Red Alert 2

Today I would like to talk about a game from the once very popular series, which is actually in a coma these days. In the 90s and 00s, every gamer knew this line of games and, probably, there was no such computer club in which at least one of the games of this franchise was not installed. This series is called “Command & Conquer”, but I want to dwell in more detail on the second game, which has long become a cult sub-series – Red Alert. Given the recent remake of Command & Conquer and Red Alert 1, the topic seems especially relevant to me. It is quite possible that the second part of the “Red Menace” is waiting for a remake, although I hardly believe it.

In the mid-late 90s, I didn’t have a computer yet, so I didn’t find most of the games of that era. However, some hits still managed to touch, thanks to trips to cousins. Then, sitting at a party at a pot-bellied monitor, I didn’t really understand what I was playing, but I really liked.

This is how I was introduced to such great games as Command & Conquer: Red Alert 1 and Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun. I won’t say that they left a huge mark on my life, because, due to my age, I didn’t care what to play. But I perfectly remember the main musical theme of the first Red Alert. I think this is one of the best musical compositions in strategies!

But years passed, I grew older and went to game clubs myself, where at the beginning of the 2000s Red Alert 2 was installed on all computers. hide the sin, mat. As now, I remember the basement of the house, which housed the most popular gaming club in our area. A dark smoky hall, a crowd of people, an atmosphere of carelessness and an hour of playing for 20 rubles … but something I digress.

A little more time will pass, my parents will give me the first computer, and then I won’t have to go to the game rooms to touch this masterpiece – I can play Red Alert 2 at home.

Who

For the game it is worth saying “thank you” to Westwood Studios, which in the 90s was an icon of the strategy genre, and now, unfortunately, has died. This is the company that made the strategy genre what we see it today. Developers of games such as Eye of the Beholder, the Command & Conquer and Dune line of games, The Legend of Kyrandia, and Nox. And if the modern generation could not even hear these names, then hardened gamers, I am convinced, have spent tens or even hundreds of hours of their lives in these games and remember them with warmth!

Plot

In an alternate year of 1946, Albert Einstein develops a time machine and uses it to travel to 1924, the day Adolf Hitler was released from Landsberg Prison. Einstein plans to eliminate the future leader of Germany, thereby preventing World War II. It would seem that the operation was successful, but Einstein did not take into account that Nazi Germany would not appear without Hitler, which means that no one would restrain the Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, from expansion. As a result, the USSR launched a victorious offensive against Europe, China and India.

To stop the Red war machine, the European Alliance is being created. According to the canonical finale of the first part of the game, democracy won, Stalin died, and Alexander Romanov (yes, this is the leader of the USSR, a descendant of the imperial family))), who is actually a puppet of the West, becomes at the helm of the USSR. This is how the events of Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 begin.

Years have passed, and Romanov, under the influence of the main adviser – the telepath Yuri, pushes other members of the Government to attack the United States. In a short time, the Soviet army is being revived, capable of bringing the Western bloc of countries to its knees. So the world becomes involved in a new global war. The troops of the Red Army under your leadership will destroy the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, and the Eiffel Tower will be turned into a huge, sizzling Tesla Tower. But no one forbids you to lead the Alliance army and try to protect democratic ideals from the “Red Threat”.

Admit it, brought old school together?

Let this description sound like the plot of any serious strategy with an alternative history, but Red Alert 2 is not. There will be a lot of humor in the coolest cutscenes between missions. Thank God, the banter in the game is directed not only towards Russia, but also towards the United States. Stereotypes are ridiculed, which, unfortunately, are very difficult to understand for a Russian player who is unfamiliar with American culture.

Well-known actors such as Udo Kira, Ray Wiseas well as the Soviet-Russian actor Oleg Shtefankowhose image is imprinted on the game logo.

Time travel; General Secretary of the USSR in shorts with a hammer and sickle; a Russian general bathing in a jacuzzi with girls celebrating a victorious military operation; golden domes on industrial buildings. And how do you like Ernie Frankenfuehrer, Sally Stallion and Flint Westwood, who help repel Hollywood from the Soviet army (a reference to Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Clint Eastwood)?

This line of games has never been about seriousness! As you progress through the storyline of the game, you will smile many times, I guarantee it! The plot is terribly cool in its idiocy. It’s a cocktail of cranberries, banter and humor with a really entertaining alternate history!

The game features two mutually exclusive campaigns with different endings: for the Allies and for the Socialist Bloc. Canonical, however, is the ending for the Democrats.

Gameplay

This is in many ways a real-time strategy typical of its era, with a distinctive feature that greatly distinguished the game from its competitors. In other games, as a rule, you need to collect many different resources to build a strong economy and army. In Red Alert 2, for the sake of the dynamism of the game parties, you will only have to keep track of the finances and the energy necessary for the functioning of your buildings.

