Command & Conquer Remastered Collection

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Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection
Command and Conquer Remastered artwork.jpg
Developer(s) Petroglyph Games
Lemon Sky Studios [1]
Publisher(s) Electronic Arts
Composer(s) Frank Klepacki
Series Command & Conquer
Engine
  • GlyphX  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
ReleaseJune 5, 2020
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection is a remaster of the first two titles in the real-time strategy video game series Command & Conquer with rebuilt graphics and sound improvements, and bonus materials. It was developed by Petroglyph Games with Lemon Sky Studios, and published by Electronic Arts. It was released on June 5, 2020, for Origin and Steam. [2] A physical edition intended for collectors was released by Limited Run Games. [3]

Contents

The compilation includes remasters of the first two Command & Conquer games originally developed by Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer (1995) and Red Alert (1996), along with their expansion packs and content that had been exclusive to console ports. It features 4K graphics, remastered music, upscaled full motion video cinematic footage, enhanced sidebar UI, modern online features, and an unlockable gallery of unused and "making of" content.

The source code for the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert was released on June 2 (three days before the game's release). This code, which was used to create the remastered games' back-end game engine, allows people to create game mods that can be played through the games' built-in mod loading system. [4]


Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection is a collection of remasters of the first two Command & Conquer video games: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert. It includes three expansion packs: The Covert Operations, Counterstrike, and The Aftermath as well as additional missions and briefing videos from the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation ports, totaling about 100 campaign missions. The sidebar UI was revamped to be easier to use, and other features were added. [5] [6]

Synopsis

Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection consists of two games: Command & Conquer: Remastered and Command & Conquer: Red Alert - Remastered. They contain the same plot as their original counterparts, with visual changes and upscaled full motion video cinematic footage. [7]

Development

During EA Play 2018 Electronic Arts presented Command & Conquer: Rivals , and subsequently received feedback that gamers would want another PC release in the Command & Conquer franchise. [8] They contacted Petroglyph Games, which was founded by previous programmers of Westwood Studios (developers of the original Command & Conquer video game), who said they welcome the collaboration. [9] The whole development process was marked by close collaboration between the studios responsible for developing the game and the community surrounding the franchise. [10] [11] At first, the team was not sure whether to create a remake or a remaster of the original game, [12] but because of the popularity of remasters such as Age of Empires: Definitive Edition they decided to do a remaster. [13] Petroglyph opted to use the original game engine from 1995 to keep the game as familiar as possible, with minor tweaks and bugfixes where needed. [14] One such improvement was a port of Red Alert 's artificial intelligence to the original game, because of similarities in the codebase. [14] The graphics and animations were updated by Lemon Sky Studios in Malaysia. [15] During development Petroglyph Studios frequently contacted the franchise community about feedback on art and direction of the production, [11] to a point where they recruited some of the top figures in the community (including modders, competitive players, shoutcasters, etc.) in a private Discord server for continuous feedback. [16] The box art for the game was also previously made by a community member, and later commissioned by Petroglyph for the game. [17] The multiplayer component of the game was rebuilt from scratch. [18] Achievements and a level editor have also been added. [19] The game launched on Steam and Origin on June 5, 2020.

Music

Command & Conquer: Remastered Collection contains the original music of the games, remasters of those tracks, and some music that was either cut or lost for the original titles, done by Frank Klepacki. In addition, Klepacki, along with the fan band The Tiberian Sons, remixed and performed 22 more tracks specifically for the remaster, based on their performance at MAGFest 2019, featuring tracks from the first two games, as well as a few tracks from later games ( Renegade , Tiberian Sun , Red Alert 2 , the expansion Yuri's Revenge , and Red Alert 3 ). [20]

Reception

Command & Conquer Remastered Collection received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. [21]

Alex Battaglia of Digital Foundry wrote that "Command and Conquer Remastered plays, looks, and sounds great". [27] Ben Kuchera of Polygon wrote that it was "a respectful but surprisingly full-featured dive back into the world of Command and Conquer". [28] Destructoid's Chris Moyse described the game as "a masterclass in how to re-energise a classic title". [29]

Related Research Articles

Command & Conquer (C&C) is a real-time strategy (RTS) video game franchise, first developed by Westwood Studios. The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game Dune II and introducing trademarks followed in the rest of the series. This includes full-motion video cutscenes with an ensemble cast to progress the story, as opposed to digitally in-game rendered cutscenes. Westwood Studios was taken over by Electronic Arts in 1998 and closed down in 2003. The studio and some of its members were absorbed into EA Los Angeles, which continued development on the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Klepacki</span> American musician, video game music composer and sound director

Frank Klepacki is an American musician and video game composer, best known for his work on the Command & Conquer series. Having learned to play drums as a child, he joined Westwood Studios as a composer when he was 17 years old. He has scored several games there, including the Lands of Lore series, Westwood Studios' Dune games, The Legend of Kyrandia series, Blade Runner, and the Command & Conquer series. His work in Command & Conquer: Red Alert won two awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petroglyph Games</span> American video game developer

Petroglyph Games, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Las Vegas. It was founded in 2003 by Joe Bostic, Michael Legg and Steve Tall, programmers formerly of Westwood Studios, after that company was closed down earlier that year.

<i>Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2</i> 2000 video game

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a real-time strategy video game which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 24, 2000 as the follow-up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Red Alert 2 picks up at the conclusion of the Allied campaign of the first game. Its expansion pack is Command & Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, released a year later in 2001. Red Alert 2 was principally developed by Westwood Pacific in collaboration with Westwood Studios.

