Command & Conquer: Red Alert (PC, 1996)
Graphics-8 Sound-8.5 Control-7 Challenge-7 Story-5
Level Design-8 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6
Overall Score-8
+
Two factions which are quite different from one another
Many different units (most of them useful)
Interesting mechanics and units (teleportation, infiltration, nukes, air strike, thievery (silos), tesla coils, cruisers, take over enemy buildings, infiltrate buildings for info (see the enemy teams communication in MP, see enemy subs, etc.), mine layer, mobile gap (Fog of War) generator, radar jammer)
Sell buildings and units (on repair station)
Speed up construction with more of each production building
Decent voice acting (units in-game)
Good variation for its time (rescue missions, timed hold outs, capture base, no-base missions, infiltrations, destroy x unit/building etc. - most of them have scripted events)
Enemy AI is partially pretty good (sells buildings pre-death, dances infantry from tanks, tries to run over yours)
Control groups (0-9)
Special characters (Tanya, blows up buildings)
Difficulty and speed options
Choose where to set up your headquarters
Resource spawn points (resources replenish over time)
Destructible scenery and bridges
Good art direction
Some advanced mechanics (waypoints (Q key)), most units can move while firing (allowing 'dancing' which rewards micro management during combat; you can also use a 'scatter group' command (X key)), ore field regeneration which can be manipulated)
Secret items (crates: money, HP regeneration, stat upgrade, units, map reveal, temporary invincibility, nuke, etc.; some negative effects)
Sand bags can be run over by tanks
Maps are often designed to allow alternate ways of dealing with the enemy (more strategic options are provided than before such as exploding barrels that damage the enemy and optional units to rescue)
Skirmish matches
Gems resource (worth 2x but doesn't respawn)
+/-
Most units have very specific uses to the point where it becomes a bit absurd (rockets do almost no damage to infantry for example)
"silos needed"
Some vague elements during campaign (neutral radar in mission 8 allied, churches in final allied mission)
Infantry have a tendency to start crawling when fired upon (double click usually gets them up; gets frustrating in no-base missions where every unit counts)
Building production is dependent on having headquarters
Resource gatherers ignore danger
Some units have extremely limited sight
Uses for new units are usually only explained in the manual
Sometimes an objective is only mentioned in the text briefing (not in the previous cutscene)
Very cheesy cutscenes (live actors against CGI backgrounds)
Mines on ore fields can't be destroyed
Formation command (undocumented, it isn't kept while the units are moving)
-
Lacking some useful hotkeys (building and unit production)
No "attack area" move and no rally points
Unit selection is somewhat buggy (move-click too fast after selecting and the unit is deselected, transport usage is slow and clunky, touch the top edge of the screen when boxing and the selection is cancelled)
Can't add units to a group via boxing (dragging a box to select multiple units) - need to select one at a time
Very micro management heavy due to sloppy path finding and lacking macro commands (need to manually click each unit on a list to build them, clunky list interface)
Extremely poor reaction range on units
Lack of specific unit commands (patrol, guard, attack area)
Some poorly balanced units (boats suck vs. subs, grenadiers are arguably the best infantry unit, dogs and (soviet) choppers are pretty useless outside single player, weak allied tanks, air and nukes is better than teleport and cruisers in most maps, Tesla Coils are more useful than AA guns)
Units tend to move closer than they need to when attacking
Mini-map is either too zoomed in and pixelated or too zoomed out and dark
Longbow choppers tend to change position between rounds
Can't manually target air targets with rocket soldiers
Can't click on air units (need to drag a box)
Some trial & error (barrel explosion hit detection, unit attack range oddities (certain angles give better range for infantry), later in-doors missions, final allied mission (Tanya isn't mentioned in the cutscene and all of a sudden you're thrown into an ambush where she needs to survive, surprise reinforcements, surpise nukes (CPU doesn't need a Silo in single player)
The CPU never retreats and rarely focuses fire
