Command & Conquer: Generals

released on Feb 10, 2003

Command & Conquer: Generals puts your trigger finger on the pulse of modern warfare. Choose your powerful General to control massive armies of bleeding-edge military weaponry across a globe teetering on the brink of Armageddon. Command one of three unique sides, each with customisable high-tech arsenals ready to deliver unprecedented firepower on land or in the skies. Annihilate the opposition in the 27-mission single-player campaign or dish out the damage in global multiplayer mayhem. Prepare your forces, Commander…it’s time to engage in the next generation of real-time strategy - Command & Conquer Generals.


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una vez estaba jugando contra mi hermana y construí como 6 líneas de defensas así que al final ella se acabó rindiendo porque no conseguía atravesarlas

I have a soft spot for Command & Conquer Generals. This was EA's first game in the series, and the introduction of a third universe as well, separate from Tiberium and Red Alert. Generals strayed away from Sci-Fi and instead went for a setting based on modern warfare. And it does a good job at that. Unsurprisingly, Generals is a game that was a bit topical for the time, and ended up in hot water in some versions of the game. The German version in particular is heavily censored, where even human characters have their icon edited to make them look like robots.

Generals is extremely politically incorrect, and probably wouldn't fly today. Despite being modern warfare it doesn't lose any of that good ol' Command and Conquer charm that makes the series so darned lovable.

Gameplay differs slightly from previous entries. Previous games had players build structures in a queue and then plop them down ready-made on the field when they were done. In Generals, Workers and Dozers instead move over to the place the building will be and build it over time. It's a fun change and honestly I quite love this take on RTS structure building. Keeping your construction units safe into the mid and late game is much more important in this one. And there's no running by packing up your MCV either. I think this change was made to fit the modern setting better and it definitely works by making Generals play uniquely.

The campaigns are rather on the easy side for "Normal", so I'd recommend bumping up the difficulty if you're a seasoned RTS player. China's Mission 7 however is a pain, jeez. That one took me careful planning to make work. But true to being an RTS, having a right strategy in mind for these campaign missions usually works.

Generals unfortunately is lacking in some areas compared to its sequel/expansion in Zero Hour. There's some gaping holes in many of the units, such as the USA lacking a ground AA vehicle, or China only having one type of aircraft.

Still, vanilla Generals is still fun. I'd give it a try now that it's on Steam, but make sure you install GenTool to give it a needed facelift, proper FPS, and proper resolution.

Score: 84

the fire-spewing tanks were the coolest shit ever for me as a kid

Holy shit this was good at its time.