Command & Conquer

"Wow! Nintendo just snagged a no frills port of a PC game from 1995! Impressive!"

OPENING STATEMENT
Nintendo had to have noticed the void in the Nintendo 64’s game line-up long before the summer of 1999, when Command and Conquer was released. So, I would imaging that they were pleased as punch when they were allowed to publish the classic Westwood Studios game on their console. Of course, I am also assuming that they failed to recollect that the game had been released two or three years earlier on the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn, and there were already sequels released on the PlayStation. But, in Nintendo’s world, this ancient port was a major coup for the console. But, if we let them think what they want, they can get back to developing Super Smash Brothers Melee.

GAMEPLAY--5
This here is the game that started up all real-time strategy games six years ago, bringing one of the most original, definitive, and innovative game engines to the table. Then why did the game snag only a five rating? Because all of those things were true . . . six years ago. Since Westwood Studios failed to expand on their game at all, we are playing gameplay that is now old, stuffy, and primitive in the echelons of real-time strategy games. And, well, in a RTS that will bore you to death very, very quickly. Yet, even though the engine is now old and basically is a has-been, the engine is solid and reliable. Of course, playing with this engine is only interesting when you are building up your base as large as you can get it, training troops, and getting ready for an all out war. When you are doing these little ‘Search out your missing commando’ missions, that is when Command and Conquer gets really tedious. This game’s strength is all out war, and it does not utilize it enough at all.

Command and Conquer is a video game personification of the fictitious war between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod, for control of the world’s Tiberium facilities. The Global Defense Initiative controls the countries in the world that Americans stereotypically consider to be good: The United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Japan, and the like, while the Brotherhood of Nod is present in those countries that the average Joe Schmoe in America will not associate with friendly: Algeria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and many of the former republics of the Soviet Union. Tiberium is what powers the world. Everyone needs to harvest it to sell to cover their military needs, because the worlds of industry and commerce cannot get enough of the mysterious plant. So, good and evil do battle for control of the global economy. That’s right, the equivalent of World War III has been caused by some little overgrown weed.

GRAPHICS--8
Westwood Studios worked very hard to optimize this game a little bit graphically for the Nintendo 64. All of the buildings and vehicles have been converted into three-dimensions. The problem with this is that most of the buildings and vehicles in the original versions of Command and Conquer were done with pseudo-three dimensional effects, so they really do not look all that different. But, if you have extensive play time with previous versions as I do, you will really appreciate this work. Because it is the only work that they did on the entire game.

Because this is a game based upon war, Westwood Studios tried hard for realism. Because of the small size of the troops, they do look fairly realistic. The vehicles are almost all based off real-life counterparts, and they were designed very true to life. The vehicles designed specifically for the game, like the Tiberium Harvesters (referred to generally as the ‘Pickers’) show a great deal of creativity in the developer’s futuristic takes on transportation and war machines. But, where the game’s graphical engine really shines is in the buildings. All of these buildings evoke images of a world ravaged by war, futuristic weaponry, and the general change of personality in mankind. The Brotherhood of Nod structures are considerably darker and more foreboding then those of the Global Defense Initiative (also known as the G. D. I.), whose buildings look like a cross between military buildings in the United States and those of the Star Wars universe. These buildings are instantly recognizable, and you shall never confuse them with each other. This is very good, because it helps you coordinate not only your attacks, but your defense around the structures that are in most danger of destruction, even if you should happen to forget where exactly you built it.

The coloring in Command and Conquer is another standout job. The G. D. I. troops are all friendly colors of gold and white, with a soaring eagle adorning their emblem. The Brotherhood of Nod troops are an evil looking jet black coupled with a blood crimson. Their logo would be that of two menacing looking scorpion tails, ready to strike, crossed at the base. Appropriately evil indeed. And that attention to detail translated to the rest of the environments too. Colors such as purple and orange you will not see very often at all, while more earth-like tones are filling all of the environments. The water is not bright blue, but a much paler shade. Beige and green are really the dominant colors here, though, and once again that shows Westwood Studios quest to make Command and Conquer look realistic.

MUSIC--1
SOUND--7
The music is comparable in sound quality to that of the PlayStation version. That is impressive because of the difference in the mediums, even if the Nintendo 64 version is substantially newer. The problem with the music is that it annoys the hell out of me. Westwood Studios opted to use techno music, which is a poor choice even before they decided to make it sound like weapons were a part of the songs. They took your happy-go-lucky, annoying techno music, and made it have warlike refrains, and they made it repeat every thirty seconds. If you do not mute your television set while playing this game, I applaud your bravery.

