Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 took the alternate history of the cold war to an absurd but immensely entertaining level, adding a third side to the existing Allied and Soviet factions - the Japanese Empire of the Rising Sun with technologically advanced, transforming units. The story continues from previous installments in a branching, comic-book-exaggerated tone full of live-action cutscenes with film and TV stars, which gave the game the series' typical ironic humor and never took itself too seriously, even though the theme still involved battles for the fate of the world.

The game system introduced a novelty in the form of a naval component, which became a third domain on equal footing with ground and air units - many maps featured extensive bodies of water where separate battles took place and where amphibious units played a key role. A cooperative mode for two players going through one campaign together was also introduced, an unusual and very welcome feature for the RTS genre at the time, allowing the experience to be shared with a friend from start to finish. Each of the three factions had a markedly different visual and gameplay style: the Soviets relied on brute force, bears, and cheap units; the Allies on technology, mobility, and manipulation of time and gravity; the Empire on elegant, transforming machines combining multiple roles in a single unit as the situation required.

The game was valued especially for its entertainment value, humor, and accessibility - the pace was tailored even to less experienced strategy players, which prompted mixed reactions among hardcore fans of the series, who missed the complexity of the older installments and deeper strategic planning. Even so, thanks to its atmosphere, exaggeration, distinctive visual stylization, and cooperative mode, Red Alert 3 earned a place among the favorite strategy games of the end of the decade, and today it is remembered as a lighthearted, entertaining departure from the more serious tone of the Tiberium series, one embraced even by players who otherwise aren't close to the RTS genre.

Why play it: For players who appreciate humor, accessibility, and cooperative mode more than deep strategic complexity, it's an entertaining departure even for those otherwise not close to RTS games.