Unfortunately, the modern video game market rarely indulges strategy fans with bright releases – the creators of really large franchises can be counted on the fingers of one hand. This is due to the fact that it is not profitable to develop strategies – they do not sell as well as shooters or RPGs, it is more difficult to cram paid content into them and, most importantly, it is difficult to create a gamepad-friendly game in this genre, and consoles today are the driver sales. It is because of this that large teams bypass strategy, and gamers have to play the same games for decades. However, no one says that this is bad – the old releases are very ready to quench the thirst for adventure.
For example, I enjoyed the single-player campaign in Command and Conquer: Generals when I was under ten years old, and now I am almost thirty, but I have not met anything better, although I have played almost all AAA projects over the past ten years. Why is The Generals so good? Can’t explain in a few words, but I’ll try.
A moment of history
The original Command and Conquer: Generals was released back in 2003 – then the journalists smashed the storyline to smithereens for its stereotyped, predictable and lack of in-game story cutscenes. But they just didn’t know yet that the mere fact of having at least some plot in strategies in twenty years would already be a huge bonus for the audience. But media representatives and gamers unanimously praised the strategy for an interesting approach to virtual battles – instead of creating huge armies of many thousands, in this game the enemy can be defeated by a detachment of five tanks or a pair of fighters. You just need to correctly use the advantages and disadvantages of your units, actively use microcontrol and skills from general promotions.
In the same 2003, EA (yes, EA once released good games) introduced a continuation of the strategy called Generals Zero Hour, which was tailored for multiplayer battles. Gamers in the original “Generals” tried competitions against AI and real players, but in the usual Generals there were only three factions – it quickly got boring. In Generals Zero Hour, there are much more “generals”, they have specializations and unique units, which makes the battles more interesting and multifaceted. And it was with Generals Zero Hour that the twenty-year history of one of the best RTS strategies in the history of game development began.
Every worker, tractor and infantryman is important
By changing the concept of gameplay, the developers from EA have made an amazing game – instead of building huge squads and demolishing the enemy with numbers, the gamer in Generals needs to think a lot and quickly, using the advantages of his faction in an attempt to break through the opponent’s defenses. That is, you do not need to build a lot of buildings, accumulate a sea of resources, and then pulverize the enemy army in one sitting, as in other RTS – you need to use each unit as efficiently as possible, cunning, deceiving, trapping, using unusual maneuvers. And because of the amount of such tricks and strategies, the game is so multifaceted that even after twenty years, I learn something new in every battle.
For example, “China” has a powerful double-barreled tank “Overlord” – it is expensive, takes a long time to build, but it has a lot of HP and armor, plus incredible damage is done to both buildings and enemy ground vehicles. But “USA” has F-22 helicopters with missiles that can quickly and without resistance take down the expensive “Overlord” if it does not have cover (for example, you can buy an upgrade with a Gatling gun). And GLA has no aviation at all, but there are very cheap Scorpion tanks and mobile SCAD missiles – you can send tanks to die against enemy defenses, covering the enemy from afar with powerful missiles.
It turns out an advanced version of the game “rock-paper-scissors”, where each unit has a weight, but only if it is used correctly. The player chooses his own strategy – you can crush the enemy with tanks, demolishing the defense in quantity, you can hit with long-range missiles, attack with aircraft or bring infantry to the rear and capture the enemy tank factory. Just yesterday, for example, I defeated the heaviest AI without defensive weapons, relying on attack rather than defense, and my friend prefers to demolish the enemy base with nuclear missiles, being on the defensive.
But special infantry units deserve special attention – every “general” has them. For example, “China” has a “Black Lotus” – this is an invisible on the map (without special protective structures or tanks) a girl with a laptop who can steal money from an opponent’s account, capture enemy buildings and more. But she does not know how to kill – only work as a hacker. The “USA” has a different story – there is a “Burton”, which demolishes buildings with a machine gun no worse than a tank, while healing itself and can plant bombs. And in GLA, a special unit simply cuts down enemy military equipment, into which you can then plant your infantry and fight with captured tanks or armored vehicles.
