The PC gaming era from the late 1990s to the early 2000s is untouched in gaming history. Only a select few were able to experience this as the amount of exclusive titles at that time were truly just that. These games didn’t make their way over to consoles, and if they did, they never held a candle to the source material. So duplicating this experience for a few old heads hasn’t been warranted, particularly since real-time strategy games made a comeback in recent years. Developer Slipgate Ironworks provided an experience that nobody knew they actually wanted, however, and this is perfectly modernizing an old formula withTempest Rising.
A History Lesson in the Basics
There’s no denying the heavy influence of theCommand & Conquerseries onTempest Rising. While that series spun off into the Red Alert series, developer Westwood’s original story involved the GDI and the NOD in Command & Conquer, and the series narrative never added more factions to the list. Red Alert did provide the occasional third, or had multiple countries with slightly different stats, but the GDI and NOD were the face of the C&C series over four different games.
EA remastered theCommand & Conquercollection to much success and had promised a revitalization of the series. It never happened.Tempest Risingtakes two factions that are directly derived from the GDI and the NOD with Global Defense Force as the GDI and the Tempest Dynasty as the NOD. The GDF is described as a highly-trained global military coalition formed from the remnants of Western superpowers while the Tempest Dynasty is a militant empire of former Soviet and Asian nations.
EA released its final Command & Conquer with Command & Conquer 4, which was extremely far from the series direction (outside of C&C Renegade) and the series all but died after that. C&C 3, however, saw success on both PC and on consoles, andTempest Risingreally feels like a proper sequel to that specific game. Both sides have distinct economies and playstyles that truly separate one another.
The basis for these games in terms of doing battle is to build up a base, mine for resources that are strategically placed on a map, unlock higher-tier units to do battle and then go to battle.Over the years, the overall strategy for these types of games have been called rushing. Once the formula is figured out, which it will be over time, it becomes a game of speed and proficiency to grow an army faster than everyone else. Players learn what works and what doesn’t, meaning experimentation and different play styles are out the window. This is the issue with these legacy games.
Review: Command & Conquer Remastered Collection
Command & Conquer Remastered Collection is a treasure trove of content for fans of all generations.
Expect the Same Amount of Content From 2002
In modern day standards, there isn’t a lot of content inTempest Rising. As mentioned, there’s only two factions and there aren’t any generals or sub-archetypes to go along with each one. Maybe in a sequel, that direction may occur, but it’s rather grounded. All real-time strategy games need a Skirmish mode and that is here. This allows you to play against the AI rather than playing the campaign.
All real-time strategy games need a Skirmish mode and that is here.
The campaign serves as a tutorial for both factions. It offers cutscenes much like the genre used to have, just not real life people. There’s no Ric Flair, Jenny McCarthy or Tim Curry here. There are two 11-mission story campaigns, but the jest is getting acclimated in a progressive manner to learn what each unit does in the game. The Skirmish mode is also lacking in maps, plus the game lacks a map creator. These are 1v1, 2v2, 3v1 or free-for-all PVE.
How is Tempest Rising Gameplay Modernized?
There are beneficial elements to the gameplay that help make the experience much more improved than in the past. The AI stands out the best. When you have units defending an area, they will actively address enemy units and return back to their area. Harvesters are smarter, as typically the decision making on the resource gatherers has been annoying.
The actual enemy AI in skirmishes is scaled nice, but Easy isn’t Easy.There are three difficulty levels, and on the easiest, the AI provides solid time for players to build a defense before sending out units.The AI will crank out units almost instantaneously as invading enemy bases feels like putting out fires. They quickly throw structures up and units out, so players have to be on their toes. They attack smart as well. While there are air units, the AI didn’t really use these. There are also no sea units in the game, so it’s strictly infantry, vehicles and air.
