Command & Conquer: The First Decade'' compilation pack was released in February 2006,
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry and promoted the d ...
adopted the policy of considering the
''C&C'' franchise to consist of three distinct universes, with this decision apparently violating the storyline connections between ''Red Alert'' and ''Tiberian Dawn'' established by Westwood Studios. With the release of ''
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars'' in March 2007, Electronic Arts published a document wherein an implicit reference to Kane's appearance in ''Red Alert'' is made, revealing that GDI's "InOps" intelligence division is in the possession of photos of Kane which were taken by
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
that, if genuine, would mean that Kane's age by year 2030 is close to 125.
Freeware release
To mark the 13th anniversary of ''Command and Conquer'' and the announcement of ''
Red Alert 3
''Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3'' is a real-time strategy video game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in October 2008 in the United States and Europe for Microsoft Windows. An Xbox 360 version was r ...
'', EA released ''Command and Conquer: Red Alert'' as freeware.
After the promotion ended they allowed third-party
mirrors
A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
to pick up and also ship the addons for free. The community has started repackaging it to installers that do not require burning the original
ISO image
An optical disc image (or ISO image, from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media) is a disk image that contains everything that would be written to an optical disc, disk sector by disc sector, including the optical disc file system. IS ...
s and included their latest
fan patch
An unofficial patch is a patch for a piece of software, created by a third party such as a user community without the involvement of the original developer. Similar to an ordinary patch, it alleviates bugs or shortcomings. Unofficial patches do no ...
es that modernize the renderer, remove duplicate files, fix bugs and include content from the PlayStation release. Those repacks typically also include modding tools as well as network utilities for multiplayer matches.
Soundtrack
The game's original score was composed by
Frank Klepacki
Frank Klepacki (; ) is an American musician and video game composer, best known for his work on the ''Command & Conquer'' series. Having learned to play drums as a child, he joined Westwood Studios as a composer when he was 17 years old. He has ...
and was voted the best video game soundtrack of 1996 by ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' and ''Gameslice'' magazines.
Reception
Ads
Westwood Studios started a controversial ad campaign portraying previous dictators next to current military leaders with the subtitle "Previous High Scores". Comparing current politicians with historic mass murderers in an attempt to sell the game was received as crass, stupid and ignorant to European history.
Sales
In the United States, ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' debuted at No. 2 on
PC Data
PC Data was an American market research and point of sale tracking firm founded in 1991 and based in Reston, Virginia. Its founder, Ann Stephens, had worked previously as the head researcher for the Software Publishers Association. Initially, th ...
's computer game sales chart for November 1996, behind ''
Microsoft Flight Simulator
''Microsoft Flight Simulator'' is a series of amateur flight simulator programs for Microsoft Windows operating systems, and earlier for MS-DOS and Classic Mac OS. It was an early product in the Microsoft application portfolio and differed sig ...
''.
Following a third-place finish in December,
it became the United States' seventh-best-selling computer game of 1996 as a whole. According to PC Data, its domestic sales totaled 347,844 units during the period, which drew revenues of $16.5 million.
In 1997, ''Red Alert'' held a position in PC Data's top 3 for the first four months of the year, peaking at No. 2 in April.
It was ultimately the fourth-biggest seller of 1997's first half in the United States,
after finishing at No. 4 in May and June.
While the game remained in the top 10 through September,
it was absent from the top 20 by October.
''Red Alert'' ended 1997 as the United States' eighth-best seller among computer titles, with sales of 363,207 units for the year.
The game's lifetime sales rose to 869,623 copies in the United States by September 1999. At the time, PC Data declared it the country's 17th-best-selling computer game released since January 1993.
In August 1998, ''Red Alert'' received a "Platinum" sales award from the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD),
indicating sales of at least 200,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In Germany alone, the game sold 400,000 copies in 1996. ''Red Alert'' was a commercial success, with global sales of 1.5 million copies in its debut month. Over half of these sales derived from North America.
It sold close to 2 million copies by mid-February 1997.
Critical reviews
The PC version of the game scored 90.91% on
GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
based on 11 reviews,
while the PlayStation version scored 81.40% based on 5 reviews.
A reviewer for ''
Next Generation
Next Generation or Next-Generation may refer to:
Publications and literature
* ''Next Generation'' (magazine), video game magazine that was made by the now defunct Imagine Media publishing company
* Next Generation poets (2004), list of young ...
'' commented that ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert'' retains the gameplay elements of the outstanding original game while enhancing the graphics, expanding warfare to both air and sea, and rebalancing the gameplay so that players cannot succeed by simply using the same tactics which worked in the original. He concluded that "in a holiday season swamped with ''C&C'' clones, discerning gamers won't go wrong by sticking to the real thing."
