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Command & Conquer: Red Alert and its sequels are computer games by Westwood Studios, spun off from the Command & Conquer series. The Red Alert games take place in a sci-fi Cold War era where the Allied forces fight war in Europe against the Soviet in a struggle for world domination.
Story
In Red Alert the Jewish-German scientist Albert Einstein creates a Chronosphere, a device which he uses to go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler. This upsets the entire balance of world power, leading the Soviets to start a massive invasion of European countries. (The actual game involves the player fighting on one side of the resulting battles).
An Alternate Second World War
With Hitler removed, Germany remained under the government of the Weimar Republic, and Europe enjoyed a period of peace until the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. The war in Spain alerted many Europeans to the potential dangers of Communism, specifically the ideological threat posed by the Soviet Union. The war was won by the forces of General Franco and communism crushed in Spain, but the threat of Soviet indoctrination remained strong. Throughout the late 1930's and early 1940's, the USSR under Josef Stalin began to turn towards Trotsky's concept of spreading the Bolshevik Revolution across the world (although, of course, Stalin claimed the idea to be his). By 1942, the democratic nations of Europe began to feel the pressure of Soviet influence. In March 1942, the USSR declared war on the Peoples' Republic of China over border disputes in Mongolia and the Kazakh region. The war was one-sided - the Chinese, engulfed with social and economic problems of their own, were in no position to resist the Red Army. On July 17th, 1943, the Chinese government surrendered to Stalin. Mongolia and parts of Xiangjian province were annexed directly to the USSR, provoking outrage from world leaders at the League of Nations. The leaders of Europe, in particular, feared the spread of Stalinist ideology and launched a series of diplomatic initiatives to bring the nations of Europe closer together.
Building upon the principles of the European Economic Charter (signed in December 1940 to unite European growth interests) continental leaders signed the European Alliance Charter on 4th May 1944. The Charter, signed by France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Albania, Turkey, Macedonia, Belgium, and Iceland, guaranteed a united European response if any member nation was attacked by a foreign power (in principle, an Alliance against the military threat of the expansionist Soviet Union). The Charter was frowned upon by the League of Nations, but European leaders argued that as the United States had refused to join the League, only the Europeans were in any position to protect world peace. Stalin viewed the Alliance as a direct threat to the Soviet Union, and using the USSR's military buildup during the war of 1942-43 as a pretext, began a massive expansion of the Red Army. The Alliance responded by founding the European Union, a political and economic entity designed to mobilise the economic and military resources of the continent in the event of war. A European military force was gradually created in order to further unify the countries of Europe. Critics of the Alliance argued that Germany should not be allowed to join the Alliance, or should at least play a minor role, and European leaders, recalling the horrors of the 1914-1918 war against Germany, began to feel uncomfortable about the role of Germany. However, many leaders, such as British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, argued that isolating Germany would undermine the entire Alliance. Besides, supporters argued, why should modern Germany alone take the blame for the European disaster of the Great War? Alliance leaders, eager to incorporate Germany into the Alliance as a full member rather than risk Germany siding with potential enemies, initiated radical changes in German policy. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles had placed crushing restrictions upon the German military, was revised in September 1944 to permit considerable German military buildup. As a show of good faith to Germany, the Alliance in December 1944 promoted the commander of the Germany Army - General Gunther von Esling - to Grand Marshal (the then highest rank in military history) and appointed him Supreme Commander of the Military Forces of the European Alliance.
