Command & Conquer (1995) (VG)

Director:

Joseph D. Kucan

Writers:

Joe Bostic (concept)
Eydie Laramore (concept)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

World Domination in a box.

Plot:

When a new and powerful mineral, the Tiberium, is discovered, two organizations start a war for its control: the criminal Brotherhood of NOD and the UN derived GDI forces. |

Plot Keywords:

Tiberium | Terrorism | Real Time Strategy | Military | Alternative Timeline

Cast

Elie Arabian	...	In-Game Vehicle Personnel (voice)
Wendy Bagger	...	Col. Morelli
Paul Bastardo	...	NOD Soldier #3
Jason Buchanan	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Bill Collins	...	Carter
Clifford Davis	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Ed Del Castillo	...	NOD Soldier #2, NOD Cyberspace Soldier
R.C. Favero	...	Science Show Host
Jeff Steven Fillhaber	...	Yelling Interrogator (voice)
Penina S. Finger	...	Additional Voices (voice) (as Penina Finger)
Eric Gooch	...	Seth
Rick Gush	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Kia Huntzinger	...	Electronic Video Agent (EVA) (voice)
Frank Klepacki	...	NOD Cyberspace Soldier, Additional Voices (voice)
Joseph D. Kucan	...	Kane
Michael Lightner	...	GDI Soldier #2
Eric Martin	...	General Sheppard
Ted Morris	...	NOD Communications Officer
Paul S. Mudra	...	In-Game Infantry (voice) (as Paul Mudra)
Dwight K. Okahara	...	In-Game Vehicle Personnel (voice)
Bhaven Patel	...	NOD Soldier #1 (as Bhavin Patel)
Aaron Powell	...	GDI Soldier #1
Ian Pugh	...	NOD Panicked Soldier, NOD Cyberspace Soldier
Eric Randall	...	Greg Burdette
Chris Rubyor	...	NOD Soldier #4
Rob Sandberg	...	In-Game Infantry (voice)
Richard Smith	...	Dr. Ignatio Mobius
Marcia Swayze	...	Female Reporter
Elsbeth Wetherill	...	Additional Voices (voice)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

South Korea:15 | USA:T

Company:

Looking Glass Studios

Quotes:

Seth: [with a display of the U.S] Well done! You are truly becoming Kane's favorite. How would you like to ensure your place in the highest echolons of Nod? Surely you are ambitious enough to take on a mission of tremendous magnitude. Your goal is so secret even Kane knows nothing of it yet. You'll see, power shifts quickly in the brotherhood.
[looks around]
Seth: I've taken the liberty of dispatching your troops to the U.S. Kane's been loathe to attack America, but I feel that it's time, and that you're the one to do it
[clicks button; image is replaced by the Pentagon]
Seth: This is the Pentagon. A full frontal attack with your strongest forces should render their military center of operation...
[a hand with a gun appears from the side of the screen and shots Seth. The man pushes Seth's corpse to the floor and sits in his chair. He is bald with a goatee and non-descript black clothes]
Kane: Yes, power shifts more quickly than some people think
[sits]
Kane: I am Kane. While I bring your troops back from the States, I want you to take what men you have left and secure this abandoned GDI base. Once in, build up an arsenal of weapons and use them to wipe out the remaining GDI presence
[moves to leave but suddenly stays]
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

The RTS revolution starts here.

The debate rages on - what was the first ever RTS? Herzog Zwei? Stonkers? Dune 2? No-one's really sure - so much depends on the definition of "RTS" (and, for that matter, "first") that even Railroad Tycoon has seen entry into the fray. What is certain is that it was Dune 2 that put Westwood Studios on the map and planted the seeds of what the RTS would eventually become. Blizzard's original Warcraft ran some more with the idea, but it's Command And Conquer: Tiberian Dawn that truly set the world alight.

Dune 2 struggled with a quirky unit cap, caused simply by a shortage of processing power. C&C has no such limitations, and battles featuring scores of men and tanks over a multitude of landscapes looked stunning in addition to playing well. The linking FMVs are absorbingly written and acted - witness General Sheppard's growing frustration and rage throughout the pursuit of Kane, which is believable and compelling. These improvements marked the true beginning of the CD age of PC gaming - with this game showing what was possible, the floppy disc was dead and buried.

The story is as well-known and standardised as it is irrelevant - two organisations compete for resources and military supremacy. It's the little differences and quirks between the Global Defence Initiative (a spin off from the UN) and the Brotherhood of NOD (as old and biblical as character names like Kane and Seth are intended to imply) that grant the game the longevity, acclaim, sequels and spinoffs that it has maintained in the twelve years since.

A juggernaut that shows no signs of slowing down, and it kicked off in 1995. Now available again as part of the First Decade pack, this is a milestone of gaming that still plays well today.