Command & Conquer: Tiberian series

The Global Defense Initiative's iconic Ion Cannon orbital weapon

The Command & Conquer: Tiberian series is a sub-series of real-time strategy video games belonging to the extensive Command & Conquer franchise by Westwood Studios and Electronic Arts. The games of the Tiberian series are the 'original' Command and Conquer 'universe', with the first game in the Command & Conquer: Red Alert,^[1][2][3][4] alternate history series being a prequel to the first 'Tiberium' game, however EA has since decided that the Red Alert games would be a separate series to the 'Tiberium' series. In Command and Conquer: Tiberium Dawn, an anomalous extraterrestrial substance known as Tiberium is brought to Earth through a meteoric collision during the early 1990s. The substance's intriguing yet hazardous properties begin to fuel an escalating war between two globalized factions; the United Nations' Global Defense Initiative, who wish to prevent the proliferation of Tiberium for safety reasons, and the mysterious and ancient Brotherhood of Nod society, who embrace the substance as the herald of a new age and the next stage in humanity's evolution.

Games in the series

• Command & Conquer (1995) (Note: This game is referred to as "Tiberian Dawn")
  • Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations (expansion pack) (1996)
  • Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor (1997)
• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999)
• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun 2 (2000) (was announced and canceled)
  • Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun: Firestorm (expansion pack) (2000)
• Command & Conquer: Renegade (2002)
• Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (2007)
  • Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (expansion pack) (2008)
• Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight (2010)

Production history

Command & Conquer

Main article: Command & Conquer (video game)

The genesis of the Tiberian series as well as the C&C franchise in its was also released, which added new missions, maps and music to the original game. Command & Conquer is widely known under its subtitle of Tiberian Dawn throughout the C&C fan community, and was also referred to as such by Westwood Studios in several readme files and FAQs for their following C&C games.

Versions of Command & Conquer were released for the Sega Saturn, PlayStation and Nintendo 64 platforms, all of which contained the Covert Operations missions as well as a package of a few additional missions entitled Special Ops. The Nintendo 64 version of Command & Conquer also featured 3D graphics instead of sprites in the series for the first time. The game additionally was one of the first to be released on two CDs, instead of one, allowing multiplayer games between two computers to be played with a single copy of the game.

The Covert Operations

The Covert Operations is an add-on for Command & Conquer featuring 15 new missions and several new music tracks and multiplayer maps. Unlike the original game, the missions of Covert Operations can be played at any time and in any order, but are not accompanied by mission briefing cutscenes. The add-on added two new units to the game, and the 15 new missions are more difficult than the campaigns of the original. The add-on pack also features the DOS version's soundtrack, which includes music that was absent from the Windows 95 (or Gold Edition) version. Covert Operations was originally needed to unlock secret missions, which were later enabled by a patch to the main game

Sole Survivor

Command & Conquer: Sole Survivor was a multiplayer spinoff of the original Command & Conquer game. It featured a deathmatch-style game in which each player controls a unit of the original Command & Conquer game and travels around the game arena collecting crates to increase this unit's firepower, armor, speed, attack range and reloading speed. Sole Survivor was often compared to a first-person shooter, however played with a top-down perspective of the arena. It featured no single-player mode and the multiplayer had no hints of a storyline, and was omitted from inclusion in the Command & Conquer: The First Decade compilation pack.

Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

Main article: Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun

Released in 1999 by Westwood Studios, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun was the highly anticipated sequel to the original Command & Conquer. Tiberian Sun was built on a 2D engine with fixed isometric perspective terrain tiles that allowed varying terrain height, dynamic lighting which allowed for real-time day/night cycles, as well as several special effects such as ion and meteor storms. Tiberian Sun also featured maps consisting of cityscapes, providing players with the option to conceal their forces and do battle with them in urban environments. Numerous structures and armored units were rendered with voxel technology, although all infantry units were still rendered as sprites. Map terrain in Tiberian Sun was deformable and interactive; bombarding the soil with explosive weapons resulted in the formation of craters of varying depths, bridges in urban areas could be destroyed and re-built, and certain Tiberium fields could, intentionally or accidentally, be detonated, all of which had strategic impacts on the gameplay.

