Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3

A while back we mentioned that getting the special edition of Electronic Arts' Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 will nab you a special in-game item for Warhammer Online, the about-to-launch EA fantasy MMO title. It's a rare thing when two totally different games have this kind of crossover and now Gamestop's retail web site has revealed exactly what kind of in-game item you will be getting for your Red Alert 3 purchase.

The item itself is called Korssar's Helm and if your Warhammer Online character uses it, "This magical Kislevite helm is imbued with the spirit of the wild North and will magically transform the wearer into a ferocious bear." Hmmmm..time to alert Steven Colbert to this development . . . .

[Via Massively]

As promised Electronic Arts has provided the original Command and Conquer: Red Alert RTS game as a free download. The web site with the downloads has requested that mirror sites not provide the download at their locations so Big Download won't be able to offer up our mirrors as planned.

EA has provided the full Soviet and Allied portions of the the game as separated ISO downloads of 500 MB each. The ISO file must be burned into a CD in order for the game to run. The software will work on Windows XP and older Windows programs down to Windows 95. While Vista is not officially supported, EA suggests going to various fan sites for tips to run the game on that OS.

As a promotion for the upcoming release of Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, Electronic Arts has announced that C&C: Red Alert, the first game in the series, will be made available as a free download beginning on Sunday. The original game was created by Westwood Studios and released by Virgin Interactive way back in 1996 (EA bought both Westwood and Virgin's US operations in 1998).

The alternate history RTS game will be first made available on the official C&C: Red Alert 3 web site at 12 noon PT on Sunday but we will have the download on our ultra fast servers right here at Big Download soon afterward. As we have previously reported, people whe pre-order Red Alert 3 will gain access to C&C: Red Alert 2 for free as well.

While the game industry is beginning to understand that they can sell high profile games any time of the year the truth is that the time period between the first of September and the first week of December remains the biggest time of the year for new games to be released. 2008 seems to be no exception to this rule as PC gamers have a ton of new and promising titles to choose from this year.

So which games are we most looking forward to playing this fall? Well it so happens that we have created a feature gallery that has our picks for the PC game titles we most want to play in the next few months. That list include a long awaited MMO, a new expansion pack to the biggest MMO, an alternate history RTS game, a number of great looking first person shooters, a post-apocalyse RPG and a title that some are already declaring "the greatest game ever made." (in fact you can get a clue as to one of the games on our list from this custom case mode we saw at QuakeCon).

Our list of games is ordered by their scheduled release dates. Keep in mind while checking our picks that release dates can and do change at the last minute. Our picks represent the best info on these dates at the time of the posting of this article but if any changes are announced afterward we will report on them on the news site.

Click on the image above to continue reading "Most Anticipated Fall 2008 PC Games"

There's been a lot of news on the Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 front this week, with the announcements of the complete live action cast (hey, you can't go wrong with Sulu). Now comes word that folks who want to play the multiplayer beta for the upcoming Electronic Arts RTS game can now have a better chance to check it out.

Previously beta slots were only open to people who bought the Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath expansion pack but now the beta is open to everyone who has a free Fileplanet account. The game itself is due for release later this fall.

The folks at Electronic Arts have been teasing us with announcements of the acting cast for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 but today the publisher revealed the full cast that will be used for the cut-scenes in the upcoming alternate history RTS game. In addition to the previously announced Gina "Conviction" Carano and Gemma Atkinson the cast will include Sulu himself, George Takei, along with J.K. Simmons, Tim Curry, Kelly Hu, Jonathan Pryce, Peter Stormare, Ivana Milicevic, Andrew Divoff, MMA fighter Randy "The Natural" Couture and Autumn Reeser.

