Tag Archives: command & conquer

EA’s John Riccitiello has said that he wants the revamp of the Command and Conquer series to be a “fundamental renovation”,  not just a game with “cool graphics”.

Speaking with Kotaku, Riccitiello explained the reasons why EA chose Might and Magic creator John Van Caneghem to lead the series in it’s new direction and why it may possibly be released in the future as a digital only format.

“[Van Ceneghem] and I have a shared vision that the RTS category is due for fundamental innovation and not just cooler graphics,” said Riccitiello. “We’ve gotten to the point where you can see the particles around individual grenade explosions inside rooms where windows fall apart. That was never what made RTS good. That was just sort of eye candy on top of a very traditional game mechanic. From when Red Alert and Starcraft sort of defined the genre, it hasn’t moved.

“I’m a believer that the RTS sector is more open to fundamental innovation at a metagame level than almost any genre. I actually think that some of what Playfish does, in terms of iterating games on a weekly basis, Some of what Facebook does, in terms of letting you collectively experience things, have not been stitched together by the game industry in terms of lessons learned there.

“You start applying that thinking to a C&C franchise you get something pretty special.”

There’s plenty more through the link

EA’s Jon Van Caneghem has said that the business model for future Command & Conquer games may be on par with Battlefield Heroes, in that it could be released online instead of through a retail package.

“Direct-to-consumer is where I think most games are going, and I’ve always been a fan of the [C&C]series,” he told Gamasutra. “The company has the same vision I do on the future of games and the future of this franchise, so I think it’s going be great.

“Look what online has done for RPGs over the last 10 years. All the other categories are following suit… we’re looking forward to building something to be a leader in that space. It allows you to do everything you would have expected from a boxed game, but it adds a lot more to it… being connected and connected with players, and persistence, the social elements of playing against each other with other friends.”

Van Caneghem went on to say that online and social elements are “something no one’s ever done before” with the RTS genre, and it’s high time.

“What you’re seeing with all the social gamers on Facebook… they are actually already playing strategy games whether they know it or not.

“Taking a franchise like Command and Conquer and expanding it to a wider audience is part of the strategy.”

More through the links.

Via Kotaku.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 – Commander’s Challenge has landed on Xbox Live, according to the Major.

It is available in all XBL regions, has 50 missions, is 2.1Gb in size, and will run you 800 MS Points ($10.00/£6.80/€9.30).

Not familiar with the game? Here’s the description:

Fight for world domination in the all-new Red Alert 3 Commander’s Challenge! Do you have what it takes to withstand the brutal onslaught and relentless taunting of the world’s toughest commanders, including Ric Flair as Commander Hill? Find out as you attempt to conquer the world in 50 challenges featuring explosive new units such as the Giga Fortress, Desolator, and Cryo Legionnaire!

Head on through the link to find out more.

On Gamespot. PS3 version withstanding, Red Alert 3 is heading into a great Christmas RTS face-off with Blizzard’s StarCraft II, so strategy fans should face an embarrassment of riches later this year. Take a look.

Here. Apparently it includes new information about the upcoming strategy game, but no one – including us – can be bothered to watch it to tell you what it is. On the upside, this story is spoiler-free. Have a look and surprise yourself.

According to this, the official Command & Conquer site is telling readers that a C&C-related announcement is to be made in “about two weeks” (around the time of GDC). Speculation has obviously pointed to this being a showing of the next game in the series. Currently, development is ongoing for Tiberium, the C&C FPS, but no RTS is announced as yet. EA’s not answering the phone, but we’ll get you something on this as soon as it does.