Back in the 1980s, with Cold War paranoia rife in the west, films such as Red Dawn asked what the world (read: 'America') would have been like if the Soviets had prevailed.
First released in 1996, the PC game Command & Conquer: Red Alert took things a little further - what if Albert Einstein had built a time machine, gone back in time and killed Hitler, thus preventing World War II? Why, Joseph Stalin would have stormed through Europe of course. Okay, that’s taking things a lot further.
The important thing is, Red Alert was and remains one of the best real-time strategy games ever made, attracting thousands of new players with its perfectly balanced blend of action and tactics. Now EA is resurrecting the old war horse for mobile platforms - so how does the Java version play?
Pretty well, actually. EA’s last crack at C&C on mobile was a rather limited affair, offering precious little tactical flexibility and rigidly defined build and combat stages. Red Alert is far more fluid and thus far more in keeping with the source material.
The Campaign mode is still heavily scripted, though, starting you off with just a single unit and a simple infiltration task before gradually building to full-on base building missions.
The ‘*’, ‘0’ and ‘#’ keys bring up the separate build menus, allowing you to construct a full base comprising turrets, barracks, war factories, and the like. From these you can conscript infantry and build tanks, as well as the more specialised units.
From fairly modest beginnings, the game branches out to become an impressively involved tactical experience.
Your combat options are still a little limited, with a strict two squad limit and a tendency to rely on overly simplistic tank rush strategies. But with the likes of engineers for taking over enemy buildings and the ability to take cover in neutral buildings, not to mention some of the special attacks that crop up, there’s often a slightly different approach open to you.
It’s still arguable that the mobile platform just isn’t suitable for such complex titles - the screen still gets confusingly cluttered with units and icons despite the stripped-back, zoomed out style - but there’s no doubting that Red Alert is a fine attempt at making the C&C formula fit in your pocket.
Command & Conquer: Red Alert
The best attempt yet at bringing the Command & Conquer series to mobile. Red Alert still suffers from a degree of clunkiness and a little tactical rigidity, but those looking for a fast-paced strategy title on their mobile will get plenty of kicks from it
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.