Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath
Encyclopedia
Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath is an expansion pack
for the 2007 real-time strategy
video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
. Developed by Electronic Arts Los Angeles and BreakAway Games
studios, it was released on March 24, 2008 in the United States
and on March 28, 2008 in Europe
by publisher Electronic Arts
, and was also released on June 24 for the Xbox 360
.
-like" gameplay
mode called "Global Conquest", where players build and control their forces from a strategic, global level with the goal of either destroying all enemies or completing their side's alternate victory objective. Instead of the traditional Command & Conquer
RTS
gameplay, the mode uses a turn-based system where the player issues higher-level orders such as "build a base here" (to have the computer automatically build a base with preset structures) or "upgrade this base" (to have the computer automatically perform multiple structure upgrades on a base); the orders execute at the end of a turn and the other sides then get theirs. Combat in this mode occurs whenever two opposing forces collide on the world map; the battle can either be played traditionally (as a standard real-time C&C game) or be automatically resolved by the computer using the forces' relative strengths.
version of Kane's Wrath, replacing Global Conquest Mode. Similar to the General's Challenge game in Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
, the player chooses one of the nine factions, and is pitted against all armies spanning ten challenges; referred to as "The Gauntlet" in-game. Also included in this game mode are all-new, high-definition video sequences featuring Joseph D. Kucan as Kane, congratulating or taunting the players as they progress in Kane's Challenge.
Act 1 takes place between Tiberian Sun: Firestorm and Command & Conquer 3;
You do this by first sparking a hatred against GDI in Rio de Janero (mission 1). Sequentially you head out to Australia where you are to reacquire Nod elusive Stealth technology from the GDI's Steel Talons (mission 2), after which you are to 'convince' a Black Hand leader known as Brother Marcion to re-enter Nod under the leadership of Kane. (mission 3 and beyond)
Act 2 takes place separately, but during the events of Command & Conquer 3 This time however you are learning more about why and how the developments in C&C3: Tiberium Wars have taken place.
Act 3 shows a preview of the story to take place after Command & Conquer 3, leaving the player with a strong cliff-hanger. It leads up to how Kane sheds off the militants and need for human soldiers and instead raises a secretly constructed army of cyborg soldiers, wearing the banner "Marked of Kane". In the last mission you will utilize these cyborgs to recover the Tacitus, and what will complete you, AI system LEGION, and mark the end of C&C3 Kane's Wrath.
(Global Defense Initiative, Brotherhood of Nod and Scrin) have received two additional "sub-factions" in Kane's Wrath; a gameplay concept previously used in Command & Conquer: Red Alert
, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
and Generals - Zero Hour. Each of these sub-factions feature unique special units, upgrades and support powers, and are designed to cater to more specialized styles of real-time strategy
gameplay. This sub-faction system brings the total number of playable sides in Command & Conquer 3 from three to nine. Additionally, the three main factions receive some new units and upgrades.
A new GDI anti-air unit called the Slingshot is available to all three GDI factions; it is a fast hover vehicle resembling the Hover MLRS from the Second Tiberium War
, capable of great damage to any aircraft but is defenseless against ground targets. GDI also has a new aircraft, the Hammerhead, at its disposal; it is equipped with an anti-infantry machine gun and is capable of garrisoning a GDI infantry squad who can fire upon targets from inside the Hammerhead. GDI has also developed their sonic technology onto a tank platform, producing the Shatterer - a lightly armoured hover vehicle with a weapon similar to the Sonic Emitter - however, this vehicle is unavailable to the Steel Talons.
Several new upgrades are available to GDI. AP Ammo increases the attack power of Riflemen Squads, Watchtowers, Hammerheads, APCs and the Steel Talon Wolverine. Tungsten AA Ammunition increases the attack power of AA batteries and the Slingshot. Hardpoints can be purchased to increase the ammo capacity of Orcas and Firehawks. Lastly, the Railgun upgrade for Predator and Mammoth Tanks is now also applied to GDI Cannons
Steel Talons
A post-Second Tiberium War
battalion, the Steel Talons were an experimental task force
specialized in field testing cutting edge technologies for GDI's original and traditional "superior frontal firepower" doctrine, before future policies retired the bulk of the organization's walker arsenal in favor of improved space-based assets. This sub-faction features the Titan and Wolverine units from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
,. The Titan replaces the Predator Tank and fills a similar role, although it is more powerful and can crush smaller tanks than itself. It also can make use of the Railgun upgrade. The Wolverine is a fast walker capable of dealing great damage to enemy infantry, and can make use of the AP Ammo upgrade. The Steel Talon has a modified version of the Juggernaut, called "Behemoths" - the Behemoth has a bunker in which a Steel Talon infantry squad may garrison itself and fire outside to defend the Behemoth. However, the Behemoth cannot use the Juggernaut's long-range "Bombard" tactic in conjunction with a sniper team, since sniper teams are not available to the Steel Talon faction. Tiberium Wars-era sonic technology - the Sonic Emitter and the new Shatterer - are not available to the Steel Talons. Minor upgrades to standard units are also featured: the engineer is adapted to the Combat Engineer armed with a pistol, and Steel Talon harvesters have a one-slot infantry bunker instead of the light machine gun. The APC is replaced by the Mobile Repair Transport that has a repair drone to repair friendly vehicles in the field and it also has a bunker where a Steel Talon infantry squad may garrison itself and fire outside to defend the Mobile Repair Transport. Additionally, Steel Talon Titan battlemechs and Mammoth Tanks can be upgraded with heavy EMP
-proof armor. To counterbalance their sheer prowess in vehicles, the Talons are not able to build Armories, limiting their infantry to riflemen squads, rocket squads, grenadier squads and their new pistol-armed combat engineers.
