Ready for download off the Marketplace is some new Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars content including a free multiplayer map. Available for 500 Microsoft points is Map Pack 1 which consists of five new maps including Black's Bigger Battle, Tiber River Valley, Frontier Fracas, Tiberium Gardens III, and Tournament Desert Redux. And, as promised, there is a separate free map download available called Ground Zero, which is set on a meteor impact site and is perfect for 1v1 battles. New maps, oh the joy!
You can get more details on the new content if you check out IGN's interview with EA designer Greg Black as they discuss the new maps and what C&C 3's future holds. Run along now, new map downloads await.
In celebration of their upcoming 100th episode, Gamertag Radio is giving away 5 copies of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Command & Conquer 3 is already a decent RTS game, and we imagine it's even better when it's free. For your chance to win, head over to Gamertag Radio and read the rules for entry (hint: it's super easy). While you're at it, you might as well enter into their mystery giveaway as well. What are they giving away? How the hell should we know? It's a mystery, silly!
Still on the fence about picking up Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars? Maybe some cheesy into-the-camera monologues will change your mind. The NOD characters trailer is now available on Xbox Live Marketplace, featuring everyone's favorite fanatical warlord, Kane. You'll also get a brief look at the other main characters in the NOD campaign, including other aggressively named characters like Kilian Qatar. On the other hand, if evil doesn't do it for you, maybe you'd rather check out the GDI (read: "the good guys") campaign intro. You can find it after the break.
IGN recently posted some fresh hands-on impressions of the Xbox 360 version of Command & Conquer 3. We dissected the demo ourselves not long ago, but IGN gives out fresh details concerning the campaign mode. In particular, IGN notes that the computer AI becomes very difficult in later levels. Part of the reason for this is that computers don't have to contend with C&C3's complex control scheme. In other words, AI can manage, build, and direct units much more efficiently than a human. Adding insult to injury, the game lacks a simple restart option for campaign missions. So, if you find yourself without hope of victory, the only way to restart is to exit the game entirely and reload your most recent save. As IGN notes, it's not a deal breaker, but it can become tedious after multiple losses.
Thankfully, multiplayer removes many of these issues, as human opponents must overcome the same control scheme. In the end, IGN walked away impressed with Command & Conquer 3. So far, they've enjoyed the campaign -- difficult though it may be -- and the numerous online options (including more game types than the PC version). Hit the "read" link for IGN's full impressions.
Command & Conquer 3 finally arrives next week. Will it live up to its promise? We'll have to wait and see.
It's becoming common practice for developers and publishers to document the creative process behind creating videogames. Command & Conquer presents an interesting take on game design, using real actors instead of digital ones to tall its story. There is a new documentary describing the casting and filming process for Command & Conquer 3 available on Xbox Live Marketplace (also handily embedded at the top of this post). Of course, it also has geekily satisfying doses of Michael "Sam Fisher" Ironside and Billy Dee "Lando Calrissian" Williams. Check out the documentary and tell us what you think.
Do you like C&C's use of real actors, or do you prefer digital actors?
You may have heard that we had a tough time getting our hands on the Command & Conquer 3 demo last week. Saints be praised, we finally managed to grab the demo this morning. We spent a few hours playing the game and coming to grips with the controls. We also spent about 20 minutes getting owned on Xbox Live. So, is it any good? The short answer is yes. The long answer is after the break.
We fired up our trusty 360 this morning, as we are required to do under contract, and were pleased to see that the Command & Conquer 3 demo has gone live. Originally promised to arrive yesterday, we were left with nothing. Thankfully, the demo has cleared whatever hurdle that stood before it and is now just waiting to be downloaded. Tantalizingly sized at 1GB exactly, it just dares you grab it. So, what are you waiting for? Go get it. We'll post our impressions of the demo later today.
Despite yesterday's reports that a Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars demo was set to drop today, it remains unseen. The demo was unofficially announced via a forum post by an Electronic Arts employee. Either the employee was misinformed or the demo is still clearing certification hurdles at Microsoft. Of course, there are still many hours left in the day for the demo to drop, but as most demos hit in the morning, we're less than optimistic.
