Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 | |
---|---|
Red Alert | |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains two playable factions, the Soviets and the Allies, which both previously appeared in
Red Alert 2 was a commercial and critical success, receiving a rating of 86% from
Gameplay
The main objective of the game is to defeat enemy commanders, played by AI or human opponents, by destroying their bases to the point of enemy capitulation. Players must also work to defend their own bases to maintain their ability to collect money and produce units, both of which are essential in achieving the main objective. Once all enemy commanders have been defeated, a winner is declared.
Every aspect of gameplay in the game is based on the collection of money. In the game, money can be collected by several means. The most common is using miner trucks to gather
The various nations are members of either the Soviet or the Allied factions, which are loosely based on the real life factions of the Cold War; furthermore, after installing the Yuri’s Revenge expansion, you will be able to play a new campaign, you will also be able to play as the Yuri faction in skirmishes. Yuri’s Revenge also brings updates to existing soviet and allied troops while also bringing in some new troops with their unique voice lines. One of the major praises of Red Alert 2 over the original Red Alert game was that playing as a specific country made a bigger difference. While every country has the basic buildings and units, each nation has a special unique unit, ability, or structure.
It is also the first C&C RTS not to include a "mission select" screen prior to levels that change the conditions of the next level.
Game balance
Like previous Command & Conquer games, the two factions in Red Alert 2 have unique armies with their own strengths and weaknesses. To achieve victory, a player must play to their faction's strengths and exploit the other faction's weaknesses. The factions follow the same trend in the previous title.
Soviet vehicles tend to possess heavier firepower and/or being able to take more punishment compared to their Allied counterparts with examples such the Heavy Rhino Tank and its V3 Rocket Launchers. However, they are also more expensive to build and at times move more slowly, allowing Allied vehicles to out-maneuver and outnumber them. The basic Soviet infantry, on the other hand, the Conscript, though much inferior to the Allied G.I., are incredibly inexpensive and far faster to train making it easy to mass produce. The Soviet faction is also superior in the early game and in land wars because of their more powerful and advanced tanks, while the Allied faction is better in the late game with more advanced units, such as those used in
Single-player
In
Red Alert 2 contains three campaigns. Boot Camp, Allied, and Soviet. Each campaign is distinct in its own way. Boot Camp is simply a tutorial campaign consisting of two missions in which the player is introduced to the fundamentals of the game with the use of Allied forces. If played, Boot Camp leads into Allied Campaign chronologically. Allied and Soviet campaigns are the two main campaigns of the game, each consisting of twelve missions in which the player faces off against one or more computer-controlled opponents. In some missions, the objective is simply to defeat all opposing forces in the area; other missions have more specific objectives, such as capturing or destroying a particular enemy structure or defending a particular structure of the player's own from enemy attacks. While fundamentally different in story and units, both Campaigns are structured similarly. Both begin with the player operating a limited base or otherwise a Mobile Construction Unit to start from scratch plus a platoon of certain units, but in a few missions construction is not required.
Skirmish mode is essentially the free-for-all multiplayer mode played against
Multiplayer
Red Alert 2 includes two different multi-player modes. One,
Synopsis
Setting
Like previous Command & Conquer real-time strategy games, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains two separate campaigns with distinct story lines, one for each playable faction.
Red Alert 2 is set in the same
Allied campaign
The Allied Commander is sent to New York City with a special forces team led by Special Agent Tanya Adams to repel a Soviet invasion there and then to Colorado Springs to liberate the Air Force Academy and the air base there. As they return victorious, they discover that a Soviet mind control device known as the Psychic Beacon has been deployed in Washington, D.C., forcing the president and General Carville to surrender. The Commander frees them from control and the government goes into exile in Canada.
When the Soviets put another psychic device in
After General Carville tasks the Commander to defend Albert Einstein's laboratory which holds a prototype Chronosphere which can teleport troops anywhere in the world, he is killed by a Soviet suicide bomber. Einstein determines the best place to build the Chronosphere is on a tiny island in the Florida Keys, not far from Soviet Cuba. The Allies use the Chronosphere's teleportation capabilities to take an Allied strike team to Moscow where they successfully destroy the defenses around the Kremlin and teleport in a strike team led by Tanya that captures Premier Romanov, leading to the Soviets' surrender.
