Taking Control of Command & Conquer 3

EA tells Kikizo more about its eagerly awaited third C&C title, and how it's going to change strategy games.

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Don't think that the ex-Westwood developers have gone soft though. They're still as obsessive about the nuts and bolts of Command & Conquer as ever. The most obvious advancement since the last game comes in the visuals, which now include dynamic lighting of the Tiberium-tinged lands and other enhancing effects.

Perhaps more than in many other genres, AI is crucial to RTSs. If the computer is too aggressive, players become frustrated, but skew too easy, and boredom isn't far off. For Tiberium Wars, EA has introduced AI that adapts to how you play, so that if you're one of the hardcore types who Verdu describes as playing speed-chess, the computer will keep up with you, but slower players will be accommodated too.

EA is in the fortunate position of having a well-known franchise to work with, and that could easily lead to complacency. This is, after all, the best-selling RTS series of all time. But complacency is something the team is wary of and that is being stamped out at every available juncture.

"We're doing a lot more than updating a classic with C&C3," says Verdu.

"We're going to bring back the fast, furious gameplay that you would expect from Command & Conquer, but we're also planning some new ways to tell story in RTS games, we've got an AI that matches your style of play, and we've got a visual upgrade which you can see in the game itself, and some other features which we think are going to move the genre forward."

Will that be enough? You'll be able to see for yourself in a soon-to-be-released demo for the PC version of the game.

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