The original Command and Conquer game is a real time strategy game of war and is the first game in a series of C&C games that were published. You can play as the GDI forces under the command of Brigadier General Mark Jamison Shepard or as a terrorist group known as the Brotherhood of Nod with a renegade named Kane calling the shots. The resource in this game is Tiberium, which you collect with harvesters and use to build units and structures.
On a normal setting Command and Conquer is easy to learn. As the missions progress more aspects of the game are introduced, producing a scaled approach that only gets slightly more complicated as the game goes on.
The hardest thing for me to learn, or really memorize, was the keyboard shortcuts. I remembered how to assign units to number keys (Ctrl + number key) but in the early mission there is no mini map, so sometimes when I scrolled back to my base to pick up more units my other units would be lost. I had to I randomly scroll around the map until I found them again. Sometimes that was not very good since they often came under attack and died before I could find them.
Since there isn’t a manual to consult the best thing to do is to look at the key bindings before starting and either memorize or jot down your favorites. If I have a number key assigned to a group of units that I’ve lost I can select them using the number key and then press the home key to center the camera on them.
The other thing that trips my up is that you left-click to move your units to a location, not right-click like most games today do. That setting can be changed in the key bindings.
Command & Conquer GDI Missions
The first mission is easy and slips you into the basics. The only Buildings you can construct are a Power Plant and a Barracks, and the only units you can build are Minigunners. During the first mission you are also supplied with a few armored vehicles but once they are destroyed you can’t replace them. Completing the mission of wiping out the NOD forces and establishing a beachhead is easy and the mission can be completed in less than five minutes.
In the second mission you need to take out a NOD refinery and base and the game introduces you to repairing Buildings and Engineers, whose primary use is to capture enemy buildings. The game continues to progress with more sophisticated buildings and units, but introduces them slowly so you can thoroughly learn them before progressing to another mission with more building type, units, and strategies.
Command & Conquer Brotherhood Of Nod Missions
The first Nod mission introduces you to Seth and he gives you the assignment to eliminate Nikoomba. The same as the first GDI mission all you have is a few armored vehicles and minigunners, although you have no base to work from. This mission is just as easy to learn as the first GDI mission, simply move your units around until you find the objective and eliminate him. This mission took me over 10 minutes to complete simply because I didn’t recognize Nikoomba when he came out of hiding, I expected him to be heavily guarded rather than not being guarded at all. Once you kill him the mission is complete.
If you choose Egypt as your second mission you’ll be moving in with what Nod considers “expendable” troops to establish a base. Like the GDI missions, the build menu is on the right, easy to learn and very easy to use.
Red Alert Allied Missions
It’s worth mentioning that I love the soundtrack in this game, I think it’s the best out of the entire C&C series.
The Red Alert edition is a little harder to learn. Although it introduces you to units and buildings in a gradual manner the beginning strategy is a little different. In the first mission you need to rescue Einstein plus your agent, Tanya, must also survive. This gives you a little more to focus on and it makes it a little tougher to learn since you need to focus on keeping certain units, like Tanya, alive.
Mission 2 is a little harder but still easy. The screen layout is the same with the build options on the right side. In this mission you have a base to work from plus a few additional buildings when compared to the original C&C, like Sandbags and Pillboxes. You also have Medics available for healing injured units. Select the Medic then click on the unit you want to heal. Easy.
Other “Expresso Shots” you might like:
Red Alert Russian Missions
Stalin is the leader of Russia and the first mission is to completely destroy a town and everyone in it. Once again, very easy to learn and master.
What Is Included In Command And Conquer Remastered
Both the first version of Command & Conquer and the first version of Red Alert come in the remastered edition. This edition gives you the ability to switch back and forth between the old graphics and new with the space bar, which is fun to see the contrast but the newer graphics are obviously much better. It also adds some content from the console version that was not available in the original C&C game.
The Remastered edition also has bonus features like unedited versions of some of the cut scenes and some of them are pretty funny. It also includes all the expansion packs for these two games and a remastered soundtrack.
Command & Conquer Remastered Review
Both games are fun to play, with the combined two games giving you four factions to play. The ability to change the screen resolution back and forth between what the original graphics were and the new ones with the space bar is fun but after a few times the novelty wears off. This game is exactly what’s needed if you miss playing older games like this
The gameplay is almost identical to the original, so if there was a bug or AI strategies that you didn’t like in the original version, then the chances are high that they will still be there. This is a remastered version, not one that is overhauled to meet the standards of current AI performance.
As I mentioned above there are bonus features like unedited cutscenes that unlock as you progress through the game missions, like the first version of the Hell March soundtrack and a recreation of the DOS sequence for installing Red Alert.
The new versions allow you to zoom in and out and create custom maps and a much easier mission selection screen that keeps track of the missions you’ve already undertaken, plus it shows you what the difficulty level was. Aside from the graphics the thing you’ll notice the most is how much easier the game is to play and navigate.
Another great feature is the option screen for both games. For instance, you can stick with the legacy version of health bars, which are displayed when a unit is selected, or go with the modern version and either display health bars when a unit or building is damaged, or have it displayed all the time.
Probably my favorite feature is the attack/move button. The legacy version selects units as well as gives commands, like move orders, with a left mouse click. The modern version allows you to use the left mouse click to select units and a right mouse click issue orders, like a movement order. This is one I turned on immediately after I found it.
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Option settings for both games are independent of each other, so if you have a favorite setting you’ll need to duplicate it in the other version of the game.