ZOCOM
Short for "Zone Operations Command", ZOCOM is an elite unit established after the Second Tiberium War
which comprises the most veteran, high tech troopers of GDI, who have been equipped specifically to tackle the planet-wide Tiberium
infestation and to begin the reclaiming of the Earth
's Red Zones. ZOCOM units cater to technologies related to advanced sonic weaponry, special Tiberium-resistant powered armor as well as suppression and area-of-effect tactics. This sub-faction replaces GDI's Zone Troopers with "Zone Raiders", a newer power armored infantry unit equipped with anti-air rockets and sonic rocket-propelled grenades. Their Orca gunships utilize special sonic payloads instead of their original weaponry, and ZOCOM also receives the most powerful incarnation of GDI's new sonic-based "Shatterer" unit. The standard harvester is replaced with a Rocket Harvester. Their lower-end infantry also see the composite armor upgrade replaced with the more potent "Tiberium field suits", which increase even more so the armor of ZOCOM infantry squads, make them more resistant to Tiberium-based attacks, and render them immune to the effects of Tiberium radiation on the battlefield. For these benefits however the sub-faction does not have any access to rail gun technology and cannot produce Juggernaut artillery walkers.
A new Nod artillery unit called the Specter is available. It resembles the Nod artillery vehicle from the Second Tiberium War
, although it is faster and capable of stealth. It also has the ability to bombard near a beacon dropped by a Shadow Team. Another new vehicle is the Reckoner, a fast transport vehicle with two infantry slots. Its passengers cannot attack targets outside the Reckoner and the Reckoner itself does not have a weapon, but the Reckoner can deploy itself into a heavy-armored infantry bunker. Once deployed, it cannot move again but gains an additional infantry slot, cannot be targeted with explosives, and cannot be clear-garrisoned (for example, by the Grenadier Squad). A new structure called the Voice of Kane is available, a statue which calls out Kane's message. Friendly infantry nearby receive an inspirational bonus in battle, while enemy infantry are suppressed. Only one Voice of Kane can be deployed at a time.
New upgrades are available to Nod in the form of Tiberium Core Missiles, which increase the attack damage of SAM Turrets, Attack Bikes, Stealth Tanks, and the Black Hand's Mantis. The Quad Turret upgrade can be purchased which improves all triple-turret base defenses by adding a fourth turret to the hub. Disruption Pods can be purchased for Vertigo Bombers, allowing them to drop a stealth-generating disruption pod that will last for a temporary period of time. Finally, the Laser Capacitor upgrade is now also applied to the Laser Turret (however only available to "Nod" and not any of its sub-factions. Last but not least Nod (and only Nod) has a new support power that, when activated, can resurrect any militant squads killed during that time as "Awakened Cyborgs" from the Marked of Kane sub-faction. Nod Militants have also been remodeled to look like Nod's Light Infantry from Tiberian Sun. This is a purely aesthetic change and does not affect gameplay.
Black Hand
A feared order
of warrior
priests within the Brotherhood of Nod, specialized in powerful and highly trained Black Hand Infantry. The Black Hand’s standard infantry is the "Confessor Cabal"; a squad of six Confessor units armed with hallucinogenic grenades (this time a manually activated ability), as well as anti-infantry Gatling gun
s which can be upgraded with "Charged Particle Beams" to increase their firepower (Charged Particle Beams are also applied to the Shredder Turret for increased firepower). Confessor Cabals also give other nearby allied infantry a buff that increases their rate of fire, their endurance on the battlefield and which renders them more resistant to almost any suppression. All Black Hand shock troops come with veteran status by default, and the Commando
starts out at the heroic rank, with two such commandos being trainable at any given time, although the commando is not stealthed for this faction. The "Black Disciples" upgrade adds a Black Hand shock troop to all Confessor Cabals and Militant Rocket Squads, in similar fashion to how Confessors are added to the militia squads of Tiberium Wars. The Black Hand's warmechs, an earlier model of the Avatar warmech, are called "Purifiers" and automatically come equipped with flamethrowers, yet cannot be further upgraded. All flame weaponry of this sub-faction, whether infantry or vehicle-based, can be upgraded with Purifying Flame for much greater damage against all ground targets. In return for all this offensive and destructive prowess however, the Black Hand forgo stealthed or air units entirely - including the Call for Transport ability - and the Laser Capacitor is also unavailable to them. Since the Stealth Tank and Venom are both unavailable, a new vehicle called the "Mantis" serves as a specialized anti-aircraft vehicle for the faction - it is very powerful against aircraft, and can also detect stealth units, though it cannot attack targets on the ground. The new Specter artillery unit is still available to the Black Hand, but is not itself stealthed.
