Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath - The GDI Subfactions

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is the expansion to Command & Conquer 3 and the latest game in the famed real-time strategy series. The Command & Conquer series helped cement many of the conventions found in the genre. In the game, your units gather the alien mineral Tiberium, which is used to help construct buildings and defenses, along with a wide array of military units. Kane's Wrath, which is due out next year, will feature a load of new live-action cutscenes, with such actors as Species' Natasha Henstridge and Alias' Carl Lumbly. It will also feature a new twist: The three factions from Command & Conquer 3--the Global Defense Initiative (GDI), the Brotherhood of Nod, and the alien Scrin--will each get two subfactions. We've got the details on the two GDI subfactions below.

GDI Subfactions

Steel Talons
The end of the Second Tiberium War saw the Brotherhood of Nod seemingly implode. With victory at hand, the GDI began to turn to peacetime tasks, the most pressing of which was battling the Tiberium contamination on the planet.

The Steel Talons is the name given to an experimental technology battalion formed in the wake of the Second Tiberium War. Founded by General Joshua "Mitch" Mitchell, the Steel Talons specialize in unconventional operations. The unit is designated an experimental one because it's something of a test bed for the latest and greatest military technologies. It is also designated as such because of Mitchell's demand that some of the peace dividend realized with the end of the war be directed toward maintaining the GDI's technological edge. After all, Mitchell argued, as long as Tiberium contamination remained on the planet, large amounts of the population would remain dispirited and provide ready recruits for any successor to Nod.

Mitchell is something of a maverick and a risk taker in that he places a lot of faith in technology, even unproven technology. At the same time, he also believes in the superiority of advanced firepower. If the Steel Talons find themselves in a situation, Mitchell wants to make sure they can blast their way out of it. The Steel Talons proved themselves in the small skirmishes that followed the Second Tiberium War.

ZOCOM
With the Second Tiberium War over, the GDI tasked the military's Zone Operations Command, or ZOCOM, with the goal of reducing and eliminating the Tiberium contamination of the planet. ZOCOM's mission was to "invade" areas of high Tiberium infestation and commence reclamation operations. In addition, ZOCOM had to defend such operations against terrorist and mutant attacks.

Due to the nature of the assignment and the dangers of being exposed to Tiberium for prolonged periods of time, ZOCOM is filled with some of the most capable, battle-hardened veterans in the GDI. Command of ZOCOM was given to C. Elena Renteria, one of the first women to rise to the rank of general in the GDI. Though Mexican by birth, she grew up in the Tiberium wastes of Africa, following her scientist parents around.

ZOCOM forces are clad in Tiberium-resistant battle armor that makes them very difficult to take down in battle. They also use experimental sonic weaponry that packs a powerful punch, which makes ZOCOM an incredibly durable and rugged force on the battlefield.