Command and Conquer: The First Decade

When you hear Command And Conquer, the one thing that comes to mind is the word awesome. The first PC game I played was the first Command and Conquer game and it got me interested in Real Time Strategies and led me to one of their best games (in my personal opinion), Red Alert 2.

   But the question you ask is, why should I buy these games? Because the fact is that, without them you wouldn't be playing some of those RTS that you play now. These were good games when they came out, graphic-wise but they had a new storyline which kept you interested. And if your a student and want to play a RTS, a cheap option if you haven't got the original games is to buy The First Decade Edition. And includes the 6 original games with the 6 add ons, spanning through from the original to General Zero Hour.  This would be a prime investment as you will get hours of entertainment, from one purchase.

The Storyline
   Tiberian Series: Command and Conquer, Tiberian Sun, Renegade
In this series, an anomalous extraterrestrial substance known as Tiberium is brought to Earth through a meteoric collision during the early 1990s. The substance's intriguing yet hazardous properties begin to fuel an escalating war between two globalized factions; the United Nations' Global Defense Initiative, who wish to prevent the proliferation of Tiberium for safety reasons, and the mysterious and ancient Brotherhood of Nod society, who embrace the substance as the herald of a new age and the next stage in humanity's evolution. So, two fractions fighting over a resource (oil.... I mean  Tiberium).

   Red Alert Series: Red Alert & Red Alert 2
This follows more of a what if scenario. Albert Einstein, develops a time machine (Chronosphere), to travel back in time to eliminate Adolf Hitler, so it would prevent Nazi Germany from forming and World War 2 to be averted. However without World War 2, this leads to Joseph Stalin s invasion of Europe (Red Alert) and eventually the USA (Red Alert 2). These games has the strangest units in the game, including shock troopers, attack dogs, dolphins & giant squids!

   General Series: Generals and Zero Hour

It is set in the near future and you can play either three factions, United States, China or Global Liberation Army (GLA /Terrorist organisation). USA and China are trying to fight against the GLA as they are a terroist organisation and in the campaign you play as all three.

Gameplay
Apart from Renegade they follow the simple mechanics of a RTS, build a base, build an army and destroy the opposition before they destroy you. The campaigns deviate from this by setting you defending quests, obtain the intelligence, escort missions. Some will give you limited amount of troops or resources which is when you have to use a bit of tactics to overcome them but it is worthwhile in the end. As newer RTS are getting rid of the base building aspect, this part of C&C is the most fun. Building the super weapons, research buildings or having multiple bases scattered around to annoy the enemy, be it computer or actual person. Although the base building didn't reach its peak til Red Alert 2, it is still good fun. But the older games like Command and Conquer, has you waiting ages just to build one troop. The mechanic is tried and tested and it works

Internet Play

Whatever Internet play there was back in the good old pays of dial up (yes I said it, the infamous dial up, the tone still terrorises me), some of it hasn't come along with the older games. Renegade, Generals and Zero Hour are the only one with Internet capability. Red Alert 2 have LAN but was difficult to set up a game with my old housemates. It is sad not to see Red Alert 2 without this ability to play games online (if I am wrong, which I am hoping that I am, please comment below how I can). But for Generals, its good fun, especially with Zero Hours when you specialise in the different armies, like USA aircraft, Chinese military or the GLA toxic specialist. They play differently and normally its how the player uses them, which wins them game rather than the so called 'brokenness' of the army they used.

PresentationWhat can I say.... Old School. They haven't improved the graphics, which I don't mind. There are some which will complain about how old they look and why they didn't update it. My guess is, the people that would buy this collection wants a blast of nostalgia. There isn't much I can say since its not pushing the boundaries of graphics. The music fits the scenes and missions, especially in the first game and Red Alert 2. The music creates the right mood for the scene. Low and soft for the stealth/low profile scenes and louder/tensions heightening moments. The weaponry and buildings look different especially the Russians when they have the random looking units such as squids, shock troopers etc.

Overall
You have a decent game here for a reasonable price on Amazon (plugging). There may not be much on the way of Internet play but the campaigns and skirmishes will set you back quite a few number of hours and hone in on your RTS skills. With a good (be it insane) plot, varying units, huge and unique maps and old time presentation, this is a collection which is worth taking over

Rating: 8.7/10