Stalin increasingly viewed the European Alliance On 17th March 1946, Soviet forces invaded the Baltic States of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Stalin explained to the world that the invasion was orchestrated to protect Russians living in the countries, who had been subject to persecution and oppression. At the League of Nations, the leaders of the European Alliance (the economic superpowers of Britain, France, and Germany) argued that the invasion was a blatant example of annexation and a violation of the League Covenant. The Alliance, bound by its own Charter to protect member states, and obliged by the absence of the United States to play global policeman, declared war upon the USSR on 20th March 1946, beginning the "Red War"
At first, the war went badly for the Alliance. The European Defence Agency (EDA), created in 1944 to assess threats to the Alliance, had grossly underestimated the power of the Soviet military machine. The Baltic States fell rapidly, followed in early April by a massive echelon attack across the borders of Finland, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria. Poland and Romania had been uneasy before the war about the presence of European - specifically German - troops on their soil, and so the Alliance had been unable to move substantial troop numbers into the area. As a result, the Polish and Romanian defence forces were unable to stand against the waves of Russian soldiers pouring in from the east, and rapidly surrendered. In Finland, topographical conditions enabled local resistance forces in the mountains and lakes to fight a stalemate conflict against the Russians. Eastern Poland was quickly swamped by Russian forces, until encountering German and French forces west of Warsaw. Despite the strong resistance offered by the Alliance forces, the Red Army forced its way westwards across Poland and Romania throughout late 1946.
On January 3rd, 1947, a coup in Budapest brought Hungary under the control of a communist government. Hungary immediately withdrew from the Alliance and signed a military protection pact with the USSR on January 5th, allowing huge numbers of Russian troops onto Hungarian territory. The Alliance responded by sending the bulk of the French Army into Hungary, but the infantry-based French Army was unable to stand against the tank legions of the Red Army. By early 1947, the Red Army had conquered the Baltic States, Poland, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Finland, and had invaded sizeable areas of Czechoslovakia, Norway, Sweden, and Turkey, whilst Red Army troops were poised to invade Austria, Greece, and Germany.
The European Alliance put up severe resistance to the Russian invasion, but on all fronts, the Europeans were simply overwhelmed by the Red Army's hordes of soldiers and tanks. By December 1947, most of Scandinavia had been conquered, with only southern Norway, areas around Stockholm, and Denmark still held by local forces and the British Army. North-east Italy was invaded just before Christmas 1947, and a major attack was in progress along the northern Greek border. At the same time as the invasion of Italy, an echelon attack had been launched from Poland across the German border. The best units of the German Army were concentrated in the south-east, where they were assisting Czech forces as part of ' 'Operation Wenceslas' ', a manoeuver to push the Russians out of western Czechoslovakia and retake Prague. German industry and military resources were crucial to the Alliance, and massive forces were concentrated in Germany to protect Alliance interests. However, despite the best efforts of German, French, and British forces, the Russians continued to push westwards across Germany. Berlin fell on February 15th 1948, and Russian troops reached the border with Denmark in early May. By this point, Scandinavia had fallen, alongside most of central Europe. A massive naval invasion across the Black Sea had given the Russians control of vast areas of Turkey, whilst Russian troops were edging towards Athens, Milan, and the Swiss border.
1949 saw major developments in the fighting forces of both the European Alliance and the Soviet Union. In Europe, significant reforms were made in industry and the production of military goods, such as the standardisation of parts, uniform working hours, and the introduction of the common currency of the Euro alongside national monetary systems. These greatly facilitated the production of war materials and allowed the continental economy to run much more smoothly. In the Soviet Union, by contrast, the situation began to decline. The League of Nations had been forced to relocate to New York as Russian troops approached Switzerland, allowing international leaders to meet more frequently. Local resistance movements in the USSR were easily manipulated by the League, and rebel leaders in Kazakhstan, the Ukraine, and Mongolia - who deeply resented being ruled from Moscow - appealed to the League for assistance. Shipments of weapons and funds, supplied through the nominally neutral United States, began flowing into rebel areas, forcing the Russians to redeploy tens of thousands of soldiers to these areas. On the military fronts, Turkish and Portugese forces successfully pushed the Russian invasion force back towards the Black Sea, whilst the Greek Army launched a successful counter-attack against invading forces. The European Empires had by now oriented themselves to the production of war materials and more and more shipments from across the colonies were arriving in European ports. However, despite problems in the USSR, the Russians were still able to inflict massive damage upon the Alliance. The Red Army continued to press across Germany, and in July 1949 captured Copenhagen, Reykjavik, and reached the Maginot Line in November.