Tiberian Sun was often speculated to be a BattleMech-type game prior to its release, due to a promotional preview of the game within the ending cutscenes of the original Command & Conquer, which extensively showcased an experimental battle-walker prototype (which appeared in Tiberian Sun as the GDI Wolverine) being field tested by the Global Defense Initiative. Upon its release, TS would prove to continue the real-time strategy formula, however three futuristic mech walker units were introduced to GDI's side (the Wolverine, the Titan, and the Mammoth Mk. II), replacing the more conventional Humvee and tanks the faction had used within the original Command & Conquer.

The full motion videos were scripted differently from their counterparts in the series. While Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer: Red Alert FMV sequences were filmed from first-person perspective, Tiberian Sun used traditional cinematic shots which featured acclaimed Hollywood actors such as James Earl Jones and Michael Biehn.

The soundtrack of Tiberian Sun again was composed by Frank Klepacki, but departed from the industrial/hip-hop styles of its prequel in favor of slow, moody and ambient music, reflecting the game's apocalyptic background setting of a world being ecologically ravaged by Tiberium, and a humanity facing an increasingly uncertain future. A CD of the game's soundtrack was also released.

Tiberian Sun's storyline followed the continuing struggle for world domination between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod, as well as the human race's struggle with the relentlessly advancing alien Tiberium substance. Nod's leader and GDI's public enemy #1, Kane, resurfaces from an apparently faked death nearly 40 years after the initial conflict, which sets off the Second Tiberium War between the Global Defense Initiative and the Brotherhood of Nod. The game's theme also subtly revolves around the question of why Tiberium came to Earth in the first place, with the discovery of what appears to be an alien spacecraft and a mysterious object known as the Tacitus.

Despite the anticipation surrounding the title, Tiberian Sun was released to mixed reviews. Delays had caused the game to take a total of four and a half years to develop, and as a result the game suffered from outdated features. Many found the game performance to be sluggish on all but the latest computers of the time as well, and numerous of Tiberian Sun's touted innovative features, such as intelligent and adaptive skirmish AI, unit veterancy and real-time lighting were severely scaled back as the result of time constraints. Westwood Studios later would eliminate many of the performance and stability problems of Tiberian Sun, and would reuse its 2D engine for the production of Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2.

Firestorm

Firestorm was the expansion pack to Tiberian Sun, introducing several new missions for each faction which followed on the conclusion of the main game's GDI campaign. Firestorm featured several new units and structures for both factions, and told a story where GDI and Nod were shown as being compelled to reluctantly join forces in order to overcome Nod's renegade artificial intelligence, CABAL. Prior to the release of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars in 2007, Firestorm's storyline was unique in the Command & Conquer series as it was the first to feature ending sequences for the GDI and Nod factions which took place simultaneously, and both of which were considered as official canon storyline. By contrast, only the actions and events which occurred during the GDI campaigns were considered canon story throughout all other Command & Conquer games, with the events portrayed in the Brotherhood of Nod campaigns having traditionally been treated as alternate "what if" realities.

Command & Conquer: Renegade

Main article: Command & Conquer: Renegade

Command & Conquer: Renegade is a first-person shooter, in which the player takes the role of a Nick "Havoc" Parker, a GDI commando in the war against Nod. The game is set in the final few weeks of the storyline portrayed in Command & Conquer.

The game engine, called the "Renegade engine" or "Westwood 3D", was developed in-house by Westwood. It could support real world physics and allow seamless movement from indoor to outdoor environments. The game also took on one of the most unusual approaches to the FPS genre. The player could interact with structure units from the original C&C game, which is still unique and original. Through the game, Havoc can enter and destroy enemy structures with C4 explosives, drive mammoth tanks, MRLSs and other classic Command & Conquer vehicles.

The multiplayer mode extended these concepts further, giving this FPS many mechanics of the RTS. For instance, a player would be given a budget to individually purchase and drive vehicles. Two players could also man a single vehicle as a driver and gunner team. Massive environments allowed for large armoured battles as well as subterfuge. A player could also target and launch the famous Ion Cannon or Nuclear Warhead superweapons. Destroying specific enemy buildings would, depending on the buildings' purpose, cripple electrical power, Tiberium gathering, base defences, or unit production capabilities. The ultimate objective was to eradicate the opponent's base.

