🚀 go-pugleaf

Let's see if anyone reads this ng anymore :)

After seeing Red Alert 3 I decided to compile a list of good and bad 
things in the series (IMHO). 

***

First the actual games:

I have a hard time selecting the best game in the series but I would 
have to chose Red Alert 2 (not the "micromanagement your Yuris" 
sequel). The reasons for this decision will be revealed later. Tiberium 
War comes a good second as it is well balanced but falls short in two 
areas (also discussed later). Kane's wrath had the awesome Strategic 
level Global Conquest though which alone almost made my day. But I 
think it lacked multiplay and random maps (most bases were quite fixed 
in the 5-6 maps it used).

***

But as for naming turkey games I'm not sure where to begin (in no 
particular order):

Tiberium Sun for being the most buggy game. I don't think the units and 
balance worked all that well either.

Generals for being too fast (locked speed multiplay, yeah right) and 
for having TOO BIG units and buildings so you cannot get a grasp of 
what you are doing. My buddy likes it though but that's probably 
because he can constantly beat me in it (as I can't click as fast - we 
all know what effect that has on your play).

TFD for being incompatible with the previous protection schemes. We 
bought it just to have an easier time installing everything when 
needed. But all great mods (like being able to generate a map for Red 
Alert games) went out the window because the directory structure or 
something changed. Some mods still worked if we managed to locate the 
original disks. Protection schemes SUCK. 

Red Alert 3 for being a load of candy but this is a premature 
assessment as I haven't played it through yet. And once we get to test 
out Co-op mode we might just like it a lot.

***

The top features we have had most fun with are (in no particular 
order):

The ability to generate maps. Wins hands down. Modding Red Alert to 
generate huge maps almost made Red Alert a great game again as well.

Without the ability to generate maps the downloadable *user maps* often 
have made a game much better... but still. Random is great.

Co-op multiplay. I don't even remember which game had this. But the 
graphics and one of the maps is still burned on my retina so I would 
guess Red Alert (possibly one of the expansions).

Red Alert 2 tip's and tricks. The super weapons, engineer attacks on 
selected buildings and just a billion of different surprise attacks you 
could make made this a great game. At some point we had more than 5 
outlawed techniques.

Selectable game speed. My buddy wants to play at twice the speed I do 
but he is 15 years younger. High speed just means creating a big army 
or doing one well timed attack (since there is no time to react). Yes, 
I know this is not true but more often than not it is. Boooooooring.

"Hills have no eyes". Yes, over and over we have had to install Red 
Alert Aftermath again just to play this absolutely superb map. 
Excellently balanced. Very hard to survive (especially with your 
opponent taking down your defenses with air :). 

***

Totally rotten feature:

Multiplay on the net. With locked speeds I might as well forget 
playing. Or resort to the second thing that makes net play totally 
boring... creating a "perfect" strategy that I use in every game. 3 or 
4 different strategies take care of most maps. Then it's just an 
excercise in clicking faster (and sometimes getting the ultimate 
crate/bomb).


Oh well, I think I've written well enough considering maybe 10 people 
read this ng anymore :).

Eskimo

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