The Red Army assaulted the Maginot Line in January 1950, eventually breaking through the French fortifications and creeping into north-east France. With most of the Royal Navy sunk during the Scandinavian campaign, the Russians took advantage of their temporary dominance of the North Sea by launching an amphibious invasion of Great Britain in February. Eager to scare European colonies out of the war, the USSR launched a Semyorka ICBM attack on Vancouver, Cananda, in April, killing hundreds. Following the missile attack, Canada and the British Empire co-ordinated a worldwide response, aligning several countries against the USSR, including, crucially, the United States. With official American entry into the war, European-bound ships filled with weapons, war materials, and troops began setting out from American ports. Vast sums of money were loaned to the Alliance government (by now a modified military junta under Grand Marshal Von Esling), and the United States manipulated the Monroe Doctrine to bring several South American countries onto the side of the Alliance, including Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.
By June 1950, weary Russian forces had captured Belgium and most of north-east France. Using captured airfields, the Red Air Force began a massive bombing campaign against British cities, most notably London. The bombing campaign included the use of chlorine gas and sarin, captured from German laboratories. In late July 1950, a force of paratroopers was landed in London amidst high-explosive bombs and gas canisters. The paratroopers captured European Defence Headquarters in Westminster, killing several European leaders. Within three days, though, the British Army forced the Russians in London to surrender, followed in July by the surrender of the invasion force in Northumbria, after repeated British and Canadian counter-attacks. In Europe, the Red Army entered eastern Paris, and the resulting urban battles between League of Nations forces and the Russians destroyed much of Paris. However, the Russians were by this time exhausted, and amphibious invasions into Scandinavia and a ground invasion of the Caucasus had forced the Soviets to redirect several units from the European front. The Battle of Paris marked the turning-point of the war, and from this point onwards, the Russians were gradually pushed backwards across Europe.
Rebel uprisings across the USSR in the summer of 1950 posed a serious threat to the Soviets, encouraging Stalin to make use of the Soviet Nuclear Project as a means of quelling the rebellions. On September 19th 1950, the Red Air Force dropped atomic bombs on the rebel cities Ashkhabad and Ulaan Bator. The atomic attacks outraged the League of Nations, and by December 1950, most of the world had united against the Stalinist threat.
The arrival of tens of thousands of American troops in Europe in late 1950, with their inexhaustible supplies of weapons, vehicles, and war materials, was an unopposable threat to the weakened Soviet forces. Over the course of the next two years, the World Alliance, headed by the United Nations (a recent restructure of the League of Nations), pushed the Russians back across Europe and invaded Kamchatka, sweeping across Siberia in the summers of 1952 and 1953.
With the Red Army's supply lines overstretched and constant rebellions across the USSR, the Soviet military began to crumble. In August 1953, the Allies invaded the western USSR from Finland, Romania, and the Caucasus. By this point, the Red Army was unable to offer effective resistance, and despite surprise guerilla attacks from fanatical communists, the Allies pushed further eastwards into the USSR. Constant air raids on Soviet cities by Allied jet bombers devastated Soviet industry, and by June 1954, the Allies were poised to attack Moscow itself. Polish and French troops captured the city in late June, and in early July an elite British SAS force stormed Stalin's personal fortress at Noginsk. Stalin was killed during a mass artillery bombardment in the morning of July 3rd, 1954, and his body was burned by officers of the NKVD. With Stalin dead, the Foreign Minister of the USSR, Sergei Molotov, signed an unconditional surrender of the USSR to the United Nations on July 16th. The current Secretary-General of the Communist Party, Alexei Romanov, was installed as a puppet ruler on New Years' Day 1950 by the European Alliance, formally ending the war.
