Ah, Command & Conquer. It’s a long-running game series that has been around basically as long as I have been alive. Over the years, it has seen a lot of entries. Most of them have been pretty good, some have been fantastic, and, well, some are best left not talking about. But you know what someone has never done in the history of mankind? They have never ranked them all from worst to best. So, at great risk to my reputation and personal safety, today, I’m going to be doing just that.
18. The Infamous “Command and Conquer 4 Tiberium Twilight”
Starting from the bottom, the first thing mentioned is the Commander, which is followed by the game title, “Command and Conquer 4 Tiberium Twilight.” This fourth installment in the series was not a surprise to anyone. However, it was disappointing, as it threw out all the good things that the previous games had established, such as base building and established RTS mechanics, and replaced them with an uninteresting narrative with illogical story developments and unfamiliar characters.
The game was much maligned since the day it was released, and it rightly deserved it. The failure of the game single-handedly suffocated the “Command and Conquer” name until recently when it had a saving grace. It would be difficult to make a game worse than “Command and Conquer 4 Tiberium Twilight.” If anyone is interested in hearing more about it, they can watch a full review.
17. Mobile Mishap: “Command and Conquer: Rivals”
The next game mentioned is “Rivals,” which is a mobile-only game that received intense negative fan reception upon its announcement. It didn’t get any better once it was released. It has nothing in common with any of its predecessors, apart from the recognizable setting, characters, and units. “Rivals” is stuffed with microtransactions and pay-to-win mechanics, and it’s not a good “Command and Conquer” game. However, it can be fun to play on the go with some familiar units and faces.
16. Classic Content Packs: “Red Alert Aftermath” and “Counterstrike”
“Red Alert Aftermath” and “Counterstrike” are grouped together, as they are content packs rather than expansions. They both came with new missions and units for the Allies and Soviets, along with new music tracks and maps, which were welcome additions. The famous secret ant campaign ended with “Counterstrike,” where the Allies are tasked with exterminating a hostile faction of giant mutated ants. While it was fun at the time, it can’t hold a candle to expansions that games would receive years later.
15. The Original Expansion: “Command and Conquer: Covert Ops”
“Covert Ops” is the only expansion created for the original “Command and Conquer,” and while that game was groundbreaking, “Covert Ops” didn’t come close to its impact or importance. It did, however, bring more content in the form of 15 fresh total missions for Nod and GDI, along with new maps and music tracks. Unfortunately, there were no new units, apart from a couple previously reserved just for multiplayer. “Covert Ops” also brought along the Jurassic Park mode, which, while not very deep, was a fun addition and acted as a precursor to the ant levels in “Red Alert.” At least “Covert Ops” tried different things.
14.Single-player Struggles: “Red Alert Uprising”
Number 14, Red Alert Uprising was not as successful as its predecessor, Alert 3, as it only had single-player content and failed to address the large number of players who primarily engaged in multiplayer. The content it did deliver didn’t live up to the standard of the base game. However, credit should be given for trying something new with the unique action-focused campaign for Eureka. Uprising was also a standalone game, which is a positive feature. The original Kalanikonka is an undeniable classic and its influence on the series and the RTS genre as a whole is difficult to understate, as it was the progenitor of everything else on this list. While its quality hasn’t deteriorated over the years, it has been surpassed by its successors and is now somewhat of a relic of times past.
13. The Legacy of Command and Conquer: A Classic RTS Game That Shaped the Genre
The original Kalanikonka is a classic that cannot be denied. Its influence on the series and the real-time strategy (RTS) genre as a whole is difficult to understate. It is the progenitor of everything else on this list. During its time, Command and Conquer (CnC) was an excellent game with innovative gameplay and presentation, which caused it to become one of the most respected RTS games of its period. While its quality has not deteriorated over the years, it has certainly been surpassed by its successors, leaving it somewhat of a relic of times past. However, it holds up better than you might expect, but any 25-year-old game is going to show its age when put up against new releases. Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun Firestorm, as an expansion, is no different.
12. Firestorm Ignites the Series: “Tiberian Sun Firestorm”
Tiberian Sun Firestorm, as an expansion, did much more than its predecessors in CNC and Alert. It brought two whole new campaigns for Nod and GDI factions, a third faction for skirmish and multiplayer, new units and maps, and had a lot to offer. It was a well-executed expansion and marked the beginning of a content drought for the Tiberium saga, which lasted for nearly a decade until the release of Command and Conquer III in 2007.
11. “Red Alert” Outshines Its Predecessor
Red Alert is a better game than the original Command and Conquer, as it feels less jarring to play nowadays and has a livelier presentation style with better graphics and special effects. The author “Red Alert” Outshines Its Predecessorpreferred the game’s vibe better than the original CNC.
10. A Modern Take: “Command and Conquer Remastered”
Command and Conquer Remastered is an outlier on this list, as it is a release of games already on the list, but it is included because it is its own product. The team at Petroglyph did an excellent job and brought two 25-year-old games into the modern day, basically as good as anyone could have hoped for. The improved compatibility, graphical upgrades, and quality of life improvements make for a pretty good game and an interesting history lesson and nostalgia trip on mid-90s RTS’s.I hope this trend continues with more games being added to this list.