The game was not without its shortcomings. Critics have pointed out the lackluster graphics, poor AIs and "laggy" online performance for the reason why it failed to achieve popularity. However, such problems with lag have since been fixed and there are on average 50 servers, and up to 450 people still playing online at any one time. The Renegade network is now run by Strike Team and Black-hand Studios, in association with EA.

Command & Conquer: Renegade 2 (Canceled)

See also: Tiberium (video game)

Command & Conquer: Renegade 2 was to be another first-person shooter game using an updated version of the "Westwood 3D" engine. Renegade 2 had two build versions. The first version of Renegade 2, was drafted as a connection to Command & Conquer from Red Alert 2. However, this was scrapped in favour of a Red Alert 2 based FPS that took place in the post Yuri's Revenge world. The storyline was about a rogue Soviet commander attacking America to avenge the honour of Premier Romanov (The commander was a Romanov). Most units designed were based on Red Alert 2 styles, however the Allied Light Tank, and Soviet Hind Gunship made a return.

Command & Conquer: Continuum (Canceled)

Command & Conquer: Continuum was to be Westwood's second MMORPG, developed on the "Westwood 3D" engine, set in the Tiberian Universe. It was canceled, due to the termination of Westwood Studios in 2003. As said by Adam 'Ishmael' Isgreen and Rade Stojsavljevic, it was supposed to be a non-stand-and-swing MMORPG, featuring:

• Instanced "crisis zones" in it, hubbed flight routes, scripted boss battles, and a lot of other ideas that have shown up in all the MMORPG since.
• GDI, Nod, Mutants and CABAL. Scrin to be added later. Los Angeles half underwater, Area 51, Dino island, Newark airport, a mutant city and lots more.
• Fluid and movement-oriented combat, unlike most MMORPGs. Range was important for weapons use, and there were layers of counters for the weapon types.
• Creatures that had many console-game-boss sensibilities, in that you could expose weaknesses on them and then hit those for extra damage.
• A moving and evolving Tiberian world, where the players could play a great role in the entire story.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Main article: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars is the title of the third game in the Tiberian storyline. After several years of circulating rumors that Westwood Studios was working on a new Tiberian game - rumors which were fueled by leaked concept art posted on the Internet by artists who once worked at Westwood, interviews with Louis Castle as well as posters of C&C3 concept art in The First Decade game-collection - Electronic Arts finally announced on 18 April 2006 that a third game in the C&C series was in the development stages by them.

Before this announcement, fans referred to the speculated third game in the series as "Tiberian Twilight", as it had been discovered that http://www.tiberiantwilight.com had been registered by Westwood and still leads to EA's webpage for the Command & Conquer series. The official website is: http://www.ea.com/commandandconquer/

The first gameplay footage of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars premiered on the SpikeTV show Game Head on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at Midnight.

Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars was launched on March 28, 2007, and was met with critical acclaim.^{[citation needed]}

Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Main article: Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath

Four months after the release of Tiberium Wars, an expansion pack was announced under the title Kane's Wrath, which was released on March 26, 2008 for the PC and June 24, 2008 for Xbox 360. In the campaign, the player takes on the role of LEGION, an advanced Nod military artificial intelligence created from the remains of CABAL, Nod's previous AI who went rogue during the events of Tiberian Sun: Firestorm.

The game features "Risk-on-steroids"-type gameplay where the players move their armies around the world. The actual battles are fought with traditional Command & Conquer gameplay. The campaign spans two decades in telling the behind-the-scenes story of Nod from the end of the Firestorm Crisis to five years after the Third Tiberium War.

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight

Main article: Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight is the title of the fourth and final game in the Tiberian saga involving Kane, but not the universe as a whole. After several months of circulating rumors that Electronic Arts Los Angeles was working on a new Tiberian game - rumors which were fueled by a survey sent out by Electronic Arts in regards to Command & Conquer 4. It features a Co-Operative Campaign the first in the Tiberium Series, the second in the Command & Conquer Series, as well as new units, a class based system, and an experience system which would allow the buying of new units and powers based on exp. Command & Conquer 4 was formally announced on July 9, 2009, and is slated for a March 2010 release exclusively on Microsoft Windows. The subtitle "Tiberian Twilight" was officially announced at CommandCom a Command & Conquer event at Gamescom on August 21, 2009 after a "Name the Game" Contest which involved fans submitting their suggestions for the subtitle for Command & Conquer 4.

