12 Ways To Conquer The World!
If you are new to the Command & Conquer franchise; then this part's for you:
The Command & Conquer storyline falls under three different universes. The first one is about two factions known as GDI (GDI stands for Global Liberation Army) and represents modern day Coalition forces; and another called "The Brotherhood of Nod"; which is... well, the evil one. It sets in modern future, set around mid-late 21st century. The GDI's job is to get rid of this green alien-origin substance (which they call Tiberium") which came from a small comet that crashed into the Earth, and also defeat the "Brotherhood of Nod" whilst they are at it. Nod, tries to revolutionise the world by using the Tiberium crystals to make money - and use it as weapons. (When the Tiberium substance is raw, they can also kill)
The second universe (or storyline) takes place during World War II and in the post-World war period. Where history has changed involving Time Machines and futuristic weapons used to make an alternative history. It features the Allied Forces and the Soviet forces; this is because due to the succession of Einstein's Time machine - Hitler has been assassinated, but now that he has, it's Stalin that wants to rule the world.
Lastly, the third universe is set in present time; presenting modern warfare alike. It centres on three factions: USA, China, and the GLA; with the use of well-known weapons such involving Nuclear, Anthrax and firestorms.
Now, let's talk about what "The First Decade" actually has to offer for us. The First Decade features a double DVD pack which offers all of the 12 games and expansion packs released since 1995 for the price of one game, that's right only one. But is it really worth it? (We'll talk about that in a bit), the second DVD features bonuses including commemorative videos, interviews alongside with tribute videos which can be cool to watch on the first go, but afterwards it just seems to dry out.
All the Command & Conquer games are in there, from the original Command & Conquer, Red Alert 2 all the way up to Zero Hour; even though it's been released to celebrate the first ten years of the franchise's existence - nothing is missing, nothing extra is added, no wicked-exclusive patch is even in there. Everything is still original end of story. The online severs are still down, you still have to search the net for that add-on that allows you to play the first few games online (However, as of this date I have recently noticed "Generals" and "Zero Hour" lobbies becoming increasingly more empty, allowing less matches and wars to be played online). However, The First Decade seems to be missing something absolutely crucial to the installation of the game. Gone are the special wow-looking effect of the unique Command & Conquer installation screens; it's just a normal Windows XP setup installshield pop-up now. Not very entertaining at the least.
First Decade's a little buggy but worth it if you want to own the game that started the franchise. But if you do already own it, then this compilation pack is not for you. The Video and Documentary bonus DVD isn't really worth watching so... you're better off buying "Command & Conquer Saga" which goes for the same price, except this time instead of a bonus DVD, it also features "Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars". My advice: Buy Command & Conquer Saga, not First Decade. (May I also point out that you online gaming with these games are not guaranteed.)
Michael Tran,
Minimum System Requirements:
OS: Win XP.
Processor: 800Mhz.
Memory: 256 RAM.
Video Card: 32 MB with TGL.