| “ | An expert in covert operations, Colonel Burton can wreak havoc against enemy infantry of all types. Armed with a sniper rifle, knife and remote or timed demo charges, Colonel Burton’s stealth training allows him to move invisibly across almost any terrain. - Generals manual(src) |
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Colonel Burton is the USA Commando unit in Generals and Zero Hour.
Overview[]
The heavily armed Colonel Burton has extensive combat and infiltration skills. Like hero units from other combatants, only a single example of Burton from a particular faction can be deployed in the field at any one time. Despite being given a proper name, he is not a specific individual but is he is representative of small highly trained special forces units deployed in limited numbers on unconventional missions.
Multiple examples of Burton can be created only if the player has captured buildings from more than one USA faction. The same applies to the commando units of the GLA and China.
Abilities[]
| “ | They won't see it. - Burton on stabbing enemy infantry |
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Knife Attack | Col. Burton targets and kills an enemy infantry unit within range. Does not break stealth. |
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Timed Demo Charge | Col. Burton takes 5.5 seconds to set down a timed charge that takes 20 seconds to explode. |
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Remote Demo Charge | Col. Burton takes 5.5 seconds to set down a remotely detonated charge. |
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Detonate Charges | Col. Burton detonates his remote demo charges. |
Upgrades[]
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Chemical Suits | All USA infantry are more resistant to radiation and anthrax damage. | Purchasable at any Strategy center in Zero Hour for $1000 |
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Advanced Training | All USA units gain veterancy twice as fast. | Purchasable at any Strategy center for $1500 |
Game Unit[]
Strategy[]
| “ | No man can turn the tide of this battle, not even Colonel Burton. - Kwai after the player trains Colonel Burton in his challenge |
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Colonel Burton is highly destructive unit when used as either a scout or in direct action. His machine gun cuts rapidly through infantry, deals heavy damage to vehicles, and being a commando unit, he cannot be crushed. If garrisoned in a civilian structure, most units within his line of fire won't stand a chance unless a specialized garrison-clearing unit comes along and empties it. He can tear down buildings quickly with either his primary weapon or demolition charges. His knife attack is instantly lethal against infantry and does not generate a "unit lost" notification to the opposing player, allowing Burton to silently eliminate enemy sentries fairly rapidly. His ability to scale cliffs allows him to approach his targets in unexpected directions, potentially even infiltrating an enemy base and causing heavy damage once inside.
Counters[]
| “ | Colonel Burton? General, you should let HIM be the general. You are just sending him to an early death. - Kassad after the player trains Colonel Burton in his challenge |
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Although Colonel Burton is powerful, he is certainly not invincible. He breaks stealth to fire or plant charges, during which he is vulnerable to many vehicles at range. Stealth detection and other forms of anti-infantry measures such as Tunnel Networks, China's Land Mines, GLA's Demo Traps, Pathfinders can also neutralize him easily. Encounters between Burton and his GLA counterpart Jarmen Kell generally end in favor of whichever faction detected the other's hero first. His charges are not stealthed, and can be disarmed by a Dozer or Worker.
Tactics[]
Though his demolition ability is geared towards a sabotage role, most enemy bases are too well-monitored to permit infiltration. AI opponents do tend to build small supply-gathering secondary bases at distant supply docks, guarded by only a few automated defenses, and these can be more realistic targets for Burton, who is not very vulnerable to Patriots or Stinger Sites. He could use his silent knife attack against GLA workers to covertly destroy a GLA gathering operation. Chinese buildings are both mined and guarded by Gatling Cannons, making them much more dangerous to approach; if he managed to evade these defenses his rifle could make short work of the lightly armored Chinese supply trucks.
Instead, Burton is usually best used defensively to interdict advancing attack forces. Siege units, lightly armored and unable to fire at close range, make particularly good prey for his rifle. Enemy vehicles equipped with machine guns should be avoided unless they can be distracted. His knife was useful for stealthily killing infantry targets of opportunity caught in the open. Once a certain veterancy is achieved he will even be able to heal himself, and with careful management he is extremely versatile, especially against predictable AI opponents.
Campaign[]
| “ | Got a present for ya! - Burton planting demolition charges |
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A valuable asset to the Americans, Burton was employed in many of its campaigns against the GLA. During the GLA takeover of the toxin bunkers at the Aral Sea facility Burton is briefly seen planting a timed bomb to a toxin bunker when some GLA forces attempted to secure it, destroying the bunker and killing the GLA forces, but is not seen for the rest of the mission. He later assisted an American commander in several missions against the GLA, such as the rescue of three US pilots from the enemy's clutches in Yemen, defeating both the GLA and a rogue Chinese military commander in S-E Kazakhstan and helped in the assault on the last GLA stronghold in Akmola.
Later in the conflict, Burton helped destroy the GLA presence at the Somalian docks assisted by the US Navy fleet and teamed up with Black Lotus to destroy a GLA secret research facility at Mount Elbrus in Russia. In Iran, he also helped the American task forces to destroy the GLA's fundings by capturing the oil fields. His fate after the conflict remains unknown, as he is never seen beyond Black Gold.
