I hope many people, especially the senior producers, designers, and writers, got fired for this, if this is C&C 4.
Gameplay:
To be fair, the gameplay, although highly unorthodox for C&C, is actually innovative. Given a long enough match, an expansive enough map, and enough cooperative teammates, one might envision an exciting game. Skilled players, each a master of his chosen fighting style, could work together without stepping on each other's toes. Success on the battlefield would be rewarded by access to progressively better units, so the losing side would face increasingly dire odds until it folds. Alas, one would be hard pressed to find enough skilled teammates of similar levels to play a game that lasts long enough or on a battlefield diverse enough for such an ideal outcome. The chances are made worse by so many players turning their back on the game. You end up having to level up to where everyone else is before joining any worthwhile matches and wondering what is the point of the level system in the first place.
Such dreamy gameplay certainly does not exist in the campaign. Your best bet is to choose the offensive style, build a combined arms force, and just run around the battlefield and pound the AI to dust. Even on hard mode, it's pretty easy. Unless you intentionally challenge yourself and pick the defensive or support style, you will likely go through the campaign without seeing much of any structures or support powers as while you use these, you cannot access the powerful vehicles that make up the backbone of a ground force. Since you have no access to AI co-commanders in solo play and the missions are not nearly diverse enough, you generally have no reason to go down the path less traveled unless you make a conscious choice. If you try, like I did a couple of times, the exercise might end up feeling contrived. Oh, and don't worry about the unit cap. 60 command points are plenty.
Whether you can make full use of them or find them wasted, you do get access to a wide variety of units and upgrades and support powers, though never at the same time. Pretty much all the favorite C&C units make an appearance in some form. I think many have ridiculous names, but that's beside the point. The support powers may not be as fun as those in Red Alert 3, but they aren't bad for the Tiberium universe. If nothing else, at least these units take us down memory lane and remind us the good o' days when what we thought were bad C&C games actually could have been a lot worse.
Oh, and finally I would like to give kudos to the gameplay designer for the game's pacing. Even the weakest units in the game can now take considerable punishment. This is partly due to the rock-scissor-paper unit balance mechanic of the game. Regardless of the reason, the slower pacing gives you more time to strategize. I have often felt the fast pacing of C&C, especially Red Alert, takes away from the planning and execution in the game as units and buildings would be demolished in a matter of seconds once the fighting begins. Now you actually get a chance to adjust your tactics multiple times during one encounter. You actually have time to think and act.
Graphic:
Once again, the units look cartoonish. While such looks fit into the expected atmosphere of Red Alert, they could become a distraction for serious players of the Tiberium series. If you zoom in, however, the unit detail looks suprisingly crisp and cool. When you zoom out and seem them in action, though, they just look painted on. Depending on your graphics card (mine is ATI HD 4650), you may experience better visuals than I did. Or worse...
Sound:
I don't remember much of the sound from the game except one case. The Zone Defender (rocket trooper) kept saying "[this], Man" or "[that], Man." I was first annoyed. It eventually reminded me of Bart Simpson and a line by Ned Flanders, "I wouldn't want you to have a cow, maaaaaaan! Here's a catchphrase you better learn for your adult years: 'Hey, buddy, got a quarter?!'" I don't remember too much else, so the rest of sound must not be that intrusive.
Story:
When I started, from the reviews I read, I thought for sure I would either hate Colonel James or "my" wife the most. It turned out quite unexpectedly. I actually liked Col. James. She might be mad with vengence and bigotry, but she behaved quite close to what I would expect from a career GDI soldier who lost a bit too much to NOD. The actress who portrayed her did a good job too. "My" wife ceased to be annoying relatively early, at least n the GDI campaign. It was as though I never knew her. :) What a relief. Some of the more common criticisms turned out to be too harsh for my opinion.
The character I hated the most was the one I was playing. What's his name...doesn't matter...was a man without words and without principles. He changed his loyalty no less than twice in a span of only seven missions on nothing stronger than another's words and a computer file, which I have to assume must be absolute truth and un-forgeable, since our hero determined the fate of all humanity based on them. To be honest, if humanity entrusted its fate to someone like that, humanity deserved to be exterminated by the Scrin for our idiocy.
I pretty much despised all the other yet-unmentioned characters equally. The GDI general seemed only competent when he cracked down on Col. James, so I guess he'd fit right in with the Gestapo or maybe the NKVD of Red Alert. The Secretary General was alternatingly shamelessly apologetic and political. The two of them together were not half the leader General Solomon was. The worst was Kane. From his speech in front of the Scrin Tower, I felt that Joe Kucan just didn't care anymore. Well, why should he? I don't even know why Kane bothers to stay alive. He's no longer a self-proclaimed messiah. He no longer speaks for the deprived. He no longer leads the greatest terrorist superpower the world has ever known to try and overthrow the greatest political-military-industrial complex in history. He's just a guy who wants to get through a door... to go home? Well, boohoo.
So, at the end of the GDI campaign, I actually felt sorry for Col. James and was glad when she shot my character in the face. What a relief to know such an individual no longer holds the rein of the GDI military. Of course, I was also glad to see Kane go and couldn't bear to go through the NOD campaign.
Bottom line:
All this hating of C&C 4 would turn out so wonderously if the Scrin teleported through the activated tower while their fleet landed on Earth and killed all the Joe and Jill Nobodies that kept poping up in the interviews during mission briefings. Kane would return to Earth to reveal he was a Scrin spy who replaced Kane and made a fool of everyone except maybe Col. James. Then the real Kane, who might be dead-resurrected or wounded or something, would emerge from hiding after so long with LEGION his carefully prepared cyborg soldiers and fight one last gloriously battle against both GDI and the Scrin. Such would be a worthy end to one of the greatest villains in video gaming and his Technology of Peace.
If not, well, at least I will feel better knowing The Matrix Revolutions will no longer be the most ignominious sci-fi ending ever.