(*) Multiplayer “skirmish” mode for up to 4 players (originally). The remaster can accommodate 8 players.
The images are from the 1997 “Gold” version. The original DOS edition displayed a lower resolution (320 × 200) and offered a slightly different interface.
Ah… Command and Conquer, brilliant. 9/10!
That was my draught. I still replayed it to refine my in-depth analysis. I first deducted a point for the Nod campaign, then removed a second point for the final mission of the Nod campaign. If you don’t believe me, try it yourself, then come back and tell me if you had a good time.
To begin, a brief introduction. Command and Conquer is an essential pioneer. I’m not talking about its game concept (that honour belongs to Dune 2), but rather its immeasurable contribution to hairstyle trends. Indeed, Joe Kucan (Kane) was the first personality to popularise the “goatee and shaved head” combination, before Fabien Barthez and Edward Norton!
The plot takes place at the end of the twentieth century. A conflict erupts between two factions, the GDI (Global Defence Initiative), the equivalent of UN peacekeepers; and the Brotherhood of Nod, a quasi-terrorist group (with incredible leverage in the London Gold Exchange), led by a charismatic and megalomaniacal guru. Choose your side, let it rip, end of plot.
The game’s immense success is partly explained by its music, but also by the care given to presentation: from the famous video briefings, performed by “actors” (or development team members), to the pre-rendered cutscenes as we liked to call them, not forgetting the countless in-game animations that breathe unique character (the way buildings unfold during construction, soldiers doing press-ups whilst awaiting orders…).
[Did he call me archaic? – Ed.]
The gameplay system is practically identical to Dune 2 (from the same studio), where you built a base, collected a resource (spice), to exchange for credits, with which you raised an army. Command and Conquer’s emblematic resource is Tiberium, a substance introduced to Earth by a meteorite strike (right on Paris City Hall, supposedly).
One obvious difference from its predecessor, which featured flat, desert landscapes, is the uneven environments, forcing units to follow roads or circumvent obstacles, revealing glaring shortcomings in pathfinding.
Occasionally, a mission assigns you only predefined troops, without base building or permission to call reinforcements. While these sequences certainly add variety, they allow little room for manoeuvre, and the random resolution of engagements (against certain pillocks with grenades…) will make you lose your rag more than once.
Technically, I’m not sure what greatly separates it from Dune 2, apart from the ability to select multiple units simultaneously by drawing a box with the cursor, and to save groups that can be summoned at the press of a key. But if I’m not mistaken, this innovation already existed in Warcraft: Orcs and Humans (1994). This brings me to the grievances…
Firstly, the artificial intelligence is laughable. You observe soldiers from both sides letting themselves be shot at (or run over by a vehicle) without reacting. Moreover, resource collectors must be constantly monitored. If you send them to the other end of the map, they’ll preferably take a detour to visit the enemy base. And special mention to the mobile artillery pieces that stubbornly insist on attacking their targets at point-blank range.
Then, I could quibble about the lack of balance, but it’s a flaw common to almost all games of this genre. For example, tank cannon fire has practically no effect on infantry (tip in passing: “Alt + left click” to run them over). Besides, I used the same tactic throughout the GDI campaign: five engineers stuffed into an armoured vehicle, dispatched to the middle of the enemy base, accompanied by a squadron of tanks. These chaps have the power to instantly capture vital structures (construction yard, refinery, factory, barracks). Rather too easy.
By the way, the difficulty proves inconsistent. Generally, the computer doesn’t attack enough and always follows the same path. It’s therefore easy to outwit it the second time. But in certain missions (Nod’s eighth, not entirely at random), moving a scout in the wrong direction results in an early and sudden attack, practically insurmountable (about fifteen vehicles against two, just as I had settled in). Furthermore, mission endings sometimes drag on unnecessarily because we’re required to flush out and destroy every last enemy soldier or building, not always accessible.
However, the GDI campaign remains enjoyable overall, apart from these infiltration missions. Notably, the first one where we’re provided with a commando (the super soldier who looks like Rambo). It took me time to grasp the rather counter-intuitive objective, which was to drop him by helicopter right next to an anti-aircraft battery!
Things went downhill on the Nod side, where most missions adopt the infiltration pattern, without a base. You see, Command and Conquer isn’t designed as an action game. The lack of precision, speed, and visibility severely hampers it when trying to imitate Cannon Fodder or Syndicate (or even Desert Strike, imagine what that would be like with fog of war). Since you don’t know the terrain, position, or quality of enemy forces, you’re forced to save every thirty seconds, reloading each time you take a wrong turn. I’ve nothing against exploring unknown terrain in a strategy game, as long as we’re allowed to reconstitute our troops. As presented, I don’t understand the point.
As for Nod’s final mission, utterly despicable. The map is divided by an impassable river. You must build a base (and refinery) on each side, as regenerative resources are located on both banks. The problem is that half the time, your collectors will try to deliver their cargo to the wrong refinery on the other side of the river and stop moving. You’ll be forced to “unstuck” them manually, constantly.
To make matters worse, the computer blatantly cheats in this mission, rebuilding its guard towers after its base is destroyed. This mission enraged me to the point of eventually resorting to the contemptible sandbag technique…
I agree, Command and Conquer is a major title that has enormously influenced the video game industry. While it didn’t invent the genre, it undeniably popularised it, and it’s no wonder it was so widely copied (Krush Kill ‘n’ Destroy and Dark Reign, among many others). However, this shouldn’t overshadow real deficiencies in unit behaviour or mission design, which I had largely overlooked in my youth.
Useless anecdote of the day: in the French version, Colonel Sheppard’s voice actor was replaced in the twelfth mission.
The Abandonware-France version (Gold edition) works quite well on Windows 11. I still encountered some crashes during the Nod campaign and noticed a minor display bug in high resolution. I recommend choosing the minimum resolution (640 × 400). At the launcher stage, click on “Game Options” and disable window mode. This version includes console-exclusive missions (the ones with dinosaurs).
A remaster is available on Steam. It also contains the spin-off game, Red Alert (with Stalin), as well as three expansion packs (the ones with giant ants).
As you all know, Command and Conquer has had a slew of sequels and spin-offs. I’ll mainly remember Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (PC, 1999), Command & Conquer: Generals (2003), and its brilliant expansion: Zero Hour (General Laser!). For me, the series began declining from Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007), despite Michael Ironside’s presence.