Marked of Kane
A sinister sub-faction which epitomizes both the Brotherhood of Nod's stealthy methods and reliance on radically advanced cybernetic and Tiberium
-based technologies and weaponry. The Marked of Kane replace the militia squads of Tiberium Wars with the "Awakened" cyborg
s; heavy infantry units that are devastating against enemy infantry and which come with the innate ability to disable vehicles through EMP charges. Their elite "Enlightened" cyborg infantry squads are comparable to GDI’s Zone Troopers, and are armed with particle beam
s and an EMP attack that has an even bigger radius than that of the Awakened. The Black Hand flame infantry are replaced by "Tiberium Troopers" within this sub-faction, which are capable of dealing damage over time, clear out garrisoned structures and slow the rate of movement of their targets. Tiberium Troopers do less damage per second than Black Hand shock troops do, but have increased range. The Enlightened, along with the sub-faction's Saboteur units and Tiberium Troopers, can be upgraded with cybernetic enhancements to greatly increase their rate of movement. Additionally, Enlightened cyborgs can be upgraded with Supercharged Particle Beams which are also applied to Shredder Turrets and Venom Aircraft. The Marked of Kane also receive deadly magnetic mines that slowly kill vehicles (unless removed by repair drones).
Reaper-17
Themed as the heavy “shock” faction of the Scrin, Reaper-17 possesses more powerful and effective vehicles and ground units. The trade-off for its enhanced ground power is a marked lack of the Mastermind and air units, except for Storm Riders and Drone Ships. The Gun Walker is upgraded and renamed as the "Shard Walker", whereas the Tripod has been upgraded to "Reaper Tripod", which converts Tiberium into extra damage in the same way the Devourer Tank can. An upgrade is "Conversion Reserves", which allows for Reaper Tripods and Devourer Tanks to store more absorbed Tiberium. They also receive an upgrade that allows Shard Walkers and Ravagers to shoot blue Tiberium shards for extra damage. Reaper-17 Harvesters now come with shields of their own, similar to those that can be added to Tripods. Reaper-17 also has a new structure called the "Growth Stimulator", which functions as a normal Growth Accelerator in addition to providing a steady trickle of income like a Tiberium Spike. The aforementioned lack of a Mastermind means that Reaper-17 can not upgrade its hexapod with teleport capabilities.
Traveler-59
The polar opposite of Reaper-17, Traveler-59 focuses on speed, teleportation and mind-control. It features new "Cultist" infantry units, as well as an upgraded Mastermind unit called the "Prodigy". Cultists have no regular attack, but can control units just like Masterminds without the build limit, but cannot take over air and epic units or structures. The Prodigy receives area-of-effect mind control and a personal blink pack in addition to its old abilities. The Shock Trooper is automatically equipped with a Blink Pack as well. However, Traveler-59 doesn’t get Devourer Tank units or shields, however their Seekers are upgradeable, also the "Advanced Articulators" upgrade gives infantry units a significant speed boost and "Traveler Engines" give a speed boost to Traveler's heavier aircraft units. Traveler aircraft are cheaper compared to the other two Scrin factions.
During the second act (set before and during the events of Tiberium Wars), Kane begins to lay down the plans for the destruction of the Philadelphia, commanding the player, LEGION, to steal plans for the Ion Cannon network. Since the destruction of the Philadelphia would eliminate most of GDI's leadership, Kane predicts that Redmond Boyle will be his pawn and become the Director of GDI, so as to provoke the future liquid Tiberium explosion. The player is also ordered to capture Dr. Alphonse Giraud from his research facility, explaining his disappearance in the GDI campaign of C&C3. Afterwards, Abbess Alexa Kovacs has taken the view that General Kilian Qatar is a traitor to Kane, and plans to have her discredited by attacking Temple Prime in her guise, then leaking Ion Disruptor technology to GDI,thereby leading to General Qatar's execution being ordered by Kane. She reveals her doubts and fears about LEGION, and about LEGION being connected to the Tacitus during a cutscene before a mission and also tells the player(LEGION) that CABAL's cyborgs murdered her family, and is worried as LEGION is based upon the same technology that created and powered CABAL. After the Tacitus is secured on a mission, a highly distressed Abbess Alexa loses her cool and infects LEGION's core systems with a powerful computer virus while screaming: "I cannot let you connect to the Tacitus! I will not let you usher in an age of machines. I will not be your slave! I will not!". The virus destroys LEGION's systems, and Kane is alerted to LEGION's infection and catches Abbess Alexa red-handed in the act of destroying LEGION. Kane discovers to his horror that Alexa attacked Temple Prime in Killian's guise and had Kilian executed for a crime she did not commit. Alexa snatches a pistol from one of the guards as she is about to be taken away for interrogation and aims at Kane with it. Clearly beside herself, she shouts Nod's motto "Peace through power" and then commits suicide by shooting herself in the head, just as LEGION shuts down.
In the third and final act, LEGION reawakens five years later in the post-Tiberium War 3 period, and Kane focuses it on recovering the Tacitus. GDI has been meddling with the device, causing it to become highly unstable; Kane needs the Tacitus for his master plan, so he orders the player to first awaken the Marked of Kane, a faction of cyborgs that only LEGION is capable of controlling due to its link with the destroyed CABAL. With the successful reactivation, Kane then sends the player to recover the Tacitus from GDI's NORAD. After the Tacitus's successful capture, Kane connects it to LEGION, and the AI becomes infused with the vast knowledge of the object, ending the game in a cliffhanger. The ending video shows a reverse of the Scrin campaign introduction video in C&C3, and a message that implies that the Scrin would later try to send a full invasion force, similar to what the Scrin Overlord states at the end of the Scrin campaign in the original C&C 3.
Kane is back, and this time, the self-proclaimed Prophet is the center of attention.
