Command & Conquer: Generals

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• The U.S. and China have been fighting to rule the world -- but now a new group called the Global Liberation Army(GLA) is gunning for the both of them. Step into this three-way power struggle and take command as a General, to lead your side to victory.
• Command U.S., Chinese or GLA troops, each with their own unique abilities, weapons and strategies
• Use your tactical skills to lead the Chinese with their nuclear and fire-based weapons, or the U.S. with their advanced technology & air superiority, or the GLA with their guerilla tactics & scavenging skills
• As you play and win in these multi-level campaigns, you'll earn General Points you can use to break out the Super Weapons - Nukes & Particle Beams are waiting for you to deploy them
• Unique new missions and campaign goals combined with all-new multiplayer modes bring up the challenge, as you fight for the right to Command & Conquer!

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00007LVJD
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: February 11, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (201 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,644 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #8 in Software > Outlet

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

In Command & Conquer: Generals gamers choose from three radically different fighting forces, build an army from the ground up, and seek out and destroy opposing players' armies and bases. Your three choices are the USA, the Chinese, and the Global Liberation Army (a group of freedom fighters/terrorists). Each force has unique strengths and weaknesses; Generals does a good job making the three forces differ in more than aesthetics. The USA has costly but technically advanced units along with a stunningly powerful Air Force, the Chinese have weak but cheap ground units that gain advantages when attacking in large groups, and the GLA has a ramshackle army that relies on stealth. Each force caters to a completely different style of play, and playing around to find the group that you'll like the most is a lot of fun.

One of the game’s most important innovations is the Generals point system. This system allows both the player and his units to gain experience points for each enemy kill. Experienced units will become hardier and more dangerous, and the player will gain points to spend on new technologies or special attacks. Each force has its own selection of bonuses you can purchase in this manner, and more experienced generals have access to increasingly powerful items.

Generals is the first title in the Command & Conquer franchise to go fully 3-D, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. All of the models and environments in the game look really good, and it's both cool and useful to rotate the camera around to get different perspectives on the battlefield. The tradeoff here is that Generals has extremely high system requirements, and you're going to have to go even higher than the posted minimum if you want consistently smooth gaming performance. In fact, you're probably going to have noticeable slowdowns if you're not running approximately the equivalent of a 1.5GHZ processor and a GeForce 3 or better.

Ever since the release of the first Command & Conquer game in 1995, the C&C franchise has practically defined real-time strategy gaming. With a half dozen original titles and a handful of expansion packs released on a multitude of gaming platforms, any new C&C game has some seriously large boots to fill. Fortunately for gamers, Command & Conquer: Generals has not only met those previous expectations, but raised the bar once again.--Jon "Safety Monkey" Grover

Pros:

• Great looking, fully 3-D graphics
• All 3 races are fun, yet fully distinct from each other
• Innovative Generals point system
• Fun single-player campaigns; exciting multiplayer over Internet or LAN

Cons:

• Very high system requirements

Product Description

Command & Conquer: Generals brings real-time strategy fans the excitement and combat action they crave, in this fast-paced, intense new adventure!

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Strategy in Multiplayer Mode, March 15, 2003

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Command & Conquer: Generals (CD-ROM)

I'm a huge fan of the Command and Conquer series, so buying Generals didn't require any thought. We were rewarded with great graphics and amazing multiplayer gameplay.

First, the good. The graphics are quite impressive, definitely a step up from previous games. The various terrains - from snow to sand to grass to concrete - are well done. The trees sway in the wind. The units leave little tracks as they move, the construction of buildings makes you really feel like you're watching an army base get built.

The sound and music is well matched and makes the game feel realistic. Controls all work just the way you'd hope they would - after so many games they really have that down to a science.

On the down side, the usual problems in strategy gaming exist here. pathfinding isn't always perfect, units get stuck against buildings or in chasms. The campaign missions help you learn your skills but aren't extremely challenging.

Still, as with just about every game that comes out today, the built in gameplay is merely a training ground for the real challenge of multiplay. There's no way a computer could compete with the challenge posed by a real human being with experience and knowledge at the other end of the map. This game really shines in multiplayer. The three sets of units are well balanced, and if you get yourself onto a large map with teammates and opponents, you'll be hooked for months.

Skirmish mode is quite fun too, earning medals for different accomplishments.

Definitely a great game for any strategy gaming fan!

