. And well, the rest I guess didn't turn me on.

That picture of RA3 just above looks fantastic by the way. Apparently, it's showing RA3's good side.

[SimRabbit 48]

Why do they put hot chicks on games like RA3?

Everybody knows only ugly chicks play games like this.