The first trailer of Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight premiered on the GameTrailers on Friday, July 24, 2009.

The gameplay of Tiberian Twilight differs the most from previous C&C games in the series with the removal of traditional elements such as harvesting resources as well as the sidebar which has been replaced with a "bottom bar" like in Command & Conquer: Generals. Also changed is the base building element which would play a minor role in Tiberian Twilight as it is replaced by a new unit called the Crawler which acts as a mobile base for all classes but the Defense Class, the only class able to build actual structures. A population cap is also included which was never used in any C&C games with the exception of the Xbox 360 Version of Tiberium Wars and Kane's Wrath. Though, there was a hidden population cap in the N64 version of Command & Conquer.

Gameplay

The original emblem of the Global Defense Initiative

The original emblem of the Brotherhood of Nod

Gameplay is based on Westwood's previous Dune II, in which the player does not take the role of any on-screen individual, but instead takes the role of a commander who oversees military operations on the battlefield remotely through a fictional AI entity known as the "Electronic Video Agent" (EVA), which enables the player to construct a base and deploy and command troops.

The base is built through a futuristic and little-explained mechanism whereby buildings are constructed off-screen and then remotely deployed at the desired location. The one exception is the Construction Yard - the center of base operations - which is responsible for the construction of other buildings. The Construction Yard cannot be built directly but instead must be deployed from a unit known as the Mobile Construction Vehicle.

The base is responsible for the production of all military units - troops, vehicles and aircraft. These efforts are funded by the alien Tiberium substance which acts as a self-replenishing resource that can be refined into funds for the respective sides to finance their war efforts with. The player must therefore create refineries and use harvesters to collect the resource from Tiberium fields on the gameplay map.

In each game the player can choose between two campaigns, each corresponding to either the Global Defense Initiative or the Brotherhood of Nod factions. The campaign consists of a string of missions, with the objectives for each one detailed in a cutscene immediately before the mission begins. In Command & Conquer, the player is addressed directly by the game characters (including the EVA). Conversely, in Tiberian Sun the player is depicted as an on-screen character and the mission briefings are mostly described passively, though in many cases the EVA addresses the player directly in separate cutscenes. Normally the Campaigns are each in their own timeline and do not co-exist. In Firestorm, the two are actually intertwined, a first for the C&C series. Also, now Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars has such a storyline.

In addition to detailing mission objectives, the cutscenes follow the overall storyline, though in most cases the two are one and the same.

Storyline

The First Tiberium War: Tiberian Dawn

Further information: Global Defense Initiative and Brotherhood of Nod

The series' storyline follows an escalating war between the worldwide Brotherhood of Nod society, led by a self-appointed and charismatic leader known only as Kane, and the Global Defense Initiative, a United Nations-founded and funded military taskforce. In Command & Conquer, the events of which take place during this so-called First Tiberium War, the two main factions involved in the conflict were described as follows by the EVA:

"Sanctioned by the United Nations, the Global Defense Initiative has one goal: to eliminate multi-national terrorism in an effort to preserve freedom."

"The Brotherhood of Nod, an ancient and secret society, maintains strong ties with most global terrorist organizations. Commanded by this man, known only as Kane, Nod's long-term goals are unknown. However, recent activities include: expansionary behaviour into disenfranchised nations, high-volume investment in global trade markets, and aggressive manipulation of international mass-media."

The EVA goes on to explain the nature of the Tiberium substance around which much of the game's storyline indirectly revolves:

"These efforts are suspected to be funded by Nod's access to vast Tiberium deposits. Tiberium continues to confound the scientific community, soaking up ground minerals and soil nutrients like a sponge. The end result of this unique leeching process is the creation of the formation of Tiberium crystals, rich in minerals and available for collection at the minimum of mining expense."

