Something new to the series is co-op play in the campaign missions. In fact,
the gameplay is always in co-op mode, with the AI controlling your ally when
you're playing the fame solo. And unless you have a friend or two with a copy of
the game, you're always going to be playing the campaign solo. For some strange
reason, co-op can only be played with someone on your friends list; there's no
player matching support built into the co-op mode. Because of this the net
effect of the co-op support in the game is that you gain a little friendly
firepower under the AI's control in each mission. The AI won't actively purse
the mission objectives, though, that is still all up to you.
Player matching is supported for multiplayer play online. Online multiplayer
battles are limited to free-for-all skirmishes, though. Red Alert 3 loses some
of its cheesy charm when you take the battles out of the campaign. There's some
fun to be had in the multiplayer mode, but not quite as much as in Command &
Conquer 3 or Kane's Wrath. There also seem to be some minor balance issues with
the factions which put the Empire at a slight disadvantage.
Presentation-wise, the game's live action cutscenes are great, but the
in-game graphics are a little disappointing. It's not the cartoon or comic book
style that's at fault since this is a good match to the spirit of the game. It's
that some of the colors look washed out and the units are more fuzzy-looking
than sharp, especially the smaller ones. The sound is great, though, from the
humorous unit acknowledgements to the hard-driving sound track.
Overall I had fun with Red Alert 3, but most of it came from playing through
the campaign. If you play strategy games primarily for the multiplayer action,
then you may be a bit disappointed with the game, through. When deciding whether
or not to buy this game, you should also keep in mind that the gameplay is based
on the classic real-time strategy model common in strategy games about ten years
ago. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it will limit the game's appeal to
strategy gamers who prefer modern strategy games that incorporate the
innovations in the genre introduced over the last ten years, and that rely less
upon a fast "click-based" style of play.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
78%. Red Alert 3 serves up classic strategy
gameplay with a heaping side order of cheese.
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