The Third War
In Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, it is years after the defeat of the Soviet Union and death of Joseph Stalin in Red Alert. The Soviet leader, Alexander Romanov, was put into office by the victorious allies to govern this new "friendly" Soviet Union. However, it is soon revealed that the USSR has been secretly building up the Red Army again, and eventually launches a surprise attack on the United States, with the aid of mind control technology. The Allies are composed of Germany, France, America, Korea and the United Kingdom, who fight a battle against the Communist Soviet forces. The Soviet forces, consisting of the armies of Russia, Libya, Iraq and Cuba, successfully take over most of America before they finally are defeated by a strong allied counter-offensive using special technology. The United States is devastated by the Soviet invasion: the first mission opens with the destruction of the Statue of Liberty by the Soviet fleet; and following a "scorched-earth" policy, after the Americans are able to re-capture Chicago, the Soviets nuked the entire city to ashes. Eventually, the Allies storm the Kremlin and capture Romanov, although Yuri escapes (the Allied scenario's ending FMV shows the year of this game to be about 1976, though the manual states it to be near 2000).
In Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge, after the war between the Allies and the Soviets, Romanov's Chief advisor, the psychic Yuri, breaks off from Russia and forms a renegade faction, much like CABAL in . Yuri successfully deploys his Psychic Dominators all over the world and sends a "warning message" to the President of the USA minutes before the activation of the devices, which would enslave the minds of every person in the world. After successfully disabling the Dominator on Alcatraz by damaging the power plant supplying it's electricity (leaving only a small fraction of the world out of Yuri's control), the Allied forces use Einstein's new "temporal displacement device", which is essentially a time machine, and send a small force to the past and the very beginning of the Soviet invasion. With knowledge of the future, the Allied force must convince the USA and Russia to work together to stop Yuri from enslaving the world (as a bonus, General Carville is never assassinated).
On December 6, 2004 an official e-mail was issued to the Red Alert fan community from EA that development was being started on Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 .
Music
All the music in the Red Alert series was composed by Frank Klepacki. Among his most famous songs from the series is the theme of Red Alert, titled "Hell March", which accents the style of the game with adrenalized riffs of electric guitar and synthesizers to the dramatic chant of "Wir werden richt alles!" It alone has enlisted itself as a staple in the Red Alert series (i.e. a second version of Hell March was even created for Red Alert 2).
Tracklist for Red Alert soundtrack CD
- Hell March
- Radio
- Crush
- Roll Out
- Mud
- Twin Cannon
- Face the Enemy
- Run
- Terminate
- Big Foot
- Workmen
- Militant Force
- Dense
- Vector
- Smash (hidden track at end)
Gameplay
 in-game screenshot Red Alert is a real-time strategy series in which the player commands an army and is responsible for gathering resources, building bases, training units, and fighting the enemy's army.
Red Alert was praised for its user interface, which was much more developed than other games at the time. For example, there are no limitations on the number of units one can select. One also can give a unit many orders at once, which it can execute in sequence.
Red Alert battles have 3 domains of fighting: air, land and sea. Each side (Allies or Soviets) can train naval units, aircraft, and land forces. Each side also has its unique capabilities, although in Red Alert II they were balanced so that each unit's ability was countered by a similar one on the other side. For example: in Red Alert 2, the ultimate Soviet Tesla coil defensive towers were matched by the Allies' "Prism tower".
Units and structures
Red Alert 2
Gameplay:
While Red Alert 1 places emphasis on the Soviet war machine and its strengths, Red Alert 2 tips the balance of power evenly with at least one unit on either side able to effectively counter another enemy unit's weaponry, for example, the Soviets have the Dreadnought ship but the Allies possess the Aircraft Carrier with similar range and firepower, the Allies Aegis Cruiser may also cripple Soviet Kirovs before they could wreak destruction on Allied positions. The game also enables GIs and Soviet conscripts to garrison certain structures to defend vital chokepoints as well as defending a player's base. The veterancy system also shown an improvement over Tiberian Sun's own version where promoted units deal considerably more damage than a regular 'green' unit. Red Alert 2 also enables the player to capture certain tech buildings to perform certain enhancements, such as providing much-needed credits, to repair damaged vehicles and others.
