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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Solatar on May 01, 2009, 01:43:07 pm

Title: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 01, 2009, 01:43:07 pm
I think I've sucked every bit of fun I can find out of CnC Generals and I'm looking to buy one of the next Command and Conquer titles. Tiberium Wars is a bit cheaper than Red Alert 3; and Red Alert 3 looks a bit quirky. I guess I'm looking for a few opinions on which one is better.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: General Battuta on May 01, 2009, 01:44:02 pm
Tiberium Wars by miles.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: CP5670 on May 01, 2009, 02:28:55 pm
Yeah, C&C3 is a much better game in numerous respects. The Kane's Wrath expansion has several issues though.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 01, 2009, 04:10:28 pm
Red Alert 3 is for 10 year olds who want to see bears parachute out of airplanes.

Buy C&C3, no argument.

(Can we get a mod to lock this already?  It's no contest.)
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 01, 2009, 04:39:48 pm
I went ahead and bought CnC3.

Actually it was such things as the armored bears that turned me off...Red Alert 2 was ALMOST crossing the silliness line, but it was enjoyable. I had a feeling that Red Alert 3 might be crossing the line and you guys confirmed it.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: CP5670 on May 01, 2009, 05:36:53 pm
The comedy atmosphere was a design choice and isn't the issue. The problem is that the basic gameplay has been dumbed down from C&C3 in many places and there are a lot of new glitches with the individual unit AI and the menu interface. Only one of the three singleplayer campaigns is hard enough to be interesting, and the skirmish mode has fewer features and a weaker computer AI than C&C3.

The unit and side balance also needed work when I played it, but EA typically takes a few patches to get that right, so that might have changed since then.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: General Battuta on May 01, 2009, 05:46:08 pm
All this is correct. For instance, C&C3 had a number of interesting unit upgrades; Red Alert 3 has none.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 01, 2009, 05:55:59 pm
That, and power suited zone-troopers with gauss rifles just kick that much more ass than a guy with a dinky little SMG.:p
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Pred the Penguin on May 01, 2009, 07:43:01 pm
CnC3 is definitely more interesting in the long run. RA3 might give you laugh, but don't expect it to last longer than a few months.
Also you might wanna check out the mods they're making for CnC3.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: General Battuta on May 01, 2009, 08:06:08 pm
That, and power suited zone-troopers with gauss rifles just kick that much more ass than a guy with a dinky little SMG.:p

The Zone Troopers were just fantastic. I loved those guys so much.

That game had great atmosphere all in all. No matter who you played you felt really powerful.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: MP-Ryan on May 01, 2009, 09:09:55 pm
I have Generals sitting on my desk and I haven't played it for more than 20 minutes of the tutorial.  Guess I'm going to have to try it sometime soon =)
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: General Battuta on May 01, 2009, 09:16:29 pm
Generals was decent, but I thought Tiberium Wars was a real step up in both storyline and gameplay.

Generals also had this odd issue where the USA was really, really powerful. Realistic, perhaps, but not balanced.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: IceFire on May 01, 2009, 11:09:27 pm
I always felt that Generals did a fantastic job of taking three very different approaches to balance and making it work.  Not quite as good as StarCraft but thats a whole other level.  The USA side was indeed very powerful on a unit to unit basis but they could easily be overwhelmed by Chineese numerical superiority or cleverly defeated by using more asymmetric tactics when playing as the GLA.

Tiberium Wars was quite good...had a few issues here and there but well worth it.  Its definitely an epic storyline and good fun.  RA3 was fun...but its somewhat simplified in too many ways I think.  I like some of it...but it feels like I've already done everything I can do with it whereas C&C3 is much more epic and rolling over a cloaked NOD base with a wave of Mammoth tanks backed up by Titans and Firehawks never gets old :D
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Pred the Penguin on May 02, 2009, 02:10:28 am
Generals was decent, but I thought Tiberium Wars was a real step up in both storyline and gameplay.

Generals also had this odd issue where the USA was really, really powerful. Realistic, perhaps, but not balanced.
But the USA also had a lot of weaknesess in Generals. It actually very well balanced.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Vidmaster on May 02, 2009, 06:06:46 am
I disliked Generals the most of all the C&C Games.

On the other hand, I only really (=finished) liked the very first.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 02, 2009, 07:41:54 am
Generals was decent, but I thought Tiberium Wars was a real step up in both storyline and gameplay.

Generals also had this odd issue where the USA was really, really powerful. Realistic, perhaps, but not balanced.
But the USA also had a lot of weaknesess in Generals. It actually very well balanced.

For instance air units are VERY vulnerable to concentrated AA fire, and can get pretty expensive to replace. 25%or more losses on Raptor assaults can get prohibitively expensive very quickly.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Titan on May 02, 2009, 09:30:09 am
Get Supreme Commander. I've played both, and SupCom beats CnC by miles.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: General Battuta on May 02, 2009, 09:34:45 am
Ooooh, you've opened a can of worms, Titan.