The sound effects, thankfully, are much better. The voice acting is actually quite well done, especially the lady who sounds like a robot during gameplay who says stuff like “Structure completed” and “On hold . . . canceled.” Almost all of the rest of the voice acting was removed when Westwood Studios was forced to remove the FMVs from the game, because of the lower memory capacity. I, personally, found the FMVs a wonderful break from the action, so not being able to see them kind of disgusted me. The rest of the sound effects do a great job of adding to the atmosphere of Command and Conquer, as they help bring the painstaking war to life. The explosions, noises of construction, and even the simple noise of gunfire all add to the experience. My only problem is that I could have stood to have heard some more variety.

CONTROL--5
I was personally amazed at this Nintendo 64 version of Command and Conquer’s attempts to keep up with the PlayStation (and Saturn) versions in the control department. The only reason that this particular version does not control quite as well is because of the small size of the C-Buttons, the same problem that impacted the Nintendo 64 version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. This causes many of the tasks you need to carry out to be absolute chores, because if you press the incorrect button, you have to start all over. Westwood Studios did the best job possible with the controller configuration, though, so it at least is tolerable, if you cannot play any of the other versions of the game. Luckily, your soldiers and vehicles all respond right on schedule, so you will not have any delays in controlling them, unless it is because of a finger flub. Real-time strategy games cannot have controlling delays.

FUN--4
For how old this game is, and how many other places that I have played Command and Conquer, it is truly a wonder that I can stomach playing the same old thing at all. Most of the missions are quite boring, and really not worth the effort. However, where the fun in Command and Conquer comes in are the missions that give you the opportunity to build up a massive base and an even bigger attack team to go take out a well-fortified enemy base, or better yet, a series of enemy bases. Yes sir, that is when this game gets fun to play. Because then, and only then, did the developers lean to the Command and Conquer series’ strengths - development and war. Most of the missions are useless defend the base types, with no opportunity to build up massive force, or go and rescue your ally types. Neither of them are fun or innovative, and you do not get to use all of the cool stuff that makes up the Command and Conquer universe. If Westwood Studios was smart they would have more missions where you just build up your base and take those enemies out.

CHALLENGE--MEDIUM TO HIGH
The difficulty curve in Command and Conquer is truly quite steep. Most strategy games give you more time to acclimate yourself to the interface and such before throwing you into missions that may actually give you trouble, but this title does that by the third mission. This is a mixed-bag, depending solely on your experience with the series. For veterans of the game it is great, because it keeps you from being bored to death (unless, of course, you choose to remember that you have already played the same missions in numerous other games). However, for beginners, it can be almost overwhelming at first, and they surely will struggle for a while. Also, scattered throughout the missions are a few extremely hard ones. After these toughies, though, the difficulty curve returns to normal and slowly gets harder while progressing.

REPLAY VALUE--LOW TO MEDIUM
If it weren’t for the fact that this is an absolutely no frills port of a rather old game, Command and Conquer would probably get a medium ranking in this category. The reason for that is that you will need to play through all of the G. D. I. and the Brotherhood of Nod missions to completely master the game. Once you have done that, you will probably only play your favorite mission once in a great while, but nothing else really. But, what could have really remedied this situation would have been the inclusion of the Skirmish Mode from the Command and Conquer sequels on the PlayStation. But ‘no-frills port’ means exactly that, so this version of Command and Conquer is a strictly solo experience.

PROS
*Gives the Nintendo 64 a tiny foothold into the real-time strategy game market.
*The voice acting is very well done.
*Pseudo three-dimensional has been replaced by the actual thing.

CONS
*No Skirmish Mode; why Westwood Studios, why?
*The music will make you wish you were deaf.
*The control is the worst of any of the home console versions.

CLOSING STATEMENT
For people who have never experienced Command and Conquer, this Nintendo 64 version will suffice nicely. But, if you have any experience with the game, you would be far better off with a copy of the PlayStation, Saturn, or PC version. Actually, you would be even better off with one of the Command and Conquer: Red Alert games, or a version of Command and Conquer: The Tiberium Sun. Both are newer sub-series of games, and Westwood Studios addressed many of the problems with this version of the game when they made them. Most importantly, multiplayer capabilities are present. And that is really all that matters.

OVERALL--5

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 10/11/01, Updated 10/11/01