Notable Soviet units:
- Conscript - basic infantry. Effective in large groups.
- Tesla Trooper - strong infantry; shoots blasts of electricity and may power up Tesla Coils if base power is down, adding range and firing power to the devastating defensive structure.
- Terror Drone - fast mechanical unit that attaches itself in an enemy unit and destroys it unless it is removed.
- War Miner The war miner, mines ore for the soviets, you get 1 ore miner with free when you build a Soviet ore refinery. The war miner can carry twice as much ore as the allie Chrono miner, and it has a small gun to defend itself with.
- Flak Trak The flak trak is a has a flak gun which is strong against air units and infantry, it can also carry 5 infantry units.
- Rhino Heavy Tank - the first heavy unit for a Soviet player. Tank rush tactics are common with this unit type as they possess good firepower as well as decent armor to counter enemy defences.
- V3 Rocket - an upgrade to the previous V2 launcher unit. This unit can take out structures from afar although its slow launch speed meant that its rocket payload can be shot down during its flight to its target.
- Apocalypse Tank - the heaviest ground unit in the game. Has AA capabilities, strong armor and firepower.
- Kirov Airship - slow and heavy bomber blimp. It can take a huge battering to deliver bombs over key enemy structures.
- Yuri - psychic, can control one enemy unit at a time using mind control.
- Submarine - underwater interceptor. Normal fighting ability
- Dreadnought - heavy cruiser armed with two V-3 rocket launchers. It possesses great firing range and decent armor.
Notable Allies Units:
- GI - basic infantry.
- Rocketeer - Flying infantry, can attack both ground and air units.
- Spy - can steal money and technology from the enemy. The player has the choice to decide which enemy infantry unit the spy should look like although enemy Attack Dogs are unlikely to be fooled.
- Chrono Miner The Chrono miner is used by the allies to collect ore. You get 1 free Chrono miner wher you build an Allied ore refinery. The Chrono miner can only carry half as much as ore as the war miner, but the chrono miner will instantly teleport back to the ore refinery after collecting ore, it still has to drive back out to the ore field, but being able to teleport back means each trip takes only half as much time.
- IFV Tank - The 'Infantry Fighting Vehicle' is a new innovation by the Allies where the vehicle can assume the fighting capabilites of the infantry unit stationed in the vehicle. In normal mode, i.e. without any infantry modifiers, it can take out enemy air units with its missile launchers.
- Prism Tank - ground unit for long-range attacks; high firepower; light armor.
- Grizzly Tank - the regular Allied well-armored tank that is best deployed with Prism tanks to draw enemy fire while the longer ranged-units take out key threats.
- Harrier - attack plane; needs to reload after strike.
- Destroyer - anti-submarine boat with a 155mm naval gun for short-ranged off-shore bombardment.
- Carrier - naval vessel which launches 3 small interceptors.
- Tanya - Allies' commando unit; excellent infantry killer; can plant C-4 explosives on structures and demolish them in an instant.
- Chrono Legionnaire - Infantry unit that teleports across the map using Chrono technology and erases its targets from time.
- Mirage Tank - This tank may alter its outer appearance to assume the form of certain vegetation in the area, fooling enemy units as to its true form while taking out enemies with its short-ranged weaponry.
- Navy SEAL - a versatile infantry unit that can take on enemy infantry units easily and can level structures with C4 charges.
Basic structures:
Notable Soviet structures:
- Flak Cannon - air defence.
- Tesla Coil - high-voltage defense tower.
- Cloning Vats - 2 infantry for the cost of 1.
- Iron Curtain - gives a timed immunity to up to 9 vehicles in a 3x3 grid. Any infantry that get hit by the Iron Curtain will die.
- Nuclear Silo - produces nuke about every 10 game-minutes.
