Red Alert 3 Preview: Overview

Last year, Electronic Arts delivered real-time strategy fans the long-awaited sequel Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, which was the first true sequel for the Tiberian C&C series since 1999. Now EA is poised to launch a major sequel for another C&C series: Red Alert.

Last month EA held its Red Alert 3 Community Summit event at its EA Los Angeles headquarters and invited members of the C&C community as well as the media to see the game up close (much of the information was embargoed until E3 2008 this week). Even better, we were also given the opportunity to play the pre-beta multiplayer and skirmish modes on high-powered Dell XPS desktops for hours on end. Red Alert 3 will be first title in the C&C sub-series since Yuri's Revenge in 2001. And from the looks of Red Alert 3 so far, it will be worth the wait.

For those that don't remember, the Red Alert series is a spin-off of the original Command & Conquer franchise. Instead of taking place in the Tiberian series world, Red Alert imagines a completely different universe featuring an alternate timeline where Albert Einstein has created a time machine and kills Adolf Hitler to prevent World War II. But the law of unintended consequences comes in to play; without the rise of Nazi Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union becomes the dominant power in Europe and begins invading neighboring countries during the 1950s.

Red Alert 3 picks up where Red Alert 2 left off. The Soviet Union, sensing defeat, devises a plan to use Einstein's time travel technology to change history again. But the Soviet mission to alter the past goes awry and once again, the law of unintended consequences rears its ugly head; another timeline is created where a third superpower emerges: the Empire of the Rising Sun.

Concept art of Japan's Tsunami Tank.

Yes, Japan is the newest faction for the Red Alert series. The Empire of the Rising Sun is characterized as a nationalistic, technologically advanced nation with a zealous military that uses futuristic weaponry and vicious, Kamikaze tactics. Along with creating a third superpower for a new World War III scenario, the alternate timeline has produced a new kind of technology revolution for the 20th Century.

As with previous Red Alert titles, this game is full of crazy, outlandish weapons and units that stretch the imagination. The game hypothesizes "what if?" scenarios based on real-life experimental technology and bizarre research projects from the last 50-plus years. Red Alert 3 therefore uses everything from the Philadelphia Experiment technology and teleportation to intelligent, militarized dolphins and armor-covered bears. EA says the aim is to give Red Alert 3 a "light-hearted" and colorful style with factions and units that are vastly different from one another. From the looks of things so far, the development team is off to a great start.

The new units are certainly distinct and fascinating (check out the Red Alert 3 factions page for more info). Let's start with the elite army of the Red Knight. Some of the new units include the Soviet War Bear, which of course are armored beasts that can be used as both a defensive measure (to sniff out spies) and as more of an offensive unit for reconnaissance. Then there are the "Sickles," which are fast-moving anti-infantry tanks that can hop over obstacles (my personal favorite), and the "Bullfrogs," which are amphibious transport units with anti-aircraft weapons and a "man cannon" that can launch Soviet soldiers as far as a kilometer across the battlefield behind enemy lines. Firing soldiers from a carnival-like canon is certainly outrageous, but that's the point. Everything about Red Alert 3 is gleefully over-the-top.

Concept art of the Soviet Sickle, an armored anti-infantry unit.

The Soviet Bullfrog, an amphibious troop transport unit.

Sadly, the Soviet forces lose the Giant Squid. But many of the units from previous titles return in Red Alert 3 with new looks and abilities. The Kirov Airship, MiG Fighter, Flak Track and Apocalypse Tank are just a few of the returning units for the Soviets. It's important to note that the Tesla Tank does return in Red Alert 3 but as a campaign-only unit. Other favorites like the Mirage Tank, Attack Dogs, Dolphins and the Spy return for the Allies. The Tanya unit also returns and now has the ability to travel back in time for short periods to restore health.

But the Allied forces also have some new units to bring to the battlefield. The standout among the group so far has to be the Cryocopter, which is a helicopter that "freezes" enemy units with a time distortion weapon and renders them helpless in a suspended animation. The Cryocopters allow other Allied units to swarm in and attack the frozen enemies. But Cryocopters can make easy targets for opposing players since they're slower-moving aircraft with no defensive weaponry.

Allied Cryocopters "freeze" an enemy vessel.

In addition, the new Apollo Fighter replaces the Harrier jet as the Allies' VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft, which is quick and deadly against enemies in the sky but extremely vulnerable to surface-to-air attacks. The Allies also get a Hydrofoil unit, a fast-moving amphibious attack vehicle that provide surface-to-air defense. And Red Alert 3 wouldn't be right without a few superweapons, such as the Allies' Particle Canon, which provides superior base defense against armored attacks.

Concept art of the Apollo Fighter for the Allies.

The Allies' Particle Canon is one of several superweapons in Red Alert 3.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of details yet about the Empire of the Rising Sun. The Empire was playable on the pre-beta version of the game at the Red Alert Community Summit, but for some reason when playing the faction in skirmish mode, only a few units appeared in the game (the rest were locked or hidden behind stock animation). But here's what we do know about the Japanese faction; it's technologically advanced, more so than the two other superpowers. The Empire's arsenal features both Battletech-inspired mech and martial arts-style units.

Concept art of Japan's formidable mech unit, the King Oni.

For example, the first unit publicly unveiled for the Empire was the King Oni, a towering robot that wields powerful anti-armor attacks with lasers that shoot from its eyes. The King Oni unit also boasts extremely tough armor and can "bull rush" enemy units, trampling and smashing them to smithereens. Then there are the Samurai units, which are melee infantry that carry lightsaber-ish Laser Katanas and can be very deadly in close-quarter combat. Meanwhile, another unnamed type of soldier for the Empire provides powerful range attacks and can hide in plain sight through some kind of camouflage system. The Empire also has the Sea Wing, which is a submarine unit that can also take flight as an aircraft unit, and "Dragonfly" units that resemble robotic insects and are used for scouting.

The amphibious Sea Wing unit allows the Empire of the Rising Sun to move from the oceans to air.

As in previous C&C titles, Red Alert will also feature plenty of full-motion videos of actors. So far, the only actor announced for the sequel is Gina Carano, a mixed martial arts star and "American Gladiators" cast member who plays Natasha, a deadly Soviet commando. More familiar faces are expected to be announced this summer when Red Alert 3 goes into its beta phase.

Mixed martial arts star Gina Carano plays Natasha, the deadly Soviet sniper, in Red Alert 3.

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