SupCom has its charms, but C&C is faster-paced and has a better plot. You're not going to spend hours on a single game, and your units will at least talk to you -- but, on the other hand, you'll never pull off the kind of madly grand strategy possible in SupCom.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Titan on May 02, 2009, 09:52:07 am
I never said that Supcom was a better game. I just prefer supcom. The two games are different genres. I was just saying given the choice, I would buy supcom.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: CP5670 on May 02, 2009, 02:13:13 pm
I never played SupCom but love the original TA, and most people who have played both say that TA is a far better game.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Titan on May 02, 2009, 04:35:04 pm
Really? Is TA shareware yet?
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: InsaneOne on May 02, 2009, 07:45:04 pm
Well there's always the Spring project which is practically TA
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: SpardaSon21 on May 02, 2009, 08:40:20 pm
TA>SupCom.  SupCom's scale was just too big for its own damn good.  You didn't have much of a chance to look at the pretty explosions due to the game's scale, and a lot of the unit variety that TA had got lost.  SupCom has no construction planes to build Big Berthas on tall ridges, no mountain-climbing Kbots with radar cloakers for sneak assaults, no hovercraft facilities, plus it was just too serious.  It never had TA's "blow sh*t up for fun" mentality.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 02, 2009, 10:43:27 pm
You say this:
Quote from: Titan
I never said that Supcom was a better game.
And I look back at this:
Quote from: Titan, 22 minutes earlier
I've played both, and SupCom beats CnC by miles.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 02, 2009, 11:27:27 pm
Smells like an opinion to me. :D
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Titan on May 03, 2009, 03:43:00 pm
Smells like an opinion to me. :D

So does everything else I say.

I'm thinking of buying CnC The First Decade. (I just said supcom beats it. Didn't say it wasn't good). I have around 100 dollars in gift cards for a local game store.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 03, 2009, 04:06:37 pm
How much is the whole thing?  I was thinking about getting that.

If it's less than $80, I'd get it.  It comes with the first one, the expansion to the first one, Tiberian Sun (my personal favorite), Firestorm, Read Alert, expansion, Red Alert 2, expansion, Renegade, and Generals (I think I might be missing one there).
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: CP5670 on May 03, 2009, 05:04:31 pm
I still think the first C&C was the best of the series for its time, although C&C3 with the latest patch is very good too.

RA1 was a great mod platform and I spent much more time with it than any of the other games, but the base game had a lot of balance issues, looking back at it now. TS had excellent online gameplay, but I thought the story wasn't as good as the first C&C and the lousy voxel engine was widely criticized back then.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 03, 2009, 08:42:40 pm
I prefer the environment of TS to any of the others.  Story goes to TW, best gameplay to TS for me, and most fun to RA2.  I always have like Renegade though.  I mean, really, Command and Conquer FPS?  Hell yeah!
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 03, 2009, 11:11:44 pm
How much is the whole thing?  I was thinking about getting that.

If it's less than $80, I'd get it.  It comes with the first one, the expansion to the first one, Tiberian Sun (my personal favorite), Firestorm, Read Alert, expansion, Red Alert 2, expansion, Renegade, and Generals (I think I might be missing one there).

I picked up the First Decade for around $30 at Best Buy (not the best prices either) awhile back. Comes with all the games + all the expansions up until Generals: Zero Hour. If you see it for $80 USD you're overpaying quite a bit.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 04, 2009, 08:41:43 pm
I just said if it's less than that, 'cuz that's what I would pay at a maximum.  Those games are that good.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 04, 2009, 09:31:44 pm
Well, for $30 you can't go wrong with it. :D

I first played TS when I got the pack with all of them. Totally worth it.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: blackhole on May 05, 2009, 01:53:11 am
World of Goo is amazing.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Solatar on May 07, 2009, 03:53:03 pm
*bump*

I just bought a copy of the First Decade for a friend in anticipation of an upcoming LAN party we're having and it only cost me $20 at Target.

Just thought I'd let Scotty and anybody interested that it's cheap. :D

You can also find Command and Conquer and Red Alert on EA's website for free.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Kosh on May 08, 2009, 08:51:01 pm
I'd also recommend Rise of Nations. I played it several years ago, but it was quite interesting.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Scotty on May 08, 2009, 08:54:22 pm
Eh, that one is too engaged in micromanaging each and everysingle unit, building, and speck of resource you can get.  It makes me feel like the thing is under a microscope.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: eliex on May 08, 2009, 09:09:57 pm
If you want a micro-intensive game, try out Relic's Dawn of War II. Every squad or unit counts; and to be fair, creates the sheer tension and enjoyment of the game.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Titan on May 09, 2009, 03:29:58 pm
Sounds good.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Grizzly on May 15, 2009, 04:30:34 am
If you want a micro-intensive game, try out Relic's Dawn of War II. Every squad or unit counts; and to be fair, creates the sheer tension and enjoyment of the game.

Isn't that the case in Ground Control (which is avaible for a staggering price of $0 at fileplanet) as well?

World in Conflict is by the way, also a very good strategy game.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: Vidmaster on May 15, 2009, 09:58:57 am
Yes. Ground Control was the clear inspiration.
Brilliant game.

But actually, it isn't that micro-managment demanding at all, it's more about loadout and tactics.
Title: Re: Trying to decide on a game
Post by: darkone on May 19, 2009, 09:26:34 am
I bought RA3 a few months back and haven't really played it yet but from the 1-2 missions I played it seemed good. I have noticed Moddb has a few mods popping up and I thought the gameplay was decent and you get to see some nice lookin women in the cutscenes :)