The supreme leader of the Brotherhood concentrates on his new schemes, mostly related to the LEGION and Tacitus.
He also masterminds several of the events seen in Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, such as picking Redmond Boyle as GDI's acting director.
CABAL, the sentient Nod AI
that went rogue in the aftermath of the Second Tiberium war
, reappears in the game in a new form known as LEGION. Kane plans to use LEGION's unmatched tactical genius and its connection with the Tacitus to achieve his goals. LEGION is controlled by the player in the same way as the GDI/Nod Commander or Scrin Foreman from the original campaign. It shows an innate ability to connect to the Tacitus' signal and interface with the device itself.
LEGION was built by Kane on CABAL's old foundations, aided by one of his assistants, Abbess Alexa Kovacs. As a result of his CABAL roots, CABAL's face flashes onto the screen a few times during the campaign, highly distressing Alexa. Alexa shows a deep mistrust for the combat AI, as her parents had been slain by CABAL's cyborgs. In her last act before being apprehended by Kane, she disrupts LEGION's uplink to the Tacitus by destroying LEGION's core systems, and then, when caught, snatches a gun from one of the guards and commits suicide with it.
LEGION resurrects itself five years later however, and receives a signal being transmitted from the Tacitus device which, according to Kane, only LEGION is able to detect. Once Kane orders LEGION to use the remnants of CABAL's cyborg army -now known as the Marked of Kane- to reclaim the Tacitus from GDI, LEGION is shown to become infused with the vast amount of knowledge from the device, and the game ends as a cliffhanger
.
A new Nod character played by Carl Lumbly. After Kane's supposed death at the end of Second Tiberium War, GDI undercover agents succeeded in convincing Marcion that Kane was not the true Prophet. GDI also secretly arranged an assassination of the leader of the Black Hand, Anton Slavik, so Marcion could take his place. Eventually LEGION defeated Marcion's forces and captured him. Kane revealed himself to Marcion, and faked his public recantation, bringing the Black Hand back into the Brotherhood.
Another member of the Brotherhood of Nod. According to Natasha Henstridge, Alexa idolizes Kane in every way. However Alexa's parents were killed by CABAL's cyborgs. Thus her disdain for LEGION grows from mission to mission, until she eventually betrays Kane and attempts to destroy LEGION by infecting it with a computer virus, but is caught and shoots herself.
game, Red Alert 3
, if the code is registered before September 15, 2008. The beta started in August for most participants who bought the game in retail stores and registered quickly, the beta was reported to be 500,000 strong on August 3, 2008.
A special edition version of Kane's Wrath which included a Kane's Wrath Razer DeathAdder
mouse was released exclusively for Singapore customers.
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
for the 2007 real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
. Developed by Electronic Arts Los Angeles and BreakAway Games
BreakAway Games
BreakAway Games is a video game developer based in Hunt Valley, Maryland established in 1998. Their executive staff is composed of several veterans from companies such as MicroProse, Origin Systems, Atari and Acclaim Entertainment....
studios, it was released on March 24, 2008 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and on March 28, 2008 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
by publisher Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, and was also released on June 24 for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
.
Gameplay
Global Conquest mode (PC)
Kane's Wrath features a "RiskRisk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
-like" gameplay
Gameplay
Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game, and in particular with video games. Gameplay is the pattern defined through the game rules, connection between player and the game, challenges and overcoming them, plot and player's connection with it...
mode called "Global Conquest", where players build and control their forces from a strategic, global level with the goal of either destroying all enemies or completing their side's alternate victory objective. Instead of the traditional Command & Conquer
Command & Conquer series
Command & Conquer is a video game franchise, mostly of the real-time strategy style as well as a first-person shooter game based on the former...
RTS
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
gameplay, the mode uses a turn-based system where the player issues higher-level orders such as "build a base here" (to have the computer automatically build a base with preset structures) or "upgrade this base" (to have the computer automatically perform multiple structure upgrades on a base); the orders execute at the end of a turn and the other sides then get theirs. Combat in this mode occurs whenever two opposing forces collide on the world map; the battle can either be played traditionally (as a standard real-time C&C game) or be automatically resolved by the computer using the forces' relative strengths.
Kane's Challenge mode (Xbox 360)
Kane's Challenge is exclusive to the Xbox 360Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version of Kane's Wrath, replacing Global Conquest Mode. Similar to the General's Challenge game in Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
Command & Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour
Command and Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour is the expansion pack for the computer game Command & Conquer: Generals. Zero Hour added several new abilities and units to each side, and a new mode of play called Generals' Challenge.- Campaigns :...
, the player chooses one of the nine factions, and is pitted against all armies spanning ten challenges; referred to as "The Gauntlet" in-game. Also included in this game mode are all-new, high-definition video sequences featuring Joseph D. Kucan as Kane, congratulating or taunting the players as they progress in Kane's Challenge.
Campaign Mode
In addition to the Global Conquest mode, Kane's Wrath contains a Brotherhood of Nod campaign which spans 13 missions in length, spanning from the end of Tiberian Sun: Firestorm to Command & Conquer 3 and beyond. Broken into 3 linear sub-stories that tell Kane's story; Also you cease to be a Nod general and start being an Artificial Intelligence (AI) created by Kane himself. You are designated as LEGION and are derived from CABAL but appear to be notably stronger and directly connected to the Tacitus itself.Act 1 takes place between Tiberian Sun: Firestorm and Command & Conquer 3;
You do this by first sparking a hatred against GDI in Rio de Janero (mission 1). Sequentially you head out to Australia where you are to reacquire Nod elusive Stealth technology from the GDI's Steel Talons (mission 2), after which you are to 'convince' a Black Hand leader known as Brother Marcion to re-enter Nod under the leadership of Kane. (mission 3 and beyond)
Act 2 takes place separately, but during the events of Command & Conquer 3 This time however you are learning more about why and how the developments in C&C3: Tiberium Wars have taken place.
