Review TheCorbeauxKing 3/5 · Apr 17, 2025
Tiberian Dawn was better than Red Alert.
This statement is considered heresy in the C&C fandom, but I think they are too focused on the improvements to the formula as opposed to the sheer fun factor.
Red Alert's mission design is much better then Tiberian Dawn, with there being enough resources on the map to actually build up a base and keep churning out units. There are …
This statement is considered heresy in the C&C fandom, but I think they are too focused on the improvements to the formula as opposed to the sheer fun factor.
Red Alert's mission design is much better then Tiberian Dawn, with there being enough resources on the map to actually build up a base and keep churning out units. There are a few quality-of-life changes that bring the game closer to the modern RTS standards, but I think that took out the original's charm. In the original I could stack sandbags out to my opponent's base and build everything I need at a new location, in Red Alert I'm confined to my starting base unless I build Silos which cost considerably more and take up energy. In the original I could bum rush a base with Engineers and set up a proxy base in the middle of my opponent’s base, but now I need to inflict significant damage onto a structure to take it, meaning I needed to already have a strong army, at that point just continue to steamroll your opponent.
The improved mechanics just ended up bringing attention to how wonky the rest of the game is. The pathing is still atrocious, especially for naval units, I found myself fighting my own subs more than the enemy. There is an abundance of diagonal bridges in the campaign that makes traversing the map a colossal pain in the ass. My artillery is faster than my tanks, so they go to the front of my army and get obliterated. Loading up transports straight up doesn't work if you have multiple units queued up, so you must do it individually. There are no anti-air units for the Soviets aside from the literal best unit in the game, so I just end up massing that. In fact, 90% of the missions are won by just massing tanks and rushing the Construction Yard. The Soviet campaign's saving grace was the lack of no-build missions, which in the Allied campaign can only be won by save scumming. It’s all a janky mess and since the rest of the game is more in line with modern RTS games that just means I end up comparing it to the more refined modern games. Tiberian Dawn was even more of a janky mess, but at least it had personality, Red Alert doesn't even have the 5/5 soundtrack like the original.
Now if you're a fan of RTS games or any of their spinoff genres Red Alert is still worth playing simply for the legacy. I appreciate that it set the stage for RTS games that came afterwards, so I cannot truly be too hard on it, but there was a point where I just wanted it to hurry up and end. I'd give Red Alert a 3/5, it’s a serviceable RTS, but nothing spectacular, nor is it as memorable as Tiberian Dawn.
