Red Alert 3

[Dale]

After having completed the Russian and Allied campaigns through on hard (and about to start the Rising Sun campaign) all I can say is.....

DO NOT BUY THIS!

It is the EXACT SAME mindless repeatitive click-fest build-attack-build-attach as every other RTS. Sorry, but there is NOTHING new and exciting in this game. Just pretty graphics on a lesser story/game.

Sorry EA:

EPIC FAIL!

[Ninot]

Dale: have you played RA and RA2? Is it similar?

Is it an epic fail only because it doesnt introduce something, or does it do something wrong?

If its the same brand of game as RA2, then its atleast worth a try for me.

[Dale]

It's just the same as RA1/2 rehashed. Sure, different units and stuff, but it's literally just the same thing each time.

I think the agents are a bit overpowered. When Tanya, a couple of spies and an engineer or two can take out an entire huge base, it signifies a bit of a problem to me. Hehehe.

But really, it's the same game with a prettier UI. Oh, and there is a MAJOR bug (which I'm suffering from) that the devs can't fix where the mouse will stop responding for 10 seconds even though the game is still going on around you. This will occur about every 5 mins. I've lost levels thanks to this bug!

Can't tell you how many times THATS pissed me off!

[N35t0r]

ARMOURED BEARS trump your arguments

I'll have to wait until I've played enough skirmishes vs. humans though.

[Kuciwalker]

Ignore Dale. It's a significant improvement on the RA1/2 gameplay - half of the units being amphibious actually makes terrain (particularly water) more important and interesting. That, and the SP co-op being built in from the ground up makes the SP campaign about 1000% more fun.

In the SP campaign you always have two allied teams on the PC side - e.g. two independent bases in base missions. In SP the other is controlled by a reasonably competent AI*, in coop by the other player. A lot of the missions give the two bases slightly different capabilities - there's one mission where one base can only build a barracks and naval yard, and another base with only an airstrip and naval yard, and you have to coordinate some amphibious invasions.

It also makes defending easier: "oh ****, he has 4 kirovs coming at me from the right and my flak ships just got killed by rockets, please please please get your flak ships over there before my base is gone" (from last night).

*at least, usually competent enough to keep the other AI's busy while you systematically destroy them

[Patroklos]

Eh, after a few days the game has become boring. It really is just prettier copy of RA2. Sure, there are a few new things but nothing all that great.

[Dale]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker It also makes defending easier: "oh ****, he has 4 kirovs coming at me from the right and my flak ships just got killed by rockets, please please please get your flak ships over there before my base is gone" (from last night).

Allied Cuba mission? (Stop the Kirovs coming out of the sports stadiums)

[Dale]

Originally posted by N35t0r
ARMOURED BEARS trump your arguments

I'll have to wait until I've played enough skirmishes vs. humans though.

Just run over bears with tanks.

[Dale]

Originally posted by Patroklos
Eh, after a few days the game has become boring. It really is just prettier copy of RA2. Sure, there are a few new things but nothing all that great.

My point exactly. It's a prettier RA2.

[N35t0r]

Originally posted by Dale


Just run over bears with tanks.

Oh, they're not very useful, they're just cool

My point exactly. It's a prettier RA2.

Based only on what I have played so far, better balanced too.

RA2 had the soviets with shoot-downable V3s and the allies with unstoppable splash-damage prisms.

Also, spies.

Among our group of friends, especially on large money-heavy maps, only a few of us played the soviets anymore. And even then I almost always tried to capture some allied buildings to get spies as well.

[Zero]

beat all campaigns and its already uninstalled. where RA1 and RA2 at least has entertaining MP, RA3 didn't really seem that fun. All the units try to be over the top crazy cool and in the end balances itself out.

-RA3 still has balancing issues. Game needs some patching. Allies are unstoppable in earlier tech tiers with air unit harrassment. Soviets are the new mass build and steamroll faction. Japan is so different that it might take some time to figure out the proper strat for the faction, but i just don't care anymore.

-Bears are useful. They are the best scouts in the beginning. And it helps to hunt down all the early engineer attempts at derricks.

RA2 had the soviets with shoot-downable V3s and the allies with unstoppable splash-damage prisms

soviets were far weaker on later techs, but they had the earlier tier advantage. IIRC, i remember 1v2ally friends with just rhino/conscript spam... they never got to get their tech buildings up.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Dale
Allied Cuba mission? (Stop the Kirovs coming out of the sports stadiums)

No, Soviet Iceland mission.

[N35t0r]

lol, in that mission, I had captured the allied base to the NE and when the time came just bombed the HQ to bits with planes.

[Felch]

I played easy games with each side to get the hang of how the new units work, and got bored with the AI. I generally avoid campaigns, and just stick with skirmishes.

I played a skirmish on medium, one AI ally, versus two AI opponents. How are they able to build so damn quickly? I (Soviet) get a power plant and my first refinery up, look over to the Allied ally, and it already has power, two refineries, and barracks.

Then the bombers start to come in. I quit before nine minutes were up. One of the computer opponents had used 571 special abilities in that time. How is a human supposed to compete with that? It's more than one per second, on top of building everything seemingly simultaneously.

If this were hard difficulty it would be fine. But easy is downright retarded (AIs will throw a couple infantry at a time against your base, and call it a day). Medium should be something that a normal person would find fun.

I just don't find juggling a zillion different special abilities in real time that much fun. Every single unit has some little button that you have to press that makes it better in certain situations. Why not just pretend like we recruit soldiers who aren't retarded and know how to fight? That way the player can concentrate on the big picture, moving units around to respond to attacks, making attacks, building units and buildings, stuff like that. Having to babysit units so that they know they're supposed to shift into anti-aircraft mode when the chopper comes is a chore. But if you don't pay attention to every little darling ******, they'll just sit there and patiently wait as they're mowed down by some. . .

Just assume that there were another ten thousand words of hatred for this style of gameplay. If you guys crush it on hard difficulty within ten minutes of installation, good for you. I just can't do that. Is there a speed setting I'm missing?

[Felch]

Just played a few Soviet campaign missions. There medium is a joke. WTF?