Command And Conquer

The first game was one of the earliest of the RTS genre, itself based on Westwood Studios' influential strategy game Dune II and introducing trademarks followed in the rest of the series. The studio and some of its members were absorbed into EA Los Angeles, which continued development on the series. After Westwood Studios developed the critically acclaimed Dune II, Computer Gaming World reported in 1993 that the company would not use the Dune license for Westwood's next strategy game "mostly because the programmers are tired of sand". Highly successful, it was followed by Command & Conquer: Red Alert in 1996 which is set in an alternate universe where the Soviet Union wages war with the Allies. Developed as the prequel to the original, the Red Alert series was spun off into a separate, lighthearted and comic series, while the original game and its sequels became known as the "Tiberium" series, retaining its science fiction and serious tone. The first game is sometimes referred to as Tiberian Dawn as a result. The original game was followed by Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun in 1999 and its expansion pack Firestorm. A spin-off game in 2003, Command & Conquer: Generals, set in a more realistic near-future and featuring the United States, China and the Global Liberation Army was followed by an expansion pack, Zero Hour. The Red Alert series was continued by the 2000 title Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, its expansion, Yuri's Revenge and Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 in 2008, which introduced a third faction, the Empire of the Rising Sun, which resembles Japan with futuristic robotic technology. The series is primarily developed for personal computers running Microsoft Windows, although some titles have been ported to various video game consoles and Apple Macintosh. As of July 2010, the Command & Conquer franchise consists of eleven games and eight expansion packs. The Command & Conquer series has been a commercial success with over 30 million Command & Conquer games sold as of 2009. The Command & Conquer titles are real-time strategy games, with the exception of the first-person shooter Command & Conquer: Renegade. All games in the series have also offered online play, as well as "skirmish" matches in which players can face AI enemies. All Command & Conquer real-time strategy games except Command & Conquer: Generals and its expansions have featured the "side bar" for navigation and control as opposed to many other similar games where the control bar is located on the bottom of the screen. Command & Conquer gameplay typically requires the player to construct a base and acquire resources, in order to fund the ongoing production of various types of forces with which to assault and conquer the opponent's base.