Command & Conquer: Generals
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| Command and Conquer: Generals | |
| Developer | EA Pacific (PC), Aspyr Media (Mac OS) |
| Publisher | EA Games (PC), MacSoft (Mac OS) |
| Distributor | EA Games |
| Designer | EA Games |
| Series | Command And Conquer Generals Series |
| Version | 1.08, December 2005 |
| Genre | RTS |
| Engine | SAGE |
| Modes | Single Player, Multiplayer |
| Ratings | T (ESRB) |
| Platforms | PC, Mac OS |
| Requirements | Intel Pentium 3/AMD Athlon 800 MHz, 128 MB RAM, Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista, 32 MB AGP DirectX 8.1 compatible video card NVIDIA Geforce 2 or ATI Radeon 7500, DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card, 1.8 GB hard disk space, 8x CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive. (PC)
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Command & Conquer Generals is a real-time strategy video game made by EA Games and released in 2003. The game takes place in another parallel universe that is completely unrelated to Red Alert universe neither Tiberium universe. It is the first Command & Conquer series to using the 3D in-game look.
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[edit] Universe
The Generals Universe is not so different from our own. There are few far-fetched technologies, and the game makes use of real world names, most notably in the USA faction vehicles, such as the Crusader Tank, F-22 Raptor, and Chinook helicopter.
There are two world Superpowers in the Generals Universe: The United States of America and The People's Republic of China. There is also a highly influential terrorist group, the Global Liberation Army, which operates from Baghdad to Kazakhstan to Hong Kong.
[edit] Factions
Generals, like many Command & Conquer games, features three factions. Each one plays differently, and has its own advantages and disadvantages.
[edit] People's Republic of China
The People's Republic relies largely on brute force and sheer numbers, culminating in a variety of powerful and heavily armored tanks, and has limited air power. China's playstyle emphasizes direct assaults and sheer power to defeat American technology and GLA stealth. Chinese troops and tanks gain special bonuses when in groups, and make extensive use of propaganda (passive healing) to support their troops. China has a wide range of vehicle types, including several specialized tanks like Type 59 as "Battlemaster", BTR-80 as "Troop Crawler", "Overlord" tank(s) and two artillery units. Chinese forces also make heavy use of gatling, nuclear, and napalm weaponry to destroy the enemy. China also utilizes advanced electronic warfare technology, including elite hackers, a spy called Black Lotus, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. The Chinese "Inferno Cannon" and "Nuke Cannon" are the only artillery units whose shells cannot be intercepted.
China has a major disadvantage in that its ground forces are generally slower than those of the other two factions. Due to having virtually no fast attack units, except for their MiGs, China is forced to make large, ponderous assaults with heavy units, a tactic that can be countered by the GLA's speed or the USA's air power. However, the Chinese forces are well-suited to winning drawn-out battles of attrition.
China's campaign is the first chronologically in Generals. China retaliates after the GLA launches a devastating nuclear attack on Beijing. During one battle, China destroys the Three Gorges Dam in order to eliminate a large GLA army. China uses its nuclear arsenal to further fight against the GLA and eventually crushes the GLA cell masterminding all Pacific rim operations. In Zero Hour, China defeats the GLA during their invasion of Europe and seizes the opportunity to rise as a world power.
[edit] Global Liberation Army
Being technologically disadvantaged, the GLA has comparatively weak (though highly mobile) ground vehicles and no air force, prompting the use of guerrilla tactics such as mining, suicide bombing, hijacking, and ambushing.
The GLA has a larger array of infantry types and vehicles to make up for this disadvantage, and has the widest range of stealth options. The GLA also has a very powerful economy, with various resource-gathering techniques such as salvaging wreckage, gaining cash bounties on destroyed enemy units, and building multiple "black market" structures to bring in large amounts of money over time. Also, the GLA are unique in that they have no energy requirement for any of their structures or units. The GLA's upgrades make it more powerful when fully equipped, transforming a relatively weak group of units into a more respectable threat. The GLA is also unique in that its structures, particularly base defenses, rebuild themselves over time unless completely destroyed; this makes it difficult to permanently damage the GLA with many single-shot weapons or units.
The GLA's toxic weapons, suicide units, and stealth and surprise abilities enable it to hit enemies from unexpected directions, and its powerful economy, combined with cheap, fast units, enables it to flood opponents with sheer numbers. The GLA's primary disadvantage is that, in terms of firepower, range, and durability, its units are outmatched by Chinese and American units, and it has a complete lack of air power. This forces a GLA player to outmaneuver or outnumber opponents, as in an even, direct confrontation the GLA will lose to superior Chinese firepower and American technology.
The GLA campaign is the second chronologically in Generals. Following the setback at the hands of the Chinese, they raise funds and instigate attacks against their American and Chinese antagonists. They eventually overtake the Baikonur Cosmodrome in order to fire a Soyuz rocket bearing a biological MIRV at a nondescript city. In Zero Hour, the GLA loses control of the Baikonur Cosmodrome to the USA and attacks the west coast of America in retaliation and eventually invades Europe. They are defeated in Europe by China.
[edit] United States of America
The United States is the most technologically-advanced faction, and fights with a combination of powerful ground units and a large, versatile fleet of aircraft. USA forces rely on skill, mobility, and high technology to defeat the raw firepower of China and the guerilla tactics of the GLA. USA ground vehicles can construct unmanned drones to support and repair them in combat, and American troops and vehicles make extensive use of laser technology to guide weapons and defend against attack. American infantry have a number of special abilities, and include stealthy long-ranged snipers and a powerful commando named Colonel Burton with a number of abilities revolving around demolition and stealth. The USA also fields the largest air fleet in the game, including attack and transport helicopters, fighter planes, high speed bombers and stealth bombers. American Generals' abilities revolve around air power, including air strikes by A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and fuel air bombs. They also possess a Particle Cannon super weapon capable of destroying units and most buildings instantly.
The USA has a major disadvantage, however, in that it has the slowest resource gathering in the game; in comparison to troop costs, it has a less stable supply of power than China, and its high-tech units are very expensive. However, they gain resources the fastest, with their speedy chinooks taking $600 at a time. This method, though makes them vulnerable to a GLA quad cannon attack, or a Chinese Gattling tank.
The USA campaign is the third chronologically in Generals. In response to the GLA's launch of the biochemical weapon, the USA engages the GLA across several locales, including Baghdad and the Caspian Sea. They later defeat a rogue Chinese general supporting the terrorists and track them back to their base of operations in Akmola, Kazakhstan. In Zero Hour, the USA retakes the Baikonur Cosmodrome, but is later pushed back into Europe after the GLA invades the west coast of the United States.
[edit] Plot
The plot follows the order of China first, then the GLA, then the USA. In this order, China retaliates for a devastating GLA nuclear attack on Beijing, destroys the Three Gorges Dam, uses China's nuclear arsenal and eventually completely crushes the GLA cell masterminding all Pacific rim operations. The GLA campaign then begins, with the organization trying to recover from its recent setback at the hands of the Chinese by raising funds and instigating attacks against their American and Chinese antagonists, eventually culminating in the overtaking of the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the firing of a Soyuz rocket bearing a biological MIRV at a unnamed city. At this point the American campaign begins in which the USA engages the GLA across several locales, including Baghdad and the Caspian Sea, before defeating a rogue Chinese general supporting the terrorists and tracking them back to their base of operations in Akmola, Kazakhstan.