In a later briefing, the EVA provides more background information and new discoveries concerning Tiberium:

"Tiberium is named after the river Tiber in Italy where it was first discovered. There are now more than 200 areas of the Earth affected by Tiberium deposits. Tiberium appears to be spreading by means of conveyance unknown. We now know that not only does Tiberium leech elements from the soil, but it appears to also leech vital nutrients from all plantlife. Human contact with Tiberium is extremely toxic and often fatal. Exposure should be avoided."

Additionally, in a televised interview, the eccentric Tiberium expert Doctor Ignatio Mobius explains Tiberium with technobabble:

"Molecularly, Tiberium is a non-carbon-based element, that appears to have strong ferrous qualities, with non-resonating reversible energy! Which has a tendency to disrupt carbon-based molecular structures, with inconsequent and unequal positrons orbiting on the first, second and ninth quadrings! The possibilities of Tiberium... are limitless!"

Whereas most technobabble is merely speculative, inaccurate, or fictitious, this blurb is simply nonsensical, and the properties and workings of Tiberium were wholly redefined in Tiberium Wars.

In a later cutscene in Command & Conquer, after learning of Tiberium's deadly toll on ecology and humanity:

"Tiberium is a new life form. Quite simply put, it seems to be adapting to Earth's terrain, foliage and environment to suit its own alien nature. If this is the case, ladies and gentlemen, we are facing a killer beyond that of our most turbulent nightmares. It is not an exaggeration to state that the future of the entire planet may be in jeopardy. May God have mercy on our souls."

Tiberium is never fully explained in the series, and is constantly surrounded in a mystery which only deepens as the storyline progresses throughout the successive Command & Conquer games.

In the campaign of the Global Defense Initiative, the First Tiberium War comes to an end when Kane's temple in Sarajevo is destroyed by a final GDI assault. The Nod campaign results in a Nod victory in Africa over the GDI, however the series assumes a GDI victory when the storyline is revisited in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, which depicts the Second Tiberium War. The expansion pack Covert Operations has various missions that show a concurrent campaign occurring. At the end of the conflict, GDI has won the war in Europe by capturing and destroying the Temple of Nod with the aid of the Ion Cannon. To prevent the loss of Nod-controlled Africa, the player must take a Nod strike team and destroy an advanced communications centre located somewhere on the continent in order to ensure that GDI does not regain dominance. Other missions like "Infiltration" suggest an ongoing attempt by GDI to deploy back into Nod-controlled Africa as the briefing states Eastern Sudan as the location of the mission.

The Second Tiberium War: Tiberian Sun

The Second Tiberium War begins in the 2030s when Kane (who was presumed dead after Nod's defeat in Command & Conquer) reappears in a live broadcast to General James Solomon (James Earl Jones) onboard the Philadelphia space station.

Meanwhile, Tiberium has been ravaging the world for 35 years and has grown in many varieties, mutating flora and fauna and forcing humans to move to the polar regions, where the spread of tiberium is slowed down by cold, arid conditions. Many regions around the planet have entered the desertification process, and natural resources other than tiberium are becoming non-existent. As a result of the spread of tiberium, the world's population is decreasing at an alarming rate. Many countries, as well as the United Nations, cease to exist. Other countries still relatively untouched by the Brotherhood of Nod and Tiberium begin to merge with the GDI. While on paper there are still individual countries, in practice the GDI becomes a military and political super-state.

Beyond the problem of simply fighting the spread of tiberium, GDI also has to deal with the reappearance of Kane who, along with a core group of loyalists, reunites the fractured Brotherhood of Nod, which has been splintered since the end of the First Tiberium War. The reunification of the Brotherhood precipitates a revolution across the globe, offering a new hope to those worst afflicted by Tiberium, not in the form of a promise to be rid of the substance (which would prove lethal to many mutants among the new generation), but in the form of the prospect of adapting to and assimilating the emerging Tiberium ecosystem. A second fight for world domination ensues. This war is an important turn in history for many reasons: the discovery of an alien spacecraft (which was, in fact, secretly built by Nod under the command of Kane himself), the role of the Forgotten mutants, the creation of more deadly and powerful weapons like Tiberium bio-warheads, and most of all, the discovery of a mysteriously originated object called the "Tacitus". The conflict eventually becomes truly worldwide, and the player is taken to battlefields in various regions of the globe, like Norway, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Mexico, the United States, etc. The Second Tiberium war finally ends with a battle in Cairo wherein Kane attempts to launch a MIRV-ICBM into the upper atmosphere to spread tiberium throughout the atmosphere. However, GDI finally defeats Nod in Cairo and Kane is supposedly killed by Commander McNeil himself.

