Command And Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight Review

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight, released on March 16, 2010, sees a big change in gameplay from the previous Command & Conquer by removing the resource gathering and base building elements in previous games as well as the removal of the third faction, the Scrin. It is a direct sequel to Kane's Wrath (however not directly following on from its storyline), and is set 10 years after the game's final events, a time when Tiberium has advanced to its next evolutionary stage, and is rapidly spreading across Earth making it soon to be uninhabitable. The only positive comments are aimed at the multiplayer mode. Main criticisms were the problematic control scheme, the departure from the traditional Command and Conquer basics, the fact that the game seemed more adapted for multiplayer rather than solo play, the short campaign and the troublesome unlock system.



Review:

Guys, its over. Its finally over! The command and conquer series which has one of the longest, if not THE longest, storyline in the history of games so far has come to an end. The first command and conquer came out at 1995 and although i only had one of the games what can I say, those games were pretty much determining the course of other similar strategy games. Now, ON TO THE REVIEW!

As battle commander of the "overlord" Yiota I found that the new style of command and conquer was confusing and a bit strange but not garbage. I will start explaining the storyline elements, the graphics and later the gameplay with pros and cons. So lets go to the analysis

Storyline

The storyline was the conclusion of the Tiberian Wars storyline, where we find once more the GDI (Global Defence Initiative) and the brotherhood of NOD forced to a strange allegiance, since Kane the prophet of the Brotherhood offers a solution that limits the expanding tiberium crystal and could save the planet. However the heretics of the brotherhood following Gideon dont like that. Dont like that at all.

As usual you are called to chose between GDI and NOD once more in the very beginning of the campaign. The storyline is given to you through the objectives but mostly through the cinematics and transmissions you receive. The plus side on that is that well first of all they use actual actors. The cinematics and transmissions are from actual people on a fixed set with little animation on some points. It adds for a more movie feeling and was actually pretty damn impressive back at the 1995 dont you think?

The con side on that is, well the acting. The crappy animation you can understand since well, even series of the sci-fi channel dont have movie quality animation. But the acting some times is lacking. Sometimes the actors just try too hard and the actor that played your wife well...first of all she scared the shit out of me. She tried to look at you "seducing and loving" or something similar at the same time but I felt like she wanted to rape the shit out of me. That, and she was a bit annoying. Honestly i was disappointed they did not use a girl similar to the old hot ones. Yes i know they are probably selected from the playboy mansion. Yes i know they cant act even if you slap them on the face with acting. But at least they will act equally as bad and be more pleasant to the eye. For the male audience that is.

As for the storyline as it is. It was not bad, it was predictable at some points, but it still kept the interest, mostly because it is the conclusion of the series. Personally i found some of the game twists way too cliched but I decide to turn my eye away since well, its a strategy game, and they have to explain you commanding troops at some point. Overall however, i found that the game offered everything I expected from the game series and they did a very good job wrapping up the series. No unanswered questions (mostly) a final conclusion with no gaps to reopen the franchise, unless they are really desperate.

Graphics:

The graphics were amazing. There isnt much to say, they did a very good job. The visuals were great and ran smoothly. I found it nice that they tried to keep them at a level where they offered great visuals yet did not smack your pc to its knees. I would give them a 7/10. Someone could expect better graphics from a modern game, but on the other side they kept it low enough to run smoothly on most computers so that is their plus.

Gameplay:

Here is the place where the most controversy of opinions lie. Many reviews are annoyed by the fact that the gameplay is more multiplayer oriented, has a few rpg elements with progression levels and unlocks and is different from the usual command and conquer gameplay.

Personally, i liked the changes. Yes I was a bit bummed that you dont have the usual battalion system, and yes i was a bit confused with the class system and the mobile base. But overall i think they are a plus more than a negative. I think it adds a sort of realism. As you get promoted and advance in your ranks as a commander, more advanced units and technology is given to you. Also the mobile base was a bit strange to operate at first, but it gives up for its mobility and well, to the fact that the game is now more combat oriented than the usual, create a base-gather resources element. I think it was a bold move, but not a bad one.

The camera however disappointed me. It was sluggish at some points, and zooming in did not make things more movie-like and feel like you are there, but just...well, zooming closer to see details of a unit or something. However just leaving it as high as it goes will make you forget about that. After all the battles are pretty nice with the visuals so you will be distracted enough.

Final Notes:

To end with, as far as the GDI goes I liked how they made each unit unique. They all had their own style, and I liked how they responded differently when you selected them. For instance if you selected a unit while it was in the middle of a battle it would respond depending on its health, the health of the enemy as well as the numbers of your forces and the enemies. For instance you could select an infantry man that is alone against an army of enemies and will say something like "We need backup" or "We are pinned down". I loved that part because it added a realism you just did not have on other strategy games.


Also they had a unit named wolf that just sounded awesome.

I recommend this game to command and conquer fans as well as other sci-fi strategy fans. It is a fine addition to your gaming library and will keep your interest for a while, especially with online play.





Johnny's Note: You guys realize that the reason I tolerate with the "Battle commander" and "Yiota as the overlord" is because I can use it as a good excuse to play videogames when she wants to chat on the msn right?

I probably shouldn't have said that