Perhaps the most interesting casting choice is former Playboy Playmate and current Jim Carrey girlfriend Jenny McCarthy who will take over the role of long time C&C cast member Tanya. The press release also announced detailed on the Red Alert 3 Premiere Edition which is basically the same thing that the European Collector's Edition had previously revealed. However people who pre-order the game now in either version will also get some special content including the full version of C&C: Red Alert 2. behind-the-scenes videos (including a C&C retrospective) PC wallpapers and an exclusive multiplayer/skirmish map for Red Alert 3 when it ships this fall.

Download the new Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 Talent HD trailer at Big Download now.

With World in Conflict: Soviet Assault most likely not coming out this year it looks like the big RTS title of fall 2008 will be Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3. This week developer/publisher Electronic Arts released new screenshots from the game which once again is set in a campy alternative timeline.

EA is currently running a multiplayer beta test for Red Alert 3 for those folks who bought the expansion pack Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath. Unfortunately those beta testers are under an NDA at the moment so they can't legally talk about what they are experiencing while they play the beta. We should get some more hands-on time with the game before its planned fall 2008 release date.

Most every major game release seems to get some kind of special Collector's Edition and it looks like Electronic Arts' upcoming RTS title Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 is no exception. While it hasn't been announced yet for the US market, the UK based retailer GAME has revealed EA's plans for a special retail edition of the game.

The retail site states that the Collector's Edition will include a behind-the-scenes DVD with lots of info on the game, a game soundtrack CD, five exclusive multiplayer/skirmish maps, a beta key to a future C&C branded title (perhaps the recently delayed Tiberium?) and most unusual of all a special in-game item for use in EA's upcoming MMO Warhammer Online.

Electronic Arts' live action cast for their upcoming RTS game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 just gained another team member. UK actress Gemma Atkinson has been announced by EA as playing the role of Lt. Eva McKenna, a communication officer on the Allied side of the game. Atkinson calls herself a gamer in a press release announcing her role in Red Alert 3, saying that she wanted to broaden her acting skills by appearing in the title.

The 23-year old actress is already promoting the event in her native country. If you happen to be in the area she will be attending the M-Festival gaming event at Stoneleigh Park in Warwichshire on Saturday where she will meet fans and sign posters featuring her C&C: Red Alert 3 character. The game itself is still scheduled for release this fall.

If you have been waiting for months to get your hands on the Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 beta test by buying the C&C 3: Kane's Wrath expansion, your time has ether come or will be coming soon. The official C&C: Red Alert 3 web site has announced that the first 2,000 people who registered their beta key found in Kane's Wrath have been invited to paticipate in the beta test.

More and more beta testers will be added in the next several weeks so if you haven't been picked yet be patient. Currently the only way to ensure that you can be in the beta for the upcoming Electronic Arts RTS game is to purchase Kane's Wrath. Red Alert 3 is due for release this fall.

If you bought a copy of Command and Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath you have a key to the upcoming beta test of C&C: Red Alert 3. The beta is set to begin soon but publisher Electronic Arts has already released the system requirements for running the beta test.

Chances are if you bought Kane's Wrath and had no problems you shouldn't have issues with the beta test of Red Alert 3 but if you do here are the stats you will need:

• OS – Windows XP / Vista (32-Bit)
• Processor – XP: 2.0 GHz (Intel Pentium 4; AMD Athlon 2000+; Multiple Cores) / Vista: 2.2 GHz (Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon 2200+/Multiple Cores)
• Memory – XP/Vista: 1 GB
• Hard Drive – Media: 6.0 GB / EA Link: 12.0 GB
• DVD Drive - 8 SPEED
• Video Card – NVIDIA GeForce 6800, ATI Radeon X1800 or higher end DirectX 9.0c compatible gfx card
• Sound Card - DirectX 9.0c compatible (Creative Sound Blaster Audigy cards require a Intel P4 2.6 GHz or similar under Vista, Yamaha Xwave-512 not supported)
• Online Multiplayer – 512 Kbps or faster; 2-8 Players
• Input - Keyboard, Mouse
• Optional – VoIP Headset

Your daily wrap-up of the hottest stories in PC gaming over the weekend including the lastest of our E3 hands-on impressions.

