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PC | Strategy | Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Boxart for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars 66 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.75
  • SOUND: 4.50
  • CONTROL: 4.50
  • FUN FACTOR 4.50
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.6
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.3
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Hands-On: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Hands-On by World of Forms | 01/25/2007 | 12:18:06 PM PST

You (yes, YOU!) could rise to fame and glory within a rabid Command & Conquer community.

We got a chance to play the PC version of Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, and are happy to report some potentially ground-breaking RTS features. C&C 3 takes place in 2047, when Tiberium, the once miracle energy source, has become a crystalline cancer consuming the Earth. Kane has emerged once again with the forces of Nod. Yet now, a mysterious alien presence has also arrived and appears to have some connection to Tiberium.

A World Brimming with Shimmering Crystals and Bristling Weaponry

The first thing we noticed was the polished and detailed look of the game. Buildings have intricate details, with tiny animated parts like unfolding docking bays and articulated robotic arms. The Alien buildings ripple and sway with tentacles, with an ambiguous look-you're not quite sure if they are alive or just designed to appear organic. The effects are brilliant, with crackling beam weapons, billowing flame throwers, huge explosions, scintillating stealth skins, and arcing missile trails.

The campaign touts an ability to make strategic choices that affect future missions. Taking one objective over another will grant you a certain unit or ability. Often you can also choose the order in which to do missions. As the story unfolds, you'll fight all over the globe as all three factions, and learn more about Nod and the Aliens.

Some of our favorite units included the Buzzers, the Alien equivalent to infantry. They look like a floating school of featureless fish or knives that swarm out and shred enemy infantry in seconds. The Alien heavy walker is the Annihilator Tripod, which resembles the fearsome stilt-legged machine from the recent War of the Worlds movie. Nod's heavy walker, the Avatar Warmech, can actually rip weapon systems from certain friendly units, allowing you to customize them on the fly (even "borrowing" stealth capability!). Walker units topple over when destroyed, and each faction has an engineer unit with no innate attacks, but can climb into and repair fallen mechs. So you can steal your opponent's big machines after you kill them.


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