Vince Broady of ''
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' also commented on the saturation of real-time strategy games in the 1996 holiday shopping season and concluded ''Red Alert'' to clearly be the best choice. He praised the unit design and variety, particularly that "the units of the two opposing sides aren't mere copies of each other, but instead maintain a sort of karmic balance." Additionally complimenting the level design, cutscenes, graphics, sound effects, and music, he judged that, "''Red Alert'' belongs in the same category as ''
Civilization II
''Sid Meier's Civilization II'' is a turn-based strategy video game in the Civilization (series), ''Civilization'' series, developed and published by MicroProse. It was released in 1996 for personal computer, PCs, and later ported to the PlayS ...
'' and ''
Quake'', games that followed legendary predecessors and immediately eclipsed them."
In a review for ''PC Games'' which was also published in its sister magazine ''
GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally la ...
'', Rob Smith summarized, "The new units, the great story, and the variety of mission styles make up for the limited improvement in the A.I." He also noted that the control interface allows players to quickly and easily select units and order them into combat.
''Command & Conquer'' won the 1996
Spotlight Award for "Best Strategy/War Game" from the
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutori ...
.
''
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
'' gave it the Strategy Game of the Year award (Readers' Choice). The game was a finalist for ''Computer Gaming World''s 1996 "Strategy Game of the Year" award,
which ultimately went to ''Civilization II''.
The PlayStation version was also positively received, but generally not as enthusiastically as the PC original. ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' hailed it as "one of the best PC to PlayStation ports we've ever seen", citing the inclusion of PC version's entire content, the control with the
PlayStation Mouse
The PlayStation Mouse (US/UK: SCPH-1090, JP: SCPH-1030) is an input device for the PlayStation that allows the player to use a mouse as a method of control in compatible games. The mouse was released in Japan on December 3, 1994, the launch date ...
, and the
PlayStation Link Cable
The PlayStation Link Cable (SCPH-1040) is a peripheral cable for the PlayStation console. Utilizing the serial I/O port found on the back of most PlayStation models, it allows for two consoles to be connected in order to play compatible multiplay ...
support.
[ Most reviewers, however, noted that the PlayStation Mouse was difficult to find at this time, and that control with the standard PlayStation controller takes a good deal of time and patience to master.][ In addition to its being even rarer than the PlayStation Mouse, they noted that the PlayStation Link Cable was not a practical option for most gamers.][ Some also found this version's inability to save mid-mission to be frustrating.][ ''GamePro'' ultimately recommended it, though only to those for whom the PC version is not an option, citing the addictive gameplay, engaging cutscenes, "both exciting and subtle" music, and improved A.I. over the PC version.] ''GameSpot'' also recommended it, while advising that it is more of a tweaking and expansion of the original ''Command & Conquer'' than a "true sequel".[ '']Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The m ...
''s team of four reviewers all gave it an 8.5/10 or better, particularly noting its strategic depth and high quality FMV cutscenes, with Kraig Kujawa concluding, "Although ''Red Alert'' isn't as good as its PC counterpart, you won't find a better realtime strategy game on the PlayStation."[ ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' also named it "Strategy Game of the Year" at their 1997 Editors' Choice Awards, calling it "the best console realtime strategy game of all time".
In 1998, '']PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' declared it the 14th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "a perfectly balanced and action-packed epic that functions brilliantly in both the multi-play and the solo campaigns".
Expansion packs
''Counterstrike'' and ''The Aftermath'' (1997)
In 1997, two expansion packs for ''Red Alert'' were released for the PC, ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert: Counterstrike'' and ''Command & Conquer: Red Alert: The Aftermath''. The expansion packs were designed by Westwood Studios with the "apprenticeship" of Intelligent Games
Intelligent Games Ltd was a British video game developer based in London. The company was established in 1988 as The Intelligent Games Co. by Matthew Stibbe, who was studying at Pembroke College, Oxford, Pembroke College in Oxford. Following ...
, a London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-based game developer. Much of the development on multiplayer maps was undertaken by players from the Compuserve Red Alert ladder. New units, missions, maps, and music were included in the expansions.
By October 1997, ''Counterstrike'' had sold 650,000 copies worldwide after its launch in April of that year. According to Westwood, this made it the all-time fastest-selling expansion pack for a computer game by that point. The ''Counterstrike'' add-on included the secret ''Ant Missions'' titled "It Came from Red Alert", where the player battles against an army of giant, mutant ants.
The ''Aftermath'' add-on contained many new units available in single and multiplayer modes. New Allied units include the ''Field Mechanic'' and the ''Chrono Tank''. New Soviet units include the ''Missile Sub'', the ''Shock Trooper'', the '' M.A.D Tank'' and the ''Tesla Tank''. In addition, both sides receive the ''Demolition Truck''. The add-on also includes hundreds of new maps as well as a new, significantly larger, map size.
