Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2:

"RA2" redirects here. For Robot Arena 2, see Robot Arena 2: Design and Destroy.

Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains 2 playable factions, Soviets and Allies which both previously appeared in Command & Conquer: Red Alert. Red Alert 2's single player campaign is structured in an alternate-ending mode as opposed to a progressive story mode.

Red Alert 2 proved to be a success with critics, receiving an 8.6 from GameRankings.^[3]

Synopsis

Plot

Like all other Command & Conquer real-time strategy games, up until the expansion pack of Tiberian Sun, Firestorm, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 contains two distinct story lines depending on which faction the player wishes to play as. Both of the story lines differ in several distinct ways. However, the Allied story line is canon because of how the expansion pack continues.

Allies

The Allied story line starts off with the American military being caught off guard by the Soviet invasion of the United States of America. America attempts to retaliate with the use of nuclear missiles, but Yuri, leader of the Soviet Psychic Corps, uses his mind control to manipulate the personnel charged with launching the warheads and leaves them to explode in their silos. Within hours, the United States is over run with Red Army troops. In response, the President establishes an emergency response team headed by General Carville and the Commander (the player).

A special forces team led by Special Agent Tanya is sent to New York City and successfully repels the Soviet invasion there. Tanya and the Commander are then sent to Colorado Springs to liberate the Air Force Academy and the air base there. After this, a Soviet mind control device known as the Psychic Beacon is deployed in Washington, D.C. and manages to control the minds of the President and several key officials in the city, who promptly surrender to the Soviets. However, a counter-strike destroys the Psychic Beacon and frees the city from Soviet mind control. The American government relocate themselves to Canada to escape the threat of Soviet mind control.

The main Soviet offensive is in the southwest, with Russian forces pouring across the Mexico border and quickly capturing a quarter of the country. Meanwhile, a large-scale amphibious landing in the northeast succeeds in establishing a large salient from Washington, D.C. to New York. The main Soviet thrust then pushes across the Great Plains through Illinois, targeting Chicago in the hopes of cutting the USA in half. The USA launches an amphibious assault on Soviet-controlled Chicago to destroy a second psychic device, the Psychic Amplifier, before it can be activated and place the entire country under Soviet mind control. The Soviets retaliate by detonating a nuclear warhead in the city, destroying it completely.

Alarmed by the situation, leaders of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom agree to help the USA if they disarm two Soviet nuclear missile sites in Poland. The President agrees and sends a special forces team, led by Tanya, into Poland near its border with Germany. The silos are covertly destroyed, and the Europeans join the war against the Soviets. Bolstered by additional men and equipment, the U.S. military is able to recapture Washington, D.C. After doing so, Allied intelligence reveals that the Soviets are planning to capture the Hawaiian Islands and the Commander is sent to Pearl Harbor to defend the islands. The islands are saved, but the United States is still in a precarious position. The Soviets mount a Battle of Kursk-like counterattack to regain control of St. Louis, Missouri and all ports in the area, seriously handicapping movement between the western states and the eastern states. The Allies also learn of a Soviet project to replicate the Allied Prism technology at a research base in Tulum, Mexico, and a team of Navy SEALs is para-dropped into the area. The Soviet base and all the replicas are destroyed and the Allied Prism technology is not compromised.

Wanting to end the situation, Allied leaders send troops to protect Albert Einstein's laboratory in the Black Forest and protect his Chronosphere and the plans for them. After doing this, Einstein personally thanks the Commander and says that he has been working to find the best place to deploy the Chronosphere. Einstein has found the perfect place, an island in the Florida Keys. The island is close to Soviet Cuba. The Allies send a force to the island to destroy the Soviet’s nuclear strike capability and build the Chronosphere. The Allies then proceed to use the Chronosphere's teleportation capabilities to take an Allied strike team to Moscow. Once in Moscow, the Allied forces promptly destroy the defenses around the Kremlin and then teleport in a strike team led by Tanya to capture Premier Alexander Romanov. The Soviets surrender.

Soviet

The Soviet storyline begins with the player being briefed by Premier Alexander Romanov. After this, the Soviets launch an invasion of Washington, D.C., in which the Soviets destroy the Pentagon. Another Soviet invasion is launched into Florida to destroy the United States Fourth Fleet, which was threatening the Soviet invasion. Even though the Commander is almost fully responsible for these victories, all the credit goes to the top Soviet commander, General Vladimir. Yuri, Romanov's top adviser, recommends that the player capture New York City with his Psychic Beacon while Vladimir is in Moscow celebrating.

