Command & Conquer

"A fun game to play that allows you to fool around with war and not get into deep trouble? Who wouldn't?"

Introduction

As we've all heard (or at least all who's played the Command & Conquer series), Command & Conquer has been released for the Nintendo 64! It's the exact same game as it is on the PC, only with four bonus missions added onto it. Even though its release has been in existence for a while now, many people, including myself, still find this game to be fun, challenging and even tiring as you make your way throughout the missions! Even veterans of this game, who have truly conquered it many a time, still have to admit that this game isn't based on specific sequences, but only luck itself. It's true, you can beat the game a million times and even know all of the stages by heart, but somewhere along those lines, the fact that luck plays an integral role in the completion of this game still stands tall. Many of the missions are pretty challenging since you have more than one specific thing to settle your concentration on; not only do you have to worry about being ambushed or attacked and losing your base to your enemy, but you also have to keep track of where your troops/units are, your unit and structure's health, your credits (money), your power and your enemy's whereabouts -- not to mention your objective! However it may seem confusing, do not be mislead by this detail - the game isn't as hard as what you've read about, but still, you must keep your eyes open.

Storyline

The storyline for this game is a pretty good one; in fact, it's great. As you progress through the game, you begin to learn about your side as well as your enemy's side, plus other aspects that are somewhat critical to your success. You must know your enemy to know how to defeat them (unless you skip the cinema and just go on a blind rage through the missions.. but that usually leads to your own destruction). Playing on the side of GDI, you see that your side is the "good guys" and the Brotherhood of NOD is your enemy, and also the "bad guys". However, in one sense, if you're siding with the Brotherhood of NOD, Kane, (your leader) might think/say differently. As you win more missions, more and more stages are unlocked and new objectives fill your screen. And just when you finished beating a long, rough mission, you find that your next mission objective(s) are much longer, harder and will take slightly more effort as well as skill. The storyline and upcoming mission briefings are sure to get your adrenaline pumping!

Graphics

Excellent graphics. The game's designed by a super-cool engine to show the camera from a high point of view; possibly as a recon balloon or a spy plane.. or something, yeah. You do have the choice of zooming in on the battlefield, however, but either way you choose, the game's graphics still look respectable. I find that the graphics of the troops are pretty well distinguished, and even better when you group them into large groups. They look so tough just standing there, waiting for their next order... Whew! Also, the vehicle graphics are spectacular. Especially the tanks. The air assaults and gunboats are realistic in the way that they move, coordinate their attacks, attack and blow up. Which leads me to my next point...

Sound

Awesome sound. There's two concepts here: game play sound and music sound. Both of which are very well organized, played out and realistic. The music has 17 soundtracks to choose from.. while you play your mission. Most of them are fast-paced for those quick-attack missions or assassination missions, while the rest are more laid back and low-tuned, for those long missions where you must construct a BOO (Base Of Operations). Now the game play sound.. it's just.. now I need one word to best describe this.. hmm... Ah! It's just gnarly! Especially the sounds of the machine guns, explosions and rockets. The voices or 'screams' of the men who are being killed are actually quite funny. Especially when they're burned to death or exposed to Tiberium (a toxic plant-like bacteria which kills humans on contact or badly, badly poisons them to an effect of complete suffering, then they die). But all in all, the sound is by far a MUST have turned on in this game! Playing this game without the sound on would be like taking a bath with no water!

Game play / Control

While there are 15 buttons on the N64 controller, it won't take long for you to adapt to them and what functions they compose. As with almost (if not all) games, you use the control stick to move your cursor around the battlefield. That's all I will write about the controller's button functions though.. I think it'd be much better if you discovered that for yourself (or just read the manual). Either way, the game play rocks. Really addicting.

Replay Value

Perfect. As soon as you have beat a mission, you may select to play through it again at any time, regardless (unless you delete your saves). There's no drawback here, just pure replay value. 100%

Challenge?

The short answer.. is yes.

Buy or Rent?

Buy. Buy it, try it, if you don't like it, then you can just store it in your closet or something and never play it again or you can just try to get it refunded, but I doubt that after playing this game, will that ever happen. I rented it the first time I played it.. I didn't want to buy it because I was low on cash at the time. So I came to the conclusion that I would just keep renting it, not realizing that it was costing me more to re-rent it than it would be to just buy it. I found myself renting this game over and over for several weeks. So I finally woke up and bought it! This one's a true classic.

Overall

To conclude my review of this splendid game, I would like to point out that I still have this game, and I still play it on a regular basis (from time to time). I think that after buying or even renting it that you, the consumer, will be satisfied with your spending. It's really a great game and deserves a chance at a good play through. Give it a shot.. who knows, you might actually like it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/21/04