Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999)

Set in 2030, 30 years after the GDI had won the First Tiberium War in Command & Conquer (1995), following the second major war between the GDI of the United Nations, and the global terrorist organization known as the Brotherhood of Nod.

Directors:

Joseph D. Kucan, Donny Miele (co-director)

Writers:

John Scott Lewinski (additional dialogue), Donny Miele (story)

Stars:

Michael Biehn, James Earl Jones, Joseph D. Kucan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Biehn	...	Commander Michael McNeil
James Earl Jones	...	General James Solomon
Joseph D. Kucan	...	Kane
Frank Zagarino	...	Anton Slavik
Christine Steel	...	Umagon
Monika Schnarre	...	Oxanna Kristos
Kris Iyer	...	Chandra
Francesco Quinn	...	General Vega
Adoni Maropis	...	General Hassan
Christopher Winfield	...	Tratos
Thyme Lewis	...	Maychek - Nod Anchorman
Daniel Kucan	...	Jake McNeil (as Dan Kucan)
Athena Massey	...	Kodiak Pilot Brink
Bayani Ison	...	Base Commander Tao
Nils Allen Stewart	...	Mutant Commando

Storyline

The plot develops in two different paths depending on the side you take. If you choose GDI you get to play field commander Michael McNeil and try to rid the world of Kane and his Brotherhood of NOD. Fighting around the world (That means: North America and Europe), gaining the help of the Forgotten and enlisting them in the massive battle. And in the end the good guys win and the Kodiak flies to from the night side to the day side of Earth. If you choose NOD you get to play Anton Slavik and try to take over the Brotherhood of NOD and make the day that 'The Technology of Peace Will Flow Throughout the Land' come. Then the presumed dead Kane returns and you play under him taking the fight to the GDI's territory for world domin...I mean peace. And in the end the bad guys win and the Montauk can't fly from the night side to the day side of the Earth because the Earth is glowing green.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | command and conquer | single player | real time strategy | multiplayer | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | War

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Certificate:

T

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the GDI opening scene, Kane asks General Solomon rhetorically: "If I am cut, do I not bleed?" Paraphrasing a line from Shylock's monologue in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.

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Goofs

Despite being a senior military officer (and in a future setting), Commander McNeil wears the insignia of a Specialist 5 on the left arm of his leather jacket, an enlisted (non-officer) rank that was abolished in 1985. Also, Chandra, a Lieutenant Commander according to the game manual, is wearing chevrons on his right sleeve that appear to be the rank insignia of a Senior Airman in the U.S. Air Force.

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Quotes

CABAL: A division of Hassan's Elite Guard is closing in on our position. The probability of a favourable outcome can be increased, if we are able to fall back to your main base and engage the enemy as we move.
Slavik: Define "favourable outcome", Cabal.
CABAL: They all die.
Slavik: That'll do.

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Alternate Versions

To avoid problems with the German censors (namely the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Schriften, BPJS), the human soldiers were replaced with cyborgs.

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Connections

Follows Command & Conquer: Red Alert (1996)

User Reviews

Notable for what it brings to the table, overlooked due to bugs... and Firestorm is a reasonable add-on

