For nearly 15 years, this franchise has known its audience and struck to it relentlessly. Command & Conquer has always been a game for Michel Bay fans; fond of big explosions, cheesy scripts and unsubtle, compelling gameplay. You'd be naïve to expect anyone at EA to even consider messing with such a reliable cash-cow …
Which makes it all the more surprising that they did. C&C4 is a totally different beast this time round, something you notice from the moment you are forced to log onto the game server to play it. Of course, some familiar elements remain. You can still play as either GDI or NOD, and levels are still prefaced by skipable cut-scenes, as if the developers knew there's only so much cheese one player can eat.
For a start, collecting resources is a thing of the past. Tiberium still appears but now as green crystalline pools on the landscape, not needing to be physically collected. Personally, this feels like a mistake – yes, harvesting was a formulaic process, but protecting harvesters added another level of strategy that has been lost now it's gathered automatically. What you do get are random Tiberium crystals – red and blue, which can be collected by your units for added research and ranking points respectively.
More fundamental concern the MCV's (now called "Crawlers") which are both mobile and come in 3 different classes – Offence, Defence and Support. Depending on which one you choose at the start of each level, you can build a strike force, establish a defence perimeter or engage in largely aerial attacks. It makes for a different style of gameplay; initially promising more depth and fluidity but quickly introducing new problems. For instance, you're drastically restricted in unit numbers (never more than about a dozen per level) and cannot switch MCV-type after the start unless you lose it in battle. This makes for a curiously plodding experience, as you shuffle your MCV around, spawning much the same units and structures wherever you unpack. It also makes defending previously conquered areas far more difficult, compared to an AI that can assault anywhere on the map from multiple mobile bases.
As this is apparently the last C&C story featuring the camp series uber-villain Kane, you have to wonder why such significant changes have been crammed in now. They invariably appeal more to a multiplayer audience, making the single player campaign feel like a rushed and poorly play-tested version of Warhammer's Dawn of War series. There's still much to enjoy in the game's new pace, but C&C4's sweeping revision will lose many fans while not necessary appealing to that many new ones.
