Video Games : Command & Conquer: Generals

Rating: - Unabashedly fun. A great time, but annoying as crap in some respects
This game is a blast to play. It's extremely un-PC. First off, it isn't war game that tries to teach you the horrors or war, it's a war game that is fun as heck to play, and honestly, can make war seem pretty awesome.

Other un-PC aspects are the applicability of the conflicts to modern times. The three factions are the U.S.A., China, and a terrorist organization that is obviously modeled mostly on Al-Qaeda. It's not the the fearsome possibilities of conflicts between these organizations that's un-PC, or even their use of weapons of mass destruction, but the way in which the non-USA players are depicted. Sensitive types would call it racist. The Chinese forces have Chinese accents that are used for subtle humorous effect and that say stereotypical Chinese things like how much money there is to make. Another thing that's I think irks some people is that it, more than most war games, is unabashedly fun. Some war games, like most war movies, feel like they're preaching of the horrors of war while they entertain you with war. Not this game. It has no qualms about making its conflicts really fun.

Speaking of fun, some people criticize this game for being mindless. I don't care if it's mindless. I don't play games to exercise my mind, but to have fun. So I personally don't care, but if you like strategy games that are more mental, perhaps you should try TBS games or even another RTS game.

Something should be said for its nuclear explosions. Nukes were used in this game and in a few of it's contemporaries like Rise of Nations, and in Empires: Dawn of the Modern World. Of the three, this has by-far the coolest nukes. They look vastly cooler than in the other games, and RoN puts a limit on how many nukes you can use.

Finally, the control scheme is really stupid. They use a different control scheme than is common in most RTS games. One button is used to do most tasks, and this makes it extremely frustrating at times. I constantly clicked on a unit to tell it to go somewhere, then tried to click on another unit, and the first unit would go to the second unit instead of the cursor now selecting the second unit. That was really annoying.

So cool game. Really fun. Not for people offended by stereotypes.

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Rating: - 10 out of 10
WOW --get the deluxe version, this game is that RAD!!!
this is a stand alone version, with Zero Hour as a expansion--yes get the expanstion as well--for the added options.
its a very good game even without Zero Hour--but why deprive yourself!?!
the super wepons are more realistic, than in red alert 2. That was the only thing RA2 really needed to impove on --an they did with this game.
you choose a general to fight as---EACH with their own army style--ie.. tank genral has all tanks at a lower production cost, limited air force. Air force general has all aircraft available at a reduced perduction cost, an fewer tanks, an tanks costing a bit more. get the ideal
oh, an they have a army general that uses booby traps, and underground bunkers, build one bunker an put 5 tanks in it--then build another bunker elsewere---like near enemy lines--an 5 tanks drive out at your command.
better looking gameplay-more missle trails, brighter colors- more real looking flames, crisp sound, ingaging music
yes, I truly enjoy this game, more than any other pc game I own
that says a lot concidering i have sooo many to choose from

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Rating: - Great Game
Most of the other reviews for this game are dated back to 2003. That really suprised me. I didn't even realize that this game was that old. My brother got it as a birthday present from a friend last year (2006), and I just assumed it was pretty recent, due to the impressive graphics. The only flaws I ever really noticed are that the infantry units don't have any faces. Other than that I didn't notice anything too corny, but it's not like I looked for flaws in particular. The explosions are cool and vehicle/building parts go flying all over. The nuclear explosoins from Chana's nuclear missiles are really impresive and fun to watch; they create huge mushroom clouds and leave radiation all over grouind zero. The soundtrack and sound effects are really cool, too. The music matches the mood of the game, which makes it much more enjoyable. Their is a soundtrack specific to each of the three powers. The sound effects are realistic and loud. The cannons sound realistic, and their are consant shouts from the troops locked in combat.

The gameplay is really fun, to say the least. This is my first Command and Conquer game, and I'm impressed. The units are farily balanced for all three differnent teams (USA; China; and the GLA, a fictional terrorist group ). For example, the GLA cannot build any aricraft, but have fantastic anti-aricraft units. The anti-tank infantry diliver a ton of damage to tanks, but regular infantry units are efficient for taking out anti-tank infnatry. The one unfair unit in the game, however, is the Overload Tank for China, even if it is quite expenxive. It is a very cool unit, no doubts there, but it is immense. It can take a ton of damage, and while absorbing all the enemy fire can deliver a lot of damage as well. A small group of four or five is almost unstopable if used correctly.

All three teams have their advantages and disadvantages. China is mostly firepower. They are good because they have units that are fairly powerful and cheap so that they can start out defending, and can quickly and cheaply build a scouting force of infantry to scout enemy defenses and such. As you save up and research new technologies and units, China can really become a military juggernaut. The GLA's strength is stealth. You can use Guerilla-like tactics to weaken the enemy's economy and thin their ranks, and then finish them off with the GLA's weak military units. The USA strong point is definately technology. It isn't even necssary to do a lot of research, though some will obviously help. The units are pretty powerful to start out with. For example, Paladin tanks have lasers that shoot enemy missiles is the air, and the USA's Participle Uplink Cannon is potent. A ballancing system like this, on my opinion, makes the game really fun and very interesting.

As was mentioned in other reviews, however, there are a few annoyances. The AI can be pretty dumb. The GLA AI does not exploit the GLA's stealth advantages. It just biulds up big armies full of weak units and attempts to destroy you with pitiful charges. As soon as the attack is crushed, they just repeat the process. Pathfinding is sometimes an issue for units, and units that are faster than others will just fly off ahead of the rest of the army, leaving themselves unsuported and vulnerable. This makes it ncessary to guide your armies along one step at a time, which can get annoying. Anoter issue that arises in longer games is the map will run out of resources. I have had to quit in the middle of a game multiple times only because no one has any money left, nor any source of income.

Overall, however, the disadantages far outwiegh the advantages. I know there is a newer Command & Conquer game on the market, but that means that this one will be cheaper, even if it isn't as good. I highly reccomend this game.

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Rating: - Fun game, good for multi-player
This game is great, it's one of the best C&C games to date. If you like starcraft you'd love this game.

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Rating: - For the price, it's nice
This game does'nt have the best graphics, but they're good enough. Gameplay is great, but the sounds of troops saying various, yet repetitive things after being trained gets tiresome very quickly. The ability to occupy buildings enables the player to develop their strategy more than is common to RTS games. However, I would suggest getting the expansion pack (which I don't own) for an extra ten bucks or so. I actually found at Wal-Mart a five pack of games; Generals, Zero Hour, and some other, not so my taste games, going for 20.00. Well worth the price.