The Firestorm incident

Firestorm begins shortly after the end of the last game, when GDSS Kodiak (the GDI command spacecraft) crashes during an ion storm just after leaving Cairo with the Tacitus on board. Kodiak's crew (excluding Commander McNeil) is killed. The loss of the Kodiak and increase in ion storm activity cut off all contact with Philadelphia space station, the Kodiak being the communication relay between the station and GDI forces. One of the few ground-based GDI generals activates the Firestorm Protocol, taking command of GDI until communication with the Philadelphia is re-established. Following Nod's defeat, GDI fights the remaining Nod forces, who are once again without a leader and hopeless. Eventually, Nod's artificially intelligent computer system CABAL is reactivated, becomes a renegade faction of its own, and starts to build a massive cyborg army and attack civilian populations. GDI and Nod later conclude a cease-fire and unite their forces in order to destroy CABAL. However, it is unclear if CABAL was really destroyed. The Firestorm story was the first in the Command and Conquer universe with both campaigns following a single story, as opposed to two different endings featured in other games.

The Third Tiberium War: Tiberium Wars

The story of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars begins in the year of 2047, roughly sixteen to seventeen years after the events of Firestorm. While the conflict between the GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod appears to have subsided substantially ever since, Tiberium infestation has begun to reach critical levels and continues to destroy the Earth's ecosystems at an alarming rate, prompting GDI to divide the world into three different geographical zones based on the levels of local infestation. 30% of the world's surface has been designated as "red zones", which have suffered the worst contamination and can no longer support human - or otherwise carbon-based - life. 50% of the regions in the world have been designated as "yellow zones", which are dangerously contaminated yet contain most of the world's population. Decades of war and civil unrest have left these regions in a state of social collapse and have continued to provide the Brotherhood of Nod with opportunity for concealment as well as large-scale recruitment over the years. The remaining 20% of the Earth's surface is unscarred by Tiberium outbreak and is relatively untouched by war. These "blue zones" are considered the last refuge and hope of the human civilized world and have been placed under the direct protection of the Global Defense Initiative.

In March 2047 the Brotherhood of Nod suddenly attacks the vulnerable link in the GDI's space-based military assets, the Goddard Space Institute, taking the A-SAT missile defence systems offline and permitting Nod to fire a nuclear missile at GDI's orbiting command station Philadelphia at the precise moment GDI's senior leadership are aboard in council. Since the end of the Second Tiberium War, Nod silently built up its influence and its military potential into the status of a true superpower, and is now supported by a significant percentage of the world's population through medical aid, enforcement of stability and hate-mongering against GDI and the "blue zone" populations from within the "yellow zone" territories. Unprepared to handle the offensives led by Nod shock troops across the entire globe (due to 60% of the GDI's bases having been de-commissioned over the revisions of their budget in the past few years), the remainder of the Global Defense Initiative's top military and political officials on Earth take charge and begin rallying all of their standing forces, determined to achieve a new victory over Nod. Later on in the campaign GDI launches an attack upon Nod's rebuilt temple prime in Sarajevo. Upon capture of the temple they discover that Kane has locked himself away below the temple and that he has also been working on a Liquid Tiberium Bomb. GDI then confiscate all of the components of the Liquid-T bomb and decide to try and 'sweat Kane out'. In an incoming transmission Director Redmond Boyle orders the firing of the ion cannon upon the temple, despite advice from his military advisors that this would be a bad idea. The ion cannon strikes the temple and causes a truly massive explosion as the blast strikes a deposit of Liquid-T hidden below the temple. This causes a cataclysmic chain reaction, causing havoc within red and yellow zones across the world. As the conflict ensues, forces of alien origin known only as the Scrin, suddenly enter the battle and alter the nature of the Third Tiberium War entirely. At this point in the Nod campaign, Kane unveils his plans, and the fact that he knew that a Liquid-T detonation would alert the 'Visitors' (as he calls the Scrin) to earth, however in his experiments he could not find a detonator which would give the blast yield needed for such an explosion, the only thing which his scientists calculated could provide enough yield was GDI's ion cannon. This of course meant starting the third Tiberium war with GDI. The Scrin start to build enormous towers on the surface of Earth. GDI manages to destroy most of them and drive the Scrin back, but Nod defends the last tower in Italy and take control of it. Once the tower is completed, it becomes invulnerable to all earthly weapons. After the completion of the last tower, the Scrin leave Earth.