9. Top-rated Expansion: “Command and Conquer Generals: Zero Hour”
Zero Hour was a great expansion and is the highest-rated expansion on this list. It brought a lot of new features to Command and Conquer Generals, including new campaigns for all three factions with full-motion video cutscenes, the Generals Challenge mode, and new characters for each faction. Zero Hour became a fan favorite and helped to secure the game at the top spot for many fans.
8. The Oddball FPS: “Command and Conquer: Renegade”
Renegade is the oddball in the Command and Conquer franchise as it is not a real-time strategy game but a first-person shooter. It put players in the shoes of a GDI commando during the first Tiberian War and had massive single-player levels, intense multiplayer action, and a huge variety of guns and vehicles. While not the best game in the franchise, it still left a lasting impression on players.
7. A Wacky Success: “Red Alert 3”
Red Alert 3 was a great real-time strategy game that built upon the silliness of its predecessors while also delivering an entertaining story and exciting gameplay improvements. The factions operated differently, making it feel like an actual advancement in the series.
6. Groundbreaking 3D: “Command and Conquer: Generals”
Generals is a fantastic game, especially for its time, and is an important piece of Command and Conquer history. It was the first 3D real-time strategy game in the series and laid the groundwork for future releases. While graphically dated, the gameplay still holds up excellently and is a wonderful nostalgia trip to a golden era of real-time strategy games.
Long since past, an expansion would have to be pretty.
5. The Villain’s Expansion: “Command and Conquer 3: Kane’s Wrath”
Command and Conquer 3 Kane’s Wrath is incredible to be ranked higher than the game it builds upon, and although Kane’s Wrath isn’t quite at that level, it’s darn close. The game brings a new campaign focusing on the titular villain, brand new sub-factions for the screen, Nod and UDI, plus a ton of exciting new and returning units to the series. Kane’s Wrath had nearly everything anyone could want in an expansion for Command and Conquer 3, except a 60fps frame rate, I guess.
In hindsight, it’s even more important. Ask any CNC fan, and they’ll almost certainly tell you that Kane’s Wrath was the last true game in the Tiberium saga. Come on and Conquer 4 be damned.
4. Nostalgic Classic: “Tiberian Sun”
Tiberian Sun – man, what a game! This might be a controversial placement, but I really love it. I’ll freely admit it’s likely down to personal bias to an extent. This was the first Command and Conquer game I ever played, and I have so many great memories playing it late at night in a dimly lit room on an old CRT monitor as a kid. Nostalgia aside though, Tiberian Sun was still a fantastic game. A direct sequel to the original Command and Conquer, Tiberian Sun brought a dark and moody atmosphere to the story helped along with the fantastic soundtrack by Frank Lepaki. And while at launch it did have some issues and a decent chunk of plain content was pushed to its eventual expansion, looking back at it now, Tiberian Sun is a landmark in the series, and it’s one I personally hope will be next up for a remaster.
3. Legendary Expansion: “Red Alert 2: Yuri’s Revenge”
One of the greatest RTS expansions of all time, Red Alert 2 Yuri’s Revenge, is a truly beloved piece of Command Conquer, bringing two new campaigns, a ton of new units, and a third faction for skirmisher multiplayer. It certainly didn’t skip in the content department, and story-wise it built on the already excellent framework of release 2 to develop its titular character into an extremely entertaining, larger than life cartoonish villain – a tone people have always loved from Alert.
Of course, I would be remiss not to mention the impact Yuri’s Revenge also had on the modern community, with it being the platform of choice for community projects such as Mental Omega, which is still fervently played by a small but dedicated community to this day.
Yuri’s Revenge, however, would be nothing without its progenitor.
2. The Fan Favorite: “Red Alert 2”
Red Alert 2 perhaps had the biggest single development leap of any game in the series. Red Alert 2 built upon its 4-year-old predecessor in a multitude of ways, higher production values, much improved graphics, massive faction variety, hugely improved storytelling and narratives. Red Alert 2 really did have it all, and you can see why it has become one of, if not the most beloved games in the entire series. Everything just came together so well, the characters, story, and now Red Alert gameplay is a blast to play and much more enjoyable than you might think an over 20-year-old game might be. While it was improved with Yuri’s Revenge, and mods have kept it much more alive than it otherwise would be, they all stand on the shoulders of what came before them.
1. The Unrivaled Champion: Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars
And now, the best Command and Conquer game according to me is Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. I’m sure there are many of you who oppose this, but regardless, I’m sure most of us can agree that CNC3 is a fantastic entry in the series. It was the first new numbered entry after the series was taken over from Westwood to EA Los Angeles, and they truly knocked it out of the park.
Picking up where Tiberian Sun left off, Tiberium Wars brought sweeping gameplay improvements, a gorgeous graphical engine that had proven itself in the Battle from the Lift series, and a ton of content to boot – not the least of which were the campaigns. The campaigns introduced a new enemy faction, saw the return of Joe Kukan as Kane, and continued to show the ongoing fight between Nod and GDI – now with higher production values and more well-known actresses and actors than ever before.
Gameplay wasn’t forgotten about either, and with the addition of the screen, as well as a laundry list of new features and units, Tiberium Wars might be the best fun you can have in any CNC game today. You can quote me on that, Commander.
Command and Conquer 3 was a stellar entry in the series which, perhaps in hindsight, has been improved by the abysmal quality of its sequel. But regardless of that, it’s number one on my list all on its own merits.
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