Act 3 shows a preview of the story to take place after Command & Conquer 3, leaving the player with a strong cliff-hanger. It leads up to how Kane sheds off the militants and need for human soldiers and instead raises a secretly constructed army of cyborg soldiers, wearing the banner "Marked of Kane". In the last mission you will utilize these cyborgs to recover the Tacitus, and what will complete you, AI system LEGION, and mark the end of C&C3 Kane's Wrath.
Sub-factions
Each of the three factions featured in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium WarsCommand & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
(Global Defense Initiative, Brotherhood of Nod and Scrin) have received two additional "sub-factions" in Kane's Wrath; a gameplay concept previously used in Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a real-time strategy computer game of the Command & Conquer franchise, produced by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive in...
, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is a 2.5D real-time strategy computer game by Westwood Studios, which was released for Microsoft Windows on October 23, 2000 as the follow-up to Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Set in the early 1970s, Red Alert 2 supposedly picks up at the conclusion of the Allied...
and Generals - Zero Hour. Each of these sub-factions feature unique special units, upgrades and support powers, and are designed to cater to more specialized styles of real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
gameplay. This sub-faction system brings the total number of playable sides in Command & Conquer 3 from three to nine. Additionally, the three main factions receive some new units and upgrades.
Global Defense Initiative
General GDI changesA new GDI anti-air unit called the Slingshot is available to all three GDI factions; it is a fast hover vehicle resembling the Hover MLRS from the Second Tiberium War
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
, capable of great damage to any aircraft but is defenseless against ground targets. GDI also has a new aircraft, the Hammerhead, at its disposal; it is equipped with an anti-infantry machine gun and is capable of garrisoning a GDI infantry squad who can fire upon targets from inside the Hammerhead. GDI has also developed their sonic technology onto a tank platform, producing the Shatterer - a lightly armoured hover vehicle with a weapon similar to the Sonic Emitter - however, this vehicle is unavailable to the Steel Talons.
Several new upgrades are available to GDI. AP Ammo increases the attack power of Riflemen Squads, Watchtowers, Hammerheads, APCs and the Steel Talon Wolverine. Tungsten AA Ammunition increases the attack power of AA batteries and the Slingshot. Hardpoints can be purchased to increase the ammo capacity of Orcas and Firehawks. Lastly, the Railgun upgrade for Predator and Mammoth Tanks is now also applied to GDI Cannons
A post-Second Tiberium War
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
battalion, the Steel Talons were an experimental task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
specialized in field testing cutting edge technologies for GDI's original and traditional "superior frontal firepower" doctrine, before future policies retired the bulk of the organization's walker arsenal in favor of improved space-based assets. This sub-faction features the Titan and Wolverine units from Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
,. The Titan replaces the Predator Tank and fills a similar role, although it is more powerful and can crush smaller tanks than itself. It also can make use of the Railgun upgrade. The Wolverine is a fast walker capable of dealing great damage to enemy infantry, and can make use of the AP Ammo upgrade. The Steel Talon has a modified version of the Juggernaut, called "Behemoths" - the Behemoth has a bunker in which a Steel Talon infantry squad may garrison itself and fire outside to defend the Behemoth. However, the Behemoth cannot use the Juggernaut's long-range "Bombard" tactic in conjunction with a sniper team, since sniper teams are not available to the Steel Talon faction. Tiberium Wars-era sonic technology - the Sonic Emitter and the new Shatterer - are not available to the Steel Talons. Minor upgrades to standard units are also featured: the engineer is adapted to the Combat Engineer armed with a pistol, and Steel Talon harvesters have a one-slot infantry bunker instead of the light machine gun. The APC is replaced by the Mobile Repair Transport that has a repair drone to repair friendly vehicles in the field and it also has a bunker where a Steel Talon infantry squad may garrison itself and fire outside to defend the Mobile Repair Transport. Additionally, Steel Talon Titan battlemechs and Mammoth Tanks can be upgraded with heavy EMP
Electromagnetic pulse
An electromagnetic pulse is a burst of electromagnetic radiation. The abrupt pulse of electromagnetic radiation usually results from certain types of high energy explosions, especially a nuclear explosion, or from a suddenly fluctuating magnetic field...
-proof armor. To counterbalance their sheer prowess in vehicles, the Talons are not able to build Armories, limiting their infantry to riflemen squads, rocket squads, grenadier squads and their new pistol-armed combat engineers.
