Who got Red Alert 2?

[old.Davehart]

whats the deal with the new DVD case, its bollocks! I want my dam cardboard !

 

[Ono]

No, I love these DVD cases. They take up much less space. Dunno if they will catch on though (only seen Champ Manager 2000/01 with it as well) because some PC games have rather chunky manuals.

I still think that the best RTS ever was Dune 2 closely followed by Total Annihilation. (Kingdoms was shites.)

For online play my bro swears by Starcraft. (Why no sequel Blizzard??)

 

[Embattle]

Those special weapons for each country make the online game stupid, it makes it to easy depending on who you pick. I had my construction yard destroyed with in about 10 mins which I reckon was silly considering the defence I had.

I have a P3-700E, 256MB RAM, GF DDR and RA2 runs fine.

I haven't tried the soviet missions yet but how the hell could you complete some 20 missions on hard in 8 hours?

 

[old.[MOD]Psycho]

I must agree, I want the big box, I like the big boxes, I reckon they're ripping us off, an extra #5 for a smaller box, bah!!!


What do they know. As for Starcraft it is the best multiplayer strategy game there is, so balanced throughout most of the game and great fun. BTW I thought Blizzard were making a sequal?

 

[old.bee]

there working on warcraft 3 at the moment...havent heard anything about a starcraft sequel yet tho

 

[old.Mikey]

Originally posted by Davehart
whats the deal with the new DVD case, its bollocks! I want my dam cardboard !

I thought that as well!!



Mikey out!!

 

[granny]

*cough*

chrono soldier thingies

nobody know what good they are then? damn, nice one westwood.. a really fun unit that costs a buttload... that's no use whatsoever...

 

[Embattle]

I like the DVD case tbh, its also likely to become the standard.

 

[old.Davehart]

Hopefully not. Would the games manual fit in thoose little tiny things. With DVD cases its easy to get a decent titile mixed up with your movies.

With a big game, comes a big manual, and I still want me cardboard

 

[Embattle]

Games manual is something else that is likely to disappear, it will end up being a stored file on the disc with maybe a small booklet with setup instructions. Those DVD cases mean that its cheaper for shops and also the publishers since the game takes up less space.

 

[stu]

Hmm

I bought Red Alert 2. It's quite fun, but there seem to be some balance flaws. Generally structures are way too weak (3 tanks can take down most buildings in seconds). And some of the air units are ludicrously powerful. Not talking about the Harriers, which are a bit pants (although I've not tried them in numbers yet), but the Aircraft Carrier and those Kirovs.

Personally I have to disagree that it's that much of a step over Tib Sun. For everyone saying "Tib Sun was crap, but RA2 is amazing", can you explain to me the difference? Then again, I didn't think Tib Sun was totally crap. I thought it was pretty fun, but with some balance flaws. Same as RA2 really. None of them have managed to hold a candle to the original C&C imo. I thought the original RA was total pants - tank rush city. Although I dispute that it's "not possible" in RA" - sure, it will be a lot harder, and in much smaller scale, and easier to defend against, but a bucketload of armour is still usually a pretty good tactic.

Internet play is pretty decent, we've had 4 player games running fine (mixture of ISDN and modem clients). Run in 800x600 max tho, and turn your music off, otherwise it will lag to hell.

I also thought Goldeneye was dreadful btw Bee, I can't understand how anyone with an internet PC (and therefore access to stuff like Quake) can actually think Goldeneye is any good.

Who can forget the Doom Series, it was the shit graphics which made the dark areas. Suddenly a moster would appear, I found myself scared just to go around corners in case one was there

I haven't forgotten the Doom series Embattle. I also haven't forgotten how the graphics were absolutely AMAZING at the time.

question: wtf use are the chrono soldiers? I build a bunch of 'em, warp 'em into enemy base and before they can kill a single unit the get wiped out. Am I missing summit? They seem like expensive cannon fodder to me... although it's a giggle warping 'em about the map like crazy... just no fuckin use...

The further you warp them granny, the longer they take to appear. So do a nice big warp to somewhere near to your enemy's base, but safe, and let them materialise. Then do a couple of short hops into his base, so they materialise almost instantly. The beauty of them is the unit you're "removing" can't attack.