Soviet campaign
Premier Alexander Romanov briefs the Commander about the upcoming Soviet invasion of the United States. The Commander leads an invasion into
In the meantime, Yuri has been using his psychic abilities to control Romanov, who gives him control of the military, much to the disgust of General Vladimir. Yuri dismisses Vladimir and tasks the Commander with establishing a base on the Hawaiian Islands. When the Allies try to use their Chronosphere to attack a Soviet research facility in the Ural Mountains, the Commander successfully defends the facility. Shortly afterwards, Yuri tells the Commander that Vladimir killed Romanov. Declaring Vladimir a traitor and a "nonperson", Yuri orders the Commander to capture Vladimir in the White House. After Vladimir's capture and execution, the Commander successfully captures the U.S. president and destroys the Allied superweapon: the weather control device, capable of creating powerful thunderstorms that destroy heavily armored structures.
Impressed by the Commander's victories, Yuri invites them back to Moscow to thank them but their aide, Lt. Zofia, reveals that Romanov recorded a message before his death in which he reveals that Yuri was controlling him and orders them to bring Yuri to justice. The Commander attacks Moscow with the bulk of the Soviet army and destroys the Kremlin, seemingly killing Yuri. They then use information from Yuri's files to destroy the Allied last-ditch effort to assault the Soviet Union using another Chronosphere, effectively becoming the ruler of the world. In the final cutscene, it is revealed that Yuri has survived, his brain floating in a glass jar filled with water and telepathically communicates to the commander, saying: "It would have been good to see inside your mind, General. I still may get the chance…", setting the stage for Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge.
Development
Unlike previous entries in the franchise, Red Alert 2 was developed by
Soundtrack
The Red Alert 2 soundtrack was composed by long-time Command & Conquer collaborator Frank Klepacki.
Reception
Sales
In the United States, Red Alert 2 debuted at #1 on PC Data's computer game sales chart for the October 22–28 period.[7] Holding the position in its second week,[8] the title became October's ninth-biggest computer game seller, according to PC Data.[9] It proceeded to maintain an unbroken streak in the firm's weekly top 10 through the end of 2000,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] and to claim #1 and #7 for the overall months of November and December, respectively.[12][17] Red Alert 2's domestic sales totaled 334,400 units by year's end, which drew revenues of $13.2 million. PC Data ultimately named it the United States' 13th-best-selling computer title of 2000.[18] It took 14th for 2001,[19] with sales of 388,893 units and revenues of $15 million.[20]
In the United States, the game sold 810,000 copies and earned $26.9 million by August 2006, after its release in October 2000. It was the country's 11th best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006. Combined sales of all Command & Conquer strategy games released between January 2000 and August 2006, including Red Alert 2, had reached 4.3 million units in the United States by the latter date.
In the German market, Red Alert 2 was expected to be a commercial success.
While Red Alert 2's sales in the German market were strong, the game was less successful than its predecessor Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun.[25] Discussing the performance of Red Alert 2 and its contemporary hits, Herman Achilles of the VUD described a "noticeable drop in sales, especially among mega sellers", which he attributed to growing piracy rates.[27] Tom Meier of the German retailer PC Fun believed the game's lower demand was caused by players' "widespread disappointment" with Tiberian Sun. Hoffman wrote that Meier "had to open his shop half an hour earlier to cope with the crowds" for Tiberian Sun, while Red Alert 2 "was just a sale among many".[25]
The "Command & Conquer The Ultimate Collection" bundle has Red Alert 2 and is still available to play.