Thanks to the abundance of factions, units, defensive and attacking buildings, as well as official and unofficial maps, there are hundreds and thousands of scenarios for the development of the battle. You can play GLA for a month, master each unit, understand all the subtleties and tricks, and then take control of “China” and understand that you need to fight without helicopters, and the energy runs out faster than the enemy rivets “Scorpions”. It was this versatility that allowed the strategy to stay afloat even after almost twenty years – nothing like it has appeared on the market since then.
midnight duels
Huge thanks to the developers at EA for bringing the LAN multiplayer feature to this game. Probably, without it, the strategy would have died long ago, but due to Hamachi and Radmin, it is more alive than all the living. The fact is that there are no official EA servers for this strategy for a long time, so playing online just like that will not work with all your desire. But thanks to third-party software that emulates a LAN connection over the network, gamers can team up with each other and play as if they were sitting in the same computer club. This feature works so well that EA servers weren’t needed at release.
And even if you don’t have a friend who wants to try his hand at this strategy, and you’re already tired of fighting with AI (although no one has bothered anyone on the map for 8 players against 7 AI at maximum difficulty), you should not despair. There are huge communities of fans on the network, including Russian-speaking ones, with whom you can contact and quickly find an opponent. Moreover, you can easily even take part in a tournament – there are popular servers in Discord where competitions are held almost every day. True, it is worth immediately clarifying that real monsters are waiting for you there, who have studied every characteristic of each unit – experienced players with many years of experience in such tournaments do not give a chance for a mistake.
Enthusiasts are more productive than official developers
Absolutely any video game can live a full-fledged colorful life even without the support of a developer thanks to custom modifications, which Command and Conquer: Generals has a wagon and a small cart. At first, gamers started small – they created their maps in the editor, then they started replacing unit models, and then they got to the characteristics. Enthusiasts changed damage, HP, build speed, unit cost, and so on, creating a more balanced version of the strategy. But this is all baby talk against the backdrop of large projects, some of which have been developed and supported for more than ten years.
For example, my favorite mod is Project Raptor – this is a global modification in which literally everything has been changed. There is a different balance here, different units, more unique equipment, factions, functions and strategies for combat. Then there is Shockwave and Contra 009 with an equally impressive list of innovations, some of which make your head spin. You can, for example, play as a faction that has huge robots instead of tanks, and planes with a couple of missiles smash the building to pieces. The authors of these mods even modify the AI, making the enemy more complex, cunning and multifaceted, which makes the fight even more interesting.
Of course, there are not so many global mods, but if you wish, you can assemble the game yourself – change units, upgrade AI, add new factions, buildings and general perks. The community of enthusiasts releases something new every day, so even after ten years the game will look fresh and exciting, which is especially important for strategy – this is not an RPG where you can get new quests. Gamers constantly need new units, enemies, maps, features and capabilities so that the battles do not get bored and bring moral satisfaction.
EA could rake in money with a shovel, but they don’t see beyond FIFA
There is an opinion among fans of “Generals” that EA could release a fresh version of the strategy and literally rake in money with a shovel – most gamers who love this franchise have long been solvent and are willing to pay for fresh graphics, no problems with resolution settings and the ability to play on networks without unnecessary software. The publisher could release a sea of DLC with new units or their skins, sell new maps, factions and battle passes, cashing in on fans of the cult strategy. But no one does this, since sports simulators already bring in more than company bosses can spend.
On the other hand, although EA has long forgotten about this franchise, and the strategy genre is almost dead, gamers can still have a lot of fun. Mods continue to be released, the community grows every year, and it’s still nice to fight enemies, arranging evening battles with friends against the “Heavy Army”. And although the graphics are a bit outdated, “Generals” boasts everything you need (and even what many modern releases do not have – a leveling system for destroying enemy units, really smart AI and a built-in map editor with a lot of settings) to live another twenty years with the same army of devoted fans from all over the world. Yes, and the game can be run on any PC, even on the weakest one, which only plays into the hands of gamers.
Source: Trash Box
Johanna Foster is an expert opinion writer with over 7 years of experience. She has a reputation for delivering insightful and thought-provoking articles on a variety of subjects. Her work can be found on some of the top online news websites, and she is currently lending her voice to the world stock market.
