Command & Conquer Renegade

"C&C Renegade, Worth the time or Waste of Time?"

Introduction
I've been waiting (like many other C&C fans) for this game for quite some time now. I play and own all of the C&C series and I think this one just sort of flopped.

Story Line 3/10
The story line doesn't fit in with the rest. Most of the characters from the other games aren't here. Basically every mission is ''Destroy [insert building here] then blow up everything else''. The first mission was nicely planned out and I think after you get done with it you'll see how bad it gets. I was also disappointed with the ending. You play and win and you'll see what I mean.

Graphics 5/10
The graphics aren't the best and the game isn't really detailed but by looking at the level or map (depending on what mode of play your in) you can tell that alot of work was put into the creation. I don't mean to make the graphics themselves sound horrible because like I said you can tell it wasn't all thrown together really quick. The models themselves are decent in quality but it could of been better. There is hardly any gore in this game and it would of been nice to have the option of it being on or off. For instance if I shoot a guy with a rocket launcher I want him to blow up not fall down. The vehicles themselves are ''bulky''. They look real until they move and because of the way some parts of a map are designed its easy to get stuck. Another thing that bothers me is the running animation. It hardly looks like anybody's feet is ever touching the ground correctly and when you yourself move it feels like your sort of ''hopping''.

Sound 9/10
First off the sound track is great. The in-game sounds in a way resemble those that were in the original C&C and sound is always an important issue in how the game ''feels''. While sitting in a MRL if anything the sound of firing those rockets should make you feel as though your still back in the original C&C.

Multiplayer 7/10
Playing online is great but if your not on a fast connection your not going to have fun. I really wish Westwood would of worked on this a bit more. I understand that there are quite a few people that have Cable or better these days but Dial Up is still widely used therefore making it hard to use is a pretty big step towards downfall. Even with a strong connection sometimes you'll notice that the lag actually ''pushes'' you around. Its extremely hard to hit anyone with anything. With the new patch you can fly in Orca's and other air vehicles but don't hop in one if your lagging or you'll end up a dead man for sure. Even though Internet Play is a hassle I'd have to say at LANs this one ranks pretty high.

Summary
Even though this game has its problems it still does have that ''Westwood touch''. If you own the other games you for sure need to atleast give this one a try. Pay very close attention to the requirements to play it though or your experience could be very horrible. This isn't Half-Life or any other FPS that will run on almost any system setup. Like I've mentioned before if you got friends get a LAN going I think I'd rank this next to Counter-Strike on the fun scale of LANs.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/15/02, Updated 06/15/02