Kane is Real Pt.7: I, the Heretic

Yes, yes, I too didn't expect it to carry this far. This is my last say about CNC4.

Those who know me well know that my favorite CNC game is Red Alert 2. But what about my second favorite? Ok here it is : Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twillight

Yup, I have come to like CNC4 more than CNC3. I still maintain that the campaign is the worst of any CNC game, but CNC4 has done for me what no other CNC game has, gotten me hooked onto its multiplayer.

An RTS becomes an RPG.

I think I finally get what all the fuss about ‘leveling up’ is that makes you RPG fans RPG fans. So in CNC4, you don’t get access to all the units straightaway. You have to level up and unlock stuff when you reach a new level. This is done by playing the game, any part of it – Campaign, Skirmish, online, whatever. Just play it, and you will level up. Even when you lose a match, you still gain the victory points accumulater in the game. The maximum level is 20. Like most other RTS games, I bought CNC4 for the campaign, which severely disappointed. By the time I had finished it though , I was only at Level 10. The other better half of the more advanced units eg.Avatar, Mammoth Tank, Temple of Nod, Ion Cannons were still unlocked. And so I dabbled in a little multiplayer just to see how the leveling up and unlocking system went.

So at first I tried the Player vs Computer online matches. Wow this is actually pretty fun. And then next I move on to the player vs player online matches. Ok against real people, even more fun! So I kept playing and leveling up, to reach my goal of unlocking all those powerful units at level 20.

So, in my quest to unlock those powerful units, I forced myself to play the game. And now, I am hooked. As I’ve said before, the multiplayer is easy to get into, and a lot of fun. Everything is about capturing those points on the map that generate the victory points needed to win the match. Essentially, this was an FPS like Battefield or Modern Warfare, except in the RTS world. Yup, you know how fun those games are.

I'm really not a fan of multiplayer RTS. I'm just not good at it.

However, its ok to be NOT good at CNC4. Multiplayer matches are not 1 on 1 like CNC3, Starcraft, Warcraft, and all, its always played in teams. So when you lose, you don’t feel like its your fault. The loss doesn’t hurt as much. And when your team losses cause of someone else, you just want to @$$F&*! that idiot. And when you win, then it just means that life is fair. That, coupled with my constant repetition of: this dumbed down RTS game is the easiest RTS to pick up and play. Just like in Modern Warfare, you still had fun, eventhough you team lost. In effect, I am spending the most time with CNC4 than with many other CNC games. With RA3, I uninstalled it the moment I finished the campaign. Thus, CNC4 is giving me the most bang for my buck. Oh wait, got it for free.

Now, I’m at Level 18 Nod and Level 13 GDI, still a long ways to go before I reach level 20. But you know what . I’m hooked. I don’t think I’ll stop at 20. I’ll probably only stop playing CNC4 when the CNC4 expansion comes out. That’s right, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Starcraft 2 you say? Probably not. I’ve seen the battlereports. Omg oh so competitive, every single unit counts, every single move counts, move a unit 1 cm in the wrong spot and that spells victory or defeat. That is traditional RTS at its finest competitiveness. It's not for casual me though. I’m pretty sure I will dabble a bit with the SC multiplayer, but without the leveling up incentive that CNC4 offers, I think I’ll fizzle out of the multiplayer pretty soon. Unless someone makes a DOTA for SC. Remember what made DOTA so fun? No base building! Yeah, NOW you see the point of CNC4.

But the Campaign is so undeserving of Kane’s finale!

Yes. Sadly, it is. Even, Sam Bass, the lead designer for the campaign admits it. And from what I hear, the budget for CNC4 was lacking. Guess the assholes at top management EA don’t appreciate CNC like us. It’s just another cog in their mass-producing factory of games.

The way I see it, CNC4 is a multiplayer emphasis game, like Battlefield and Counterstrike was for the FPS. For me, the canon of the Tiberium story practically ended with CNC3 and Kane’s Wrath. In CNC4, the crux of the story is simply, Kane ascended. Bye dude. Good thing I met you in London before you disappeared! In between, you have a wife. She cries. A lot.

So please expansion pack have some redeeming qualities. Give us a real Tiberium War. The Incursion War! Between Gideon and the GDI/Kane Alliance. It’s not too late.

So you really, really, REALLY love CNC4 huh. Even more than CNC3.

Yes, and in my feeble defense, I applaud EA for trying to do something new with the traditional CNC formula. And what they’ve done is pure heresy from the standpoint of a fanatical CNC fan, but the new, when judged for itself, isn’t completely bad. The game is pretty balanced, the units and the sides well thought out and tight. I’m seeing a little skewness of better units on the GDI side, but that could just be my opinion. Don’t think about the hype it was supposed to live up to; the finale of the Kane saga. Think of it as, just another CNC title, like Generals was: deviant but nevertheless a whole bundle of fun in the end.

And now, with the CNC4 gameplay being so different, doesn’t this mean that CNC3 will continue to be played? So now us fans have 2 great games with two different play styles to choose from! Kane’s Wrath lives on! Yes, I know, its like saying, I’m thankful the new Hobbit movie isn’t so good. That way the original LOTR movie can still be my favorite. Oh well, c’est la vie.

Also, I’ve begun to see how appropriate the Tiberian Twillight subtitle of CNC4 is. Why the surprise that there’s no more Tiberium? Doesn’t the word twilight mean the end of something or some period after all? So duh, no more Tiberium in Tiberium Twillight!

STFU? Alright, alright, I’m getting to the end.

From disappointing campaign, to wanting to level up a little, to wanting to reach level 20, and now to go beyond that. From a Nod player, I’m now appreciating GDI. From frontline offense class, I’ve moved onto critical support role for me team. Eventually, I’d like to play the offensive Defense style that’s becoming more and more popular now. From CNC4 critique, to CNC4 lover. I am a heretic.

But make no mistake EA, I, the heretic, have managed to appreciate the efforts and innovation that CNC4 has brought. But please, BRING BACK MY BASE in future CNC games. One game with crawlers is more than enough. Best wishes for Generals 2 and Red Alert 4.

I still don’t get all this nonsense. Why can't you blog about something relevant?

Hmm. You must be a – normal person. Alright I'll try to curb my enthusiasm and limit it only to EA's servers. No more CNC, for a while. In return, indulge me. Watch this short video from YouTube summarizing what CNC4 is about. Normal people do YouTube, right?

Yep, the campaign wasn't epic, but the music is.

---FIN---