To counter the ever increasing and successful Soviet threat, forces from South Korea launch an amphibious attack on Vladivostok, and the player must "defend the motherland" and subsequently crushes all invading South Korean forces. Alarmed by the situation, leaders of France and Germany agree to send troops to the Polish border to help the United States fight the Red Army. While the French Army is busy elsewhere, the Soviets send a special forces team to Paris, with special orders from Romanov and Yuri to "show the Allies the true meaning of Soviet brutality" and to "leave nothing". With this and other key victories in Europe, Europe is in a position of needing help itself rather than giving help to the United States.

During this time, Yuri begins gaining more and more power by using his mind control technology on Romanov. As a result, Romanov gives all military authority to Yuri, which greatly angers General Vladimir, who accuses Yuri of forcing Romanov to make that decision. Yuri then tells the player to go to the Hawaiian Islands and establish a Soviet military presence there, then destroy the United States Pacific Fleet and all Korean reinforcements. Meanwhile, Yuri's intelligence has revealed that the Allies have constructed a Chronosphere and intend to use it to launch an assault on a Soviet research base in the Ural Mountains. Yuri tells the player that this research facility is vital to the Soviet war effort, and that it must be defended at all costs.

General Vladimir, fed up with Yuri's manipulation of Romanov, threatens Yuri, calling him a traitor. Yuri then frames Vladimir, making it look like he murdered Romanov in his hospital bed. Yuri then dispatches the player to go to Washington, D.C. and eliminate Vladimir, who Yuri declares to be a traitor and a "nonperson". The player defeats Vladimir's forces and Vladimir himself is captured by Yuri's psychic attack. A Soviet strike team of psychic commandos is then sent to San Antonio, Texas to capture the U.S. president Michael Dugan. The Soviets then discover that the Allies are developing a new super weapon in the U.S. Virgin Islands, known as a Weather Control Device. The Soviets launch an amphibious assault on the islands and successfully destroys the device before it gets a chance to be activated.

Impressed by the tenacity of the “Comrade General”, Yuri asks the Commander to come to Moscow so he can thank the Commander in person. But Lieutenant Zofia tells the player about a video Romanov recorded in which he says that Yuri is controlling his mind and is a traitor and must be brought to justice. A large army is then sent to Moscow and engages with forces loyal to Yuri. The player's forces then launch a devastating attack on the Kremlin and Yuri is believed to be dead. After going through Yuri’s files, it is learned that the Allies have a Chronosphere in Alaska, where they will attempt to launch a final assault on the Soviet Union by teleporting into Moscow and capturing the Kremlin. A Soviet strike force is sent across the Bering Strait and destroys the Chronosphere and all Allied forces in the area. With all resistance destroyed, the player is now free to rule the world. However, Yuri's mind somehow survived and telepathically communicates to the commander saying that he may get a second chance.

Cast and characters

As Red Alert 2 features live action cut-scenes as opposed to conventional in-game cut-scenes, each character undergoes more development than that of those in other RTSs. Each campaign features an array of cast and character which brief and help the player in his/her pursuit to win the war.

Gameplay

Every aspect of gameplay in the game is based on the collection of money. In the game, money can be collected by several means. The most common is using Miner trucks to gather Ore and/or Gems and transport them to a Refinery. A player can also gain a lasting income by capturing Oil derricks (neutral buildings that are present in some maps). There also are two one-time sources of money, namely collecting random crates which are present in the map and selling off buildings which are controlled by the player. The money is spent on constructing and repairing buildings and units. In both cases one can start construction before having the full cost in one's reserves, as construction pauses if one runs short of money.

There are five types of "constructor" building: Construction Yard (for buildings); Barracks (non-mechanized units); War Factory (mechanized units); Shipyard (naval units), and, only for the Allies, Air Force Command (Harriers or Black Eagles). At any point in the game one can construct a maximum of one building/unit in each category—having more "constructor" buildings simply speeds up production.

The various nations are members of either the Soviet or the Allied faction. The factions have similar basic buildings but different sets of advanced and defensive buildings. In addition, each nation has a special ability—usually a unique unit, but the USA gets free para-drops of GIs every few minutes and France can build a defensive super-gun, the Grand Cannon. Even the basic buildings produce different sets of mobile units for the Soviet and Allied factions. To build more advanced units one must first construct more advanced buildings. The advanced and defensive buildings can only be constructed if specific basic buildings are present.

It is also the first C&C RTS not to include a mission select screen prior to levels that change the conditions of the next level.

Game balance

Like previous Command & Conquer games, the two factions in Red Alert 2 have unique armies with their own strengths and weaknesses. To achieve victory, a player must play to their faction's strengths and exploit the other faction's weaknesses.

