Command and Conquer
 Tiberian Sun Expansion: Firestorm

DEVELOPER : Westwood Studios
PUBLISHER : EA

 

System Requirements Pentium 166 Mhz, 32 MB RAM

Recommended Pentium 233MHz, 64+ MB RAM,

Ratings
Code Issues Graphics: 7.0 – Nothing’s changed, but the new units are well done. Audio: 7.0 – Ditto. Interface: 7.0 – It’s the same Command and Conquer interface we know and love.	Play Issues Gameplay: 8.0 – The new units and options bring new strategies to the fold. Replayability: 9.0- New random map features ensures fresh multiplayer and skirmish gameplay. Multiplay: 8.0-World Domination mode gives you new incentive to get online, and Westwood Chat is generally reliable. Learning Curve: 9.0- Its your typical RTS gameplay.
Other/Notes Documentation 7.0 – While the little booklet included covers the new features, it would have been nice if they put a little more effort into it. Pros: If you like Tiberian Sun, you’ll appreciate the new additions… Cons: …but if you didn’t, um, don’t buy it.  Pretty simple. Overall: 8.0

I never know how to begin this type of review.  After all, this is not a new product for which I can write an intro applauding its innovations or denouncing its existence among sentient beings.  So perhaps I’ll begin by stating that Firestorm is a good product—nice and simple, eh?  If you liked Tiberian Sun, you should not hesitate.  If, on the other hand, you were one of those hard to please…I mean, “refined” RTS players that bashed it, Firestorm is not going to even phase you.  So pick you allegiance and read on my commanding and conquering friends.

GDI or NOD?

As you probably guessed from the introduction, I was one of those less critical gamers that enjoyed Tiberian Sun.  It was exactly what I was expecting--the gameplay of Red Alert in a new setting.  I have come to realize that if you provide me with the same old “harvest, build, destroy” gameplay, as staid as it may be, I have fun.  Sure it is nice when a product such as Starcraft brings along a slew of innovations, but for me its just that—nice, not necessary.  Hence, I enjoyed Tiberian Sun and I enjoyed this expansion--nay, I’m still enjoying it.  This is justified by the generous amount of additions.  No matter what your opinion of the game, this is an expansion done right.

So What Are The Additives?

Ah, the wonderful B-acting of the gaming world.  With the exception of James Earl Jones (who does not show up for a second appearance), every actor in the Command and Conquer series seems to have been pulled straight from a UPN 9 Blockbuster Cinema movie (although the new GDI general pulls off an above average performance).  But it is adequate to move the story along, and the new expansion is no exception.  The story is quite intriguing.  The Tiberium is spreading around the globe, causing new mutations.  Also, the NOD’s CWA (computer with attitude), CABAL, is back online and wreaking havoc on the GDI, who don’t have much time to celebrate the fact that they kicked Kane’s bald behind.  The single player missions included in this expansion tend to be less focused on base building and more on getting a set number of units to achieve certain objectives in time.  They are generally well done, with more varied terrain (more on that later), but I do have one complaint.  The first four or so levels of the GDI campaign are as easy as the first of the original missions.  The difficulty increases exponentially, but it would have been nice if that level of difficulty was present in all of the missions.  After all, if you’re buying the expansion it is safe to assume you have completed the original, right?

What would new missions be without a few extra pieces of artillery?  Boring, that’s what.  But before I go into detail on the new units, let me first state that I simply refuse to get into a debate about the balancing of the units.  I really could care less if the NOD has more defensive weapons, or vice versa.  This is the stuff that never gets solved in online forums, where obsessive players that cannot spell go to scream the likes of, “Yeah, well yu just think the NOD sucks because you sck!”  Blech…just enjoy the game.  If a side has limitations you work around it.  That said, the GDI has a new long-range mech called the Juggernaut, which packs a whole lot of whoop ass in its six artillery guns.  Just be sure to protect it—it can’t stand too much heat.  There is also a Drop Pod control plug for the GDI command center, which lets you shuttle troops directly to the battlefield.  The NOD have a new cyber-spider type thing called the Reaper that packs anti-air missiles and a net gun that can stop infantry in its tracks.  Its quite enjoyable to watch the captured troops squirming around.  They can also make use of a new Mobile Stealth Generator, which allows them to cloak on the go.  Both sides have the benefits of a mobile barracks and limpet drones, robots that attach to passing vehicles and allows you to spy on the opponent’s base, as well as a few upgrades to existing units that increase their power a bit.

Players will have plenty of opportunities to use these new toys in both multiplayer gameplay as well as skirmish mode.  You can now log on to Westwood’s servers and play World Domination.  There is a globe with various territories on which games are played.  When a side wins, they gain control of that territory.  Once a side has a majority of the territories, it wins!  Gives you a bit more incentive to pick a favorite side and fight for it.  But for those of us, including myself, who prefer to play alone, the skirmish mode has some nice additions (of course, these also apply to making multiplayer maps).  In addition to new Tiberium-ridden terrain, there are new life forms, such as an eerily glowing mutant plant, that can be placed on the map.  You can also set the amount of vein holes, add night and day transitions, and even add ion storms (those electrical storms that send down random bolts to incinerate anything unfortunate enough to be standing underneath them).  They are mostly for aesthetic value, but they do wonders in making the game seem fresh—the whole point of an expansion pack. 

I cannot see why fans of Tiberian Sun would not be foaming at the mouth by now.  If you like TS’s gameplay, you might as well up the ante.  Those of you who hated TS—you’ve probably read this solely out of morbid curiosity—stay away.  This doesn’t change the gameplay, only adds to it.  For fans, what could be better?

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Reviewed by Anthony Micari