Must have for fans. Decent strategy and some laughs for casual players. Not a reason to change opinion for haters.
Gameplay:
I haven't tried multiplayer so I can't actually comment, but the single player is just filled with destructive joy. There is a lot to do with the super weapons and Top Secret Protocols (support powers) you can use. Some RTS purists may say these toys make the game unbalanced or take away the strategy, but when you pick up a swarm of Apocalypse tanks with your Chronosphere and dump them into the sea... Tank rush, eh? How do you like them apples?! You can freeze people and watch them shatter into little bloody chunks, drop a bunch of derelict satellites to crush your enemies, and pull a bunch of tanks to one spot then suck them into space. The way you use these highly destructive tools, whether separately or in combination, stimulates creative thinking and foresight on their own. Does that constitute strategy? You decide.
Come to think of it, the battles fought by conventional units are also not all that dumb. At least you need to employ some form of combined arms least your proud fleet of battleships get pounded into underwater museums by a squadron of anti-surface bombers (I am looking at you, lover of battlecruisers.). You also get a bonus in damage for hitting tanks in the rear, so force placement and ambushes do play a role. It's a little hard to tell in the heat of battle, and there is only so much real estate per map for flanking maneuvers. If nothing else, you are provided with a good set of tools to wage your war. Whether you are able to wage your kind of war with the tools given is your opinion. One rule of thumb, if you didn't like the RA 2 or Generals, you probably wouldn't like RA 3.
Gameplay (AI and campaign):
I found the AI of the game wanting and therefore the campaign wanting in terms of challenge. The enemy AI do not employ sufficiently diverse tactics or have enough foresight to offer a truly challenging battle, even on hard mode. However, much of the time you are constrained by scripted events and objectives in addition to time limits to notice the difference. So it's actually not so bad. Your AI co-commander is of the same quality, so don't expect any feats of genius. At least it follows orders reasonably well.
Graphics:
For some reason, the graphics looked cartoonish on my computer. Maybe my graphics card wasn't up to the task (ATI HD 4650), or maybe it was by design. Generally it shouldn't interfere with gameplay except for instances when you want to target a specific infantry in a hurry. It does its job but is not eye candy.
Sound:
I do not have particularly discerning taste when it comes to sound in strategy games due to the general lack time to appreciate the setting and atmosphere. There is a decent of variety of unit dialogues so that you will probably enjoy some but find others annoying. More importantly, the audio generally provides useful audio cues about what's happening, which is perhaps enough.
Story:
The general tone of the game is light and cheeky. Unfortunately, this also means many of the missions are not particularly memorable. There are a few instances that you may remember, if you are a fan, when you think back to this in a few years. I still remember my first Soviet mission in RA 1 when I had to murder a village to make an example of them and that one in RA 2 during which Einstein kept warning me about approaching Soviet forces. Otherwise, at the end of a campaign, your strongest impression will likely be that your side won and the other guys lost.
Chances are better that you will remember some of the characters and their actors from the game. The personalities are defining enough and the acting sufficiently over the top in some cases to leave an impression, whether in a good or bad way.
Conclusion:
Red Alert 3 is actually pretty good. I am an avid player of most RTS games including CoH, SC, and WC3, and I can say without reservation that you can do more with the units and powers in this game than most other games. Unfortunately, for many this does not translate into a better RTS experience. Whether this is due to pacing or implementation or simply that these cool things are more fun that tactical or strategic, I am not sure.
The C&C franchise has a lot of good ideas spread out over its many games. Not one is execute in a particularly brilliant fashion, and RA 3 no exception. However, if you are a fan of the series, you should get the game. If you are a casual player looking for some simple strategy and some laughs, this is a good value since you can easily get RA 3 now for