While theres no doubt that THQs Supreme Commander delivers some of the most imaginative, epic and downright gripping battles in recent memory, the games po-faced approach to the RTS genre will leave many players yearning for some light relief amongst the carnage. And for intense military strategy that never fails to entertain, the latest Command & Conquer is a charismatic treasure.
Like earlier incarnations, the futuristic skirmishes are punctuated by live-action clips that bring the story to life, introducing the people behind the battles and showing the story unfold from different perspectives.
But while these movies bring personality to the chaos, they also inject a little humour to the proceedings, the hammy actors and cheesy soundbites helping to undermine the traditionally austere atmosphere that pervades most RTS titles. (Of course, the humour in these clips is probably unintentional, the developers instead believing they were creating a great work of digital drama. But theyre hysterical nonetheless.)
C&Cs entertainment value also applies to the explosive action; although players must constantly keep an eye on all corners of the battlefield to emerge victorious, the warfare is tightly focused and lends itself to more straightforward rucks than Supreme Commander, allowing you to send legion after legion into the fray and sit back and watch the fireworks. The single-player missions are also varied constantly shifting objectives and challenging players to evolve their gameplan and with some of the toughest, most aggressive enemy AI around, Tiberium Wars will pose a challenge for even experienced armchair generals.
Also boasting superb presentation, a fearsome new alien faction, a tweaked interface that makes it easy to implement complex moves and a superb multiplayer mode with clan and leaderboard support, Tiberium Wars is a welcome return for the franchise and an ideal choice for RTS fans who want a serious game, but dont want to take things too seriously.