The following review will cover both Tiberian Sun and Firestorm. With how negative many people seem towards this game, one must assume that they forgot the many new things that it introduced to Westwood's on-going Command & Conquer series... or maybe they just got tired of waiting. I believe this game was in development for no less than four years... and it admittedly still feels less than fully complete. There are several bugs, and the AI still needs work(and more hand-holding is required than earlier games, due to some of the new features). Firestorm did not fix any of these issues, and it did bring about one or two new ones. But instead, let's look at all the things that this game did do, rather than the fairly few things that it did not. It introduced several new major things, some of which are really good, including hills, cities(instead of the endless "villages" of the last two games), tunnels, more elaborate terrain, turning power on and off, it made bridges repairable, etc. It tried something new with the cut-scenes(characters no longer talk at you, you play a character seen on screen). Firestorm brought back the familiar method of having the characters brief you, talk into the camera as if they were speaking directly to you(this brings about some slightly awkward editing in a few parts of the briefings, but those are relatively easy to ignore). How you feel about these changes and additions is obviously subjective, but the creativity and courage required should be commended. The whole game has a very slick, stylish look to it. Firestorm maintains this look. The graphics are improved, with much more detailed and realistic effects on explosions and such. The story-telling is adequate. Firestorm has about the same quality of that, though the story is somewhat less... well, less(both sides pretty much follow the same story-line, and while the idea expressed in the plot was originally an interesting one within the realm of science fiction, it is now something of a cliché within that genre). The animated portions of the cut-scenes look stunning. The casting is good, with James Earl Jones and Michael Biehn both given lines and roles that fit them(the former being an authoritative type, the latter being the determined soldier). Firestorm, apart from the character of Slavik, has hardly any of the characters from Tiberian Sun return, though the new ones certainly aren't bad(and at least CABAL comes back, and he's awesome(not that Slavik isn't, too)). The acting and writing vary. As with the first Command & Conquer, there are plenty of highly powerful units, but this game also presents you with ways of dealing with them all. Even the super-weapons are both powerful and possible to stop(well, not the Ion Cannon, but it can do enough damage to be useful, and too little to be devastating on its own). Firestorm adds a few units and changes around some of the ones that were already there, to further increase the level of fairness (as well as making things more interesting and intense, with the new Mobile War Factory that both sides get, the Mobile EMP Cannon and the Mobile Stealth Generator), though the addition of an artillery unit for GDI(whilst definitely a cool addition and very, very helpful) seems completely out of character). Firestorm's new units are implemented in the single player portion reasonably well(and they're helpful, in general, to boot). Both sides have some really cool technology to play around with, and they both have a rather... interesting APC, neither of which I will describe here. Firestorm's difficulty picks up where Tiberian Sun left off, making for a good challenge. The sound is somewhat limited, and the music, whilst still sounding good, doesn't really have the whole adrenaline-pumpin' thing that we've seen in the other games. It does create a solid mood, though. Firestorm has quite a few in-level characters get downright chatty, compared to earlier games, maybe to make up for the limited sound of Tiberian Sun. The level design is fairly good, and both sides *definitely* get a satisfying finale. Firestorm scores reasonably high marks on that, as well... while there are only nine new levels per side, they're all good, connected(unlike those of every add-on in this franchise preceding it) and are often quite interesting... such as the level where you, fighting as NOD, battle using the Tiberium creatures to fight for you and the GDI mission where you must stop a civilian riot; both sides again get a great finale each, though the last level of both campaigns is basically the same. Firestorm, in general, offered far more(well, earlier add-ons had more single player levels, but apart from that) than the expansion packs to the Command & Conquer games prior to it; it had an actual story(if perhaps not the best one), there were new cinematics to brief you on the missions, the new units in no way felt recycled, several new buildings and such were added instead of only(which both Firestorm and Tiberian Sun admittedly does) reusing ones we've seen before... as Tiberian Sun is a landmark in RTS games, Firestorm is one for C&C add-ons. The multi-player is also quite good, with a few dozen playable levels(Firestorm added more levels, as well as the World Domination mode), a solid randomizing generator which you can set values for a number of properties, to ensure more, and several features that can be turned on or off before you start playing, including the old favorite of RTS games(which had not been seen in the C&C games before this point), Fog of War, as well as whether or not bridges can be destroyed, whether or not the players will be allowed bases, etc. I recommend Tiberian Sun to any fan of RTS games, in particular those who want more of the (rightfully) popular Command & Conquer universe. I recommend Firestorm for anyone who enjoyed Tiberian Sun and wanted more of that, because for that, it definitely doesn't disappoint. 7/10

Details

Official Sites:

Studio Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 August 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Westwood Studios Inc.

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color