RED ALERT

duh-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nuh-nuh!

RED ALERT oh my god this was the hottest thing when it came out, it was the illest thing ever created. this was my first PC game that i put more than 24 hours into, honestly i'm not sure that i don't have close to a whole year of hours playing skirmishes against the computer... seriously this game kept me occupied for such a long time, i remember that i was angry initially when the next Command and Conquer came out because it wasn't a new better graphic version of Red Alert it went back to the GDI-Nod future as in the original games. The big differences with Red Alert over the older games was that Red Alert had the skirmish option where you could play against the computer on a map and use every unit available in the game right away and you could build your base up from the ground any way you wanted, also unlike C&c you had infantry units, armor units, aerial units, and naval units (personal favorite). Also if you had a creative mind you could build a custom map and play on that. Another huge difference was the online aspect that was brought to RTS's, (and the awesome soundtrack)

Red Alert took place in an alternate universe explained in the game and subsequent Red Alert sequels due to time travel or more specifically a technology employed in game play called chronosperes. Chronoshperes where the allied "super weapon" in contrast to the Soviet iron-curtain. They could be used to transport any individual unit (except infantry oddly) anywhere on the map instantaneously, this is tied to time travel and quantum physics. In the storyline the post WW2 allied leaders decide to travel back in time and kill Hitler! Great idea right? Except that now Germany never fights communist Russia, and now in the late part of the century the USSR is ready to take over the world. So while the allies wanted to save lives back in WW2 they now are faced with a WW3 like scenario with full nuclear arsenals on either side of the battle lines. This came out like only a few years after the cold war ended and this was such a scary sci-fi story unfolding right in your hands, i remember feeling adrenalin from watching the intro video and all.

 

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Who is Kane?

WHO IS KANE?

Kane is the charismatic leader of the brotherhood of Nod who is seemingly immortal because he reappears in multiple C&C games spanning over a century. Kane first appears in the original C&C, he is believed to be a genius and a tactical mastermind by the GDI. To his followers Kane represents something more complex, he is believed to be of religious importance, some followers of Nod believe him to be a messiah. Kane has an obsession with tiberium that is never explained untill later versions of C&C, but it provides the plot for many Nod mission and  GDI counter missions.

                                                                            KANE

In Command and Conquer "Tiberian Sun" and expansion "Firestorm" Kane begins to create tiberium based weapons, and experiment with advanced electronics and AI systems. This takes Nod units into a completely new direction; from realistic units (tanks, people, planes), to more sci-fi styled units (cyborgs, robots, invisible tanks). In the expansion for Tiberian sun, the cyborg / AI aspect of the game leads to the creation of a super robot / AI program called CABAL (Computer Assisted Biological Advanced Life-form). Kane is sure that Cabal is the next big thing for Nod but it proves to be too powerful. With GDI on their heels Nod was poised to win but Cabal turns on Nod and a costly battle is fought rendering Nod unable to destroy GDI.

                                                                          C.A.B.A.L

The question of Kane's mortality is brought into question immediately after the first command and conquer series durring a cinimatic video in Command and Conquer Red Alert. Red Alert takes place in the present day if time travel existed (just go play the game or read the next post or two), anyway point is at a meeting of top allied leaders Kane (dressed in an allied uniform) delivers a document to a general and gives a long somewhat surprised but also seemingly threatening glare at you the player. Fans were not sure why Kane was there; did Westwood just hire the same actor? as it turns out they didn't because in command and conquer 3 Kane's Wrath you find that every Kane you ever see is a clone of the original Kane! So every time his body is killed his memories download to a new one and out pops another Kane. Later in command and Conquer 4 you find out that you too are Kane!

The world that shaped C&c....

In 1994 (the year before C&c cam out)

1. NAFTA (sense of globalization)
2. War with the Serbian army (endless war)
3. terrorist attacks in NYC on Brooklyn bridge kills 14 Jewish people  (endless war and terrorism)
4. assassination of Rwanda president (believed to be precursor to Rwanda Genocide of 1994)
5. Civil war in Yemen (endless war around the world)
6. Early formation of EU (globalization, economic blocs)

In 1995 (the year C&c came out)

1. WTO established (globalization and feeling of global rule)
2. Serbianarmy commanders charged with genocide and crimes against humanity (the existence of evil)
3. hacker Kevin Mitnick is arrested (showed that one man could hurt a government)
4. Sarin Gas attack in Tokyo (terrorists are everywhere and have really nasty weapons)
5. an explosion in Gaza kills 8 including a Hamas leader (governments hunt terrorists)
6. Oklahoma city bombing (terrorists exist everywhere in every society)

The Original Comand and Conquer

Command and conquer can be credited to be the first popular Real Time Strategy (RTS) to come to market. Command and conquer or C&C was first released in 1995 by a company named Westwood studios and was based on their earlier game dune 2. It was available for PC on the MS-DOS operating system. The game simulated warfare from the generals perspective: you would build a base that created troops, gathered resources, and provided upgrades for your army. Once you had amasses an army you used it to complete an objective which was typically destroy the enemy.
The basic story line of C&C was that there were two factions at war in the future;

The GDI (Global Defense Initiative)

  

 and NOD (Brotherhood of Nod).

 

The GDI was ultimately the equivalent of the present day UN; it existed for protection and humanitarian purposes but the buracracy created by a widespread empire made it unpopular with many people. The Brotherhood of Nod or NOD was a terrorist organization that followed their leader Kane. Kane is a charismatic leader who wants to free people from the oppression of the GDI. Amidst the conflict between the GDI and NOD there looms a third threat to the planet and all its inhabitants; Tiberium.

Tiberium is a cancerous crystal that is growing everywhere, it acts as a resource in game play (collect it for $$) but it isn't clear weather you earn from cleaning Earth or if Tiberium is a valuable commodity its self.

Preface

This blog will be about the Command and Conquer PC game series (all Command and Conquer and red alert series games). I will be looking at what was happening in media and the world when CnC (Command and Conquer) was conceptualized and what mark CnC turned to leave on society. i will also be looking at other games that were created by other companies because of CnC's success.

(all dates and resources are taken from Wikipedia)