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For the original 1995 RTS game Command & Conquer, please see Command & Conquer . The ''Command & Conquer'' series ''(C&C)'' is a set of Real-time Strategy Computer Game s released by the game developer Westwood Studios ( 1985 – 2003 ), which was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1998 . In 2003, EA closed Westwood and absorbed it into EA Los Angeles , where ''C&C'' titles are currently being made. Some of the original Westwood ''C&C'' team remain at EA, but most left to form the new games company Petroglyph . ''C&C'' games were originally all in one series, however, EA has expanded the ''C&C'' franchise with the addition of a new series and several spin-offs of ''C&C'' ''TIBERIAN'' SERIES The ''Tiberian'' series features two warring factions called the United Nations Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the quasi-state terrorist group, the Brotherhood Of Nod . The original ''Command & Conquer'' (also referred to as ''Tiberian Dawn'') was made by Westwood Studios in 1995, and distributed exclusively by Virgin. The opening sequence shows animation of the bombing of the fictitious Great Trade Center in Vienna. This act is blamed on NOD terrorists and their leader, Kane. It serves as the beginning of the ''Tiberian'' series storyline. The conflict centers on control of a new resource called Tiberium , an exotic substance that extracts minerals from the land it sits upon and deposits them in above-ground crystals that are simple to process into useful materials. It was speculated that Tiberium was named after the Tiber River where it was first discovered, yet the Brotherhood of Nod's leader, Kane, claims to have named it after Tiberius Caesar, having discovered it himself. However, Tiberium is also extremely toxic and mutagenic. Almost certainly extraterrestrial in origin, it is thought to have come to Earth in a meteor impact. There is speculation that it may be an alien Terraforming agent. While the GDI focuses on research on making Tiberium into useful materials and mitigating the damage to Earth's people and ecosystem, Nod's position is to embrace Tiberium as the herald of a new age. Nod has done heavy research into Tiberium-based technology and weaponry, and its leader, Kane , has designs to convert the entire planet to a Tiberium-based ecosystem. The GDI was created by Status Quo nations to counter Kane's plans for a new world order. The Brotherhood of Nod excels at manipulating the media to turn world opinion against the GDI. The ''Tiberium'' series has always utilized heavy biblical undertones. Kane, the leader of Nod, is clearly a variation on the spelling of Cain , the first murderer. Indeed, Cain was banished for his crime to the Land Of Nod . It is unknown if this is an assumed name of a madman or truly Cain. Kane's murder of Seth, the officer who instructs the player at the beginning of the series and Kane's "right hand", is a further biblical reference, although in the bible Cain murders Abel and Seth is given to Adam and Eve in place of the murdered Abel. C&C was one of the first to utilise real-time gameplay, and cinematic animation sequences. To fund your campaign, you are required to harvest and sell Tiberium which "grows" from the ground as a green (with a rarer, and more valuable, blue variation) crystal-like substance. Because of its high toxicity, troops must not be marched through Tiberium fields or they will weaken and die. On Magazine, with " Command & Conquer 3 " announced as a new title to the series. The magazine claims to have a first look on the new game, and has confirmed that the game will be set in the highly anticipated Tiberium Universe. The next day, Electronic Arts officially confirmed the new Command & Conquer game to be named Command & Conquer 3: The Tiberium Wars (working title). The announcement was made on a new website dedicated to the new game. Games in the series
''RED ALERT'' SERIES The '' Red Alert '' series is set in an alternate timeline, created when Albert Einstein travels back in time and makes contact with Adolf Hitler in an attempt to prevent World War II . This backfires and results in an unchecked Soviet invasion of Europe by Joseph Stalin . This Stalin-led invasion of Europe serves as the backdrop for the first ''Red Alert'' game. Two expansion packs for the original ''Red Alert'' were released: ''Counterstrike'' and ''The Aftermath''. New units, missions, multiplayer maps, and music were included in the expansions. The ''Red Alert'' series was originally an exploration of the alternate history leading to the ''Tiberian'' series, and even Kane made some appearances. With the release of ''Red Alert 2'', the connection became somewhat unclear, with fans of the series split as to whether or not the time travel excursions of the series were forming a separate continuity or just another side adventure on the way to the ''Tiberian'' era. Some state that the timeline depends on which faction wins the battle in ''Red Alert'': if the Soviets succeed in conquering Europe, this triggers the events in ''Command & Conquer''; if the Allies defeat the Soviets, the ''Red Alert 2'' timeline follows. This particular line of thought