Command & Conquer has come to an end, IMO

[ShawnD1]

I bought C&C Generals a few weeks ago, and I've realized that this is the end of C&C. Why? Because Generals isn't C&C; it's Warcraft.

Just look at how the 3 games compare: C&C, Warcraft, Generals

1). Money
In Command & Conquer, money grows back. In the original Command & Conquer and Tiberian Sun, it was tiberium that grew near tiberium trees. In Red Alert, and Red Alert 2, it was ore that came from what look like drills.
In Warcraft (and Starcraft), money does not come back. Once you chop trees, get gold from a mine, collect oil, collect gas, or collect gems, it's gone forever.
In Generals, you collect resources that don't grow back.
Resource handling in Generals is like that of Warcraft

2). Plot
Command & Conquer has a character driven plot with nice videos to guide you along. The original was a battle between the GDI, a global anti-terrorism force, and NOD, a terrorist group led by a fanatic named Cain. Red Alert was about a scientist going back in time to stop the Nazis from ever coming to power, but it results in a shift of power that allows Stalin to lead a massive invasion of Europe. Red Alert 2 was about the new leader of the Soviet Union, Premier Romanov, invading the US shortly after getting a new advisor named Yuri. Yuri's Revenge is about both the allies and the soviets trying to stop Yuri after he separates himself from the soviets and tries to mind control the world with his psychic dominator devices.
Warcraft has a more generic "we're at war with ____" approach. Not much of a back-story is offered, but the game still has nice little subplots for missions.
Generals has nothing. The intro to the game just says something to the effect that world leaders fight out their problems. I'm not even sure if I would say it has subplots.
The story behind the Generals is definitely below the quality of Warcraft, but it's still closer to Warcraft than it is to Command & Conquer.

3). Building and Repairing
Command and Conquer doesn't have workers to build things. In Command & Conquer, you create buildings off of a construction yard, then you build off of those building; repairs are done without the help of any people. In Command & Conquer and Red Alert, all buildings had to be directly connected, and the building included space for moving between. In Red Alert 2, buildings can be built a set number of spaces away from another building, and moving space is not included in the size of the building.
In Warcraft, you have low level people build stuff. You can make something build very fast by having several people work on it, you can build stuff wherever you want to, and all repairs are done by the people who build stuff.
Generals has peon workers, just like Warcraft.

4). Fog of War
Command & Conquer doesn't have fog of war.
Warcraft does have fog of war (I think it can be turned off in options)
Generals has fog of war, and it cannot be turned off.
Yet again, Generals is more like Warcraft

5). Playing Forever
Command & Conquer games can be played for hours. I play Yuri's Revenge (coop) with a friend every once in a while, and a single map can take hours to play when playing against the computer on brutal settings. Money is limitless (remember that money grows back). A raiding party of 20 units can be stopped. There's only 1 type of currency, so funding stuff is never too complicated. Units do not require food, so you don't need to expand your base to create the ultimate offensive army.
Warcraft basically has a time limit - once you have chopped all of the trees, mined all the gold, collected all the oil/gas/crystals/whatever, you need to move. Also, the units in Warcraft are not as expendable as the ones in Command & Conquer, so getting attacked by a raiding party of 20 ogres means you're completely screwed. Farms only support a few units, so if you want that enormous army, you need to expand your base a significant amount before you can support it. I would never expect a round in Warcraft to be longer than 1 hour.
Generals is just too damn fast. I've played with my friend in both coop and PVP, and the match never lasts longer than 30 minutes. That isn't enough time for things to get interesting.
Time-wise, Generals is nothing like Command & Conquer.



I don't know what the next game with the Command & Conquer name will be like, but if it's anything like Generals, I won't be buying it. If I want to play a Warcraft-like game, I'll buy Warcraft.

[gambler2611]

You get 5 gold stars Shawn. You actually put down all the reason generals is bad.

Good stuff.

[pphalan]

Originally Posted by gambler2611

You get 5 gold stars Shawn. You actually put down all the reason generals is bad.

Good stuff.

I agree , generals was disapointing, I thought it a waste of my money.