Kane is back!! And he's better than ever!! Yup, the newest installment of one of the greatest RTS franchises of all times goes back to its roots. The game revamps the style and graphics while keeping the gameplay mechanic of the C'n'C Series duly intact. With EA Games taking over the franchise, the fans had been almost disillusioned, fearing for the future of the series....... but EA has definitely exceeded their expectations. The game has already appeased the fan-base and recruited many-many more by giving the nostalgia a fresh and exquisite packing.
But, although the game has already released to rave reviews, its not yet available with retailers here in India. So this entry will mainly focus on the Tiberium Wars DEMO. But don't get disappointed, because at 1.18 GB, the demo offers a LOT!!
First of all, for the uninitiated, Command and Conquer 3 - Tiberium Wars is a Real Time Strategy game and is the newest installment of the 'Tiberium Universe' of the Command and Conquer franchise. The Tiberium (Tiberian) series of games focus on the battles between the GDI (Global Defense Initiative) and the Brotherhood of Nod over a highly dangerous but valuable alien resource called, well, Tiberium!! The GDI, who are what we'd call the 'good guys', view Tiberium as a valuable resource but a threat to mankind cause of its catastrophic effects on the ecology. The Nod, on the other hand, view it as a means to bring about the next stage of human evolution. Sounds far fetched?? Well, it is, and thats exactly whats so good about this series!! The new installment brings back the Nod leader Kane after his apparent 'death' and takes the Tiberium Wars to a new level by introducing a new faction: the Alien race of the Scrin, who've mastered the use of tiberium.
Now, we get back to the DEMO. Well, it basically features a tutorial mission and 2 other scenarios from the GDI side of the Single Player Campaign. The scenarios offer a good look into the GDI's tech-order. The accompanying cut-scenes are a bit over the top but at the same time are very well done and truly exciting. In addition all this, the demo features a 2 player Skirmish map in which you can play as the GDI while the AI handles the Nod. But while there a work-around that lets you play as the Nod in the game, the Scrin race is entirely unplayable. The best thing about playing as both the factions is that, even in the demo, the entire tech tree is available for use. There's not a single unit/building missing from the queue. The demo even has access to the super-weapons of the factions: the Ion Cannon for GDI and the Nuclear Missile for the Nod. And while the game plays out mostly like the previous titles in the series, it LOOKS waaayyy better!! The visuals are absolutely stunning and the units and buildings are rendered perfectly. So all in all, the demo is a brilliant showcase of what all you can expect from the game. Here's an in-game video of the DEMO showing the GDI's Ion Cannon in action:- Get EA Link which lets you download EA's PC games, patches, demos, trailers and wallpapers. Its kind of like Valve's Steam client. Downloading from EA link is considerably faster and obviously reliable.
- Download off GameSpot Servers (Free Membership Required). GS servers are reliable but a bit slower.
And here's the trick to play as Nod in the demo's Skirmish mode:
- From the Main Menu goto Skirmish -> New Skirmish
- Click on the race selection tab, but do not select anything!!
- Move your mouse cursor over the Nod selection.
- At the same time press N and then click on the Nod selection.
- You can now play as the Nod!!
- It may take a couple of tries but it does work!!
- NOTE: The Nod's interface voice-over is not included with the demo, but the tech order is complete. You can also make the enemy GDI (G + Mouse Click). This can also be used to select the Scrin but you can't play as them because the demo doesn't support them
Hope you liked this blog entry!! If you have any comments or suggestions do post them here!! Cheers and Happy Gaming!!