<i>Command & Conquer: Red Alert</i> 1996 video game

Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy video game in the Command & Conquer franchise, developed and published by Westwood Studios in 1996. The second game to bear the Command & Conquer title, Red Alert is the prequel to the original Command & Conquer of 1995, and takes place in the alternate early history of Command & Conquer when Allied Forces battle an aggressive Soviet Union for control over the European mainland.

<i>Command & Conquer</i> (1995 video game) 1995 video game

Command & Conquer is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Westwood Studios in 1995. Set in an alternate history, the game tells the story of a world war between two globalized factions: the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations and a cult-like militant organization called the Brotherhood of Nod, led by the mysterious Kane. The groups compete for control of Tiberium, a mysterious substance that slowly spreads across the world.

<i>Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun</i> 1999 video game

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a 1999 real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios, published by Electronic Arts, and released exclusively for Microsoft Windows in August 1999. The game is the sequel to the 1995 game Command & Conquer. It featured new semi-3D graphics, a more futuristic sci-fi setting, and new gameplay features such as vehicles capable of hovering or burrowing. The main story of the game focuses on a second war between the UN-backed Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the cult-like Brotherhood of Nod, both seeking to rule over an Earth which is undergoing rapid ecological collapse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph D. Kucan</span> American actor and video game developer

Joseph David Kucan is an American video game developer, director, actor, screenwriter, and casting director for various gaming companies and films. He is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. He is well known for his role as Kane from the Command & Conquer series.

<i>Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars</i> 2007 video game

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a 2007 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007. The game is a direct sequel to the 1999 game Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, and takes place roughly seventeen years after the game's expansion pack Firestorm, in which Tiberium has grown to become a considerable threat to the planet, leading to the world's political borders and territories being remade into zones denoting the level of contamination by the alien substance. The game's story sees the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod engage in a new global conflict, this time as major superpowers, only for the war to attract the attention of a new extraterrestrial faction known as the Scrin, which attacks both sides while harvesting Tiberium for its own purpose.

<i>Command & Conquer 3: Kanes Wrath</i> 2008 video game expansion pack

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is an expansion pack for the 2007 real-time strategy video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. Developed by EA Los Angeles studios and BreakAway Games studios, it was released worldwide in March 2008 for Microsoft Windows and in June 2008 for Xbox 360 by publisher Electronic Arts.

Music of the <i>Command & Conquer</i> series

The music of the Command & Conquer series consists of the soundtracks of the Command & Conquer video games, published in various soundtrack and compilation albums. C&C is a video game franchise, mostly of the real-time strategy style, developed primarily by Westwood Studios and Electronic Arts. Much of the music for the series was composed and produced by Westwood Studios' former sound director and video game music composer Frank Klepacki for the early games, with composition duties being taken on by several others following the liquidation of Westwood Studios in 2003. Klepacki returned to the series in 2008 to assist with the soundtrack for Red Alert 3.

<i>Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered</i> 2016 first-person shooter video game

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered is a 2016 first-person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It is a remastered version of the 2007 game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and was initially released as part of the special edition bundles of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in November 2016 for the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. A standalone version was released for these platforms in mid-2017. The game's story follows the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the Special Air Service (SAS), who take on missions to fight against a separatist group in the Middle East and an ultranationalist group in Russia.

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Command & Conquer: The Ultimate Collection is a compilation of the Command & Conquer series' games published from 1995 to 2010, which was released in October 2012. The only game that is not included is Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor.

References

  1. ↑ Fogel, Stefanie (November 14, 2018). "EA reveals the details of C&C Remastered". Variety . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  2. ↑ Watts, Steve (June 5, 2020). "Command & Conquer Remastered Collection Now Available". GameSpot . Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Command & Conquer Remastered Collection: Special Edition". Limited Run Games. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (June 2, 2020). "The Command & Conquer source code is now available on GitHub". PC Games N. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  5. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (March 10, 2020). "'Command & Conquer Remastered Collection' arrives on June 5th". Polygon . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  6. ↑ Whitwam, Ryan (March 10, 2020). "The Command & Conquer Remastered Collection Launches June 5". ExtremeTech. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  7. ↑ Macgregor, Jody (March 8, 2020). "Here's what the remastered FMV cutscenes in Command & Conquer will look like". PC Gamer . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  8. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 8:08-8:35
  9. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 8:41-9:43
  10. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 10:21-10:27
  11. 1 2 Noclip 2020 , 29:54-30:27
  12. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 15:21-15:44
  13. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 15:44-15:57
  14. 1 2 Noclip 2020 , 15:57-17:43
  15. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 26:11-26:25
  16. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 30:58-32:06
  17. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 32:51-33:08
  18. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 34:57-35:15
  19. ↑ Noclip 2020 , 35:46-36:00
  20. ↑ Vessella, Jim (March 12, 2020). "Remaster Update and Tiberian Sons". Electronic Arts Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  21. 1 2 "Command & Conquer Remastered Collection for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Command & Conquer Remastered Collection - Test, Taktik & Strategie". 4Players (in German). June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Review: Command & Conquer Remastered Collection". Destructoid. June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Command & Conquer Remastered Review | Mission Accomplished". GameRevolution. June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Review: Command & Conquer Remastered Collection". Hardcore Gamer. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Command & Conquer Remastered Collection review: one of the most definitive remaster packages to date". VG247. June 5, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  27. ↑ Battaglia, Alex (June 8, 2020). "Command and Conquer Remastered: modernised, improved - and unmissable". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  28. ↑ Kuchera, Ben (June 5, 2020). "Command and Conquer Remastered review: A classic gets the treatment it deserves". Polygon. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  29. ↑ Moyse, Chris (June 14, 2020). "Review: Command & Conquer Remastered Collection". Destructoid. Retrieved July 30, 2023.

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