Short for "Zone Operations Command", ZOCOM is an elite unit established after the Second Tiberium War
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars is a military science fiction real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows, Mac OS X and Xbox 360 platforms, and released internationally in March 2007...
which comprises the most veteran, high tech troopers of GDI, who have been equipped specifically to tackle the planet-wide Tiberium
Tiberium
Tiberium or Ichor is a fictional substance that is central to the plot of much of the Command & Conquer series of real-time strategy video games...
infestation and to begin the reclaiming of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
's Red Zones. ZOCOM units cater to technologies related to advanced sonic weaponry, special Tiberium-resistant powered armor as well as suppression and area-of-effect tactics. This sub-faction replaces GDI's Zone Troopers with "Zone Raiders", a newer power armored infantry unit equipped with anti-air rockets and sonic rocket-propelled grenades. Their Orca gunships utilize special sonic payloads instead of their original weaponry, and ZOCOM also receives the most powerful incarnation of GDI's new sonic-based "Shatterer" unit. The standard harvester is replaced with a Rocket Harvester. Their lower-end infantry also see the composite armor upgrade replaced with the more potent "Tiberium field suits", which increase even more so the armor of ZOCOM infantry squads, make them more resistant to Tiberium-based attacks, and render them immune to the effects of Tiberium radiation on the battlefield. For these benefits however the sub-faction does not have any access to rail gun technology and cannot produce Juggernaut artillery walkers.
Brotherhood of Nod
General Nod changesA new Nod artillery unit called the Specter is available. It resembles the Nod artillery vehicle from the Second Tiberium War
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
, although it is faster and capable of stealth. It also has the ability to bombard near a beacon dropped by a Shadow Team. Another new vehicle is the Reckoner, a fast transport vehicle with two infantry slots. Its passengers cannot attack targets outside the Reckoner and the Reckoner itself does not have a weapon, but the Reckoner can deploy itself into a heavy-armored infantry bunker. Once deployed, it cannot move again but gains an additional infantry slot, cannot be targeted with explosives, and cannot be clear-garrisoned (for example, by the Grenadier Squad). A new structure called the Voice of Kane is available, a statue which calls out Kane's message. Friendly infantry nearby receive an inspirational bonus in battle, while enemy infantry are suppressed. Only one Voice of Kane can be deployed at a time.
New upgrades are available to Nod in the form of Tiberium Core Missiles, which increase the attack damage of SAM Turrets, Attack Bikes, Stealth Tanks, and the Black Hand's Mantis. The Quad Turret upgrade can be purchased which improves all triple-turret base defenses by adding a fourth turret to the hub. Disruption Pods can be purchased for Vertigo Bombers, allowing them to drop a stealth-generating disruption pod that will last for a temporary period of time. Finally, the Laser Capacitor upgrade is now also applied to the Laser Turret (however only available to "Nod" and not any of its sub-factions. Last but not least Nod (and only Nod) has a new support power that, when activated, can resurrect any militant squads killed during that time as "Awakened Cyborgs" from the Marked of Kane sub-faction. Nod Militants have also been remodeled to look like Nod's Light Infantry from Tiberian Sun. This is a purely aesthetic change and does not affect gameplay.
A feared order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
of warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
priests within the Brotherhood of Nod, specialized in powerful and highly trained Black Hand Infantry. The Black Hand’s standard infantry is the "Confessor Cabal"; a squad of six Confessor units armed with hallucinogenic grenades (this time a manually activated ability), as well as anti-infantry Gatling gun
Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
s which can be upgraded with "Charged Particle Beams" to increase their firepower (Charged Particle Beams are also applied to the Shredder Turret for increased firepower). Confessor Cabals also give other nearby allied infantry a buff that increases their rate of fire, their endurance on the battlefield and which renders them more resistant to almost any suppression. All Black Hand shock troops come with veteran status by default, and the Commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
starts out at the heroic rank, with two such commandos being trainable at any given time, although the commando is not stealthed for this faction. The "Black Disciples" upgrade adds a Black Hand shock troop to all Confessor Cabals and Militant Rocket Squads, in similar fashion to how Confessors are added to the militia squads of Tiberium Wars. The Black Hand's warmechs, an earlier model of the Avatar warmech, are called "Purifiers" and automatically come equipped with flamethrowers, yet cannot be further upgraded. All flame weaponry of this sub-faction, whether infantry or vehicle-based, can be upgraded with Purifying Flame for much greater damage against all ground targets. In return for all this offensive and destructive prowess however, the Black Hand forgo stealthed or air units entirely - including the Call for Transport ability - and the Laser Capacitor is also unavailable to them. Since the Stealth Tank and Venom are both unavailable, a new vehicle called the "Mantis" serves as a specialized anti-aircraft vehicle for the faction - it is very powerful against aircraft, and can also detect stealth units, though it cannot attack targets on the ground. The new Specter artillery unit is still available to the Black Hand, but is not itself stealthed.
A sinister sub-faction which epitomizes both the Brotherhood of Nod's stealthy methods and reliance on radically advanced cybernetic and Tiberium
Tiberium
Tiberium or Ichor is a fictional substance that is central to the plot of much of the Command & Conquer series of real-time strategy video games...
