NKDS

Some old favourites return, while some turn into…something else. Note the NOD Crawler in the picture.

So, the reason why I have not been posting for the past few days is the multiplayer beta of Command and Conquer 4, which I have been lucky enough to participate in. Between CnC4, my work and my anime commitments, I have more than enough to preoccupy myself throughout my long Chinese New Year holidays.

Longtime fans take note, CnC4 is a CnC game only in name. Gone are the base building and the harvesting of Tiberium, the substance that the CnC universe has revolved around since the first game. Gone are the construction of massive armies with which you would steamroll your opponent. In their place are new MCVs called Crawlers that serve as your mobile all-in-one base, and the Offense, Defense and Support game classes that will determine the role you play in the battlefield. You build your units and defensive structures from your Crawlers, and move around the map capturing Tiberium Control Network Nodes with your army. Whichever team manages to capture and hold on to the most TCN nodes will eventually win. Oh, and Kane is still around. He will never die, just like the legions of Westwood and old-school CnC fanboys who are crying bitter and impotent tears over how “their game” has mutated into something unrecognizable.

If the gameplay sounds familiar, that’s because it probably is. This gameplay is lifted directly from the Dawn of War series, but its fun and fast paced. Team play and coordination is important here, as a coordinated team will always beat a uncoordinated team. I had a game where the opposing GDI team tried to overrun my NOD team’s defenses in the middle of the map. I simply told the rest of my team to hang in there and soak up the assault while I flanked the GDI forces, moving behind their lines to capture their TCN Nodes. The GDI players did not know what hit them and the game went downhill for them from there. And yes, games consist of only GDI vs NOD as players are not allowed to mix GDI and NOD in one team, at least in the beta. Funny logic, but the wisdom of this decision becomes apparent once you play the game for a few rounds.

Projectile and guns are rare in this game. Lasers, energy weapons and railguns are common. Misaka would be proud.

Other significant new features include things like a population cap, and the unlocking of new units via a level-up system. So the more you fight, the faster you will unlock the juicy stuff like Avatars and Mammoth Tanks. However, I think the biggest change compared to past CnCs has to be the pace of the game. In past games it usually takes a few minutes before the bullets and missiles start to fly, as players take time to build up their armies. Now it takes barely a minute before the first confrontation takes place, with both teams scrambling for as many TCN Nodes as possible within the shortest amount of time. The action in CnC4 is usually over within 15 minutes, but its 15 minutes of high-paced gameplay that will keep you on your toes as you create strategies on the fly. Compare that to previous games where it often takes a longer time to resolve a winner.

There are other changes, such as the command point and upgrade point system that replaced the old resource gathering routine. But at the end of the day, only the following three questions mattered. Is this the CnC game that I knew and loved? Nope, it is not. Is it fun? Yeah, it sure is, if the beta is anything to go by. Will I buy it? Hell yeah. I feel sorry for the old CnC diehards who refuse to touch this game with a 10-foot pole. They have no idea what they are missing out on.

This is Julius Firefocht, signing off from Temple Prime, Sarajevo. Peace through power.