Unlike previous installments of Command and Conquer games, the storyline of the factions appear to be intertwined in the same fashion as the story of Firestorm was. In one faction's campaign, references are made to events and missions that occurred in the campaigns of the other factions, therefore it appears that the events in all of the campaigns are canonical. For example, after the completion of the Nod Temple Prime Mission the FMV shows the destruction of Temple Prime by GDI's Ion Cannon, which is actually a playable mission in the GDI campaign. However, unlike Firestorm, the actual endings are different.

The Fourth Tiberium War: Tiberian Twilight

The story of Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight begins in 2062, 15 years after the events of Tiberium Wars and 10 years after the events of Kane's Wrath. In this time period, Tiberium has advanced to the next evolutionary stage and is rapidly spreading across Earth, expected to become uninhabitable by 2068.^[5] At this time of crisis leader of the Brotherhood of Nod Kane heads straight for the headquarters of the Global Defense Initiative, in hopes of forming a "Tiberium control network", which would allow the spread of Tiberium to be controlled, as well as turn it into an inexpensive power source. The campaign starts 15 years after the formation of the network due to a temporary alliance between the two factions, however extremists of both factions cause unrest, which sparks the Fourth Tiberium War ending the alliance. Tiberian Twilight is set to conclude the Tiberium saga.^[6]

The Tiberian series' connection to Red Alert

Kane (standing) advises Joseph Stalin (center), with Nadia (left) and Gradenko (right)

The image seen at the conclusion of Red Alert's installation (Windows 95).

Westwood Studios designed Command & Conquer: Red Alert to be the prequel to Command & Conquer,^[1][2][3][4] and by proxy of the Tiberian series as a whole.

During the course of the Soviet's campaign, Kane is seen to make infrequent appearances as a mysterious counselor to Joseph Stalin, and the story implies that he has in fact been the instigator of the world war between the USSR and the Allied nations in order to further the long-term goals of the Brotherhood of Nod.^[7] Indeed—Nadia, the head of the NKVD, Stalin's mistress and evidently a secretive member of the Brotherhood herself as early as the 1950s, instructs the player to "keep the peace" until Nod would "tire of the USSR in the early 1990s" upon the campaign's successful conclusion.^[8] Kane however shoots her without warning, and proclaims to the player that he "[is] the future".^[9] Moreover, during the fifth cutscene of the Allied campaign, a news announcer reporting on the Allies' loss of Greece is suddenly heard stating that the United Nations are in the process of bringing about a unique military task force aimed at preventing future globalized conflicts.^[10] This task force is heavily implied to have been "Special Operations Group Echo: Black Ops 9" -- the covert and international peace enforcing unit of the United Nations and the precursor of the Global Defense Initiative,^[11] one of the two main and iconic factions of the Tiberian series along with the Brotherhood of Nod.

