Sexy and funny; great tongue & cheek. Cartoony graphics may put you off. Online co-op shines!
I have only played a handful of RTS games (Homeworld, Starcraft & Dawn of War to name a few). What I love about this one is it turns the seriousness of RTS on its head but manages to deliver all the strategy, variety and action any RTS fan enjoys.
You won't find anything particularly new or innovative when it comes to game play in RA3. As far as RTS games go it is pretty standard fair; you have scouts, infantry, vehicles, super weapons and of course base building and defenses. You need to acquire resources to build stuff, tech up and wipe out your enemies. However the kinds of armies you build are where it gets unique.
The story puts you into an alternate time line where technology has taken a different path. Soviets seem to be more of an armed circus force with weapons like man cannons (shoot infantry across distances) attack bears, laser guided space junk and zeppelin bombers. The allies are a little less unusual with very well rounded forces on land, air and water including attack dolphins. And the Empire of the Rising Sun (Japan) are the hi-tech army with ninjas, mechs, transformers, giant robots and psychic school girls.
The campaign is a lot of fun and does a good job of introducing you to the weapons and strategies of each army. The story is presented with live action cut scenes performed by well known Hollywood actors and celebrities including a handful of some very sexy ladies. The acting is as over the top as the story and it all works together extremely well. In many RTS games the story and voice acting take a back seat but not in RA3, it delivers with a wonderful *wink wink, nudge nudge* and I love it.
The graphics look really good but if you are looking for realism like CoH or WIC you won't find it here. EA chose to go with a more cartoony presentation. It works considering the "out of this world" nature of the storyline but I would have loved to see more realistic looking weapons. I mean who doesn't want real looking giant robots and zeppelin bombers in their RTS?
The music and sound is all very well done too. RA fans will welcome the return of Frank Klepacki. His heavy guitars and rock score really suit the game and offer a nice change of pace from other RTS soundtracks.
The best part of RA3 to me is the online co-op. You can play through the whole campaign with a friend. I have never played co-op RTS before and I can't get enough. Friends and I have a blast coordinating our attacks and helping each other out when needed. This is a feature that needs to built into every RTS. For people like me that are not necessarily very competitive with their gaming but enjoy playing with friends, online co-op is a godsend, thank you EA!!!!
As a C&C n00b I have to say RA3 is fantastic. The zany story, sexy girls and crazy weapons really help more casual RTS fans get into it. This is the popcorn and bubblegum of RTS gaming, without a doubt. That being said it still offers a decent challenge and competitive game play. And if that doesn't do it for you the online co-op with a friend will. I am definitely looking forward to the RA3 Uprising expansion coming out soon. And maybe I'll even pick up another C&C game as this has been a great introduction to the series for me.