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A whole new experience, January 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Command & Conquer: Generals (CD-ROM)

Command and Conquer enters a whole new war as the Chinese and terrorists enter the Command and Conquer series. Generals sports a new 3d engine which is starting to pop up in a lot of games which allows you to zoom in to see the action. The action is also a lot cooler and feels more realistic (even though the weaponry seems kinda comical at times). Generals also impliments new weaponry and spying technology like UAV's and satellites. Another new feature is the ability to customize vehicles by adding turrets or upgrading weaponry (machien gun turrets on tanks, laser guided bombs for stealths, missile barages for apache helicopters). Command and Conquer enthusiasts might be surprised though as a few things are different in Generals. The Veteran system is a new design to the game plus you no longer have resource fields. Instead, you have big stacks of supplies sort of like Warcraft goldmines. Also, you no longer have Primary buildings, it is more like starcraft where you build stuff per building. So now you can build 6 barracks and get 6 troops at once. Also, arrow keys function as unit changers instead of moving the map so this may seem to be a minor problem. Also, there seems to be a limited amount of buildings but i do not believe this to be a problem since in other C&C games, a lot of buildings were just needed to activate special items (special items of the sort are activated in command centers/barrackses and war factories instead of in special buildings). In the end, Generals might be a very fun game in the final release (im doing the multiplayer beta test). So far it looks like loads of fun but a little different from teh old C&C games. NOTE: One review says the specifications are VERY HIGH, but this is very wrong. The multiplayer beta that is out right now is using unoptimized code which runs slow on anything (2ghz , 512 ram neccessary to play it). The final release will use the optomized code of course and only need the 350 mhz 64mb specifications Westwood is saying it will need.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, it's nothing new, but..., March 27, 2003

By 

Yu-jin Chia "Yu-Jin Chia" (Cupertino, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Command & Conquer: Generals (CD-ROM)

I have read endless complaints about how Command & Conquer Generals is exactly like every other C&C/Dune game. Really, now, what do you expect? Perhaps Generals is a victim of some serious hype, and it certainly isn't a revolutionary RTS in any way except for graphics, but it still is fun.

Though it has some improvements in terms of interface, commands, and most notably upgrades, Generals plays a lot like most of the older games in the series. One notable difference is that you can build anywhere on the map, in a manner similar to the Blizzard RTS style. Like its most recent predecessor, Red Alert 2, you want to play offensive in this game. It's not as impossible to fight defensively as some reviewers have said, but it's always better to be the one calling the shots.

In terms of the game balance and strategies, the three sides are definitely unique and very well balanced out. For example, the Chinese prefer to outnumber their enemies, and have slow but powerful units. The GLA is king of maneuverability and the covert strike, but has all around weaker units. The United States has the most powerful forces, but everything is expensive. In a manner of speaking, this balance is similar to that of the three major houses in the Dune games.

The really interesting thing comes with the general abilities. These are received when you've destroyed a certain number of enemies, and can seriously tip the balance in your favor. Some abilities allow you to build special units, while others do more mundane but still important things like repairing a group of vehicles or giving new units instant veterancy. Units gain experience and rank as they kill enemies, and can get very powerful if you keep them alive. Some factions can upgrade units by paying or, in the GLA's case, by scavenging junk from the battlefield (a very cool touch!). There isn't a doubt that Generals grants more tactical options than any other C&C title. Unlike say, Red Alert, the objective isn't just to build as many tanks as you can (although this might still work).

Generals has cutting-edge 3D graphics, which explains the high system requirements. I found that it ran quite well at the lowest detail settings on my PIII 733 with an old GeForce 256, but to really bring out the beauty of the game you need something better than this. All the units explode in random and often spectacular fashion, and the superweapons are a MUST see. Almost everything you find can be destroyed in one way or another, and some things really light off when they go (toxin tanks, towers, or nuke power plants for example).

The single player mode of the game is the weakest point of Generals. It lacks any of the ridiculous full motion video sequences that made Red Alert really fun. The missions range from simple to moderately difficult, but there aren't very many in all. The plot looks like it was taken right off CNN, ... In skirmish mode, the AI is quite predictable and only becomes a pain when it starts using superweapons on you. Due to the unit and general promotion system, I've had little trouble mowing down the maximum of 7 computer opponents by myself. This game was clearly created as a primarily multiplay title, and it is definitely a good deal of fun for that. The game engine is also superior, and has enormous potential for future development. Perhaps in a forthcoming expansion the single player deficiencies will be addressed.

The final word is that Generals isn't the groundbreaking game everyone expected, but it is worth the price tag and a great deal of fun anyway. Especially in a time when the RTS genre seems to be on temporary hold, this game makes a great filler.