Notable Allied structures:
- Patriot Missile - air defense.
- Prism Tower - powerful ground defense.
- Airforce Command - a radar facility and landing site for four Harriers.
- Gap Generator - covers a large area with a fog-of-war.
- Chronosphere - teleports up to nine mechanical vehicles every several game-minutes. Any infantry that you try to teleport with the Chronosphere will die.
- Weather Control Device - produces lethal lightning storm every 10 game-minutes.
Yuri's Revenge
Yuri's Revenge is a expansion disc for Red Alert 2 which, in addition to the Yuri faction, also introduces a new Soviet commando Boris who can call in airstrikes and take out enemy light vehicles with little trouble. There was also a Soviet campaign mission where a conquest of the moon is in order. The Soviets also have the new Siege Chopper Gunship units which are large helicopters with artillery barrage capability. The Spy Plane from Red Alert 1 also makes a (retrospective) return however not with Soviet Migs but with a slower and vulnerable plane. For the Allies, they have the anti-armor infantry unit called the Guardian GI which can turn enemy tanks into scrap metal in large groups. They also have a new Battle Fortress which has decent armor and can house five different infantry units to enhance its fighting capability. The Robot Tank is also on the Allied side with normal fighting capabilities of a Grizzly Tank but with the bonus of the ability not to be mind-controlled.
Notable Yuri units:
- Initiate - pyrokinetic, main foot soldier for Yuri
- Brute - mutant melee unit who can deal a lot of damage up close. It can also be created by a Yuri player via the mutant device superweapon when targeted at normal enemy infantry.
- Virus - female sniper. With each veterancy level, she may snipe even further.
- Gattling Tank - tank wielding dual gatling guns that increases in velocity and deals out more damage at full throttle.
- Magnetron - a tank that can levitate enemy non-organic units close to its position to facilitate mind control by nearby units with such ability. While lacking first strike capability against units, it can deal damage to buildings as would any ordinary tank.
- Yuri Clone - same as Soviet Yuri, mid-level mind-control unit who may also capture certain enemy structures.
- Floating Disc - a flying saucer attack-unit armed with lasers and may either deactivate enemy base power or steal credits from refineries.
- Boomer Sub - a submarine equipped with SLBMs and dual torpedo launchers for naval defense.
- Master Mind - giant vehicle with a brain that can safely mind control five units although if it exceeds this limit, it will suffer damage on itself and eventually self-destructs if the limit is not observed.
- Yuri Prime Yuri Prime can use mind control to take over enemy structures as well as being able to control enemy units. Yuri Prime can only use mind control on one thing at a time.
Games in the series
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert
- Red Alert: Counter Strike
- Red Alert: The Aftermath
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Red Alert 2: Yuri's Revenge
Connections to Command & Conquer
Red Alert was designed as a prequel to the Global Defense Initiative / Brotherhood of Nod conflict. Kane, it seemed, instigated the battles of Red Alert, in order to secure a power base for his Brotherhood of Nod. Indeed, a Nod character asks you to 'keep the peace' for them until Nod becomes active. Kane shoots this person, and informs the player that he is the future.
As more Red Alert games were released, however, the idea that Red Alert was a prequel has been abandoned. The common belief is that through the time-travelling escapades common in Red Alert, they have 'broken free' of the Tiberian future.
Controversy
Westwood found itself in a storm of controversy regarding Red Alert 2 after the events of September 11th, 2001, due to the contents of both the game and its packaging. As part of the Soviet campaign, the player is required to both destroy the Pentagon and take over the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center with a mind control device. In addition, the original packaging for Red Alert 2 had a hinged cover that would open to show a scene of New York City under attack by Soviet forces, with the Twin Towers in the center of the image. Westwood immediately pulled all remaining copies of Red Alert 2 in the original packaging from stores, and retooled the box art before reissuing the game.
Mods
Red Alert is also a popular game for modding. Hidden within the ra2.mix is a file called the 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.
See also
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