It's hard not to like Command & Conquer.
In Command & Conquer you play as a nameless and faceless Commander. At the beginning you're allowed to side with either the Global Defense Initiative (GDI for short), or the Brotherhood of NOD (NOD for short). GDI is a United Nations funded military organization whose purpose is to defend the world from numerous problems such as terrorist organizations. NOD is a group of men and women who fanatically follow the enigmatic Kane. Command & Conquer's story is told through live action movies that play between missions.
Command & Conquer's gameplay is some of the most addictive RTS gameplay to date. Forget population limits and gathering five different resources. In C&C you can have unlimited units, and the only resource you need to harvest is the alien mineral known as "Tiberium" (which is also poisonous to your infantry). Your primary objective in C&C is to wipe out the enemy base(s) and units by using the most powerful army you can muster.
The graphics are nothing special by today's standards. For their time, however; they weren't bad. C&C consists of small and cartoony sprites on top of decent looking terrain. C&C is weak graphically.
The audio is excellent. There's gun sounds, explosions, the screams of falling soldiers; everything you'd expect on a battlefield. One of the best parts of the audio is the music, however; composed by Frank Klepecki the music in C&C is diverse, and very catchy.
Command & Conquer Gold (which is more or less C&C with a higher resolution and better menu graphics) is a fine game. Anyone who calls themselves a fan of the real time strategy genre owes it to themsleves to try the original C&C at least once.