Those special weapons for each country make the online game stupid, it makes it to easy depending on who you pick. I had my construction yard destroyed with in about 10 mins which I reckon was silly considering the defence I had.

I found most of them pretty useless to be honest. Defending is just a case of knowing who your enemy is. The best ones are the Germans, because then it IS impossible to tank rush them - they'll cut you in half. What I did find disappointing, though, is that you can make as many "special" units as you want - both stuff like commandos (sorry, "Tanyas" and "Yuris"), and the national units. If you haven't played Libya yet tho, do it, just to build a death truck and hear all the stuff the driver says . Incidentally, I thought the superweapons unbalanced the game far more than the multiplayer specials, they're ridiculously over-powerful.

And finally... for any of you saying "It's just Tib Sun again", "it's nothing new", "the graphics are awful"... has anyone bothered to click on the "Sneak Preview" or whatever it is, from the main menu (might be under Movies)?

Yum

 

[granny]

Hmm OK, I'll have another play with the chrono soldiers tonight.. or later on today if the boss pisses off anytime soon

As for the case, well, I wouldn't mind a small case/manual if it MADE THE BLOODY GAME CHEAPER but NO, they have the fucking cheek to charge MORE than most other games ffs! If I'm paying £35 (THIRTYFIVE POUNDS FFS) I want a chunky, colourful, leather-bound, well-written manual, a big cardboard box with fold-out flaps, pop-up models, artwork by H.R.Giger and flahing LED's, a free mousemat, seven full-colour, 24"x36" maps printed on silk hand-woven by vestal virgins and a life-sized replica of the Eiffel Tower ffs.

*ahem*

Super-weapons... yeah they generally suck if you know they're coming... I've not played against any humans yet but the AI is easy to take down with the Korean Eagle Jets (NEVER builds enough anti-air) and whatever superweapon the AI's have are easily defended against as long as you work out what nationality they are early enough, which is always easy to do 'cos they give away their base position by building chronospheres/iron curtains too early.

 

[stu]

Originally posted by granny
as long as you work out what nationality they are early enough, which is always easy to do 'cos they give away their base position by building chronospheres/iron curtains too early.

Or you could just click on the Diplomacy screen (or whatever it's called), which shows you everyone's country

The "Superweapons" (ie Weather Storm, Iron Curtain, Nuke) are horrendously overpowerful. The "National Specials" (ie Libyan Demo Truck, Russian Tesla Tank, etc) tend to be a bit pants (apart from the German Tank Destroyer).

Although... if you're playing with superweapons on (we turn them off coz they ruin the game), build a couple of Libyan Death Trucks and an Apocalypse, drive them up near enemy's base, Iron Curtain them, drive them straight in the front door and next to the Const Yard (the Apocalypse is to take out any walls that might be in the way), and double click... bye bye

 

[Embattle]

Originally posted by Stu-

Although... if you're playing with superweapons on (we turn them off coz they ruin the game), build a couple of Libyan Death Trucks and an Apocalypse, drive them up near enemy's base, Iron Curtain them, drive them straight in the front door and next to the Const Yard (the Apocalypse is to take out any walls that might be in the way), and double click... bye bye

Even when you hit the damn thing it destroys loads. I find it unacceptable that they are so easy to build and you can build loads. The other one is the Korean figther, its hard to destroy an more powerful than the standard figther.

It was the first thing I really noticed when I played it, the way the buildings are so easy to destroy with very little effort.

I was lagging which makes it very hard to do any thing, he just seem to send truck after truck and that was it. Connection is important since it makes it hard to get defence and attacks together when you lag.

I also find the speed bar shit, it makes it even worse for the person who is suffering lag. They should just have the speed set at the standard game rate.

 

[granny]

Originally posted by Stu-
Or you could just click on the Diplomacy screen (or whatever it's called), which shows you everyone's country

Oh... doh Didn't even realise there *was* a diplomacy button.. manual schmanual

 

[Xavier]

Guyz

anyone who wants RA 2 multiplayer ICQ ME!!!

 

[stu]

Originally posted by Embattle
It was the first thing I really noticed when I played it, the way the buildings are so easy to destroy with very little effort.

Yep, if anything that's what will make me go off the game. In all the previous ones (including Tib Sun), you had to actually think about your attacks to make it successful, because the buildings were pretty resistant to a pounding. Now, a strong breeze will knock the average power station over. Which makes for pretty crappy competitive gaming.

