Electronic Arts managed to do what fans have been asking for for some time AND managed to annoy the lot of them at the same time at their pre-E3 presentation. EA announced the return of the Command and Conquer franchise with Command and Conquer Rivals — and then they revealed that the previously-PC series was moving to mobile.
Unit Lost
The reveal trailer harks back to the days when Command and Conquer was a strategic RTS (real-time strategy) title split up by FMV sequences. You can see a slightly washed-out grainy effect in the video above that has been a hallmark of the series since the days when Westwood was running the show. Finding out that this game is going to be mobile only… let’s just say that fans are not happy.
At the time of writing the reveal trailer above has about 1,400 Likes on YouTube. In the Dislike column, we’re looking at 31,000 or so. That’s a lot of hate for a game that nobody has even played yet but more than a few are probably thinking about what Electronic Arts did to the mobile reboot of Dungeon Keeper.
Before you hit the video link to also register your displeasure, it might be a plan to take a look at an overview of the upcoming mobile game’s gameplay. As it happens, we have a trailer for that as well.
Nuclear Launch Detected
Gameplay looks to be a strategic variant of the Domination game mode we’ve seen in so many first-person shooters. Players will contest a centre launch silo, control of which is determined by whoever controls three launch pads on the playing area. Hold the most points for long enough and you’ll be able to mostly wipe your enemy out at a stroke. Or two, since a base can survive a single missile. You can also prove your mastery and just wipe out your opponent’s base using strategically chosen units.
For all that, it seems a lot more basic than long-time fans of the series might expect — even if you factor in the variation you can expect from unit choices. Unless EA are looking to capture a whole new audience, we’re… not really sure what they were thinking here.
If you’re not immediately put off by Command and Conquer Rivals then you can sign up for some early time with the game. EA has spaces open in the game’s pre-alpha and are inviting users to give it a shot before a launch takes place. There’s no release date for Rivals just yet but it’ll be available for Android and iOS. We’re actually hoping that there’s a single price tag, a decent lot of development, and no additional transactions in this one. Fingers crossed.