According to a moderator post on the Command & Conquer 3 forums, the anticipated demo of the game will arrive on Xbox Live Marketplace tomorrow. Finally, RTS fans will have a chance to test out the revised console control scheme originally developed for Battle for Middle Earth II. Only this time, instead of pitting orcs against elves, it will be NOD versus GDI. There are also gamer pics, 2 new trailers, and themes available for download right now. Get 'em while they're hot. Should you enjoy the demo, the retail version of C&C 3 hits store shelves May 10th.
Half the fun of playing games on the Xbox 360 is unlocking achievements. Hell, just saying the word achievement feels pretty good. Try it: "achieeeeevement." Feels good, doesn't it? Because we all love achievements so much, we bring you the full achievement list for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, which arrives next month. The list comes to us courtesy of Achieve360Points and it's quite a list. It's refreshing to see that the bulk of the achievements are located in the single player campaign, as many games reserve the big points for multiplayer. Hopefully, this means everyone will be well versed in the game when they finally jump over to multiplayer. Of course, there are a handful of multiplayer achievements as well, including plenty of shame achievements worth 0 points. For example, lose a game to someone ranked 20 places below you and you'll net the "Losing Face" achievement. Hit the "read" link to see all 22 achievements.
A demo of C&C3 should hit marketplace within the next few weeks.
Having already enjoyed its PC debut, Command & Conqer 3: Tiberium Wars finally has a release date on the Xbox 360. C&C3 will arrive for the Xbox 360 on May 10th (not May 8th). Even better, Electronic Arts will release a demo of the game on Marketplace in the coming weeks. In celebration, EA has released a handful of new screen shots as well as the official box art for the game.
Command & Conquer 3 represents EA's second attempt to bring an authentic RTS experience to a home console. Naturally, this is a somewhat difficult process without the aid of a mouse and keyboard. EA's first attempt, Battle for Middle Earth II was decent, though not perfect. Here's hoping that Command & Conquer 3 finally delivers the ultimate RTS experience to console players. Hit the "read" link for new screens.
Canada's little brother to Best Buy, Future Shop has a release date listed for Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Apparently the game will release on May 8th, 2007, but you can never tell with site just trying to nab pre-orders. In any case, it looks like Command and Conquer 3 will be joining the ranks of the other major titles coming at the cusp of summer. Will you be looking to get your Real Time Strategizing on in a couple scant months?
We've had a lot of Command & Conquer 3 coverage lately, but so far we haven't seen many videos of pure, unbroken gameplay. Fear not fanboys, for GameVideos has risen to the challenge, delivering over three minutes of unadulterated destruction. Watch as the forces of the GDI, the Brotherhood of NOD, and the Scrin go head to head. With so much happening on screen at once, we can only hope that the 360 version manages to run without a hitch, especially during Live matches. Check out the video and tell us what you think.
We love it when a violent game is making its way to Germany. Why? Because we inevitably get to type out the name of Germany's ratings board: Unterhaltungssoftware Selbstkontrolle (USK). Say that three times fast. According to CVG, EA will be altering Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars so that it is suitable for Germany's impressionable youth. It seems the game's suicide bombers will no longer actually commit suicide. Instead, these more risk averse almost-suicide bombers will remove their deadly explosive payload and run away. EA notes that this is only an animation change and that it will not affect the game balance in any way.
This isn't the first game to fall under the USK's ratings hammer. Other 360 titles, including Dead Rising and Gears of War, have been banned from the country outright. Of course, smart gamers know that they can pick up an Austrian copy. At any rate, Command & Conquer 3 for the PC debuts this month, with the 360 version following soon after.
Not long ago, it was revealed that Command & Conquer 3 would feature Vision camera support on the Xbox 360. It was previously believed that players would only be able to see each other before and after a match, but this video shows video chat windows during the match as well. All in all, the video reveals two things. One, Vision cam support is perfect for a game like Command & Conquer. Two, this may be the most annoying feature ever conceived. The video goes out of its way to show us how annoying this feature could be, and we're not exactly sure that's good marketing strategy, but the feature is at least promising.
Also, the video features actual 360 footage, giving us a look at the 360 control interface. It looks essentially like Battle for Middle Earth II, which we were expecting. It does, however, look much faster than BFMEII, which is definitely welcome.
For now, C&C3 for the 360 is saddled with a nebulous spring 2007 release date. Anyone plan on picking it up? Watch the video and tell us what you think (you can also grab the HD version here).