14 DAY TRIAL // Strategy games have gained their own identity, particularly when it comes to the iconic franchises that represent the genre. Series like StarCraft, Age of Empires or Command & Conquer have set the benchmark for all other strategy games.
Now, as the latest title in the C&C universe, Red Alert 3, is preparing to receive an expansion, entitled Uprising, Gavin Simon, the designer of the game, talked with IGN and detailed a few things about the brand new feature that would make its appearance in this standalone expansion, entitled Commander's Challenge.
“Commander's Challenge takes the player through a series of 50 nonlinear missions across the globe,” says Simon. “Each mission provides a unique scenario which encourages the player to explore new strategies. The player starts with a dozen or so units per faction comprising a complete, low-tech combat chain. Every mission unlocks a new unit and branches into more missions. Some of the missions we included put the player in these crazy scenarios where we let our imagination run a little wild. You will encounter everything from raining satellites to gigantic bears and an entire army of Yurikos.”
If that doesn't get you interested then you might want to play this new mode for the story, as it will place the player in the shoes of an operative of the FutureTech Corporation, who will be stealing precious information about all the factions that are engaged in war, the Allies, the Soviets and the Empire of the Rising Sun. The 50 missions, says Simon, will easily take an average Red Alert 3 player 30 hours to complete, coupled with the four new single-player campaigns, guaranteeing a great value of entertainment.
Cinematic cutscenes will also be present, in which famous actors like Ric Flair or Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, will be interacting with the player. But if the 50 missions may seem a bit too numerous, the main ones are about twelve in number, guaranteeing a swift play in order to see the end of the story.
All in all, Commander's Challenge will surely be something that will attract a lot of people, besides the normal single-player campaigns. Until March, when this standalone expansion will arrive across online content distribution networks as a digital download, we'll just have to wait and keep ourselves entertained with the regular version of Red Alert 3.