Red Alert 3 sounding on PS3 in March

Last February, Electronic Arts announced that its Los Angeles studio was working on Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. However, less than half a year later, the publisher dashed Sony consolistas yearning for the new installment in the classic real-time strategy series. The PS3 version was abruptly put "on hold," and developers of the seriocomic, Soviet-themed, alternate-history sequel deflected questions about its status for the next seven months.

Then today, EA echoed last November's report by officially announcing that Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is once again coming to the PS3--and soon. Rated T for Teen, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition is due out in March, the same month as the PC version's first stand-alone expansion pack, subtitled Uprising.

Currently, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3: Ultimate Edition costs just $39.99 on the 360 and $29.99 on the PC. However, the expanded PS3 version will bear the same $59.99 that the 360 version did when it went on sale on November 11, 2008. That's because along with the base game, it will come with several extras on its Blu-ray game disc, including five exclusive maps, the entire game soundtrack, and more than an hour's worth of videos encompassing dev-team gameplay tips, game trailers, and a "making of" documentary.

Well-received on non-PS3 platforms, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is the first installment in the Command & Conquer spin-off series since 2001 expansion pack Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge. The real-time strategy game takes place in an alternate-technology future in which World War III is raging between the US, the Soviet Union, and a never-defeated Imperial Japan. For more information, check out GameSpot's previous Red Alert 3 coverage.