After installing C&C4, creating an account, patching and then logging in, I was greeted with the ugly face of overly intrusive DRM. C&C4 needs constant internet connectivity to work, so if you are not in a position where this is possible, then stop reading now. Sure their intentions are fair, but hackers are going to crack it anyways, so once again, legit customers will feel the pinch most. /end rant
After starting the campaign, I instantly realised that C&C was a new animal. Where were my usual base mechanics? You know, the old way of playing: building a base, putting up some power stations, harvesting some Tiberium and starting the process of building an army. Now we have something called a Crawler, and it can move whenever you want it to, churning out different units at a rate faster than many RTS fans will be accustomed to. It changes the whole C&C universe. EA took a big risk by making such a significant change in the final battle after 15 years+ of establishing a gameplay archetype. I like innovation, it’s what drives the industry forward, but sometimes things need consistency as well. It’s all about balance.
Now I’m not saying everything is completely unfamiliar here, as many of the units and characters return in this instalment, so veterans of the series will instantly recognise the world they compete in, but the core mechanics are oh so very different.
So, how I hear you ask? Well it goes a little something like this….
The Story
C&C is famous for its tacky, B-grade movie feel, and I mean this in the nicest possible way. We always knew the acting was going to be cheap and nasty, and the storyline quite weak, but you were still somehow magically gripped from beginning to end. Suffice to say that things are not much different this time around, although the tone seems a bit darker.
The Gameplay Mechanics
At the beginning of a mission, the player selects exactly what type of strategy he would like to take, and can choose either offensive, defensive or support. The choice of strategy determines what kind of different units the player will be able to build and command, and this immediately brings me to one of the major flaws in the game. It has an unlock system.
Now inherently, this should not be a problem, but as soon as you delve into multiplayer, from the outset, you are completely screwed. RTS’s are supposed to be about equal armies fighting it out for world domination, with battlefield strategy being the major factor in the success or failure. Now, however, it comes down to how far you have played into the game. And it’s not like it’s a very fast unlock system either, as it will take you some time to unlock all the units the game has to offer, especially the cooler ones.
Once you are thrust into battle and shown some or other low budget story continuation, you are given a Crawler. The Crawler is your everything in the game. You move with it, you build with it and you level up with it. All your troops and units come from this little wonder factory, and they are limited by unit count cap, which I found quite restrictive at points. Also, your crawler can be destroyed in a mission, but it will respawn after a short wait, so you need to make sure you have the troops available for that wait. So, no more collecting, no more building and no more defending your base.
This continues throughout the game, and as you progress, you will be rewarded with new units and vehicles. As mentioned previously, unlocking units takes far too long, and by the time all the heavy units and weapons come into play, you may just have lost interest all together. The missions are just not varied enough, and it all feels a bit rushed.
The multiplayer on the other hand, was actually quite fun, once you have made some headway into the unlock system, that is. Games are fast paced, with the maps filling up with units and vehicles very quickly. The player is thrust straight into the action, and this presents a different kind of strategy and a refreshing style of play. If you have the correct units and vehicles, you will have an equal chance of beating your opponent, as the gameplay mechanics change very quickly, so weaknesses can be exposed.
Overall, the gameplay experience does not feel terrible, it just does not feel complete, and it seems a little rushed. Maybe they believed they needed to catch up with the times, or maybe they felt change was just necessary, but it’s not C&C as many fans of the series know it.
The way the world presents itself
From a presentation point of view, C&C 4 is actually quite good.
I’ve always loved how the RTS worlds have progressed graphically over the years, as it’s one of those genres that is not usually visually mind blowing. However, if you zoom in and look at the level of detail on the different units, and have a close look at the animations, you realise that an excellent job has been done here.
Let the sounds of battle resonate through the Earth
One thing I have noticed in some RTS titles is that the sound seems to be the last thing the guys work on, and that can leave a very rushed sounding experience. I’m talking about that “same feeling” you get when playing a lot of these titles. So much so that I sometimes find myself muting the audio altogether.
This is not the case in this game, and this was one area I thought they did rather well in. The units sound clear, and orders are crisp. The environmental sounds are also excellent, as is the musical score.
Is it Command and Conquer, and will you like it?
Sadly, there is a good chance you will not.
Be you a diehard Command and Conquer fan, or a complete rookie to the C&C experience, there is not much to get too excited about here.
Fans of the series will be seriously disappointed. Especially the loyal ones. After sticking with a series for so many years, enduring all the good and the bad elements, cheesy story and such, to be presented with a game like this as the finale, will no doubt break many hearts.
For someone to jump into the series at this point would make no sense either. It’s limiting gameplay style and unlock system won’t appeal to the masses, and there are many more titles in this genre that are a lot better that C&C4.
C&C 4 is not an inherently bad game. It’s just above average, but many will perceive it as a slap in the face to fans. There are better RTS games out there, and many of them already use the mechanics that EA are only starting with, and unfortunately, it shows.
Then there is the obnoxious DRM, which will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of many. There are also reports that the game will not work at all (single player included) if your internet connection is not up to scratch, a problem which local gamers will want to consider before buying this title.
5 percentage points were deducted from the final score due to obtrusive DRM.
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