Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour Expansion Pack

by Electronic Arts

Product Features

• Expansion pack for popular strategic modern combat game
• 30 new units and 20 new upgrades
• New gameplay mode versus nine AI generals
• 15 new missions
• For one or more players using LAN or Internet connection

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000C0YNT
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 22, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,762 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #22 in Software > Outlet
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The hour is now. Prepare to unleash the absolute latest in modern weapons technology against the world’s most powerful Generals in Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour. In the next era of military strategy and might, you’ll need to command a more technologically advanced arsenal to defeat new, more powerful enemies. The first expansion pack for the critically acclaimed Command & Conquer Generals challenges players to square off against the world’s most elite commanders for battlefield domination. Even the most experienced C&C Generals veteran must learn new strategies and tactics to take full advantage of--and learn to defend against--the next generation of the world’s most lethal weapons. With new units, structures, and upgrades, as well as the all-new Generals Challenge Mode, Zero Hour delivers all the firepower you’ll need in your quest to become the ultimate modern warfare General.

Features:

Next-Generation Armies for the Next Generation of War --Unload on your enemies with an all-new, hi-tech arsenal featuring 30 new units and 20 new upgrades from the Chinese ECM Tank to the United States Spectre Gunship.

The Ultimate Challenge--Enlist in the all-new Generals Challenge mode where you match your strategies-and your next-generation arsenal-against 9 enemy AI Generals with unique personalities, tactics, and taunts.

New Missions, Tomorrow’s Headlines--15 new missions rattle veteran Generals as they set out to destroy the U.S. fleet in the Mediterranean, root out a splinter cell in Cairo and send in special operatives to capture weapons of mass destruction.

Combat the Elements--All new weather effects further immerse you in a more realistic combat environment.

Take the Battle Online--Prepare for multiplayer mayhem with 25 new multiplayer maps!

Product Description

Command & Conquer Generals: Zero Hour challenges you to face off against other military leaders using the most advanced arsenal in history!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

82 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Whole New Game, November 8, 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 and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour Expansion Pack (CD-ROM)

Although Generals added a new standard of graphics and several new and interesting departures from the original C&C game design, it was something less than revolutionary. Zero Hour goes a long way toward addressing this issue, and really turns Generals into a completely new game.

The expansion adds a new campaign for each side, with about 5 missions each. The campaign is interesting, and adds a few new elements, but is actually not the best part of the expansion. There are full motion video cutscenes (reporters talking about what's going on) to add some depth to the story, which is pretty straightforward stuff that could happen sometime in the near future (though we hope not). The missions add unique buildings and locations, all well done, as well as objectives that are pretty fun to carry out. Some of them are quite difficult, and there are a few stealth commando missions that Generals sadly lacked. There's also some campaign-only powers, such as the ability to call in battleship artillery and carrier strikes in one of the USA missions.

The real meat of the expansion starts with the new units and upgrades. Each side has new things, some of which go a long way toward filling holes in the armies' capabilities. China, for example, gets some much-needed surveillance by way of the Internet Center, and a worthwhile stealth detector in the Listening Post. Frenzy, a new general power, increases the firepower and armor of units for a brief time. China also gets added airborne firepower with the Helix and the ability to carpet bomb. The GLA gets several low-tech solutions, most of which are still geared toward outmaneuvering rather than outgunning the opposition. The Battle Bus, however, can pack quite a punch in a frontline role. Fake structures, a sometimes-useful throwback from Red Alert, can also be purchased. More interestingly, they can be upgraded into real ones, which is a nice way to play with an opponent's mind. The USA gets a powerful base defense with the Fire Base, which is garrisonable, effective against infantry, and doesn't need power to shoot. They also get a mobile anti-air unit in the Avenger, making it unnecessary for you to bring weak Missile Defender-packed Humvees along in future battles. Three new tech structures are also added- the Repair Bay (repairs all your ground units), Artillery Platform (shoots at enemies with a howitzer), and Reinforcement Pad (produces a tank on a countdown).

The upgrades and units are standard expansion fare, but Zero Hour adds something else- new generals, each with their own combat styles, units and powers, and personalities. There are three for each side- Air Force, Lasers, and Superweapons for the USA; Toxins, Camouflage, and Demolitions for the GLA; and Nukes, Tanks, and Infantry for China. Each of these has a doctrine that you must adhere to if you wish to use them effectively, and have weaknesses that hold you to it. For example, the US Air Force general cannot make tanks, but has aircraft cost reduced, unique and better air units, and a point defense laser on all airplanes that along with the standard countermeasures upgrade makes them practically immune to missile fire. China's tank general can build the Emperor Overlord, which is the newest and baddest vehicle on the ground. The GLA camouflage general can make literally everything invisible to the unaided eye, and turns the GLA into a real guerilla army (his Scud Storms are especially scary). All of these generals can be used in skirmish or multiplay, and there is a special 'generals challenge' campaign in which you pick one and play against all others. Your opponent is always on territory that favors their doctrine, and it can get pretty tough. This is a great way to accustom yourself to the various generals and pick your favorite, and is also quite fun since your opponents continuously taunt you during the games.

