Command Conquer just doesn’t feel quite right without Kane – the evil, charismatic leader of the “Brotherhood of Nod” faction.  Perhaps this explains the excitement when Joe Kucan returned to play his role as Kane in Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, the latest game in the series that hit store shelves last year.  Despite the promises for C&C 3, such as its unique “RTS as a Sport” multiplayer approach, and mostly positive reviews, many were let down by the dull mission briefings, multiplayer imbalances, and several other flaws in the game.  Kane was back, but the experience was still sorely lacking in some spots.

This time, Kane returns once more, only rather than branching off from C&C 3’s storyline, this time you’re treated with carrying out some of Kane’s plans before the events of C&C 3.  This makes it a little confusing to keep track of things and piece together particular story elements, but nevertheless, the full-motion video briefings are back and Kucan is as good as ever.  Speaking of Kane, during the first few missions, he is even sporting a cyborg-like mask covering half his face, which looks both goofy and awesome at the same time.  Also, there are a few new additions to the cast, such as Brother Marcion – leader of the “Black Hand” Nod sub-faction – and Alexa Kovacs, who provides mission briefings and reminds me a lot of Kilian (Qatar) from C&C 3.

As you have probably guessed by now, much of Kane’s Wrath focuses on Nod.  To further attest to this, in the campaign, Nod is the only playable faction.  No doubt about it, Nod fans will be in heaven with this expansion, but fans of the GDI and Scrin factions will be sorely let down.  I was disappointed with the fact that I could only play Nod missions, and this also means no FMV’s or new/returning characters for GDI or even Scrin.

The single-player missions start off moderately difficult and can become frustrating near the end.  Most of the missions are now based more so on beating a “timer” rather than trying to survive attacks and overwhelm the enemy or sabotaging a base using a commando unit.  This different approach has its good points but also some drawbacks.  Those who prefer to build up a strong defense followed by a large offense to steamroll an opponent will now be forced to move out more quickly and establish territory and recapture or destroy objectives before the clock runs out.  There are also several escort-style missions included, which weren’t all that often seen in C&C 3.

Luckily, the missions were well designed in most instances, providing difficult objectives that were tough but not to the point of being insane; but there were a few very frustrating moments in which a single mistake meant automatic death.  Several missions will fool you by placing an objective at one end of a small map, allowing for a fairly quick objective completion but further expanding the borders of the map and throwing even more objectives and enemy bases at you.  More than once, I was faced with a similar issue:  Upon completing an objective focused on a single unit or building, I would begin to celebrate, only to learn that I had to either protect that structure for a certain amount of time or escort a unit from the structure to another point on the map.  Because I had generally lost most of my units during the journey to the structure, I was often shorthanded at that particular location and was left facing hordes of enemies that would just annihilate me in a matter of seconds.  When this happened the second or third time, I just started sending most of my units to the location before actually completing the objective and triggering the incoming onslaught.

Lastly, the save system made for some angry moments.  Although the game saves automatically when completing a mission, it either doesn’t or rarely saves when completing specific objectives, meaning that if you complete an objective and make a mistake just before or sometime afterwards but didn’t save, replaying the entire mission is the only option.  I would really prefer a better autosave system because replaying a 30-minute or longer segment is not a fun thing to do.

Even with these gripes, the campaign was fun and challenging, and the FMV’s were good overall.  The ending was a little disappointing, but no worries – I won’t spoil it for you.

Upon completing the single-player campaign, however, there are other things to do so that the game doesn’t become obsolete at that exact moment.  One noteworthy addition is that of a new single-player game mode:  “Global Conquest.”  If you’ve played Rise of Nations or other games featuring a world-map mode in which you establish, expand, and take over territories, you’ll feel right at home with this one.  You can choose to play as GDI, Nod, or Scrin, and you essentially establish bases on a world map, upgrade them later on, create and send out strike forces to deal with enemy bases, and more.  Battles can be automated or played out in real-time, allowing for you to simulate those which aren’t appealing and play out any that you choose by playing as if in skirmish mode and using the units belonging to the strike force you’ve chosen.  Overall, Global Conquest is a refreshing gameplay mode that will appeal most to turn-based strategy fans and that offers just enough depth to appeal to more strategically-minded folk while not completely isolating others with its complexity.

Multiplayer is one of Kane’s Wrath’s major strong points, as it features new sub factions and units that really give the game a boost and keep things interesting.  GDI, Nod, and Scrin are again the three main factions, but even the standard factions alone are now equipped with new buildings, upgrades, abilities, and units such as GDI’s Shatterer tank, a hover-tank that is almost like a mobile Sonic Emitter, Nod’s Reckoner, a quick troop transport that can be ordered to deploy into a bunker which can hold three infantry squads and that is surprisingly durable, and Scrin’s insanely cool Mechapede, a long centipede-like unit which can create new ‘body segments,’ each outfitted with its own style of weaponry.