-based technologies and weaponry. The Marked of Kane replace the militia squads of Tiberium Wars with the "Awakened" cyborg
Cyborg
A cyborg is a being with both biological and artificial parts. The term was coined in 1960 when Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline used it in an article about the advantages of self-regulating human-machine systems in outer space. D. S...
s; heavy infantry units that are devastating against enemy infantry and which come with the innate ability to disable vehicles through EMP charges. Their elite "Enlightened" cyborg infantry squads are comparable to GDI’s Zone Troopers, and are armed with particle beam
Particle beam
A particle beam is a stream of charged or neutral particles which may be directed by magnets and focused by electrostatic lenses, although they may also be self-focusing ....
s and an EMP attack that has an even bigger radius than that of the Awakened. The Black Hand flame infantry are replaced by "Tiberium Troopers" within this sub-faction, which are capable of dealing damage over time, clear out garrisoned structures and slow the rate of movement of their targets. Tiberium Troopers do less damage per second than Black Hand shock troops do, but have increased range. The Enlightened, along with the sub-faction's Saboteur units and Tiberium Troopers, can be upgraded with cybernetic enhancements to greatly increase their rate of movement. Additionally, Enlightened cyborgs can be upgraded with Supercharged Particle Beams which are also applied to Shredder Turrets and Venom Aircraft. The Marked of Kane also receive deadly magnetic mines that slowly kill vehicles (unless removed by repair drones).
Scrin
Themed as the heavy “shock” faction of the Scrin, Reaper-17 possesses more powerful and effective vehicles and ground units. The trade-off for its enhanced ground power is a marked lack of the Mastermind and air units, except for Storm Riders and Drone Ships. The Gun Walker is upgraded and renamed as the "Shard Walker", whereas the Tripod has been upgraded to "Reaper Tripod", which converts Tiberium into extra damage in the same way the Devourer Tank can. An upgrade is "Conversion Reserves", which allows for Reaper Tripods and Devourer Tanks to store more absorbed Tiberium. They also receive an upgrade that allows Shard Walkers and Ravagers to shoot blue Tiberium shards for extra damage. Reaper-17 Harvesters now come with shields of their own, similar to those that can be added to Tripods. Reaper-17 also has a new structure called the "Growth Stimulator", which functions as a normal Growth Accelerator in addition to providing a steady trickle of income like a Tiberium Spike. The aforementioned lack of a Mastermind means that Reaper-17 can not upgrade its hexapod with teleport capabilities.
The polar opposite of Reaper-17, Traveler-59 focuses on speed, teleportation and mind-control. It features new "Cultist" infantry units, as well as an upgraded Mastermind unit called the "Prodigy". Cultists have no regular attack, but can control units just like Masterminds without the build limit, but cannot take over air and epic units or structures. The Prodigy receives area-of-effect mind control and a personal blink pack in addition to its old abilities. The Shock Trooper is automatically equipped with a Blink Pack as well. However, Traveler-59 doesn’t get Devourer Tank units or shields, however their Seekers are upgradeable, also the "Advanced Articulators" upgrade gives infantry units a significant speed boost and "Traveler Engines" give a speed boost to Traveler's heavier aircraft units. Traveler aircraft are cheaper compared to the other two Scrin factions.
Plot
In the first act of the campaign (set immediately after the conclusion of Tiberian Sun), Kane enters a bunker deep in the Earth's crust apparently healed of all injury save for his face mask. He instructs the player to begin the Rio Insurrection by taking out the GDI presence in the area. After the player succeeds, Kane informs the player of his plan to reunite the Nod splinter factions. Since he cannot risk revealing himself to the world yet, he chooses Brother Marcion, the leader of the "new" Black Hand to convey Kane's will to the Brotherhood in his stead. The player is then commanded to drive Marcion out and capture him. Brought before Kane, Marcion comes back into the fold of the Brotherhood as Kane reveals himself to him, and removes his face mask, showing a completely scar-free face. Kane then orders the player to destroy a Liquid Tiberium facility in the Australian Outback as a 'grand gesture' to the remaining splinter factions to rejoin him.During the second act (set before and during the events of Tiberium Wars), Kane begins to lay down the plans for the destruction of the Philadelphia, commanding the player, LEGION, to steal plans for the Ion Cannon network. Since the destruction of the Philadelphia would eliminate most of GDI's leadership, Kane predicts that Redmond Boyle will be his pawn and become the Director of GDI, so as to provoke the future liquid Tiberium explosion. The player is also ordered to capture Dr. Alphonse Giraud from his research facility, explaining his disappearance in the GDI campaign of C&C3. Afterwards, Abbess Alexa Kovacs has taken the view that General Kilian Qatar is a traitor to Kane, and plans to have her discredited by attacking Temple Prime in her guise, then leaking Ion Disruptor technology to GDI,thereby leading to General Qatar's execution being ordered by Kane. She reveals her doubts and fears about LEGION, and about LEGION being connected to the Tacitus during a cutscene before a mission and also tells the player(LEGION) that CABAL's cyborgs murdered her family, and is worried as LEGION is based upon the same technology that created and powered CABAL. After the Tacitus is secured on a mission, a highly distressed Abbess Alexa loses her cool and infects LEGION's core systems with a powerful computer virus while screaming: "I cannot let you connect to the Tacitus! I will not let you usher in an age of machines. I will not be your slave! I will not!". The virus destroys LEGION's systems, and Kane is alerted to LEGION's infection and catches Abbess Alexa red-handed in the act of destroying LEGION. Kane discovers to his horror that Alexa attacked Temple Prime in Killian's guise and had Kilian executed for a crime she did not commit. Alexa snatches a pistol from one of the guards as she is about to be taken away for interrogation and aims at Kane with it. Clearly beside herself, she shouts Nod's motto "Peace through power" and then commits suicide by shooting herself in the head, just as LEGION shuts down.