It's worth mentioning that several nice tweaks have been added to the engine. For example, fighters on an airbase will automatically attack nearby enemies, and both superweapons and scouting powers (e.g. radar van scans) appear as a sidebar icon with a number indicating how many are ready, if it's more than one. This makes it no longer necessary to separately hotkey practically every unit you have. Multiplayer options have been added, such as how much cash to start with, and no superweapons. The already excellent graphics have been improved, with even more fantastic fireballs, flotsam and jetsam, and better water effects. The result is undoubtedly the most graphically appealing RTS out there, though you might need a new video card if you want to run at max detail.

In summary, Zero Hour is for all intents and purposes a completely new game. Some have argued that it is what Generals should have been from the start, but I'm glad EA took the time to do a good job on this rather than rushing it for release. I honestly have no complaints about the expansion- it's one of the best ones I've seen for any game. It's a definite must for any Generals fan, and even if you weren't overly impressed with Generals, Zero Hour might just change your opinion.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A "Generally" Great Supplement, September 28, 2003

By 

Shanghaied (Carrollton, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour Expansion Pack (CD-ROM)

I Just got done playing this with 3 other people at a LAN party, and I can safely say that this expansion is worth the money if you enjoy the C&C multiplayer experience. The new campaigns are ok, but Zero Hour definetely seems to have a much stronger focus on the multiplay aspect, which really is well done. It also has a nifty solo-player matchup mode called "challenge," where you're pitted against a specific general who's army has certain unique abilities.

The ability to pick different generals is awesome; each general gets certain privledges along with special units. There are 3 generals for each army that you can choose, and each requires a completely different strategy for success. While each general has access to certain unique weapons, they also in most cases have restrictions on some vehicles, including the arsenal they can choose from and how much each vehicle costs. The general-specific weapons are very cool as well; they include a souped up Aurora bomber that drops fuel bombs (my Fave), EMP patriot missles, the Emperor Overlord tank (has a scary amount of firepower), a "nuclear" mig upgrade, the classic C&C lazer turret, a carpet bombing general ability, and a nasty little chinese mini gunner (very effective in large numbers). There also are several units that have been added to each army regardless of which general you choose. I've found that using different generals can drastically change gameplay and adds quite a bit of replayability to the game.

I highly recommend picking this up if you're a C&C nut (like I am). It's not too pricy and has pretty good replayability. If you play C&C multiplayer online or through LAN's, then this X-pack is definetely right up your alley.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great expansion pack - Well worth the upgrade ..., December 10, 2003

By 

Oyvind - See all my reviews

This review is from: Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour Expansion Pack (CD-ROM)

Very often expansion packs are mere repackaging of games with few novel features - not so with Zero Hour. This expansion pack is jam packed with worthwhile new features.

Each faction now has several different specialized generals, primarily for multi-player use, which is what the expansion pack seems geared towards anyway. The "basic" version of each faction is still available. Each general has certain advantages and disadvantages over the other generals within the same faction. There is for instance a China Tank General, which have tanks as his advantage, but don't think you're going to win just because of that - other capabilities have been taken away. It's all quite carefully balanced, although the online multiplayer statistics show that most GLA generals are currently at a slight advantage. I'm sure this will be corrected in a future patch though.

PROS:
* A naval "presence" has been introduced, although you can't directly control the naval units yourself. There is a carrier and a battleship were you can do aerial bombardment and artillery bombardment respectively.
* Greatly increased variety due to multiple new units and capabilities, and new specialized generals.
* Even better online multiplayer capabilities.
* 3 new single-player campaigns (1 per faction - Total of 15 new missions)
* Subtle enhancements to game engine - e.g. Aircraft will automatically defend the area nearby the airbase.
* Superweapons now appear on the right side of the screen with the other general abilities, so you don't actually have to locate your superweapon to fire. If you have several superweapons ready to fire, a number inside the superweapon icon will show the number of superweapons that are ready to fire.

CONS:
* Still no real naval units. I really miss this from Red Alert 2.
* You can no longer do ladder-play or ranked play with any user-created maps. Ranked play is only possible for certain maps distributed with the game. Ranked games are clearly marked before you join though.
* Same problem with difficulty level as C&C Generals. Easy is way too easy, Normal is even easier than Generals, and Hard is too hard.
* Still not possible to skip the "cut-scenes" at the start of each mission.

I give this expansion 5 stars!!! It's a great enhancement, and if you loved C&C Generals, you'll probably love the expansion pack even more. It greatly enhances online play. This expansion pack pretty much makes it a new game.