In general, the Soviet faction (group of nations) is superior in the early game and in land wars because of their more powerful tanks, while the Allied faction is better in the late game with more advanced units, in naval wars, and on large maps.^[4] In particular, the Soviets are better for early game rushes, which are very common in online games.^[5]

Single-player

A small Allied base at the beginning of a game. The player is preparing to place a "Pillbox" defensive structure.

In single-player mode, the player can either compete in one of three campaigns or compete in Skirmish mode where he/she can battle with his/her own rules and settings.

Red Alert 2 contains three campaigns. Boot Camp, Allied, and Soviet. Each campaign is distinct in its own way. Boot Camp is simply a tutorial campaign consisting of two missions in which the player is introduced to the fundamentals of the game with the use of Allied forces. If played, Boot Camp leads into Allied Campaign chronologically. Allied and Soviet campaigns are the two main campaigns of the game, each consisting of twelve missions in which the player faces off against one or more computer-controlled opponents. In some missions, the objective is simply to defeat all opposing forces in the area; other missions have more specific objectives, such as capturing or destroying a particular enemy structure or defending a particular structure of the player's own from enemy attacks. While fundamentally different in story and units, both Campaigns are structured similarly. Both begin with the player operating a limited base (base with only basic construction available) while commanding an unusually large force against an unusually incompetent foe. Both campaigns end with the player given a hero's welcome at finishing off the remnants of the opposing forces.

Skirmish mode is essentially the multiplayer mode played against computer-controlled opponents. The player chooses a map against as many players the map supports. The player can also change settings such as the number of starting units, the monetary levels at the beginning, game speeds and the usage of superweapons.

Multiplayer

Red Alert 2 includes two different multi-player ways. One, LAN allows the player to play alongside friends and others without the use of an internet connection. The other, Online Play allows the player to play across the internet and against players from across the globe.

Online Play allows for tournaments, private games, public games, ladder ranking games and also contains a chat system. In 2005, control of online play for Red Alert 2 and a number of older C&C games was passed over from EA to XWIS, a well-established community run server that now organizes the ladder, and with the help of a community reporting scheme, bans cheaters. The server is sponsored by the EA Germany Community Team.

Legacy

Reception

Publication	Score	Notes
IGN	9.3/10^[6]	"Outstanding"
GamePro	4.4/5^[7]	Editor's Choice
Game Rankings	86% (45 reviews)^[3]	[None]

Red Alert 2 received almost all positive reviews, with IGN calling it outstanding and GamePro's Editor's Choice. One reviewer on GamePro noted "It's not the most innovative game, but with its solid gameplay and alternate Cold War storyline, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is the best 2D real-time strategy game since Starcraft.".

While Red Alert 2 was not heralded for innovative gameplay or redefining the genre as its predecessor had helped do, it generated mostly positive buzz with its "go the full distance" approach by using actors to produce "live action" cutscenes as opposed to the in-game cutscenes which were considered "standard" by the industry.

Mods/maps

Red Alert 2 is a popular game for modding. Hidden within the ra2.mix (ra2.mix\local.mix\rule*.ini) is a configuration file called rules.ini. This file can be extracted using a tool called the XCC mixer and edited after extraction. The rules.ini is constructed in such a way that it is very easy to modify; no programming skills are required. There are tags which refer to the strength of a unit, such as its hit points, which can be modified with the program.

It is also possible to create whole new units. There are other .ini files, such as the art.ini and ai.ini, which allow for further modification, like adding a cameo (build icon) to one's units and making the AI use them.

FinalAlert is a map editor for Red Alert 2 that went through numerous revisions. First came FinalAlert, developed independently by Wagner. It was later replaced by FinalAlert 2, a collaboration between Wagner and Westwood Studios, which was in turn upgraded to FinalAlert 2 Yuri's Revenge to allow support for Yuri's Revenge—this version was still an official utility. Wagner later released a tweaked version which had some bug fixes and included tunnels–leftover code from Tiberian Sun—although this version was no longer classed as an official Westwood utility. A number of well made singleplayer missions, complete with storylines, were written for both Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge by fans using FinalAlert. These can be found at http://www.cncgames.com/ and http://www.cannis.net/.

Original soundtrack

The Red Alert 2 soundtrack was composed by long-time Command & Conquer collaborator Frank Klepacki.

References

^ Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 (2001) (VG) - Release dates
^ During the final Allied cutscene, the date on the newspapers is shown to be 30th of June, 1972
^ ^a ^b "C&C Red Alert 2 Review".
^ Red Alert 2 Strategy Guide - Team and Nation Selection
^ Red Alert 2 Strategy Guide - Executing and Preventing Rushes
^ "IGN: Command & Conquer: Red Alert2".
^ "GamePro Command * Conquer: Red Alert 2: PC".

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

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