Red Alert and Red Alert 2 were always some of my favorite RTS games on the PC. Something about the over the top nature of them just stuck with me. Red Alert 3 continues the tradition of it's predecessors. Cut scenes filled with cheesy Hollywood acting, a plethora of units to choose from, and a unique style campaign for each faction. There's something very special about this Red Alert though, and I'm not talking about the plethora of "babes" the game promotes...no this Red Alert features a game that is co-op throughout the entire game. When we talked with the Red Alert 3's Producer Greg Kasavin we were told how co-op can create a game that's more diverse with deeper missions. But do deeper missions mean more strategy?
I'll be honest, I've had a falling out with RTS games. While games like Company of Heroes held my interest through it's entirety, most recent RTS games like Supreme Commander and Universe at War, I simply couldn't last past a few missions. The biggest reason for this for me was the constant micromanagement of resources. Thankfully while Red Alert 3 does require base building and an influx of cash, it's a simple as building a refinery to bring in the benjamins. After that you can begin to crank out tanks and troops till your heart's content.
There's plenty of variety across the game's three campaigns; Soviet, Allied and Empire of the Sun. Along with completely unique units and buildings per faction, each has their own global special attacks like a space magnet, freeze ray and aerial bombardments. There's no cookie cutter units here, no string of "machine gun dudes" and "bigger machine gun dudes", after all having an "alternate history story" allows for some freedom. Instead we have war bears, Transformer like vehicles, vindicators, and psychic Japanese school girls. In between and during every mission you'll be greeted by FMV style sequences filled with famous actors, actresses and actresses with cleavage all adding to the game's style.
So the content is good, but what about the co-op?
While drop-in and drop out play for an RTS would be difficult, you'll get something about as close as possible with Red Alert 3. Between every mission you are given the option to play in single player or co-op, and if you choose the latter you can easily invite your friend via your Xbox Live (360) or In-Game friends list (PC). Despite the single player option, you'll quickly discover Red Alert 3 was designed to be played with a real life person, not some fictitious co-commander.
Co-op adds a ton of depth to an RTS, and really opens up the possibilities of how to complete a mission. There's a great variety of missions, and while it may boil down to "kill everything that moves," certain objectives require finesse to complete them. Red Alert 3 even throws a few wrinkles at you during missions by limiting what and who each respective commander can build. It does feel forced at times, but the missions allow and require lots of teamwork. Whether it's taking strategic points, fortifying your friend's base, or launching a squad of war bears through the air for support in a battle - you'll find a new way to work together with every play through. Communication needs to be constant and quick, and it can sometime be overwhelming trying to manage your base as well as decide what you may need from your partner.
At certain points you will find the limitations of the game a bit too much, as there's simply no way to bail out your buddy. For instance, one missions had one commander taking Tanya and some spies to destroy some buildings on an island. The other commander meanwhile is fending off waves of attack. With only Tanya and the Spies at my disposal, it made things incredibly difficult. Our solution? Send down a few troops to run distraction and sneak in behind enemy lines. Unfortunately the game wouldn't allow the co-commander to build any amphibious friendly units, thereby creating an artificial difficulty barrier. It's not a game breaker, but we would have loved to see a more "open world" style available.
Red Alert 3 is an ambitious game through and through. There's a ton of content here for your $50. In fact, I reckon you'll get almost a full 20 hours of playtime to complete all three campaigns. The addition of cooperative play really changes the dynamic of the RTS, and as breathed new life into the genre. It'll be interesting to see how many other titles follow suit.