Recent reviews by Vogel

This game is so Slovakian as I was playing the glass of water I was drinking suddenly and without explanation turned into a glass of Golden Pheasant (Zlatý Bažant) beer.

Before I even start this review, I will link a guide that will help you get this classic game running on modern systems.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3174879977

Back in the 90s and early 2000s two hobbies that I really enjoyed were playing the Command & Conquer series and watching action movies. When I finally managed to get my hands on a copy of Renegade (remember the days when we needed to go out and buy physical copies of PC games? :D). Stepping into the combat boots of a wisecracking commando who takes care of business in my beloved C&C universe while playing by his own rules, was like a dream come true. I spent many hours playing both the campaign and multiplayer mode. The last time I finished the campaign was in 2011.

Fast forward to 2024 and EA finally does something right and puts the entire C&C franchise on Steam. I decided to revisit some of those titles and see if they stood the test of time. Renegade is the odd one out in this series as it is an FPS game not an RTS game. FPS games generally age graphicly a lot more noticeably than RTS games. If you can overlook the dated graphics, I think that Renegade is still a well-made game, which is a bit surprising because this was the first and only FPS that Westwood Studios developed.

In this game you take the role of GDI commando codenamed Havoc. If you never played the game, the best way I can describe him is to imagine the muscular physique and the ridiculously high combat effectiveness of John Matrix (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Commando (1985) mixed with the witty commentary and a problem with authority of John McClane (Bruce Willis) in the Die Hard movies. Playing as Havoc was just fun, and I wish this character was in more games. One of the best FPS game protagonists ever. Gordon Freeman? Master Chief? They got nothing on my man Nick “Havoc” Parker!

You will get to use a wide variety of weapons from your trusty semi-automatic pistol to a beacon that will allow you to call in GDI’s space-based Ion Cannon. Besides small arms and gadgets the game has plenty of vehicles that fans of C&C: Tiberian Dawn should be familiar with. As fun as it is to command a Mammoth tank platoon in Tiberian Dawn or Red Alert, which C&C fan didn’t also want to crew one of those steel beasts personally? :D

Music was always a big part of the C&C series and this game delivers. With a soundtrack made by the great Frank Klepacki, the music gets you ready to rock and roll and do some shooting…Left-handed.

Regarding the online component of the game. I’m happy to say that as I’m writing this review on December 15th, 2024 The multiplayer mode still works and the game does still have servers with active players!

Overall if you liked this game “back in the day” and feel like revisiting, I think it is still great fun. Westwood Studios really gave a present for ya when they released Command & Conquer: Renegade!

Saying C&C 4 is subpar is not news to longtime C&C fans, but after over a decade of pretending this game did not exist, I finally tried it. Why did I do it? A mix of nostalgia, completionism and a dose of curiosity.
I can now honestly say this game deserves every part of its awful reputation.
Even getting the game running is tricky and I will link a guide in this review if by any chance you want to try it for yourself.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3198390063
Once you actually get it working you will be forced to log in not once but twice every time you launch the game, which will always be connected to the internet. I guess EA was worried that some people would pirate this masterpiece.

When you actually start playing you will see that the gameplay does not resemble a C&C game whatsoever. No real base building or resource gathering. What do you think this is a C&C game or something? Well, it really does not feel like one at all. When I found out that this was originally an online only game made for the Asian market, which had a story attached to it to sell more copies during production. It all made more sense.
This brings me to the next point.

But Vogel, besides the gameplay C&C always had a fun story, Full motion video cutscenes, are those any good? The answer to that question my friends is a solid negative. The story feels like some lazy fanfiction that you would find on the internet. The cutscenes obviously have much lower production values compared to Tiberian Sun and C&C 3. Here is a good visual example of what I mean when I speak of lower production values.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=522954423

As I was watching these cutscenes I was wondering if Joseph Kucan (Kane) was thinking about the good old days when this franchise would feature Hollywood actors like Michael Ironside, J.K. Simmons, James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams and Ray Wise. I can't say I have heard of any of the actors who were cast for C&C 4 and frankly besides Joe Kucan, most of them were not very memorable in this game.
I like Joseph Kucan as an actor and I was always surprised that he did not have more roles in Hollywood movies, he would have been great as a villain in a James Bond movie during the Pierce Brosnan era, but I digress. It is just a shame that C&C 4 was the sendoff that a character as iconic in PC gaming as Kane and the C&C franchise got.

Some people would bring up the music as an example of something good about this game but honestly, I thought it was trying too hard to sound "epic" and after a few hours of play I just wanted to turn it off. Especially the Nod soundtrack. Give me Frank Klepacki’s soundtrack for C&C 95 over this games soundtrack any day. Tracks like “Act on Instinct”, Remember the track that kicked off the whole C&C series? :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4AUY-v1nsE


Seriously unless you are a completionist like me and feel the need to play every C&C game, just avoid C&C 4 like a blue Tiberian field during an ion storm.

Unfinished cash grab.

The only reason I have not refunded it, is because SuperPower 2 was also rough around the edges when it was first released.
I'm hoping this game will be fixed with future updates, but doubt it will ever happen because of how broken this game is right now.

Do yourself a favour and avoid SuperPower 3, nothing super about it.

Q's not gonna like this.

By Freedom's Sword!

Next to Kozel lager and CZ firearms, Arma is my favorite Czech brand.

Bought Arma Reforger to support the development of Arma 4. :)

Veni, vidi, vici.

The game of kings in 4K.

Buy this module and experience the most complete* F-14 Tomcat simulator available on PC!


*Aviator sunglasses and Top Gun (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) sold separately.