Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Also called RA3, Red Alert 3 is the newest installment of the Red Alert series.

Plot
The sequel to the previous Red Alert game, Red Alert 3 deals with the conflict between the three main superpowers and their vie for world power on Earth. The Soviets, Allies, and the newest faction, The Empire of the Rising Sun, duke it out for total control of the world, depending on the faction.

The USSR is on the verge of collapse. Aware of their failing Empire, Soviet leaders devise a cunning plan to travel back in time and assassinate the Allies' top scientist, RA2:Albert Einstein, who helped them to win the war. The plan is a success, or so the Soviets think. By killing Einstein, the Allies are on verg of defeat, and western Europe is about to fall to the Soviets. However, just before Soviet victory, the USSR is attacked by a new threat, the Empire of the Rising Sun. As most of the Soviet divisions are in Europe pushing the Allies west, the Empire starts to conquer eastern Russia easily. With none of the countries in possession of nuclear weapons, the three factions start to fight each other for control of the world.

The Allied hero Tanya is still present, but others such as Boris and Yuri are replaced by Yuriko and Natasha.

Features
Here are the newest features in Red Alert 3.

Structures
One of the new features in RA3 allows structures to be deployed over water. Lots of units are amphibious.

Co-Commander
Another feature in Red Alert 3 is where you can have a Co-Commander to do all your hard work. There are several orders you can give to him or her, such as:


 * Strike Target
 * The Co-Commander will immediately send available forces to deal with the targeted unit/structure.
 * Take Position
 * The Co-Commander will immediately send available forces to the indicated location. These forces will only stay there for a short while after the position has been secured.
 * Plan Attack
 * The Co-Commander will begin to build up forces to attack the unit/structure. Should there already be enough forces, the co-commander will send the forces there immediately. This continues until the unit/structure is destroyed.
 * Keep Command
 * The Co-Commander will fend for himself.
 * Co-Commander Strike
 * Co-Commander strikes appear halfway through the missions and have a short decription of what they will do when activated.
 * To view the description, click on the Co-commander strike. The activate button will also appear under the description.

The first four orders, Strike Target, Take Position, Plan Attack and Keep Command can be found in the top-left hand corner of the screen. Beside this, there is a portrait of the co-commander and a status bar below. The status bar gives information on what the co-commander is doing.

Note: In all the campaigns, the Co-Commander will always be assigned the colour green and the player is always assigned a Co-Commander. Also, if the Co-Commander's army has been destroyed, you can not command them and the mission will increase in difficulty.

Allied Characters
Ackerman: The President of the United States of America that dislikes communists of all kinds. He is rumored to be a robot spy.

Bingham: The true Supreme Leader of the Allies.

Tanya: The famed commando of the previous two wars.

Eva: The intel officer for the Allied forces that replaces Lee. Also dates the commander after the war.

Giles: Enemy of Zhana, much due to both Giles and Zhana often fight for the sky. Also made fun of the Soviet commander because the USSR could'nt tell between thier allies and their enemies.

Warren: Assisted the Commander during the war.

Lissette: She was mostly in control of the Allied Navy.

Imperial Characters
Emperor Yoshiro: Leader of the Empire of the Rising Sun, he believes that it is his divine right to rule the world.

Tatsu: Crown Prince of the Empire and a more modern thinker than his father, Emperor Yoshiro.

Suki: The Empire's intel officer.

Yuriko: The Empire's female commando who posses powerful physic power. She can defeat most enemies in one on one combat.

Naomi: Navy-loving admiral that was born on a battleship. Her Imperial fleet was the scourge of the seas during the war.

Shinzo: Coolest Empire commander in the game. Much cooler in Uprising.

Kenji: Headstrong commander who often claims he will have to protect the Commander (The Player).

Soviet Characters
Cherdenko: The New Premier of Russia that killed Einstein in the past.

Krukov: A new Soviet general that like Cherdenko and Gregor, is from another Timeline.

Natasha: New female commando of the USSR, and a true rival of Tanya. She is an expert marksmanship and is known for her ruthlessness on the battlefield.

Dasha: New intelligence officer replacing Zofia.

Gregor: Scientist that defects to the Allies in the Allied Campaign. Hates time travel because he altered the Time-Space Continuum and created the Empire of the Rising Sun.

Moskvin: A young Commander that helps the Soviet Commander defeat both Yoshiro and Ackerman.

Oleg: A tank commander that now commands the Soviet's most powerful tank divisions.

Zhana: Airforce-loving female that is a true rival to Giles because both of them fight to control the skies.

Units
List of Units in Red Alert 3

Gameplay
Almost all structures can now be built offshore, out of reach of some enemy units.

Red Alert 3 retains the core RTS mechanics of the Command & Conquer series. Warring factions harvest resources using vulnerable collectors and then use those resources to construct military bases and forces on-site. Structures form a shallow but wide tech tree with a variety of units and elusive superweapons. Weapon types are specialized to the point where a rifleman can withstand direct hits from an anti-tank cannon. Red Alert 3's major refinements are the addition of the Empire of the Rising Sun to the factions of the sub-series, similar to what Tiberium Wars did with the Scrin faction, a co-operative campaign, and expanded naval warfare.