In the third and final act, LEGION reawakens five years later in the post-Tiberium War 3 period, and Kane focuses it on recovering the Tacitus. GDI has been meddling with the device, causing it to become highly unstable; Kane needs the Tacitus for his master plan, so he orders the player to first awaken the Marked of Kane, a faction of cyborgs that only LEGION is capable of controlling due to its link with the destroyed CABAL. With the successful reactivation, Kane then sends the player to recover the Tacitus from GDI's NORAD. After the Tacitus's successful capture, Kane connects it to LEGION, and the AI becomes infused with the vast knowledge of the object, ending the game in a cliffhanger. The ending video shows a reverse of the Scrin campaign introduction video in C&C3, and a message that implies that the Scrin would later try to send a full invasion force, similar to what the Scrin Overlord states at the end of the Scrin campaign in the original C&C 3.
Cast
- Joseph D. KucanJoseph D. KucanJoseph David Kucan is a Video game developer, director, actor, screenwriter, and casting director for various gaming companies and movies. He is a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. He is well known for his role as Kane from the Command & Conquer series.-Early life:Kucan was born in Las Vegas, Nevada....
as KaneKane (Command & Conquer)Kane is a fictional character in the alternate history universe of Westwood Studios' and Electronic Arts' Command & Conquer real-time strategy video games in which he is a seemingly immortal mastermind behind the ancient and secretive Brotherhood of Nod society...
Kane is back, and this time, the self-proclaimed Prophet is the center of attention.
The supreme leader of the Brotherhood concentrates on his new schemes, mostly related to the LEGION and Tacitus.
He also masterminds several of the events seen in Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars, such as picking Redmond Boyle as GDI's acting director.
- CABAL / LEGION
CABAL, the sentient Nod AI
Ai
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
that went rogue in the aftermath of the Second Tiberium war
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun
Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun is a real-time strategy video game developed by Westwood Studios and released in . The main storyline follows the second major war between the Global Defense Initiative of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod who...
, reappears in the game in a new form known as LEGION. Kane plans to use LEGION's unmatched tactical genius and its connection with the Tacitus to achieve his goals. LEGION is controlled by the player in the same way as the GDI/Nod Commander or Scrin Foreman from the original campaign. It shows an innate ability to connect to the Tacitus' signal and interface with the device itself.
LEGION was built by Kane on CABAL's old foundations, aided by one of his assistants, Abbess Alexa Kovacs. As a result of his CABAL roots, CABAL's face flashes onto the screen a few times during the campaign, highly distressing Alexa. Alexa shows a deep mistrust for the combat AI, as her parents had been slain by CABAL's cyborgs. In her last act before being apprehended by Kane, she disrupts LEGION's uplink to the Tacitus by destroying LEGION's core systems, and then, when caught, snatches a gun from one of the guards and commits suicide with it.
LEGION resurrects itself five years later however, and receives a signal being transmitted from the Tacitus device which, according to Kane, only LEGION is able to detect. Once Kane orders LEGION to use the remnants of CABAL's cyborg army -now known as the Marked of Kane- to reclaim the Tacitus from GDI, LEGION is shown to become infused with the vast amount of knowledge from the device, and the game ends as a cliffhanger
Cliffhanger
A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction...
.
- Carl Lumbly as Brother Marcion
A new Nod character played by Carl Lumbly. After Kane's supposed death at the end of Second Tiberium War, GDI undercover agents succeeded in convincing Marcion that Kane was not the true Prophet. GDI also secretly arranged an assassination of the leader of the Black Hand, Anton Slavik, so Marcion could take his place. Eventually LEGION defeated Marcion's forces and captured him. Kane revealed himself to Marcion, and faked his public recantation, bringing the Black Hand back into the Brotherhood.
- Natasha HenstridgeNatasha HenstridgeNatasha T. Henstridge is a Canadian fashion model turned actress. Her most notable on-screen roles include Species, The Whole Nine Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won the Gemini Award for...
as Alexa Kovacs
Another member of the Brotherhood of Nod. According to Natasha Henstridge, Alexa idolizes Kane in every way. However Alexa's parents were killed by CABAL's cyborgs. Thus her disdain for LEGION grows from mission to mission, until she eventually betrays Kane and attempts to destroy LEGION by infecting it with a computer virus, but is caught and shoots herself.
Bonus content
Every copy of Kane's Wrath, including the bundled Command & Conquer 3 Limited Edition, includes a code which entitles the player to enter into the beta for the next Command & Conquer: Red Alert seriesCommand & Conquer: Red Alert series
Command & Conquer: Red Alert is a series of real time strategy video games set within the Command & Conquer universe. The series is well known for having some of the most quirky and outlandish units in the genre....
game, Red Alert 3
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is a 2008 real-time strategy video game developed by EA Los Angeles and published by Electronic Arts. Announced on February 14, 2008, it was released on October 28, 2008 in the United States for Microsoft Windows-based PCs and three days later in Europe. A version for...
, if the code is registered before September 15, 2008. The beta started in August for most participants who bought the game in retail stores and registered quickly, the beta was reported to be 500,000 strong on August 3, 2008.
A special edition version of Kane's Wrath which included a Kane's Wrath Razer DeathAdder
Razer USA Ltd
Razer is a privately held computer peripherals manufacturer specializing in products specifically marketed to gamers.Razer's main slogan is 'FOR GAMERS, BY GAMERS'....
mouse was released exclusively for Singapore customers.
Reception
The expansion has received generally favorable reviews, averaging a 77% score on Metacritic and 78% on GameRankings.External links
- Command & Conquer Website
- Command and Conquer Wiki