As mentioned earlier, there are also six new “sub factions,” two for each faction.  Each of these sub factions contains its own unique units and abilities, allowing for new styles of play and more varied strategies, etc.  GDI’s sub factions are the Steel Talons and ZOCOM; Nod’s are Black Hand and the Marked of Kane; and Scrin’s are Reaper-17 and Traveler-59.

These sub-factions are a little difficult to explain without experiencing them, but for a quick overview:  the Steel Talons (GDI) feature battle mechs like in the previous C&C title, “Tiberian Sun,” and harvesters that can be garrisoned with infantry for improved defense; ZOCOM (GDI) features Zone Raider infantry, which are essentially beefed-up Zone Troopers that now even have anti-air capabilities, powerful Zone Shatterer tanks, and improved Orcas; Black Hand (Nod) features Confessor Cabal soldiers which raise the morale of nearby troops, Mantis anti-air units, and Purifiers, which are basically upgraded Avatars which serve to raise the morale of any nearby units; the Marked of Kane (Nod) feature cyborg units – which, like battle mechs, return from Tiberian Sun – and upgrades such as speed enhancements for the cyborgs; Reaper-17 (Scrin) features units such as the Shard Walker and Reaper Tripod that do lots of damage with the aid of Tiberium; and finally, Traveler-59 (Scrin) features units such as mind-controlling Cultists and Prodigies, which can utilize mind-control abilities and teleport around the map as well.

Last but certainly not least is the addition of new “epic” units – monstrous, expensive units which must be constructed in their own special building and can be upgraded with infantry to add new weaponry and add overall enhancements.  Because these units are so effective, only one can be created per player.

 GDI’s epic unit is M.A.R.V., a giant tank that makes even Mammoth Tanks seem small and that comes outfitted with a powerful sonic cannon.  The M.A.R.V. is even more special because it can actually harvest Tiberium directly from the ground by simply rolling over it.  This means fast money and is a great way to harvest (and even hog) resources without even requiring a Tiberium Refinery or Harvester anywhere nearby.

Nod’s epic unit is the Redeemer, a large walker unit that is similar in appearance to that of an Avatar and that comes equipped with shoulder-mounted garrison pods and an Obelisk-style laser.  The Redeemer’s special ability is its “rage generator,” however, which can be activated in order to send nearby enemy units into a “rage,” causing them to become so angry that they begin fighting among one another.

Finally, Scrin’s epic unit is the Eradicator Hexapod, which is a large spider-like unit that draws in resources whenever units are killed within its vicinity and – like the other epic units – can be garrisoned by smaller, infantry units in order to upgrade its abilities.

The epic units, though slow, expensive, and not available until at the top of the tech tree, can really turn the tide of a battle and work as excellent reinforcement units because of their massive firepower and heavy armor.

Overall, Kane’s Wrath is an acceptable expansion pack for the price tag.  It brings enough new to the table to make it worth the money, and with the new Global Conquest game mode and sub-factions, the replay value is greatly increased.  Although the single-player component seems a little lame, those other additions certainly make up for it.  If you are shooting for something that will give you more of C&C 3’s storyline and offer more exciting single-player missions, I would almost not recommend this to you, especially if you aren’t a big fan of Nod.  However, if you are a fan of multiplayer and want even more structures, units, upgrades, abilities, and more, this one is certainly for you.  Also worth noting is that with every copy of Kane’s Wrath, a Red Alert 3 beta key is included.  Not to try and market the product myself, but this makes a good deal even better and will allow you to try out Red Alert 3 far before it hits store shelves to see if it can possibly – although it’s doubtful – live up to the legacy created by Red Alert 2.

Peace through power!

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Graphics - 7/10 - While lasers and explosions are particularly impressive, the terrain and some of the building and unit designs can be a little lacking.

Sound - 7/10 - Though the music has been a little improved for Kane's Wrath, much remains the same.  Unit voices are somewhat dull but get the job done, and overall, the sound effects are good.

Level Design - 6.5/10- The missions are designed fairly well, but the timers which appear on one mission after another can be frustrating to deal with.  The maps in multiplayer, however, are well designed for the most part.

Overall - 7/10 - Kane's Wrath is an expansion pack that can be very fun - especially in multiplayer - but that also falls short in some offerings such as the single-player campaign.  You do get a new single-player game mode, however, and plenty of new units and such, so all is not bad.  Overall, it's another decent RTS expansion that will likely be forgotten as we move on into the next generation of RTS titles with Starcraft 2 and beyond.