A much debated theory intended to resolve the apparent timeline error which came to exist between Command & Conquer and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 is to consider Red Alert as the genesis of two parallel storylines. If the Soviet campaign were to be completed in Red Alert, the USSR would emerge as the dominant Eurasian power and Kane and the Brotherhood of Nod would subsequently take control of this new empire. Conversely, if the Allied campaign were to be completed, the Allies would emerge victorious and the timeline would instead lead into the events of Red Alert 2. According to former C&C designer Adam Isgreen, however, Command & Conquer in fact follows on the conclusion of Red Alert's Allies campaign,^[12] while Red Alert 2 and Yuri's Revenge take place in a second parallel universe, created by a new attempt to alter history in Tiberian Incursion,^[13] the working title of Westwood Studios' canceled version of Command & Conquer 3.^[14] Isgreen also implied that Nikola Tesla may have been responsible for inadvertently having attracted the attention of the Scrin through his experiments, and thus for the arrival of Tiberium on Earth.^[15]

When the Command & Conquer: The First Decade compilation pack was released in February 2006, Electronic Arts adopted the policy of considering the C&C franchise to consist of three distinct universes, with this decision apparently violating the storyline connections between Red Alert and Command & Conquer established by Westwood Studios. With the release of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars in March 2007 however, Electronic Arts published a document wherein an explicit reference to Kane's appearance in Command & Conquer: Red Alert is made—revealing that GDI's "InOps" intelligence division is in the possession of photos of Kane which were taken by the CIA during the 1950s era of Red Alert.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Westwood Studios (1997-10-24). "Westwood Studios Official Command & Conquer: Red Alert FAQ List". Westwood Studios. ftp://ftp.westwood.com/pub/redalert/info/RAFAQ19.TXT. Retrieved 23 April 2007. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Westwood Studios (1998-10-23). "Official Command & Conquer FAQ v3.0". ftp://ftp.westwood.com/pub/cc1/info/CCFAQ30.TXT. Retrieved 2007-05-13. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Westwood Studios (1998-10-23). "Official Command & Conquer Gold FAQ v1.3". ftp://ftp.westwood.com/pub/ccgold/info/CCGFAQ13.TXT. Retrieved 2007-05-13. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Kane's Dossier". EA Games, Command and Conquer 3 official website. 2006-10-29. http://files.ea.com/downloads/eagames/cc/tiberium/CC3_Kane_Dossier.pdf. Retrieved 20 January 2007. 
5. ^ "Command & Conquer 4 First Look". IGN. August 11, 2009. http://pc.ign.com/articles/101/1012768p1.html. Retrieved 12 August 2009. 
6. ^ EA Games. "EA Los Angeles Announces the Development of Command & Conquer 4". EA Games. http://www.ea.com/news/command-and-conquer-4. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 
7. ^ Nadia: Well, General -- this temporary chaos in Europe will only help to fuel the Brotherhood's cause. For centuries we have waited to emerge from the shadows and now we will make ourselves known. And Cain went out from the presence of The Lord. And took up residence... in the Land of Nod. (Command & Conquer: Red Alert) Westwood Studios, 1996
8. ^ Nadia: We estimate that the Brotherhood will... tire of the USSR... in the early 1990s. Until then, you'll keep the peace. (Command & Conquer: Red Alert) Westwood Studios, 1996
9. ^ Kane: For the foreseeable future... Comrade Chairman, I am the future. (Command & Conquer: Red Alert) Westwood Studios, 1996
10. ^ Allied newscaster: That, in approving a unique military funding initiative aimed at increasing global Allied support. This proposal calls for the formation of a Global Defense agency, to be temporarily established in an as yet unnamed European capital. (Command & Conquer: Red Alert) Westwood Studios, 1996
11. ^ Command & Conquer For Windows 95, English manual. Virgin Interactive Entertainment. 1995. 
12. ^ Adam Isgreen (2006-10-17). "C&C Story". Petroglyph Games. http://www.petroglyphgames.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=376&st=20&p=6169&#entry6169. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
13. ^ Adam Isgreen (2006-12-18). "C&C Timeline (ii)". Petroglyph Games. http://www.petroglyphgames.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1455&st=0&p=20748&#entry20748. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
14. ^ Adam Isgreen (2006-12-18). "C&C Timeline (i)". Petroglyph Games. http://www.petroglyphgames.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1455&st=0&p=20750&#entry20750. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 
15. ^ Adam Isgreen (2006-12-21). "C&C Timeline (iii)". Petroglyph Games. http://www.petroglyphgames.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1455&st=20&p=21397&#entry21397. Retrieved 2007-08-23. 

External links

• The C&C Wiki project
• Eurogamer Retrospective: Command & Conquer - The Tiberian Saga