red-alert posts

Command & Conquer has had quite the convoluted and bizarre history. With three separate timelines at this point, things can get a little confusing. After all, it's been 15 years since the original's release, and there has been 7 core games and 15 expansion packs. It's not exactly an easy canon to get into. Thankfully, we've got a handy guide to the twisting corridors of Command & Conquer's story just in time for the final entry in the long-running Tiberian series. Since the campaigns in most of the games are mutually contradictory, we will be describing the events of both campaigns while pointing out which is canon.

Sometimes you just need to sit down, slide a floppy into your A: drive, and enjoy gaming retro style. We know this all too well! That's why we have a list of the best and brightest from days long gone. These are some of our favorite games of all time, and we're sure that you'll love them as much as we do, if not more. Welcome to Boot Disk, and enjoy the retro ride!

Now that Red Alert and Tiberian Sun have been released as freeware in anticipation of C&C4's release, Red Alert 2 is the oldest Command and Conquer game that one can still buy. For many people, it's also the best game in the franchise. This may be due to the fact that this was the last Command and Conquer game (RTS, anyway) Westwood Studios ever made. After Renegade, which wasn't an RTS, Westwood largely moved to Petroglyph and the series was taken over by internal EA studios. Red Alert 2 is the last main Command and Conquer game to bear the Westwood label, and it is definitely worthy of it. After all, nothing quite says "awesome" as 10 bomb-bearing airships descending upon an enemy base!

In preparation for Command & Conquer 4, due to come out next month, EA has released the original C&C games from the 90s as freeware. These games include Tiberian Dawn, Tiberian Sun (with the Firestorm expansion), and Red Alert. Both Red Alert and Tiberian Dawn were turned over as freeware some time ago, but now they're joined by Tiberian Sun. These full games are free to download, own, and play. However, your mileage may vary. The older the game, the more complicated it is to get working. For example, Tiberian Dawn requires a separate disc virtualization program to load the ISO files. Links to related installation instruction pages are shown below.

This is a great collection for C&C fans to own, and it should definitely get players in the mood for the final chapter when it releases on March 16.

Download Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn for Win95 (843 MB)
Click Here for Tiberian Dawn Installation Instructions

Download Command & Conquer: Red Alert Allied Disc (499 MB)
Download Command & Conquer: Red Alert Soviet Disc (502 MB)
Click Here for Red Alert Installation Instructions

Download Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1.24 GB)
Click Here for Tiberian Sun Installation Instructions

Sometimes you just need to sit down, slide a floppy into your A: drive, and enjoy gaming retro style. We know this all too well! That's why we have a list of the best and brightest from days long gone. These are some of our favorite games of all time, and we're sure that you'll love them as much as we do, if not more. Welcome to Boot Disk, and enjoy the retro ride!

Where the first Command and Conquer established a dynasty whose influence on the strategy scene is still felt to this day, it is hardly the defining strategy game from Westwood. No, that honor is bestowed upon Red Alert, quite possibly one of the best real-time strategy games ever made. Easily surpassing its predecessor, Red Alert forever changed the face of real-time strategy and paved the way for later genre-definer Starcraft. It's hard to overstate the impact Red Alert has had, and a look back at this classic is always well-deserved.

Gamespot is exclusively (for now) hosting the latest Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 trailer. The trailer introduces the new third faction -- the Empire of the Rising Sun, aka Japan. It features C&C's staple bad voice acting, lots of units, general mayhem, and the classic Hell March song that fans of the series will recognize.

It looks like the Empire of the Rising Sun mostly uses Anime-esque Mecha units -- Transformers-like battle robots. Also featured are airplanes that can dive underwater and attack naval vessels from below. We knew Red Alert 3 would have a lot of amphibious units, but it didn't occur to us that it might also feature air/water units. Makes sense, we suppose!

Anyway, check it out if you're a fan. And we figure you are, if you're reading this. C&C is not a franchise that gets pitched to a lot of new recruits. It's mostly about the oldschool, yo.

[Via Joystiq]

For those into the whole RTS scene, two games have usually been considered the classics of the genre: Starcraft and Red Alert. EA's latest continuation of the latter's legacy, Red Alert 3, just recently received a trailer showing off some of the gameplay elements. Not content with just releasing it on GameTrailers, EA has given it to the general populace to download.

The movie requires QuickTime and weighs in at a hefty 646 mb. It shows off some of the new graphics features introduced, such as awesome water effects and vastly improved explosions. There's also appearances by fan-favorites such as the Tesla coil, Tesla trooper, aircraft carrier, and the newly redesigned nuke (the very last clip of the video). If this trailer doesn't pump you up about the game, nothing will. And for those who want early access, remember: Kane's Wrath (the C&C3 expansion) comes with a guaranteed RA3 beta key. Sweet.

Download the Red Alert 3 trailer on Big Download!