A First Look at Command & Conquer: Ranegade
Unless you were a gamer the year 1995 was nothing too out of the ordinary. Unless you were a gamer 1995 was really no different than 1994. Unless you were a gamer. If you were a gamer 1995 was a truly significant year. Westwood Studios just happened to release of the more monumental games of all time. The game: Command and Conquer. But you wouldn't know this, unless you were a gamer. If you were a gamer you know. If you were a gamer you understand the significance of both this one game and of Westwood Studios.
Command and Conquer is perhaps the most important real-time strategy ever made. While not the first real-time strategy game, that honor belongs to another Westwood game, Dune II, Command and Conquer was the game that thrust real-time strategy gaming into the forefront of PC gaming, and the landscape would be forever changed.
Given Westwoods history of real-time strategy games one would be allowed to concerned about the direction Westwood has decided to take with Command and Conquer: Renegade. Westwood is attempting to turn that 2D world we all know and love into a 3D environment that immerses the player with a sense of depth and heft that Command and Conquer gamers have heretofore only dreamed of.
Command and Conquer Renegade is a third person action game but you aren't limited to a third person view of the action. At any time you'll be able to switch to a first person mode if you truly want the feeling of immersion. You play Captain Nick "Havoc" Parker, a commando similar to the fellow in the original Command and Conquer. Nick Parker is not someone the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) uses lightly. His moniker, Havoc, was not placed upon Parker just because it sounded good. No, it seems that once Parker has been sent on a mission he creates havoc and leaves a mess in his wake but he does get the job done. The GDI only call on Captain Parker when there is no other alternative. In Renegade, there is no alternative.
The hero of Renegade has brains, brawn and an attitude. It will be interesting to see just how much of an attitude Westwood decides to imbue Parker with. How much charisma will this fellow have? Westwood claims that he will be charismatic but doesn't go into great detail. I can't help but think about another great PC gaming hero that has brains, has brawn, has attitude and has charisma to spare, we'll have to see if Captain Nick "Havoc" Parker is an imitator or an originator.
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