Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Disappointing"

If you say RTS you say Command and Conquer (CnC), along with Blizzard's Star- and Warcraft the CnC series has been the standard bearer for the RTS genre for well over a decade.

With CnC 4 EA wanted to innovate the genre somewhat, a thing previous CnC games weren't known for. The result is a completely different RTS game that is more akin to Dawn of War 2 instead of previous CnC games.

Classes and Leveling
CnC add a system of classes to the RTS formula. In every match you pick between the offensive, defensive and support class. Classes are varied and truly play different from each other. Defense is the only class that can build turrets while support has access to support powers. Building and resourcemanagement are both gone.

While playing single or multiplayer you gather experience from killing enemies and completing objectives. The experience allows you to level (rank) up unlocking new units and other stuff.
This is system works and is enjoyable for at least a little while.

Campaign
The single player campaign has always been the heart and soul for every CnC game. The campaign in CnC 4 is mediocre compared to predecessors. Missions are boring and often have you walk around the map with a single unit control group. Furthermore the campaign is fairly short and the conclusion will have most CnC veterans sighting in disappointment.

Fortunately the cut scenes in between missions are still there and are pretty good. The mood is a bit darker and the sets look a lot better. The cast is no longer filled with A-list Hollywood stars like in CnC3 and Red Alert 3. This works out better since you'll now longer find yourself thinking "hey he/she also plays X in series Y".
The overall performance of the actors is good making the cut scenes a small highlight for the game.

Looks and Sounds
Graphics-wise CnC 4 looks fine. Comparing it to CnC 3 shows a minor improvement in graphics but nothing jaw dropping. The soundtrack is the only exceptionally positive thing about the game, simply said, it's really amazing.
Unit design works and you'll see both familiar units and new ones.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer is really the only moment where the new gameplay mechanics shine... for a while at least. Games can be enjoyable as long as teams are balanced. With a steady stream of newly unlocked units you'll keep playing for a while. But once you reach the maximum rank you'll no longer unlock new stuff and things will start to bore down. Matches look alike and because of a high emphasis on teamwork, grouping up with random players can turn out really bad

Verdict
CnC 4 was supposed to be the epic conclusion to the tiberian saga. The new gameplay mechanics are fun for a while but don't last. The campaign is boring and an overall disappointment. All in all the Tiberian saga ends in mediocracy which isn't what the CnC fans deserved.

6,5
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LW