Changelog[]
- Generals patch 1.07: Jarmen Kell, Black Lotus and Colonel Burton now have a special icon on the radar map
- Zero Hour patch 1.03: Fixed a bug that allowed Colonel Burton's knife attack to destroy aircraft.
Quotes[]
| “ | You want the best? Here I am. - When emerging from the Barracks |
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| “ | I've seen it all. - When selected |
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| “ | Keeping it cool. - When selected |
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| “ | I know the ropes. - When selected |
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| “ | Trained for perfection. - When selected |
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| “ | Right here. - When selected |
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| “ | What do you got? - When selected |
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| “ | Deadly efficient. - When selected |
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| “ | I'll be there. - When moving |
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| “ | Where we going? - When moving |
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| “ | Mhm. - When moving |
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| “ | I'll take anything you give me. - When moving |
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| “ | Let's get to the action. - When moving |
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| “ | That was left-handed! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Keep them coming! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Needs an attitude adjustment. - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Come on, punk! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | This is too easy! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Let's see what you got! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | I own him. - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Get me out of here! - Under fire |
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| “ | There's too many of them! - Under fire |
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| “ | Someone's gonna pay for this! - Under fire |
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| “ | Where's my backup? - Under fire |
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| “ | Get them off me! - Under fire |
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| “ | Yeah, this building should work for now. - When ordered to garrison building |
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| “ | Let's go in there. - When ordered to garrison building |
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| “ | Making a house call. - When ordered to garrison building |
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| “ | Easy climb. - When ordered to climb a cliff |
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| “ | No obstacles. - When ordered to climb a cliff |
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| “ | I'll climb that. - When ordered to climb a cliff |
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| “ | Nothing in my way. - When ordered to climb a cliff |
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| “ | Remote demo charge. - When ordered to use Remote Demo Charge |
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| “ | I'll use the remote demo charge. - When ordered to use Remote Demo Charge |
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| “ | The timed demo charge will work. - When ordered to use Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | Timed demo charge. - When ordered to use Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | I know just what it needs! - When planting a Remote/Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | It's about time! - When planting a Remote/Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | Just get me in close! - When planting a Remote/Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | Something to remember me by! - When planting a Remote/Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | Been saving this just for you! - When planting a Remote/Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | Got a present for ya! - When planting a Remote/Timed Demo Charge |
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| “ | They won't see it. - When ordered to use knife |
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| “ | Unsheathing. - When ordered to use knife |
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| “ | I won't be noticed. - When using the knife |
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| “ | Keep it quiet! - When using the knife |
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| “ | Sneaking up. - When using the knife |
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| “ | Just another day's work... - When using the knife |
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| “ | This is it. - When using the knife |
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Laser Burton[]
| “ | I have a new toy I'd like to share! - Laser Burton's unused quote |
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According to the Zero Hour sound files, General Townes was to have his own variant of Colonel Burton called Laser Burton. He was supposed to be equipped with a laser-powered variant of the OICW. The unit was cut at some point during development.
Cut Laser Burton quotes[]
| “ | Burton here, ready with laser. - When selected |
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| “ | I have a new toy I'd like to share! - When selected |
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| “ | You want the best? Here I am - with laser. - When selected |
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| “ | Turn on the lights! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Like ants under a magnifying glass! - When ordered to attack |
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| “ | Take your last breath. - When ordered to attack |
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Trivia[]
- Burton's pauses momentarily to stab with his combat knife; even if his target is in motion, he or she will be instantly killed as soon as the stabbing animation completes, no matter how far the person has moved.
- Colonel Burton might be based on stereotypical military action heroes from American pop culture films, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger starring as John Matrix in the film Commando.
- The manual of C&C: Generals states that Burton is armed with a sniper rifle, further reinforced by the fact that his weapon is called 'BurtonSniperRifle' within game coding. However, in-game he uses a much shorter-ranged and fast-firing rifle, However the Burton Sniper Rifle is restored in the Zero Hour mod Shockwave only available for General Ironside (a.k.a. USA Armor General in the Mod).
- Judging from in-game pictures, Colonel Burton appears to be armed with an OICW, whilst the cameo image shown here suggests his use of an XM214 Microgun. A model of Colonel Burton, not used probably because he would have been seen as out of place with his high detail compared to all other units, carried what appears to be a MP5, this combination suggesting he has a very wide arsenal at his disposal.
- He is similar to Tanya and the First Tiberium War era Commando, due to his methods of attacking (powerful rifle and demo charges) and his attitude. He is however cloaked, unlike the aforementioned two.
- Burton's lines "Keep them coming", "That was left-handed", and "Got a present for ya!" are a reference to those of the original Command & Conquer Commando.
- Colonel Burton was supposed to have a high detailed model with texture version in Zero Hour, but it was removed for unknown reasons; only the model and texture still remain in the Zero Hour game files.
- In earlier builds of Zero Hour, there was an unusual bug that allowed Colonel Burton to use his knife against grounded aircraft. However, this has been fixed since patch version 1.03.[1]
- Burton is voiced by Peter Jessop.
Gallery[]
Climbing a cliff
German icon
Unused Detailed Model of Burton
See also[]
- Jarmen Kell, GLA commando
- Black Lotus, Chinese commando
- Super Lotus, Shin Fai's commando
References[]
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 United States of America Generals Arsenal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 General Leang Arsenal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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