GameSpy's running the first online Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 review today, giving the co-op-centric real-time strategy game a solid 4/5:
Hard-core RTS gamers may find the strategic model of Red Alert 3 a bit simplistic, but taken on its own terms, Red Alert 3 is the strategy game equivalent of Super Smash Brothers -- simple, brutal, fast and fun. The game's strategy model is built around three fun-to-use armies that exemplify classic RTS archetypes. The Soviets are a brutal direct damage army best at building big and hitting hard. The Allies are built around versatility with shifting troop-carrying units that change their combat role based on the type of troop they're carrying. The Empire army is a fast-moving hit-and-run strike force built around stealth and transforming. The sole "innovation" in the game is an increased role for naval units -- normally not a popular thing in RTS games -- that the game makes work by adding in lots of amphibious units and vehicles that are easy to use and as filled with personality as their land-based counterparts.
Ultimately, it's Red Alert 3's multiplayer components that really sell it. Almost every unit in the game has a single secondary power that's activated by pressing the (default) "F" key on the keyboard and any selected multi-unit squad can be tabbed through to use a specific power. The result is a game of slam-bang back-and-forth action where players who are quick enough at reading the situation can employ specific powers to take out enemy units. Even for players who aren't that good, simply spamming the "F" and "Tab" keys will probably do something useful -- or at least amusing. The simplicity and the user-friendliness of this design ensure that strategy newbs can have a good time without a lucky break frustrating more skilled players.
I love it
Hard-core RTS gamers may find the strategic model of Red Alert 3 a bit simplistic, but taken on its own terms, Red Alert 3 is the strategy game equivalent of Super Smash Brothers -- simple, brutal, fast and fun. The game's strategy model is built around three fun-to-use armies that exemplify classic RTS archetypes. The Soviets are a brutal direct damage army best at building big and hitting hard. The Allies are built around versatility with shifting troop-carrying units that change their combat role based on the type of troop they're carrying. The Empire army is a fast-moving hit-and-run strike force built around stealth and transforming. The sole "innovation" in the game is an increased role for naval units -- normally not a popular thing in RTS games -- that the game makes work by adding in lots of amphibious units and vehicles that are easy to use and as filled with personality as their land-based counterparts.
Ultimately, it's Red Alert 3's multiplayer components that really sell it. Almost every unit in the game has a single secondary power that's activated by pressing the (default) "F" key on the keyboard and any selected multi-unit squad can be tabbed through to use a specific power. The result is a game of slam-bang back-and-forth action where players who are quick enough at reading the situation can employ specific powers to take out enemy units. Even for players who aren't that good, simply spamming the "F" and "Tab" keys will probably do something useful -- or at least amusing. The simplicity and the user-friendliness of this design ensure that strategy newbs can have a good time without a lucky break frustrating more skilled players.
I love it