 

[Embattle]

Past C&C games you really had to hammer a construction yard often using a mixture of tanks and Aircraft, now all you need is 8 aircraft and thats the lot since the SAMs are crap too.

 

[kryt]

mind j00.. with those chrono soldier things.. they got railguns :}
And I like a bitta that

 

[Ono]

EA Red Alert -It is a Shame

Edge mag reviewed this in this month's issue and brought up one interesting thing:

Since EA now own Westwood, does that mean we are going to get annual updates of Red Alert (or C&C) with "special versions" out to tie in with an ongoing war or something? Seems to me like they have already started with Red Alert 2 (or is that RA 2000?).

 

[stu]

er the chrono legionnaires don't have railguns... they have (surprise surprise) chrono weapons. The Mammoth II and the GDI commando unit (Shadow Walker or something) from Tib Sun had railguns.

Embattle: if you actually needed 8 aircraft it wouldn't be so bad. I watched half a base get annihilated by 7 GI infantry yesterday :/

 

[old.[MOD]Psycho]

Why are 90% of players on the net crap, I've now had 53 games and not lost one, either I'm good or they're shit or a bit of both. Thing is I haven't spent huge amounts of time playing it online, those wins are easily achieved in the first 20 mins of the game, cos everyone always goes for nukes etc, so ignores building up early base defence, fools!!

Also if you were good at other C&C games you'll be good at this one, simple eh?

 

[old.frankie]

right...

tell me, is getting RA2 worth it ?, is it a good fun game ?

i want nice graphics too, any good ?

im sorta trying to DL it from the net, but itll prolly not work, so i might get it. Worth it ?

cheers, if i do get it, ill give ya'all a game

 

[granny]

Well it's good fun and the graphics are *marginally* better than previous C&C games (well, maybe they're the same as tib sun)...

But it really is nothing new, it'll probably get boring very fast and to be honest I think that £35 is way overpriced for it, very cheeky to ask that much.

Personally I'd give it 7/10 for the game and 3/10 for value for money.

/gr.

 

[Ono]

Spot on there Granny M8.

I'd also give it 4/10 for graphics.

 

[old.bee]

1/10 for AI

 

[stu]

Originally posted by [MOD]Psycho
Why are 90% of players on the net crap...

Also if you were good at other C&C games you'll be good at this one, simple eh?

Wrong. I was pretty damn l33t at C&C if I do say so myself. Never really liked Red Alert so didn't play it much (tanks vs tanks for the 800th time didn't seem very interesting). RA2 seems to be more like C&C, but I'm pretty shite at it it seems. It certainly favours the RA style 'rapid attack' strategy, rather than a more 'intelligent' consolidated approach (which was far more effective in C&C). Also the number of units required to build a "killer squadron" in RA2 is tiny compared to the previous games (a squad of 5 prism tanks will do serious damage to just about anything), which probably throws the RA players off-kilter.

So my guess is the majority of online players are still trying to play it like their previous favourite, and haven't adjusted yet.

 

[old.MeddlE]

Anyone else draw a comparison between C&C and Tomb Raider? They both keep churnig out what was originally a great game, but gets progressively worse with each version as the title loses ground on the originality stakes. It's not that RA2 is a bad game, it's just not a good game. Thank god I didn't pay for it.

 

[bodhi]

The thing that must be remembered, is that there are more people who would rather have more of the same than those hardcore players who want innovation all the time. Most C&C fans I know buy the new C&C games not because there will be some radical change in gameplay, but to play about with the new units.

Just compare sales of Tiberian Sun or Red Alert 2 (the derivative C&C games) to Shogun: Total War (the innovative new pretender). Nuff said really.

As an aside, having played both Shogun and Tib Sun, I still prefer the latter. I find the C&C games have a knack of making the strategy in other games appear tedious.

 

[Ono]

Yeah, but look at it this way:

I have Tiberium Sun, great multiplayer times I have had on that. Does RA2 represent a big enuff change in the game to merit 35 squid? In particular on skirmish. I think not.

I think Westwood have gone downhill by quite a bit since they started rolling out these clones.

Dune 2000 was shites, Nox is shites and now this!


I still think that Total Annihilation knocks spots off the C&C series.