There are structures on the map that can technically be upgraded with different tech trees. Some of the advanced structures have two separate developments that are required to unlock those units. On top of this, there are separate R&Ds that can be researched on a separate sub menu to provide perks such as quicker unit building, harvesting, etc. Units can also take over pre-determined buildings and engineers can captures empty resource capsules to get more Tempest, which is what the resource is in the game. Other unlocks become available with research including the ability to drop a beacon that allows for constructing buildings and defenses wherever this beacon drops for a short time, and also air bombs and more. These things allow you to do different strategies that typically wasn’t available in the genre in the past.
While structures have a different way of expanding things, the units all seem to have secondary functions, which creates more micro-managing. The addition of drone units are nice, and the drones and the soldiers can be controlled separately without letting the soldiers get in trouble. The Drone Assassin is a one-man wrecking crew. Due to the pressure of making sure you’re keeping up with the AI in battle, it can make micro-managing a learning curve until a comfort zone is created. There are plenty of units with multiple uses that are worth trying out, however, plus a variety of defense structures to help shape your play style or to create different strategies. The top tank can change into an artillery gun, so these two attack methods are an example of what can be done.
The Look and Sound of the 2000s
You could ask Grok or ChatGPT to creates a modern dayCommand & Conquerand this would be it. The visuals aren’t mindblowing, but the art stays in line with those classic titles.No, there’s not blocky looking polygons, but the art is clean and simple with tiny details including blood from soldiers.Structures will burn and degrade along with vehicles. The details and animation fluidity help to update the visual experience inTempest Rising. Frame rates are beyond perfect as the game isn’t demanding. The color palette of the worlds is bold, not necessarily bright and not dull.
The soundtrack is everything Command & Conquer and it’s perfect. The rock and electronic blended music that was composed specifically for this game is fantastic. Voice acting brings that same sense of humor to the upper level units. Sound effects and the narrator bring everything together to unlock every bit of nostalgia possible. The audio truly makes the experience of this game stand out the best.
Closing Comments:
Anyone that was a fan of the original Command & Conquer games or similar RTS from the early 2000s can’t pass upTempest Rising. The look, sound and upgrades to a system that changes things up just enough will appease classic fans. Anyone expecting an elaborate amount of depth akin to what some of the recent RTS games have incorporated, however, won’t find it here. There’s not much to do, just the campaign, skirmish and multiplayer. There’s only two factions and not a ton of maps. Once each faction is figured out in a month, the game will turn into a rush game online. This was a complaint of the legacy C&C games and this gets carried over with it. It won’t be about strategy, it’ll be about what works. There’s a lot here that any fan would want in a modern C&C game, but it doesn’t check every box on the wishlist.
Tempest Rising
Version Reviewed: PC
Classic RTS action meets modern production and performance in Tempest Rising. Inspired by RTS greats of the 90s and 2000s, Tempest Rising is a classic, base-building real time strategy game set in a modern day alternative history war scenario. It features 3 unique factions, each with its own approach to combat and economy and offering a variety of strategies for players of all stripes, deep and rewarding gameplay that keeps a focus on strategy while rewarding skill, and built-in customization options that allow players to approach the game their way in both single player and multiplayer game modes.Take on the role of Commander in the highly mobile and advanced peacekeeping corps of the Global Defense Forces or the hard-hitting and desperate Tempest Dynasty in 2 11-mission campaigns that allow the player to customize their army for each mission, as both armies seek to understand and control the mysterious but beneficial Tempest vines that grow unchecked across the war-torn planet Earth. Other dangers wait in the shadows, as the origin of the Tempest is revealed…Classic RTS base building with fast and fluid hard-hitting combat.3 asymmetrical factions, (2 playable at launch), each featuring distinct economy and play styles.Each faction offers a unique roster of units.2 epic single player campaigns with between-mission cutscenes.Skirmish, custom games, and ranked multiplayer matchmaking with Glicko-2 rating.The developers describe the content like this:Contains soldiers getting shot, burned, blown up, or crushed under tanks.