When collecting minerals that are automatically converted into money, remember that they are finite on the map, so always expand aggressively! The priority will be both new deposits of minerals and oil rigs, which, pumping oil, make a profit. But due to the small number of drilling rigs on the map, expect a serious fight for such a serious advantage.

In addition to the story campaign, a battle mode is also available, in which you can test your strength both with the computer and with friends.

Before the start of the battle, select a country from the list. The choice affects which block of countries you will be in, as well as buildings and troops. Each state has its own peculiarity. It can be either a unique structure (French long-range defensive gun), or a type of troops that is not available to other countries (a high-explosive truck with self-explosion near Libya). I note that, in addition to differences in armies and buildings, each side of the conflict has its own unique superweapon. The Soviets are in possession of nuclear weapons and an iron curtain that makes units and buildings invulnerable for a short time. The alliance’s superweapon is a weather control device that sends a terrible thunderstorm to your chosen area on the map, as well as a chronosphere that allows you to teleport multiple units to any chosen point. As for Yuri’s army, the main superweapon is a psi-dominator that damages buildings and takes control of enemy units, and a genetic mutator is used as an auxiliary superweapon, which turns the selected infantry into a different, enhanced type. Each side of the conflict is strong in its own way. The Allies are mostly fast and lightly armored, the Socialist Bloc, on the contrary, is slow but powerful.

Do not forget that battles take place not only on land, but also on water and in the air, since aviation and navy are available for military operations.

Stealth tanks, flying infantry, giant squids, fighting dolphins, flying saucers and, of course, perhaps the most popular unit of the game – the Kirov airship. Where else can you find such an atypical choice of troops, if not in the games of Westwood Studios? But as an eternal fan of role-playing games, I remember the game with the possibility of pumping soldiers. For the destruction of enemy targets, experience drips, which increases the rank of a soldier. With each new rank, the effectiveness of a unit increases many times over, and even a small detachment with three “badges” can cause significant damage to the enemy.

Yuri’s Revenge DLC

A year after the release of the game, Westwood Studios is releasing a new addition, “Yuri’s Revenge”, which brings a lot of new things to the game.

As the name implies, the plot of the add-on tells about the events that happened after the end of the main campaign. Telepath Yuri returns with his new army, becoming a third party to the conflict. We are offered two additional campaigns of the USSR and the Allies, consisting of 7 missions, some of which have a certain non-linearity. Campaigns for Yuri, alas, no.

Despite this, Yuri’s army is selectable in Skirmish mode, being a completely new and unique faction with gameplay unlike any other country. Since Yuri is a psionic telepath, most of the new game mechanics rely on this. Some troops and buildings can subjugate enemy soldiers to their will, forcing them to follow their orders. And Yuri himself, being an independent combat unit, is able to capture enemy buildings!

In addition to these innovations, units and buildings have been added to the Soviets and the Alliance, the overall game balance has been tweaked, and new voice acting has been added to all military branches.

I don’t think it’s worth playing without this add-on. Even considering that Yuri’s faction is considered too imbecile by many players.

Sound accompaniment

The music is full of energy and literally energizes, and powerful guitar cuts call to battle! The author of such a cool soundtrack is the composer of the series Frank Klepacki, who admitted that bands such as Iron Maiden, AC / DC and Depeche Mode had a strong influence on the formation of his musical style.

The voice acting of the soldiers has already become a classic. Each unit comments on the received orders, and not only the banal “Yes, sir!”, But also many other phrases that have already become memes.

Since a large number of Russian translations have been made, each CIS gamer will have his own favorite voice acting, so I will not single out any particular one. But we must not forget about the original English, which is an example of how games should be voiced! Let each of you remember and name the one that has forever remained in his heart.

Minuses

Unfortunately, the balance was not brought to the second part. It seems to me that the Soviet side is stronger than the Alliance, thanks to which a banal rush with heavy tanks or a squadron of Kirov airships, as a rule, cannot be stopped. And after the release of the add-on “Yuri’s Revenge”, many felt that there was an imba in the face of a new faction (probably, I’m a shitty player in strategy, but I didn’t have a chance to feel this imbalance).

As with any game in my Nostalgic Games series, Red Alert 2, due to its age, does not look too good on modern computers. But, unlike other games, you do not need to install any mods to raise the screen resolution. It is enough to edit the settings ini file in the root folder.

Outcome

It’s a really solid real-time strategy game with a focus on combat rather than economics. Yes, the mechanics are not as deep as some Starcraft, but the sea of ​​​​humor, good voice acting and really cool videos between campaign missions give odds to many other brothers in the genre. If you are a strategy lover, then you simply must at least try this game. Fortunately, it is perfectly perceived even today. Well, I suggest old-timers to plunge into the past and share their memories in the comments.

I’ve been playing games for over 25 years and remember them exactly like that: heartfelt and addictive, with fun mechanics and interactivity, no in-game currency and no attempts to be anything but a game. In my Telegram channel you are waiting for not only reviews of games, but also current news, as well as discussions about game development. Subscribe, it will be interesting!