is incorrect because ''Command & Conquer''-related material exists in the Allied campaign whereas the Soviet victory leads to facts that prevent the ''Command & Conquer'' timeline. During a cutscene early in the Allied Campaign, a newsreel playing on a television screen does hint at the "''formation of a Global Defense Initiative''" which ''does'' link Red Alert to Tiberian dawn. However - this is a passive bit of dialogue and is not realized in Red Alert, or its expansions or sequels. ''Red Alert 2'' is the sequel to ''Red Alert'' and has an expansion pack, ''Yuri's Revenge''. In ''Red Alert 2'', the Soviet Union invades the United States, using mind control technology to capture US forces and deactivate America's nuclear arsenal. In ''Yuri's Revenge'', Soviet Premier Romanov's advisor Yuri attempts to overtake the world using his psychic dominator technology. A last-second attempt to stop Yuri's plans sends the player back in time to the conflict occurring in ''Red Alert 2'', but instead of fighting the Soviets/Allies, the player fights against Yuri. Unlike Red Alert, the ''Red Alert 2'' games do not make any explicit or passive references to the ''Tiberian'' series, leading some to believe the ''Red Alert'' series is diverging from the ''Tiberian'' series. The ''Red Alert'' games typically are released following the release of a game in the Tiberian timeline. The next game in the Tiberian timeline, Tiberian Wars, has been announced, with no announcement of a third Red Alert game that can be taken with credibility and certainty, as the people whom announced it have all left EA over the past few years. Westwood also released a music disc with the music from the ''Red Alert'' series. This disc was bundled with some later versions of the game. Games in the series
''GENERALS'' SERIES ''Command & Conquer: Generals'' is the most recent game bearing the ''Command & Conquer'' brand, though its plotline is completely unrelated to the other games of the series. Also unlike previous ''C&C'' games, ''Generals'' and the ''Zero Hour'' expansion were developed by EA Los Angeles , where some members of Westwood Studios were transferred to when EA shut down Westwood's Las Vegas studios. It uses an engine dubbed "SAGE" and is the first fully three-dimensional ''Command & Conquer'' RTS game. Fans of the ''C&C'' universe were quick to note that it was the first ever ''C&C'' RTS game that did not include full-motion video cutscenes to tell the story, and also departed from the unique interface and gameplay mechanics that had characterised all the previous ''C&C'' RTS titles. {Link without Title} Because of this, some fans of the series state that ''Generals'' does not deserve the ''C&C'' label, and that EA has turned ''Command & Conquer'' into a brand name for generic real-time strategy games. In ''Generals'', there are three different factions, which maintain a which adopts emergent technologies and support units; China , which swamps defences, and the Global Liberation Army , a terrorist network which uses low-tech ingenuity and guerrilla tactics. The Chinese and the USA are targets of the GLA. This story is followed by the game's expansion pack: ''Command & Conquer: Generals: Zero Hour''. ''Generals: Zero Hour'' adds many new additions to the original, for example each team now gets three generals to choose from, while the basic faction still remains available. Each of these Generals has a "speciality", which means they focus on certain aspects and their available units are themed to reflect this. For example, one USA general prefers laser weapons, and hence only has laser tanks and laser turrets, replacing some of the standard USA tanks. There are no new factions added to the game, it is still China, USA and the GLA. It also includes full-motion video cutscenes in the form of news reports before every single player mission.Even though this game is an improvement over the last one, fans still argue that this game still does not deserve to be called a C&C game due to its new RTS-style game play that differs from the older C&C games. Although the game was a best seller among PC games, EA has yet to make any announcements for a second installment as of March 2006 . Games in the series
EVOLUTION OF A TRADEMARK Over the years, some C&C Games had more specific ''Command & Conquer'' logos. The initial C&C DOS Logo was Gray. A golden version of the same logo was used on C&C'95, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and their expansions. The Command & Conquer: Renegade logo uses the same gold logo, but embeds it in a background with metal texture. The Command & Conquer long logo was developed for Generals with a completely different design and the words being placed horizontally, instead of the vertical alignment of the previous version. The same logo was also used for Zero Hour, the expansion to Generals. The C&C3 Logo seems to be combining aspects of all previous logos. The font is in the Generals long-logo style, while the words are placed vertically like in the classic variant. EXTERNAL LINKS Official websites
Other
For a list of fansites, see the Command & Conquer entry at the Open Directory Project . |
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