''Retaliation'' (1998)
On August 28, 1998, Westwood Studios
Westwood Studios, Inc. was an American video game developer, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was founded by Brett Sperry and Louis Castle in 1985 as Brelous Software, but got changed after 2 months into Westwood Associates and was renamed to Westw ...
released ''Command & Conquer Red Alert: Retaliation'' for the PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
, a compilation of the two PC expansion packs, including the secret Ant Missions. It is almost identical to the PlayStation port of the original ''Red Alert'', except that introduced some new units like Tesla Tank, Shock Trooper, Chrono Tank and Missile Sub, and included 105 skirmish maps. The gameplay also included an in-game sidebar code called Soylent Green
''Soylent Green'' is a 1973 American Environmental film, ecological dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer, and starring Charlton Heston, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Edward G. Robinson in his final film role. It is loosely based on t ...
Mode. In this mode, all ore fields turn to people/civilians, and ore trucks harvest them with grisly sound effects.
It also included 19 exclusive briefing FMV (full-motion video) clips that were not in any of the PC expansion packs, which had none. All of the videos are shown when the player either starts playing through the operational theatre from the beginning or when all the missions of the theatre are accomplished. In other cases, the briefing text is shown. The FMVs include a general for each side, telling the player the mission objectives; The Allied General Carville later appears in ''Red Alert 2
''Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2'' is a real-time strategy video game which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 25, 2000 as the follow-up to '' Command & Conquer: Red Alert''. ''Red Alert 2'' picks up at the conclusion of the Allied ca ...
'' while Soviet General Topolov has made no further appearances in the ''Red Alert'' series.
The ''Retaliation'' videos were made available for the PC ''Red Alert'' in the modification ''The Lost Files''. This modification adds the ''Retaliation'' videos to the ''Counterstrike'' and ''Aftermath'' missions. The Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
''Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection'' is a remaster of the first two titles in the real-time strategy video game series ''Command & Conquer'' with rebuilt graphics and sound improvements, and bonus materials. It was developed by Petrogly ...
officially includes the Retaliation cutscenes, linking them to their respective expansion missions in the same way the mod does.
''Red Alert Retaliation'' was released as a download for PSP and PS3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...
from the PlayStation Network
PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...
in Europe on March 27, 2008, and in North America on December 3, 2009.
Open source
OpenRA is an open source game engine reimplementation and remake of several ''Command & Conquer'' games, including ''Red Alert''. It is built using OpenGL
OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardwa ...
and SDL, has support for HiDPI
Pixels per inch (ppi) and pixels per centimetre (ppcm or pixels/cm) are measurements of the pixel density of an electronic image device, such as a computer monitor or television display, or image digitizing device such as a camera or image scanner. ...
, and is cross platform
In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software r ...
, supporting Windows, Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD. The engine has support for custom mods via an SDK. The games are remade for modern computers with updated gameplay, new campaigns, user-created and curated maps, and online play. Deviations from the originals included a choice between “right click” and classic “left click” control schemes, an overhauled sidebar interfaces for managing productions, support for game replay A game replay, also known as a demo, is a form of user-generated content. In most instances, a game replay is a recording of a battle between opponents in a video game which can then be viewed by other players.
It is most common in real-time strate ...
s and an observer interface designed for video game live streaming
The live streaming of video games is an activity where people broadcast themselves playing games to a live audience online. The practice became popular in the mid-2010s on the US-based site Twitch, before growing to YouTube, Facebook, China-bas ...
. Fog of war
The fog of war (german: links=no, Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, ...
that obscures the battlefield outside your units’ line of sight, civilian structures that can be captured to provide benefits and units gain experience
Experience refers to conscious events in general, more specifically to perceptions, or to the practical knowledge and familiarity that is produced by these conscious processes. Understood as a conscious event in the widest sense, experience involv ...
as they fight and improve when they earn new ranks. The game supports handicapping
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which th ...
players, Discord
Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
integration and community ladders
A ladder is a vertical or inclined set of rungs or steps used for climbing or descending. There are two types: rigid ladders that are self-supporting or that may be leaned against a vertical surface such as a wall, and rollable ladders, such ...
.
Coinciding with the release of ''Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
''Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection'' is a remaster of the first two titles in the real-time strategy video game series ''Command & Conquer'' with rebuilt graphics and sound improvements, and bonus materials. It was developed by Petrogly ...
'' in 2020, Electronic Arts released the original source code for both ''Tiberian Dawn'' and ''Red Alert'' through GitHub
GitHub, Inc. () is an Internet hosting service for software development and version control using Git. It provides the distributed version control of Git plus access control, bug tracking, software feature requests, task management, continuous ...
under the GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the Four Freedoms (Free software), four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was th ...
in collaboration between EA and the ''Command & Conquer'' community to aid in the development of mods. The source release has also allowed community developers to produce source port
A source port is a software project based on the source code of a game engine that allows the game to be played on operating systems or computing platforms with which the game was not originally compatible.
Description
Source ports are often cr ...
s of the original PC version of the game which was released as freeware
Freeware is software, most often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the f ...
. This now includes unofficial ports to platforms such as the PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita, or Vita) is a handheld video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, and in North America, Europe, and other international territo ...
derived from an upstream project called Vanilla-Conquer.
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Command and Conquer: Red Alert
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