Critical reviews
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 86%[3] |
Metacritic | 84/100[30] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
GamePro | 4.4/5[31] |
GameSpot | 8.5/10[32] |
IGN | 9.3/10[33] |
Next Generation | [34] |
Gary Whitta reviewed the PC version of the game for Next Generation, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "much better than Tiberian Sun, Red Alert 2 proves that Westwood can still cut it when it comes to realtime strategy – just don't expect a whole new ball game".[34]
Red Alert 2 received mostly positive reviews, with IGN calling it "outstanding" and GamePro's Editor's Choice.[citation needed] One reviewer on GamePro noted that "it's not the most innovative game, but with its solid gameplay and alternate Cold War storyline, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is the best 2D real-time strategy game since StarCraft".[citation needed]
After the September 11 attacks, the game's cover art was redesigned to remove the depiction of a plane heading toward the World Trade Center and to swap the American flag on the front cover with a mushroom cloud. EA offered retailers an opportunity to exchange their copies with a version that bore the revised cover art.[35] Despite the repackaging, the World Trade Center continued to be present in the game's campaign, with the Soviet campaign giving the players the option to occupy and even destroy the buildings.[citation needed]
PC Gamer US named Red Alert 2 the best real-time strategy game and the best multiplayer game of 2000.[36]
During the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Red Alert 2 for the "Game of the Year", "PC Game of the Year", "PC Strategy", and "Online Gameplay" awards.[37]
References
- ^ "COMMAND & CONQUER RED ALERT 2 SHIPS (Archived)". Archived from the original on June 15, 2001.
- ^ a b c del Callar, Carlos Miguel (November 9, 2018). "Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2". Hardcore Gaming 101. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 at MobyGames
- ^ "Red Alert 2 Strategy Guide – Executing and Preventing Rushes". Archived from the original on October 4, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
- ^ Keiser, Joe (April 2, 2012). "The Warlike History of Command & Conquer". IGN. Archived from the original on September 22, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
It was up to Westwood's Pacific studio, then, to keep everyone happy with Red Alert 2.
- ^ Walker, Trey (November 9, 2000). "Red Alert 2 Tops the Charts". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 3, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (November 15, 2000). "Red Alert 2 Continues to Conquer". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 20, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Walker, Trey (November 22, 2000). "The Sims Riding High into the Shopping Season". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (November 30, 2000). "Roller Coaster Tycoon Tops Holiday Charts". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 18, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (December 6, 2000). "The Sims Back on Top". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 4, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Walker, Trey (December 14, 2000). "Red Alert 2 Takes November by Storm". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 3, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (December 21, 2000). "The Scars of Velious Tops the Charts". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 18, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (January 2, 2001). "Roller Coaster Tycoon Keeps On Rolling". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 5, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (January 5, 2001). "The Sims Regains First Place". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 9, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Walker, Trey (January 10, 2001). "Sims Still Seeing Stellar Sales". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 10, 2002. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Walker, Trey (January 17, 2001). "The Sims Takes All". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 9, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Staff (April 2001). "Eyewitness; It's All in the Numbers". PC Gamer. 8 (4): 40, 41.
- ^ Walker, Trey (February 7, 2002). "2001 game sales break records". GameSpot. Archived from the original on October 19, 2004. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ Bradshaw, Lucy (January 31, 2002). "Markle Forum on Children and Media" (PDF). New York University. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 19, 2004.
- ^ Edge Staff (August 25, 2006). "The Top 100 PC Games of the 21st Century". Edge. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
- Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association. Archived from the originalon May 15, 2009.
- Gamasutra. Archived from the originalon September 18, 2017.
- ^ Patalong, Frank (October 31, 2000). "Die Spiele der Saison; "Baldur macht das Rennen"". Der Spiegel (in German). Archived from the original on January 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Hoffman, Udo (May 2001). "NachSpiel". PC Player (in German): 26.
- ^ "Stand: November 2000" (in German). Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. Archived from the original on December 9, 2000. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- ^ a b "VUD Sales Awards: November 2000" (Press release) (in German). Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. Archived from the original on January 10, 2003. Retrieved May 21, 2019.[circular reference]
- ^ Horn, Andre (January 14, 2004). "VUD-Gold-Awards 2003". GamePro Germany (in German). Archived from the original on July 18, 2018.
- ^ "Zeitraum: März 2001" (in German). Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. Archived from the original on April 29, 2001. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ^ "GamePro Command * Conquer: Red Alert 2: PC". Archived from the original on June 18, 2008.
- ^ "Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 - GameSpot.com". Uk.gamespot.com. October 27, 2000. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ^ "IGN: Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2". October 24, 2000.
- ^ a b Whitta, Gary (January 2001). "Finals". Next Generation. Vol. 4, no. 1. Imagine Media. p. 111.
- ^ Walker, Trey. "EA offers retailers revised Red Alert 2 box art". Gamespot. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ISSN 1080-4471.
- ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Design Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 24, 2023.