Command & Conquer: Generals is a real-time strategy game in the Command & Conquer series. Generals utilizes SAGE (Strategy Action Game Engine). This proprietary engine is an extended version of the Command & Conquer: Renegade 3D engine. Generals was released onto the Microsoft Windows platform in 2003, and a Mac OS version was released in 2004, marking the return of the Command & Conquer series to that platform. An expansion pack, entitled Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour, was additionally released for PC in 2003, and for Mac OS in 2005.Plot
Generals takes place in the near future, with players given a choice of three factions to play. In Generals, the United States and China are the world's two superpowers, and are the targets of the Global Liberation Army, a large, well-organized terrorist organization, fighting as a fanatical irregular force. The United States and China are depicted as allies in the series, and frequently co-operate with each other throughout the storyline against the Global Liberation Army, which is depicted as an omnipresent, borderless organization with unclear goals beyond opposition to and expulsion of both China and the United States. The three factions are thus engaged in a war similar to that of the real-life War on Terror.
The player can play any of the three sides in any order, with each side's campaign consisting of seven missions. The storyline follows the order of China first, then the GLA, then the USA. In this order, China retaliates for a devastating GLA nuclear attack on Beijing, destroys the Three Gorges Dam, uses China's nuclear arsenal and eventually completely crushes the GLA cell masterminding all Pacific rim operations. The GLA campaign then begins, with the organization trying to recover from its recent setback at the hands of the Chinese by raising funds and instigating attacks against their American and Chinese antagonists, eventually culminating in the overtaking of the Baikonur Cosmodrome and the firing of a Soyuz rocket bearing a biological MIRV at a unnamed city. At this point the American campaign begins in which the USA engages the GLA across several locales, including Baghdad and the Caspian Sea, before defeating a rogue Chinese general supporting the terrorists and tracking them back to their base of operations in Akmola, Kazakhstan.
The Generals story is continued in the expansion pack Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour which leads to the US retaking Baikonur, the GLA attacking the US West Coast, causing a retreat of US forces from Europe, followed by the GLA invasion of Europe, and finally China defeating the GLA and seizing the opportunity to rise as a superpower.
Gameplay
Command and Conquer Generals operates like most other real-time strategy games, in that the player must construct a base, acquire resources, build various combat and support units, and defeat their opponent(s). Various unit types can be constructed, ranging from infantry to vehicles and air units. The player may control the United States of America, the People's Republic of China, or the Global Liberation Army, and each side has its unique characteristics and abilities. All sides share some similarities, such as training infantry at a barracks, building armored vehicles at a factory, possessing "high tech" buildings needed for more advanced units, possessing a means to acquire additional resources and possessing a unique superweapon.
The game's interface is similar to that of real-time strategy games such as Age of Empires or StarCraft. The player selects buildings to bring up build orders and purchase upgrades, and can select individual units to activate their special abilities. Structures are built by selecting dedicated builder units and placing the structure anywhere on the map.
As with other real-time strategy games, the various units have advantages and disadvantages against other units, and the player is encouraged to mix unit types in order to succeed and fight tactically with various unit abilities in order to win.
For example, rifle infantry are capable of quickly killing other infantry types, but are vulnerable to light vehicles and dedicated anti-infantry/anti-air units such as tankettes and APCs, which in turn are vulnerable to main battle tanks, which themselves are vulnerable to missile-equipped infantry and aircraft.
As the game progresses and the player defeats enemy units in battle, the player will gain "experience" points, which are used to purchase "Generals Abilities," unique abilities that range from enhancing units and unlocking new unit types to powerful air strikes, one-shot enhancements to units, or targetable "spawn points" to drop or create groups of units anywhere on the map.
As individual units attack and defeat enemy units or capture buildings, they gain "veterancy" and become more powerful, much like the General commanding them. Higher-ranking units attack faster, have more health, and can self-repair.
