Review Aleosha 3/5 · Jun 1, 2026
Tiberian Sun runs well on modern PCs, but since this isn't a remake, the controls haven't been modernized. You issue orders with the left mouse button, can't select units of the same type with a double-click, and waypoint behavior feels unintuitive.
As a kid, I completed the game but didn't particularly enjoy it. The original Command & Conquer was straightforward, …
Tiberian Sun runs well on modern PCs, but since this isn't a remake, the controls haven't been modernized. You issue orders with the left mouse button, can't select units of the same type with a double-click, and waypoint behavior feels unintuitive.
As a kid, I completed the game but didn't particularly enjoy it. The original Command & Conquer was straightforward, especially when playing GDI with its powerful Mammoth Tanks. Tiberian Sun felt strange by comparison. You could only build a single Mammoth Mk. II, which looked more like an AT-AT armed with a gauss cannon. NOD artillery had to deploy before firing. Some tanks could transform into turrets. Everything felt a bit bizarre.
This time around, though, I appreciated it much more. The missions often feel like puzzles and actively encourage exploration. You can discover hidden bonuses, alternate routes, and other rewards for paying attention to the map.
The campaign structure is also interesting. Some missions branch into optional side missions that make later objectives easier. The only downside is that it's not always obvious which mission advances the story and which one is optional.
One aspect I still don't enjoy is that you need to hunt down every remaining SAM site, destroying random fences, or finding some overlooked structure to complete the mission. Of all the GDI missions, "Weather the Storm" remains my least favorite. Because of the ion storm, you're denied all air units, which leaves you with no effective counter to NOD artillery. To make matters worse, the minimap is disabled.
The final GDI mission is also tough, but not because of the enemy forces. The real challenge is the one-hour time limit. Normally it would be just another mission, but the game never explains that the timer can be reset by destroying ICBM sites. Once I figured that out, it became bomber time. Destroying enemy buildings is largely pointless because they rebuild almost instantly. Instead, you need to hunt down the Construction Yards. What the game never tells you is that there are actually three separate AIs, each with its own Construction Yard, all using the same red color.
As a kid, I assumed I couldn't understand the characters because my English wasn't good enough. It turns out the real problem was the audio mix. Dialogue is often drowned out by music and ambient sounds, making the actors difficult to hear.
Despite the awkward controls and sometimes terrible unit targeting, I enjoyed Tiberian Sun much more this time. My Mammoth Mk. II would occasionally fire at enemies only a few steps away and miss because of a slight bump in the terrain. Missiles would crash into cliffs instead of hitting SAM sites positioned above them. The pathfinding and targeting can be frustrating.
Part of me feels I should have started with the NOD campaign. That's where Kane is properly introduced, and it even contains tutorial tips that I somehow missed while playing GDI. On the other hand, even after playing both sides, the story still feels like starting a TV series in the middle of the season. Who is Hassan, and why is he taking orders from GDI? The game never really explains. The NOD cutscenes also feel like they were directed by someone completely different—someone who was very enthusiastic about fisheye lenses.
Overall, the campaign feels easier than I remembered. I still dislike the ion storm missions because playing an RTS without a minimap is unnecessarily painful. Two missions in particular, "Salvage Operation" and "Capture Umagon," left me scratching my head.
Both can apparently be completed in just a few minutes, though it's not obvious how. In "Salvage Operation," you're given a tiny force and asked to capture a crashed UFO while intercepting a train. Accomplishing both objectives seems nearly impossible unless you already know exactly where the train stops. Once you know that, you can ignore the UFO entirely.
"Capture Umagon" has a similar issue. You have roughly a minute to intercept her train, which is incredibly difficult if you're playing normally. Unless, of course, you already know where the train spawns—in which case you can simply bomb the location in advance.
Once NOD gains access to artillery, the balance shifts dramatically. It's some of the most overpowered artillery I've seen since Ground Control. It's even smart enough to deploy automatically when it gets within range.
The story remains rough around the edges. You finish one mission, and suddenly Slavik has been captured by GDI. Then he's rescued by a Cyborg Commando. What is a Cyborg Commando? The game never really explains that either.
The final NOD mission is somewhat underwhelming. It also features a timer, and I assumed that after launching the three ICBMs I would still need to defeat the remaining GDI forces. Instead, the campaign simply ends. I didn't even get a chance to properly use the UFO-like Banshees.
In the end, I enjoyed Tiberian Sun far more than I did as a child. Its missions are more inventive than I remembered, and the campaign offers plenty of interesting ideas. But between the awkward controls, questionable storytelling, unreliable unit behavior, and a few poorly communicated mission mechanics, it's still a game that occasionally seems determined to fight the player as much as the enemy does.
