 |
 |
|
| Ruling the skies is an almost guaranteed victory... |
...and raining hell from above is morbidly satisfying. |
The graphics and sound are excellent, as could be expected from a developer of this pedigree, with the cut scenes giving a truly professional feel to the whole experience. Explosions and animation are superb, I particularly like the way bodies fly through the air as a bunker is blown up, and the screams of anguish as troopers die a painful chemical death never fails to bring a smile (I know, I’m a sick git).
Gameplay is fluid, albeit a little slow in places, while it should also be noted that he who rules the skies, wins (99 times out of 100 anyway). The GLA missions are slightly harder to my mind as there is no air power at all, but more enjoyable due to the downright nastiness of the terrorists. Winning a skirmish against the USA with all the superior weaponry is particularly satisfying and being able to camouflage your units and buildings making them very hard to spot gives an edge that is hard to beat – lets face it, its damn hard to destroy something if you can’t see it. Chinese forces are once again numerous and it seems to me that my favourite Overlord is now a tad more vulnerable to rocket toting troops, but the vision of ½ a dozen or so of these beasts lumbering through an enemy base camp, supported by a couple of the most excellent Dragons to clear those troublesome buildings is one I can’t get enough of. As always, the USA tend to dominate, and the initial scenario is great for refreshing the memory banks and getting back to grips with all the controls.
The interface is, as usual, totally user friendly and it doesn’t take much to get everything quickly set up to your liking. My son was not much impressed by the screen that appears after the loading scenes – unless a key is pressed or the mouse moved, it looks like the program has locked up and he sat there for ages before he realised this (heheheh - kids of today!!)
 |
 |
|
| It's too bad naval forces don't make a comeback other than the US carrier... |
...but there are plenty of other units to keep you occupied. |
My only real gripe with this is that, once again, the game doesn’t deliver what appears to be promised on the box. I was hoping and praying for the return of the naval units but no such luck – you get a carrier (USA) but can’t actually do anything with it apart from launch air missions – most disappointing. Overall though, this certainly ranks as one of the better expansions and does improve the original – if only slightly.
COMMAND & CONQUER: GENERALS ZERO HOUR VERDICT
My only real gripe with this is that, once again, the game doesn’t deliver what appears to be promised on the box. I was hoping and praying for the return of the naval units but no such luck – you get a carrier (USA) but can’t actually do anything with it apart from launch air missions – most disappointing. Overall though, this certainly ranks as one of the better expansions and does improve the original – if only slightly.
TOP GAME MOMENT
A Chinese mission that starts you off with a bunch of terrorists attacking your nuclear reactor, and succeeding in blowing up half your base. Then, you’re charged with surviving another 10 minutes against a heavy offensive before reinforcements arrive.
