Command & Conquer (+ Retaliation)

The console version of the pioneering RTS with tiberium, the Brotherhood of Nod, and villain Kane.

Tiberium, the Brotherhood of NOD, and the charismatic villain Kane, in the mid-nineties Command & Conquer laid the foundations of the modern real-time strategy, and its console incarnation brought this landmark experience to players without a powerful PC. Together with the Retaliation expansion, it was a hearty serving of strategic meat.

The gameplay is a textbook RTS: you harvest rare tiberium, build and defend a base, produce units, and hurl them into battle against the enemy. The game from Westwood Studios pitted the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) against the mysterious, fanatical Brotherhood of NOD in a struggle for control over a strange alien substance. Each side had its own units, tactics, and campaign tone, which gave the game surprising depth and replay value.

What lifted Command & Conquer above the competition was its presentation. Live-action cutscenes with the first-class villain Kane, played by Joseph Kucan, gave the campaign a cinematic swagger and the sense that you were part of a larger conflict. Together with the iconic rock soundtrack, the result defined how strategy should look and sound, and pointed the whole genre forward for years to come.

The PlayStation console version faced the same challenge as other RTS games of the era, controlling an army with a gamepad never reaches the precision of a mouse. Even so it was a worthy effort: the Retaliation expansion added new missions and content, and the whole package opened up this strategy legend to an audience sitting in front of televisions, not just monitors.

Command & Conquer's influence on the genre is enormous; it stood at the birth of an entire family of games, and its world and characters etched themselves into gaming history. The console version is today a testament to a time when even demanding PC genres boldly moved into living rooms.

Why play it: A founding RTS legend with the unforgettable Kane and cinematic presentation, on console a dignified gateway to one of the most influential titles in the genre.

The same title elsewhere (5)

The Westwood Studios original was controlled with mouse and keyboard, giving quick access to units and buildings — console ports had to replace that with a gamepad and menus, which is usually criticized as slower and less clear than on PC. The PlayStation version also includes the Retaliation expansion, adding extra missions beyond the base game. SEGA Saturn and PlayStation both benefited from CD media with enough room for full-motion video and decent-quality music, while the cartridge-based Nintendo 64 version had far less storage space, which typically meant more compressed cutscenes and audio. Anyone wanting the experience closest to the original PC game on a console should lean toward Saturn or PlayStation.

The same title elsewhere (5)

From the same series Command & Conquer →

More from Sony PlayStation