USA
The United States is the most technologically-advanced faction, and fights with a combination of powerful ground units and a large, versatile fleet of aircraft. USA forces rely on skill, mobility, and high technology to defeat the raw firepower of China and the guerilla tactics of the GLA. USA ground vehicles can construct unmanned drones to support and repair them in combat, and American troops and vehicles make extensive use of laser technology to guide weapons and defend against attack. American infantry have a number of special abilities, and include stealthy long-ranged snipers and a powerful commando named Colonel Burton with a number of abilities revolving around demolition and stealth. The USA also fields the largest air fleet in the game, including attack and transport helicopters, fighter planes, high speed bombers and stealth bombers. American Generals' abilities revolve around air power, including air strikes by A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and fuel air bombs. USA forces work best in a combined arms approach, with air power supporting tanks and artillery, which in turn support infantry, which in turn protect armor and aircraft, enabling them to defeat a much larger but less diverse enemy force.The USA has a major disadvantage, however, in that it has the slowest resource gathering in the game in comparison to troop costs, it has a less stable supply of power than China, and its high-tech units are very expensive. This can be remedied by building a large amount of Supply Drop Zones. This forces a USA player to construct a smaller, more specialized army than a Chinese or GLA player, and work to minimize losses. Chinese and GLA opponents can swarm a comparatively small American army and overwhelm it.
The United States' superweapon is the Particle Uplink Cannon, which fires off a giant laser beam into space and is reflected to the desired target. This superweapon recharges itself faster than the Nuclear missile or the SCUD storm.
China
The People's Liberation Army relies largely on raw power and massive numbers, culminating in a variety of powerful and heavily armored tanks, and has limited air power based on MiG Multirole Fighters. China's heavy-handed playstyle emphasizes direct assaults and sheer power to defeat American technology and GLA stealth. Chinese troops and tanks gain special bonuses when in groups, and make extensive use of propaganda (passive healing) to support their troops. China has a wide range of vehicle types, and the largest tank arsenal in the game, including several specialized tanks like the anti-infantry "Dragon" tank, super-heavy "Overlord" tank, and two separate types of artillery units. Chinese forces also make heavy use of gattling, nuclear, and napalm weaponry to destroy the enemy. China also utilizes advanced electronic warfare technology, including elite hackers, a spy called Black Lotus, and electromagnetic pulse weapons. The Chinese "nuke cannon" and "inferno cannon" are the only artillery units whose ammunition cannot be intercepted by any defenses.China has a major disadvantage in that its ground forces are generally slower than those of the other two factions. Due to having virtually no fast attack units, except for their MiGs, China is forced to make large, ponderous assaults with heavy units, a tactic that can be countered by the GLA's speed or the USA's air power. However, the Chinese forces are well-suited to winning drawn-out battles of attrition.
China's unique superweapon is the Nuclear Missile, in which a rocket is fired off and creates a "mushroom cloud" upon detonation at the desired target.
Middle East
A terrorist organization of Middle Eastern and former Soviet origins, GLA initially wages war against China for control of central Asian economic areas.Being technologically disadvantaged, the GLA has comparatively weak (though highly mobile) ground vehicles and virtually no air force, prompting the use of guerrilla tactics such as mining, suicide bombing, hijacking, and ambushing.
The GLA has a larger array of infantry types and vehicles (including Technicals) to make up for this disadvantage, and has the widest range of stealth options. The GLA also has a very powerful economy, with various resource-gathering techniques such as salvaging wreckage, gaining cash bounties on destroyed enemy units, and building multiple "black market" structures to bring in large amounts of money over time. Also, the GLA are unique in that they have no energy requirement for any of their structures or units, and any power input available to a GLA player due to captured power plants will boost productivity even further. The GLA's upgrades make it more powerful when fully equipped, transforming a relatively weak group of units into a more respectable threat. The GLA is also unique in that its structures, particularly base defenses, rebuild themselves over time unless completely destroyed; this makes it difficult to permanently damage the GLA with many single-shot weapons or units.
The GLA's toxic weapons, suicide units, and stealth and surprise abilities enable it to hit enemies from unexpected directions, and its powerful economy, combined with cheap, fast units, enables it to flood opponents with sheer numbers. The GLA's primary disadvantage is that, in terms of firepower, range, and durability, its units are outmatched by Chinese and American units, and it has a complete lack of air power. This forces a GLA player to outmaneuver or outnumber opponents, as in an even, direct confrontation the GLA will lose to superior Chinese firepower and American technology.
The GLA's unique superweapon is the SCUD Storm, which fires multiple biochemical rockets to a target, which after detonation, contaminates land with anthrax.
There is some controversy surrounding the GLA. Many believe that it is a glorified version of the Taliban & al-Qaeda combined, mainly due to nature of some units, such as Terrorists, who can make use of civilian vehicles as carbombs, Bomb Trucks, which blow up when ordered to attack & the lost mission "Black Sheep", where the player is given a quota of civilians to kill & the extensive use of biological warfare.
