Let us first take a step back in time to the beginning of the story. Developed by Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer wasn’t the first of the then fledging RTS genre, nor was it the first effort by the studio, having previously released the well-received Dune II in December 1992, which laid the foundations for what would be seen in many games after it. Having seen the success of this release, the studio decided against continuing with Dune and instead focused on creating an original IP to tell their own story. Influenced by the political climate of the 1990’s, it was released in September 1995 and a hallmark of the series was the use of FMV scenes to drive the plot forward instead of just using only renders by the game engine. It marked the beginning of the Tiberian Series plotline and subsequently picked up the subtitle of Tiberian Dawn. It became the series that defined and popularised the genre.
Brent Sperry, a Westwood co-founder and executive producer was a huge influence on getting the series created alongside being one of those who developed the original concept of C&C. Other notable alumni include Frank Klepacki who composed the soundtrack and of course, Joseph Kucan, who was experimenting with FMV and not only found himself directing the cutscenes, but was also cast as the mysterious Kane. For fact fans, Kucan holds the Guinness World Record for “longest recurring actor in any video game franchise”.
It featured 2 factions. The first of these was the Global Defense Initiative, a multinational military force backed by the United Nations, and the Brotherhood of Nod, a shadowy quasi-terrorist/quasi-religious organisation lead by a man known only as Kane. Whereas the Nod army was presented as being stealthy but fragile, GDI was powerful but slow. The differences between the 2 controllable sides is one that still exists throughout RTS games today. The backdrop against this was focused on a newly discovered extra-terrestrial element called Tiberium. Seemingly beneficial as a rich mining resource, it was subsequently discovered to be harmful to human life and spread unchecked at an alarming rate. GDI was tasked in attempting to bring this under control, whereas Nod dreamed of using it to usher in a new era of humanity. Thus began the First Tiberium War.
Now it’s 2020 - 25 years, 3 sequels, 3 expansions and 1 sidequel in the Tiberian saga later and the name is still fondly remembered. Despite the age, it still stands a titan having cemented a place in history. So much so in fact that we now find ourselves with a remastered collection from franchise owners EA, courtesy of Petroglyph Games (which was founded by and contains many of the original Westwood developers) and Lemon Sky Studios. Containing Command & Conquer alongside the expansion pack The Covert Operations, it also comes bundled with C&C: Red Alert and the 2 packs released for it, Counterstrike and The Aftermath. And it’s a joy to play with.
The original engine, despite looking somewhat archaic today due to the limitations of PC’s back in the day, with limited and simple visuals, it has been given a new lick of paint, making the various units more distinct and easy to tell apart, alongside having a boost to 4K resolution. This expands to the FMV sequences which have been pulled into the modern age as best they can, however the rendered videos that play at the beginning and end of each mission fare quite badly in this department and don’t hold up anywhere near as well. If you fancy a trip down memory lane, the ability to switch back and forth between old and new is available too. The game has also seen some mechanical improvements to the UI and how production works, but it still comes with features that are seen today as relics of a bygone era, such as the inability for unit to attack while moving to a location. And I’d be remiss to not mention the sound. This too has been overhauled and sounds much sharper and cleaner, with the added bonus that Klepacki delivered a fully remastered version of the original soundtrack into the bargain.
For those of you interested in a bit more of the history, these new versions contain a bonus gallery that comprises several hours worth of B-Roll behind the scenes footage, unused scenes and the like, taken from the archives of Westwood.
Despite whatever quirks you may find in the game, whatever little annoyances you may feel from the mechanics, Command & Conquer stood tall and proud in 1995. Today, in the new clothes, it does the same again and feels like something that can stand on its own 2 feet against modern counterparts without having to tug at your nostalgia heartstrings to elicit a response. It’s a blast from the past – and a very pretty one at that.
You may have noticed that I mentioned Red Alert… but that’s a story for another day. Will it be one people want to hear? Time will tell. Sooner or later… time will tell.
Welcome back Commander.
Command & Conquer Remastered is available now on Steam and Origin.
For those of you curious, the launch trailer is available below.
What do you think of this article? Make sure to let us know in the comments below!
Special thanks to Petrarch for submitting this article to the Federation News Service.
WRITTEN BY Petrarch
EDITED BY Infinity - lewis.larsen@ufplanets.com