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gmathis's Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour (PC)
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| [March 5, 2008 09:52:10 PM]
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Gamelog #5 entry 2
Gameplay:
After finishing another skirmish I stumbled upon a new type of game play called General challenge mode. This allows you to play as different sub factions of China, USA, and GLA. The different factions focus on specific tactics such as infantry, nuclear weapons, and laser weapons. All in all there is 9 different factions to choose from, each with its own General. Before beginning the battle there is an amusing cut scene of the General you are about to face which provides you with important information on how to beat them.
The General challenge mode was very engaging to play because the General you battle against uses his surroundings very well to combat you. In fact the entire level is designed to give the opposing general the advantage. This made the General challenge modes much more fun than regular skirmishes. The player really has to think on his feet and use different strategies to beat their opponent. This innovative feature takes a twist on skirmishes which I found to be very enjoyable.
Design:
I have mixed feelings about Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour. The game has many innovative elements that define it from other RTS games, but suffers from clumsy controls. The defining element of this game is the ability for the player to “level up” by destroying enemy structures and units. The higher the level the player is, the more special abilities he unlocks. Many of these abilities are very powerful and can be game breaking; this forces the player to take his general level into consideration.
The other innovative element that I have mentioned before is the General Challenge mode. The cut scenes do a very good job of hyping up the battle come by making the game more personal as insults are thrown at you. Also. by adding a face to each specialized faction instead of just a name the player can connect to the General who he most identifies with. The sub faction design of Zero Hour was very innovative and by adding General challenge mode, the game offers players something they won’t find in any other RTS.
My major concern with the design of Zero Hour was the control scheme. It could be because I am biased from playing the Warcraft series, however, the hotkey system seems clumsy and the click-to-move action seemed delayed. Many times I feel frustrated when trying to get my units into the battlefield; the control design could have used some adjustments to give the player a smoother game experience.
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| [March 4, 2008 07:05:14 PM]
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Gamelog #5 Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour
Summary: Command and Conquer is a RTS game where you can play as the USA, China, or the terrorist group called GLA. Each of these factions uses different weapons, buildings, and tactics to defeat their opponent
Gameplay:
One of my hall mates gave me Command and Conquer Generals because he never plays it. I decided to try it out, being a long time fan of the series. I really enjoyed Command and Conquer Red Alert, but thought that Command and Conquer Tiberian Sun was just average. I had heard good things about this game and had high expectations.
I started off playing on the USA campaign, and for the first couple missions it was enjoyable, but there were some problems with the cut scenes. The cut scenes could not be skipped, so if the player failed the mission, they would have to watch the scenes over and over again. I personally have never enjoyed completing campaign missions on RTS games because I like to have all the weapons available to me right away. So I abandoned the campaign after about 25 minutes of play and started doing skirmishes.
I had a great time doing the skirmishes; it really brought back a lot of fond memories from Command and Conquer: Red Alert. It took some time to get used to the controls, but after the first couple matches the game was very enjoyable. The graphics, for an RTS, are very good. Though they are definitely not the best I have seen, however there is a lot of attention to detail which makes the player more attached to his units. For example, when sending a flame tank to attack soldiers, they run around on fire and turn black before they drop dead. There is more attachment to units in Command and Conquer generals than in most RTS games.
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gmathis's Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 4 March, 2008
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