Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is disappointing

I was a huge fan of the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert games. When they came out they were truly innovative. Westwood who had invented the genre with Dune 2 redefined it with C&C by introducing competitive multiplayer games and truly dominated the real time strategy game genre alongside Warcraft and Warcraft II during the 1990s until Age of Empires showed up.

Unfortunately, the last few games have been forgettable and Red Alert 3 is no exception. The over the top single player story is fun and the actors are great, but the game lacks the depth of the best real time strategy games of the past few years.

The units are too fragile, there is only one resource type, way too few unit types and the pace is too quick. As result, the game lacks the depth of a richer game like Rise of Nations and the fine tactical control of a game like Company of Heroes. A game combining the strengths of those two games would be truly innovative.

I guess I will have to wait. I hope Stracraft II does not disappoint!