CnC:RA2 YURI's REVENGE REVIEW, from the ViSigoTH!
GAME STATS
RELEASE DATE : October 10 2001
COMPANY : EA Games, Westwood Studios
LEARNING CURVE : BEGINNER ~ Novice ~ Expert
It's actually been quite a long time since this game was released; I actually played this game two years later, somewhere in early 2003, but as I was browsing my shelf yesterday, casting around for any old gaming titles I could spend my time with, I found Yuri's Revenge (YR). Luckily, CnC:RA2 was already installed on my PC (because that's the kind of person I am), so I just put in the YR disk, waited for the installation, and feasted my eyes on some of the worst acting by veterans I have ever seen...
The absolutely first thing that will hit CnC:RA2 fans about this game is the acting. The same actors are back, but they're older, much fatter (especially Eva and Zofia... the only two in the game who we all really cared about), and their acting is more fake. I'm serious. Maybe it doesn't bother you when you play it, but I saw Gen. Carville and Lt. Zofia put on an excuse of a performance, and it really pained me. I had REALLY REALLY expected better from them. At least as good as CnC:RA2. But alas, at least Yuri hadn't changed. He seemed a little more... umm... I wanna say "hyper-active"? No, no, that's too strong a word for Yuri. Truth be told, I would've appreciated the game a LOT more had the acting been better...
But enough about this, already. As the previous game, you play the campaign from the Allied and the Soviet perspective. The good thing about the game is that Yuri, an entire new faction, has been added to the game. The bad news is... you don't get to play with him except in skirmish, which is just sad. The Soviets contain an all new Siege Chopper, which is just a normal chopper that turns into a huge cannon when deployed. Think of it as a cross between a Rocketeer and a Grand Cannon. The Apocalypse tank sounds WAY MORE apocalyptic this time. All the old units are back. As is the Demo truck with the infamous "Why don't you drive?" punch line. The Allies have a Battle Tank, which can crush normal tanks and can garrison up to five units and amplify their powers. So, if you garrison two Chrono Legionnaires, two Guardian GIs, and a Seal in a Battle tank, you got a deadly machine. The Allies also have other units and stuff, but I really want to talk about Yuri now...
Yuri is the brand new faction made just for YR, hence the name. Yuri's units and buildings mainly consist of mind controlling stuff. There is a tower that can mind control units in a defined radius. There is a Mind-control tank. A Chaos drone. Yuri's forces have a Grinder, which can literally "grind" captured units or even Yuri's own units to generate money. Lots of money. Yuri's superweapons include a Genetic Mutator that can turn infantry units into Brutes, and a Psychic Dominator, which not only destroys units and buildings, but mind-controls whatever is left.
The three factions, apart from their various additions and upgrades, get one special unit each. The Soviets get Boris, which attacks just like Tanya, but instead of putting annoying bombs on buildings, he can call in an airstrike of MIGs and destroy targets from a distance. Really cool. For the Allies, Tanya does the same things she did in CnC:RA2, but unlike the previous installment, you only get one Tanya in YR. The Yuri's have a Yuri Prime, which can mind control BUILDINGS. It's really effective. Go into enemy territory, mind-control the MCV, and sell it. Or, capture an enemy Air base, launch their planes against their own units, then leave. Experiment, have fun. Unfortunately, and quite logically, Yuri Prime can't capture Superweapons.
YR is a lot of fun for CnC:RA2 lovers, and even more who haven't tried these games yet. The campaign storyline isn't all that great, but it'll become secondary when you actually start playing. Udo Kier, the guy who plays Yuri, is just as good as he was in RA2, though the others could've done a LITTLE better. Don't let this game go for anything. The YR skirmish allows you to make teams this time around, though this wasn't possible in RA2, at least without patches or updates. Play YR, no matter what, then tell me what you think about it...