This game will deliver its addictive strategy gameplay through its unforgiving difficulty.
- Addictive strategic gameplay
- Deep tutorial covers the basics
- Acceptable graphics even for today
- Realistic cutscenes
Negative
- Difficulty ramps up too quickly
- Action might become repetitive and tedious if progress isn't done in stage
I had heard of Red Alert 2, but never expected to play a decade old PC game. While in near future I will be playing Yuri's Revenge, Red Alert 3 and Uprising, I guess if those build up on this one they are pretty good. Red Alert 2 is a strategic enjoyment for experts, but unfortunately newcomers will only enjoy the first few stages because the difficulty goes up way too fast, and there is no difficulty setting.
The game offers a healthy tutorial which covers all the basics and the foundation of the game. Although the story isn't very clear, but there are a lot of factions and enemies but if you aren't good as such war games you probably just fight without knowing. You'll probably recognize America though. There are several different areas which challenge increases greatly upon each.
The gameplay is still some of the most addictive around. You can build, and train soldiers to battle, control tanks, plane, and others along the game. It is easy to see the entire battlefield since you just put the mouse at the edge and the screen moves in the direction you are pointing. Alternatively you can repeatedly press the arrow keys to move, although it's troublesome. All the time you must prepare before going to battle. You build ore refinery to get money, and then build a training camp. The first few stages are easy, so easy that you don't require a huge army. When the game gets harder, you need a horde of soldiers and tanks to fight. The uncovered areas are pitching black so you can't see enemy movement. The enemy will rarely move unless you start exploring. The game will tell you if you are under attack. Normal soldiers are slow to go back, but tanks and rocketers cover more land faster. Normal soldiers die easily and they can't defeat tanks or rocket launchers easily but they can hide in abandoned building and wait for the enemy and unleash a strike. Engineers will help you fix things such as old buildings, bridges and abandoned you're using. Everything in the game requires money and some time to construct but after you click the right pad on the item you want, if it is a building it will grow super fast. By holding down the mouse and dragging it, you can choose more than a single soldier, which makes it easier. By pressing the P button, you can attract more allies which you might have forgotten. The minimap indicates where the enemy is and your allies but it is a bit small. Objectives get repetitive over time which mostly consists of destroying enemy base. The longer you play the stage, and the more units your enemy destroys, the feeling of frustration and boredom kick in.
Graphically we can't discuss a decade year old game. They were great at that time, but acceptable today. It should run perfectly on today's computer. Everything looks as it should be everything so small that some might not see them. The game warns you when under attack, not by text but by speech. The soundtrack is a bit cheesy but it won't give headaches. Cutscenes are worked in real-life and look fantastic for a game this old.
If you become a real-time strategy fan in recent years and never played older RTS, you are certainly missing a great example of an RTS. Even after a decade, this RTS is still addictive and fun on its own rights. Don't compare it with recent real-time strategy games because it's no match, but if you don't might antique graphics, and a harsh difficulty, IF you find Red Alert 2, you might as well try a great war RTS for a change.
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Graphics = 8.0
Great for a 2000 game, and acceptable for today. Everything is clear enough though.
Sound = 7.7
Good soundtrack and voices. Sound effects are almost always the same.
Presentation = 8.3
A great initial tutorial helps getting used to the game. Great production value and load times. Camera and controls are easy to get the hang of. AI is well done. Cutscenes are well though out.
Gameplay = 8.6
Addictive gameplay to say the least. The first few levels are fun for beginners but the difficulty ramps up to quickly and some are bound to feel frustrated. Long lasting battles aren't for everyone.
Others = 7.2
There are 2 campaigns which take quite some time to beat. Although if you aren't good at RTS game you won't survive long in Red Alert 2.
OVERALL = 79 / 100
This game will deliver its addictive strategy gameplay through its unforgiving difficulty.