	BigCast 004 -- English Is Hard! Listen as Xav stumbles about trying to pronounce simple words! This week we cover some of the biggest PC news from the world of E3, talk classic gaming habits and throw around the idea that maybe games are meant to be played instead of examined. Crazy thoughts and more in the epic episode with guest hosts Kyle Horner, Samuel Axon and first-timer James Murff. It's time to go big, right here at the BigCast!
	E3 08: Hands-on with Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 If the original Command and Conquer timeline is a fairly standard sci-fi affair and C&C Generals is a more realistic near future storyline, then Electronic Arts' Red Alert franchise is all about comic book goofiness and fun. The alternate history where the Communist Soviet Union is still large and in charge and wild weapons are plentiful will get a revamp this fall with the release of C&C: Red Alert 3
	E3 08: Dragon Age Origins impressions Our very last E3 2008 appointment was, ironically, not at the Los Angeles Convention Center but at a nearby hotel. Deep underneath the hotel's meeting room was host to BioWare's long awaited next fantasy RPG Dragon Age Origins. The game was first announced and shown in a very early form over four years ago at E3 2004 (when it was called simply Dragon Age) so we were expecting to be wowed by this new version.
	E3 08: Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II impressions So you think you know what Relic Entertainment is going to do with the full sequel to their acclaimed sci-fi RTS title Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War (based as always on the Games Workshop war game). Better graphics; more units, more visble units in massive battles, right? Isn't that the way sequels usually do things?

If the original Command and Conquer timeline is a fairly standard sci-fi affair and C&C Generals is a more realistic near future storyline, then Electronic Arts' Red Alert franchise is all about comic book goofiness and fun. The alternate history where the Communist Soviet Union is still large and in charge and wild weapons are plentiful will get a revamp this fall with the release of C&C: Red Alert 3.

At E3 2008 we got a chance to go hands-on with a PC build of the game (it's also being released for the Xbox 360) where we got to play as the brand new Red Alert Japanese faction called the Empire of the Rising Sun. The visuals, while in 3D, remain in the style of the first two 2D Red Alert titles. They are colorful yet detailed and are actually quite fun to just look at.

Gamespot is exclusively (for now) hosting the latest Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 trailer. The trailer introduces the new third faction -- the Empire of the Rising Sun, aka Japan. It features C&C's staple bad voice acting, lots of units, general mayhem, and the classic Hell March song that fans of the series will recognize.

It looks like the Empire of the Rising Sun mostly uses Anime-esque Mecha units -- Transformers-like battle robots. Also featured are airplanes that can dive underwater and attack naval vessels from below. We knew Red Alert 3 would have a lot of amphibious units, but it didn't occur to us that it might also feature air/water units. Makes sense, we suppose!

Anyway, check it out if you're a fan. And we figure you are, if you're reading this. C&C is not a franchise that gets pitched to a lot of new recruits. It's mostly about the oldschool, yo.

[Via Joystiq]

Fans of Command and Conquer 3 have been awaited a long promised patch for the Electronic Arts RTS expansion pack Kane's Wrath. The patch was previously promised for last Thursday but it looks like that patch has been pushed back to sometime next week. This decision has apparently upset fans of the game series in so Mike Verdu, the head of EA's Los Angeles branch, has written a personal and lengthy note on the game's official web site.

Verdu states that the lack of a patch for a game to fix a number of balance and desynch issues "has been a low point in our product support for the last few years, and I take full responsibility." Indeed, Verdu admits that post release support of their RTS games (for the C&C series as well as Battle for Middle Earth) has not been as good they should be in the last few years. However he did state that EALA will now establish a live team who will be tasked with supporting C&C products after their release. Verdu says, "Over the next year, more and more support activities will be carried out by the live team instead of by the teams that actually build the games. Red Alert 3 will start out supported by its development team and will transition to live team support a few months after release." Verdu hopes this move will over time result in better and quicker patches for their future RTS products.