Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath
Preview
Our favorite villain is back
by Rook
previewed on PC
All about Kane
Announced during the summer of 2007, the time draws near that EA’s newest addition to the long history of Command and Conquer franchise is released; Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath.
Kane’s Wrath follows our favorite villain during the years between Command and Conquer 2: Tiberian Sun and Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. During this 20 year span of C&C history, the player will be treated with the whole story of how Kane survived, persevered and rebuild the Brotherhood of Nod to once again attempt to bring the world under his control.
As expected, Joe Kucan will return as the infamous Nod leader, Kane. Together with a television celebrity cast, they will play out the story with brand new HD cinematic scenes and voice acting. As the title implies, this expansion is all about Kane. A brand new, 13 mission single player non-linear campaign will be available. It will tell the story of Kane and change how the player goes about spreading the influence of the Brotherhood through a new Global Domination mode of play style.
Global Domination is a non-linear style of play that will allow the player to choose his targets from the available territories. Gone are the days of, “Congratulations on completing this mission, here is your next assignment.” You don’t have to worry about just one base anymore. Now you can manage scores of bases as you take control of a territory and pick your fight throughout the world map. In addition, any units that are used and survive a battle no longer simply disappear. Persistent units, upon surviving a battle in Global Domination, will return to the global map to be reassigned and used again in another battle. This allows you to create specialized standing armies, tailored and customized for specific purposes.
New and more
Even though the Brotherhood of Nod is the star of this show, the Global Defense Initiative and even the Scrin will not be easily ignored or outdone. Both are present in Kane’s Wrath and would love nothing more then to drive Nod back into the hole it crawled out of. Each of the three factions in this expansion pack receives its own special treatment in the form of new structures, powers, upgrades and new and/or improved units. Besides the new units, such as the GDI Hammerhead gunship or the Nod Specter Stealth Artillery, there is a new “Epic” category of unit added to the unit construction lists as the very best of that faction’s technology. In the cases of Nod and Global Defense Initiative, even some of the older units from previous Command and Conquer titles are revisited and improved.
On top of the addition of new units and powers, each faction is now split up into two lesser internal factions. Each of these lesser factions is specialized according to an offensive or defensive play style. They have their own exclusive list of units, upgrades and powers that will allow that player to take full advantage of their preferred play style, and the faction’s abilities.
Keeping these new internal factions in mind, multiplayer will certainly not be overlooked in Kane’s Wrath. Boasting 30 new multiplayer maps as well as the prospect of new units, structures, powers and even more maps being patched onto Battlecast servers, multiplayer combat will be as competitive as ever with the coming of these internal factions. Adding 6 new opponents to the roster of possible enemies, battlefield commanders will have to stay on their toes.
Smoother and faster
Finally, the UI of Kane’s Wrath has been redone to be smoother, faster and more efficient. It will allow the player to keep track, manipulate and manage any structure from any location of the map, even during the heat of battle. The radial UI set up allows unlimited access to your structures around the map increasing speed and efficiency during casual and competitive play. Perhaps a minor change in the larger scope of the entire game, but sometimes the smallest changes can improve something that was already considered a very strong and successful title. Expect to see Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath hit the shelves sometime this spring for the Xbox 360 and PC.