The "single-player" campaign is now fully co-operative. Each mission is played alongside an ally. When played online, this is another human player. If played offline one of several computer-controlled characters acts as the player's ally. Teams share income and generally start with the same forces. Computerized characters can be given extremely simple commands, such as an order to take a specific position or to strike a specific target. The campaign has nine missions for each side. Each side's plotlines are mutually exclusive, unlike Tiberium Wars and its preceding and following expansion packs, but like the rest of the Red Alert series.

Naval warfare is emphasized as another front. Executive producer Chris Corry has stated that many units are now amphibious, trading effectiveness for increased flexibility. Buildings and entire bases can be constructed on water, save for such things as ground unit production facilities,[13] and players who "ignore the ocean [are] likely forfeiting a significant part of their potential economy to their opponents." Further stressing this is the fact that, despite some campaign maps being entirely land based, all multiplayer maps have significant bodies of water in them.

The use of naval units and various unit abilities also helped stop players from sticking to one unit and constructing large amounts of (or spamming) them early game.[citation needed] This was a standard strategy for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars/Kane's Wrath, where players would try to build more of one unit faster than their opponent. Manually controlled secondary abilities are common to each and every unit in the game. How each ability is employed varies: some are toggled on or off, others are targeted, and still others are triggered the instant one presses the button. An Imperial constructor might be able to deploy once at a specified location, a Soviet conscript can switch weapons at will, or an Allied artillery piece can engage its shields with a button press but with a cooldown that requires a period of time to pass before the ability can be activated again are such examples of secondary abilities. All abilities are bound to the same key. The game also features experience points that are used to unlock upgrades to unit types as well as "commander abilities" used to call in air strikes, recon sweeps, magnetic satellite beams, etc.. Commander abilities have no resource costs but have significant cooldown periods.

Ore fields as resource sites have been removed. These originated in the first Red Alert as a functionally identical equivalent to tiberium, in C&C similar to a strip mine. Gameplay mechanics haven't changed a great deal since fields have been replaced with stationary ore mines - although this does impact on strategic ore-refinery placement and covert refining to an extent.

Tutorial
This Tutorial feature is available to those who are beginners at RA3. A Tsunami Tank, Hammer Tank and Guardian Tank made a truce to teach the Commander about the basics like simple commands, base building, special abilities, and Co-Commanders. During the whole tutorial the Tsunami Tank was shooting at the Hammer Tank for saying stupid things. At the end of the Turorial, the Hammer Tank driver switches to an Apocalypse Tank and was last seen firing at the Tsunami Tank for assualting him.

Premier Edition
Premier Edition is a limited edition of Red Alert 3. The new package includes original soundtrack, posters of stars casted in the Motion Video, and a key for future Command & Conquer beta games.

Campaigns
Usually the Campaign order is Soviet then Allies and Finally Imperial but do any order you wish.

Expect very unique structures and units like the unique unit the Shogun Executioner and the unique structure called the MT Rushmore superweapon.

Imperial Campaign
The Imperial Campaign is about how the Commander conquers earth and become Supreme Shogun. In this Campaign you will also command unique units and Structures like the Black Tortoise and the Shogun Executioner. Also expect heavy foes like the Apocalypse tank to come up against you in this campaign. What is worst expect to fight the Soviet and Allied Alliance which includes Dreadnoughts and Aircraft Carriers up against you.

Also Ackerman is a cyborg spy programmed to spy on the Allies.

Soviet Campaign
In this campaign the USSR will not make a Allied and Soviet Alliance and will destroy both the Allies and the Empire without any help. Also expect the Commander become general and later on Premier and the USSR demonstrated the definition of betray one another.

Allied Campaign
The Allied campaign was about how the Allies win the war and how a commander become hero to the Allies. Also in this campaign the Commander will team up with Moskvin and Zhana in several missions.

Also, expect to see that Ackerman had to be removed much due to his Doomsday Roosevelt Superweapon and Gregor joined the Allies.

Endings
Caution! May Contain Spoilers!

Imperial Ending
The Empire of the Rising Sun campaign ends with an King Oni cutting down the Allied Forces Flag with its lasers and then putting an Imperial Flag in its place. Yoshiro and his son grants the rank of Supreme Shogun to the Commander, while Suki is out at Hawaii and asks the Commander to join her.

Soviet Ending
The USSR ending is where the USSR Commander takes control of the USSR and annihilates both the Empire and the Allies. The Statue of Liberty is destroyed and replaced with a statue of Lenin. The Commander like in RA1 and RA2, gains the rank of Premier. Dasha gives a toast to the Commander and then steps onto the balcony to the cheering crowd outside the Kremlin.

Allied Ending
The Allied Campaign ends with the Statue of Lenin toppling and the Soviet leaders arrested and put in cryo prison. Tanya and Eva dress up in black and white respectively, wanting to date the Commander. This places the Commander in a rather interesting situation.

Reference
Red Alert 3 Main Website

CNC Main Page