A bug allows submarine detection via the mini-map (use a destroyer or gunboat) or a transport (hold ctrl)
Level Design-8 Frustration-8 Fun-8 Originality-6
Overall Score-8
+
Two factions which are quite different from one another
Many different units (most of them useful)
Interesting mechanics and units (teleportation, infiltration, nukes, air strike, thievery (silos), tesla coils, cruisers, take over enemy buildings, infiltrate buildings for info (see the enemy teams communication in MP, see enemy subs, etc.), mine layer, mobile gap (Fog of War) generator, radar jammer)
Sell buildings and units (on repair station)
Speed up construction with more of each production building
Decent voice acting (units in-game)
Good variation for its time (rescue missions, timed hold outs, capture base, no-base missions, infiltrations, destroy x unit/building etc. - most of them have scripted events)
Enemy AI is partially pretty good (sells buildings pre-death, dances infantry from tanks, tries to run over yours)
Control groups (0-9)
Special characters (Tanya, blows up buildings)
Difficulty and speed options
Choose where to set up your headquarters
Resource spawn points (resources replenish over time)
Destructible scenery and bridges
Good art direction
Some advanced mechanics (waypoints (Q key)), most units can move while firing (allowing 'dancing' which rewards micro management during combat; you can also use a 'scatter group' command (X key)), ore field regeneration which can be manipulated)
Secret items (crates: money, HP regeneration, stat upgrade, units, map reveal, temporary invincibility, nuke, etc.; some negative effects)
Sand bags can be run over by tanks
Maps are often designed to allow alternate ways of dealing with the enemy (more strategic options are provided than before such as exploding barrels that damage the enemy and optional units to rescue)
Skirmish matches
Gems resource (worth 2x but doesn't respawn)
+/-
Most units have very specific uses to the point where it becomes a bit absurd (rockets do almost no damage to infantry for example)
"silos needed"
Some vague elements during campaign (neutral radar in mission 8 allied, churches in final allied mission)
Infantry have a tendency to start crawling when fired upon (double click usually gets them up; gets frustrating in no-base missions where every unit counts)
Building production is dependent on having headquarters
Resource gatherers ignore danger
Some units have extremely limited sight
Uses for new units are usually only explained in the manual
Sometimes an objective is only mentioned in the text briefing (not in the previous cutscene)
Very cheesy cutscenes (live actors against CGI backgrounds)
Mines on ore fields can't be destroyed
Formation command (undocumented, it isn't kept while the units are moving)
-
Lacking some useful hotkeys (building and unit production)
No "attack area" move and no rally points
Unit selection is somewhat buggy (move-click too fast after selecting and the unit is deselected, transport usage is slow and clunky, touch the top edge of the screen when boxing and the selection is cancelled)
Can't add units to a group via boxing (dragging a box to select multiple units) - need to select one at a time
Very micro management heavy due to sloppy path finding and lacking macro commands (need to manually click each unit on a list to build them, clunky list interface)
Extremely poor reaction range on units
Lack of specific unit commands (patrol, guard, attack area)
Some poorly balanced units (boats suck vs. subs, grenadiers are arguably the best infantry unit, dogs and (soviet) choppers are pretty useless outside single player, weak allied tanks, air and nukes is better than teleport and cruisers in most maps, Tesla Coils are more useful than AA guns)
Units tend to move closer than they need to when attacking
Mini-map is either too zoomed in and pixelated or too zoomed out and dark
Longbow choppers tend to change position between rounds
Can't manually target air targets with rocket soldiers
Can't click on air units (need to drag a box)
Some trial & error (barrel explosion hit detection, unit attack range oddities (certain angles give better range for infantry), later in-doors missions, final allied mission (Tanya isn't mentioned in the cutscene and all of a sudden you're thrown into an ambush where she needs to survive, surprise reinforcements, surpise nukes (CPU doesn't need a Silo in single player)
The CPU never retreats and rarely focuses fire
A bug allows submarine detection via the mini-map (use a destroyer or gunboat) or a transport (hold ctrl)