Tiberian Sun follows the exploits after the events of Command and Conquer, otherwise known as Tiberian Dawn. Tiberian Sun takes the modern warfare aspect of Command and Conquer and throws it out the window for the science-fiction elements, such as laser weapons and tiberium technology. It's been quite a few years since GDI and NOD butted heads the first time. GDI emerged on top, and began to move populace out of the zones most infected with tiberium for their safety. Those left behind became the mutated Forgotten and formed their own neutral faction in the war between GDI and NOD. The game starts when NOD, formerly disorganized and mostly underground after the events of the first war, goes through a civil war and regains Kane as their leader. Cue another massive war between GDI and NOD, only this time with mechas, railguns, and laser cannons instead of shells and bullets.

The graphics for Tiberian Sun are interesting, as they use the mostly ignored voxel technology to render characters and environment. The vehicles are all relatively decent looking, but the biggest bonus that the voxel engine gives is terrain deformation. You can genuinely alter the environment through the usage of explosives and other military technology, and then you can move your units into the crater. Positioning in height matters as well, at least for weapons like railguns or cannons, as they travel in straight lines and can't penetrate the ground. As for the sound of Tiberian Sun, it's good. The sound effects are only decent, but the music uses the excellent compositional skills of Frank Klepacki to amazing effect. It's a mixture of the upbeat Command and Conquer feel mixed with a dystopian, depression sort of mentality.

There are two factions in Command and Conquer, as always. The first is the GDI, and they play out like the standard RTS faction. With a focus on tough units and huge weaponry, GDI is great for beginner players. Some units that are great examples of the GDI methodology are the Mammoth Mk. 2 and the Disrupter. The Mammoth Mk. 2 is the epitome if indestructible destruction, with twin rail-guns and a back-mounted AA launcher attesting to its formidable strength. The disruptor, in comparison, is much weaker in armor but just as strong, with a beam that heavily damages anything in its path. In short, GDI has no subtlety, and facing them head on is a very, very bad idea. Unless you are GDI too, of course.

NOD is much weaker than GDI at the straight fight, but their options outside of a simple run and gun are much, much wider. Some good examples of their much sneakier attitude include their tunneling vehicles and the mutant hijacker. The mutant hijacker can sneak up to an enemy vehicle, kill the pilot, and jack it for himself. This can be mildly irritating, such as if the vehicle was a tank, or incredibly devastating, if the vehicle was an MCV or Mammoth. The tunneling tanks include NOD's APC and flame tank, and can travel underground to a point you specify. Once there, they burst from the ground, taking other players (hopefully) by surprise. This is the essence of NOD's strategy: surprise and confuse.

The campaign of Tiberian Sun, as mentioned before, follows one of the two factions that you choose: GDI or NOD. In GDI's campaign, you play as a newer commander assigned to fight off NOD wherever they appear. In NOD's campaign it is roughly the same, only you are participating in the civil war and rebirth of Kane instead of simply attacking GDI all the time. One of the most interesting elements of the campaign is that missions are broken up into several smaller missions. You can take on the main mission immediately, but if you take on the smaller missions first it may help ease the difficulty. Main missions are almost always straight conflicts, but side missions can be anything from sneaking a commando around to destroying an enemy base with an extremely limited force. This division, where side missions can be performed or ignored to affect the main mission, is something we wish more RTS games had.

Tiberian Sun's multiplayer is much like its single player, only with no restrictions on the types of units you can build. Anyone who has played a multiplayer RTS will know the score here: build up your base, build units, and attack the enemy's base. Since there's nothing preventing you from building superweapons such as the Firestorm, chemical missiles, or a Mammoth, multiplayer tends to be a bit more interesting than single-player if you are looking for a straight game. There's also a skirmish mode where you can practice your tactics against the AI, although nothing can replace fighting an actual player. Humans are way more unpredictable, after all.

Tiberian Sun's freeware release also comes with the expansion pack Firestorm. It takes place shortly after the canonical events of Tiberian Sun (IE the GDI campaign) and covers the rebellion of NOD's AI and the subsequent war that breaks out. The new campaign is plenty fun, and the expansion introduces a few new units, so it's nice that it was included in the freeware release. Interestingly, the previous freeware releases (C&C, Red Alert) did not have their expansions, so this is a new and welcome improvement.

Tiberian Sun may be a bit buggy. Its graphics may be a little dark and rendering with supposedly obslete rendering technology. However, the gameplay is still as Command and Conquer as ever, the graphics have a dystopian appeal, and the bugs are mostly fixed by now. It's one of the most forgotten entries in the Command and Conquer franchise, but now that it is freeware, it won't be any more. You can download Tiberian Sun and Firestorm right here on Big Download or from EA's website. You can also download Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn (the original C&C) here on Big Download.

For another look at freeware games, take a peek at Joystiq's Free Game Club weekly feature!