Classic Gaming Review : Command and Conquer Gold Edition

There are quite a lot of classic PC video games that have had and are still having an impact in the gaming industry. Among the few classic PC games that fit into this category is Westwood's Command and Conquer. This game made history as one of the most successful combat real-time strategy games. It was first released back in August 1995 for the MS-DOS operating system. Later on, a gold edition Windows 95 version was released.

Let's look at the system requirements. Well, today's computers are far more powerful than the computers when Command and Conquer was released. The system requirements are a measly 486 DX2 processor, 8 MB RAM, an MCGA compatible video card, a CD-ROM drive and a Sound Blaster compatible sound card. As for Windows, it needs a Pentium 60 MHz processor, 8/16 MB RAM, DirectDraw compatible video and Sound Blaster compatible sound card. Both require around 30 MB of hard drive space. So as you can see, today's PC, even the lowest possible new computer specification set up, can play this game.

The game's graphics is, as expected, a bit blocky but at that time, back in the late 90s, it was really an eye-candy. I had a 13" VGA monitor at that time and it was amazing. I was able to play both the DOS and Windows 95 version. The cinematic seems to be ahead of its time and was well laid-out through the course of the campaign.

The game play is really engaging. It has a very good linear story and you can choose some of the missions yourself. You can play either as GDI or the NOD. It has a deep plot amidst being a strategy game. Each mission is unique and there are several specific objectives that you have to meet in order to complete a mission. The missions can be difficult especially since the scroll function is a bit too fast on today's computers. Navigating around the battlefield can be a challenge. When it comes to the strategy element, the basic rule usually applies. The more units you have, the higher the chance of winning. Always try to outnumber your opponents especially with tanks.

There's an Internet game option where you can pit yourself against other players but it doesn't seem to be working. I'll keep on trying. However, if you have a dial-up modem or a local area network, you can play a multiplayer game.

One good thing about real-time strategy games is that you can play it again and again especially the multiplayer or network mode. You can replay the campaign mode if you'd like but you may get bored the second time around unless you're trying to achieve a higher mission score which is computed at the end of each mission.

Command and Conquer Gold Edition is designed specifically for Windows 95. It runs fine on Windows 98 however, on NT-based systems such as Windows XP, you'd have to apply a patch which is available for download at EA support.

Here's the link: ftp://ftp.westwood.com/pub/ccgold/

If you don't download and install this patch, you won't be able to play at all and all you'll see is an error message. Make sure you copy this on your Command and Conquer installation folder and overwrite the old file.

Since this is a really old game, you won't be able to find it on the shelves of your favorite video game stores unless it's on sale in the classic section. It was made available for free download but I lost the link. If you search around, you'll probably be able to download or buy it somewhere.

Command and Conquer shaped a new era of real-time PC strategy games and paved way for great ideas which we are now most likely seeing in the latest PC strategy games. If you haven't played this game yet, and if you know someone who does own it, I would suggest that you give it a try. If you're a real-time strategy fan, you'll enjoy this classic.

Source:
Electronic Arts C&C Support
http://support.ea.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/334

Wikipedia - Command and Conquer (video game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_%26_Conquer_%28video_game%29