Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 Walkthrough

Fastfact

1. Developer: Westwood Pacific

2. Publisher: EA Games

3. Console/system: Microsoft Windows

4. Genre: Real-time strategy

5. Mode: Single-player, Multiplayer

6. System requirements:

7. ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

8. Release date: October 23, 2000 (North America)

Overview :

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a 2.5D real-time strategy computer game by Westwood Studios, which was released for Microsoft Windows on September 28, 2000 as the follow up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Set in the early 1970s,[2] Red Alert 2 supposedly picks up at the conclusion of the Allied campaign of the first game.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains 2 playable factions, Soviets and Allies which both previously appeared in Command Conquer: Red Alert. Red Alert 2’s single player campaign is structured in an alternate-ending mode as opposed to a progressive story mode.Unfortunately, getting specific logistical tactics to work is tricky with the tiny sprite units (even more difficult in higher resolutions) and you’ll eventually find it difficult to grab the right units to throw at the bad guys without inevitably making sloppy moves, flawed waypoint system notwithstanding.Both single-player campaigns build up with complexity and entertainment in typical RTS fashion while the multiplayer modes make for some great heated bouts of pride.

Story:

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains two distinct story lines depending on which faction the player wishes to play as. Both of the story lines differ in several distinct ways. However, the Allied story line is canon due to the way in which the expansion pack continues.Wielding strange new technologies and hungering for revenge, the Soviet Empire invades America. New York City and Washington are overwhelmed. Allied forces, unprepared for the surprise attack, are decimated.It’s like playing Doom II, watching another season of The X-Files, or listening to a new Oasis album – nothing is too innovative, too shiny, or too confusing. Everything feels familiar to millions while being just slightly different enough to dish out a good time for all. Yes, it’s “comfort food” that entertains you and with what seems like the 403rd installment in the Command & Conquer series, Westwood successfully believes in the old adage of reaching a man’s heart through his stomach.

Indeed, the immediate gut instinct while loading up Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is that it’s often difficult to tell it apart from the original game made almost five years before. Same isometric 2D view, same resource management, same tiny unit sprites, same regurgitated real-time strategy (RTS) tricks. But, for some reason, mainly due to small, yet effective gobs of spit and polish, it’s a blast. How exactly did that happen?

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 continues where the 1996 original left off. That alternate World War II had the Soviets contained, but now a new, last-minute danger has arisen with mind-control machinations and an invasion straight into the American capital. Not to put too fine a point on it, “red” in this context still equals “evil,” but no one really takes the game’s premises seriously, do they?

Of course they don’t. Which is proven more now than ever before, helped in part by the overly camp, full-motion video briefings that, despite trying so hard to be taken lightly, make you want to laugh at them, not with them. Northern Exposure’s Barry Corbin tries his best to make certain his good old Yankee patriotism is understood while Sliders’ Kari Wuhrer’s physical attributes are amply displayed in every clip she graces.

But, instead of shooting themselves in the foot by taking such an unquestionably silly premise as Russian airships flying into New York City with the straightest of narrative tones, the video segments are shot with a “we know you know that it’s all just a lark anyway” attitude. This is both refreshing and grating at the same time but it works – in a way.

Allied campaign

The Allied story line begins with a special forces team led by Special Agent Tanya being sent to New York City to repel the Soviet invasion there. The player, with help from Tanya, successfully repels the Soviet invasion of New York City. Tanya and the Commander are then sent to Colorado Springs to liberate the Air Force Academy and the air base there. When returning home victorious from the battle, it is discovered that a Soviet mind control device known as the Psychic Beacon, a device that can mind-control the population of entire cities, has been deployed in Washington, D.C..

Soviet campaign

The Soviet storyline begins with the player being briefed by Premier Alexander Romanov about the upcoming Soviet invasion of the United States of America. Romanov tells the player that the first priority is the destruction of the headquarters of the American military, the Pentagon. The Commander carries out this order, leading an invasion into Washington, D.C. and destroying the Pentagon. Another Soviet invasion is launched into Florida to destroy the American fleet there, which was threatening the Soviet invasion of the East Coast. Even though the Commander is almost fully responsible for these victories, all the credit goes to the top Soviet commander, General Vladimir. Yuri recommends that the player captures New York City with a Psychic Beacon, a device that can mind-control the population of entire cities, while Vladimir is in Moscow celebrating so that Yuri and the “Comrade General” can also get some fame and glory.

Gameplay:

Every aspect of gameplay in the game is based on the collection of money. In the game, money can be collected by several means. The most common is using Miner trucks to gather Ore and/or Gems and transport them to a Refinery. A player can also gain a lasting income by capturing Oil derricks (neutral buildings that are present in some maps). There also are two one-time sources of money, namely collecting random crates which are present in the map and selling off buildings which are controlled by the player. The money is spent on constructing and repairing buildings and units. In both cases one can start construction before having the full cost in one’s reserves, as construction pauses if one runs short of money.There are five types of “constructor” building: Construction Yard (for buildings); Barracks (non-mechanized units); War Factory (mechanized units); Shipyard (naval units), and, only for the Allies, Air Force Command (Harriers or Black Eagles). At any point in the game one can construct a maximum of one building/unit in each category—having more “constructor” buildings simply speeds up production.

The various nations are members of either the Soviet or the Allied faction. It is also the first C&C RTS not to include a mission select screen prior to levels that change the conditions of the next level.In single-player mode, the player can either compete in one of three campaigns or compete in Skirmish mode where he/she can battle with his/her own rules and settings.Red Alert 2 contains three campaigns. Boot Camp, Allied, and Soviet. Each campaign is distinct in its own way.

Red Alert 2 includes two different multi-player modes. One, LAN allows the player to play alongside friends and others without the use of an internet connection. The other, Online Play allows the player to play across the internet and against players from across the globe.

Rated :

Red Alert 2 received almost all positive reviews, with IGN calling it outstanding and GamePro’s Editor’s Choice.IGN 9.3/10 .Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is the best 2D real-time strategy game since Starcraft.Gamespot rated 8.5/10 .

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