The chatter of minigunners firing. The throaty roar of advanced guard towers launching missiles. The hiss of flame tanks spraying. The foreboding, sinister hum as the obelisk of light charged up, before an angry pulse of light screamed out over the battlefield. Thinking about the original C&C conjures up these sights and sounds in my head, and then as if it were yesterday, I’m back on GDI mission 1 for the first time, securing a beachhead via hovercraft insertion under the cover of gunboat fire.
I know I’m not alone. Westwood may have set the stage with Dune 2, but it was Command and Conquer that truly resonated with PC gamers. The game was simple enough to learn—construct a base, harvest resources, build an army, and attack the enemy—but its variety of different units across its two different factions lent it great replayability and depth, its familiar modern military theme made understanding those units intuitive, and its excellent, fast paced soundtrack from Frank Klepacki coupled well with its quick, action-packed gameplay. C&C’s multiplayer took the game to even greater popularity with local and online matches against human opponents; each game box shipped with two CDs, allowing you and a friend to play against each other with just one purchase.
Command and Conquer also featured full motion video cutscenes, starting a tradition that persisted through every sequel except for Generals. Joe Kuncan’s performance as Nod’s charismatic leader Kane is wonderful, and together with Eric Martin as the GDI’s straight-laced Brigadier General Sheppard, these cutscenes go far to set the tone and immerse you in the story of each side’s campaign. While every C&C since tried to go bigger with its stories, I’m still a sucker for the simple, understated briefings and interludes of Command and Conquer’s cutscenes. Is that camera still running?!