Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #574 in Video Games
• Brand: Electronic Arts
• Released on: 2008-10-28
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Dimensions: .25 pounds

Features

• Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 for the PC brings back the fan-favorite real-time strategy game
• The Soviets created a time-travel device which creates interesting plot twists
• Play as the Allies, the Soviets, or the Empire of the Rising Sun
• Red Alert 3 has land units, air units, and naval units, all integral parts of the game
• Cooperative campaign and head-to-head multiplayer modes provide hours of fun gameplay

Amazon.com Product Description
Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 from EA brings back the fan-favorite real-time strategy game in its latest incarnation with new features, powers, technologies, and a different world. Now, you can play not just by yourself but also cooperatively with a friend as you take on the enemy in this glorious, over-the-top romp.

Co-operative mode lets you and a friend play together in campaign mode. View larger.

Wage battle on sea as well as on land and in air. View larger.

There is over an hour of in-game video. View larger.

Red Alert 3 introduces new units and a brand new faction. View larger.

Intriguing Plot Twists
In previous games, the war between the Allies and Soviets was coming to a close with the Allies nearing victory. In desperation, the Soviets created a time-travel device that they've used to assassinate Albert Einstein before he is able to develop the weapon technology the Allies later use to defeat the Soviets. Upon returning, they notice a new world, and there is a world war taking place between three groups for control of the world.

Play As Three Different Factions for Varied game play
In Red Alert 3, you have the choice to play as the Allies, the Soviets, or the Empire of the Rising Sun. Each faction has its own story-line and distinct units with advantages and disadvantages that you have to master in order to win. The new faction to the series is the Empire of the Rising Sun, derived from Imperial Japan, with an all-new cast of units and characters.

The three factions have many differences, exemplified by their wildly different types of units. The Soviets, for example, have armored attack bears, Allies have the Dolphin ship which can high jump and use a sonic attack, and the Empire of the Rising Sun features such quirky units as a giant transforming mecha and ninjas. As they've done with the series, EA injects humor into the game when possible, keeping a smile on your face as you wage war.

Fight on Land, in the Air, and on Sea
Red Alert 3 has land units, air units, and naval units, all integral parts of the game. Unlike most strategy games that don't bother with naval warfare, Red Alert 3 makes controlling the seas an essential part of the game. Controlling resources in the seas and mounting attacks from all directions are strategies that must be employed to achieve victory.

Cooperative Mode Lets You Team Up with Your Friends
Red Alert 3 has a fully co-operative campaign mode where you and a friend can play together to achieve victory. This means that you have to develop a strategy together, as well as execute it in synch in order to win. If your friends aren't online, you can also choose one of several AI commanders as your teammate.

Play Against Your Friends in Multiplayer
With the different units and play mechanics of each faction, you and your friends will have a great time playing against each other, perfecting different strategies to best suit the units you have and the maps you play on. And thanks to the balanced game play, no one will have an unfair advantage.

For previous fans of Command and Conquer, Red Alert 3 will provide the same light-hearted game play, but with more units, more strategies, and more fun. Newcomers to the game will soon see what all the fuss and laughter is about.

Minimum System Requirements
Operating System	Microsoft Windows XP / Vista (32-bit)
CPU	XP: 2.0 GHz (Intel Pentium 4; AMD Athlon 2000+; Multiple Cores) / Vista: 2.2 GHz (Intel Pentium 4/AMD Athlon 2200+/Multiple Cores)
Memory	512 MB for Windows XP; 1 GB for Vista
Hard Drive Space	6 GB / 12GB for EA Link
DVD Drive	8x Speed
Graphics Hardware	NVIDIA GeForce 6800, ATI Radeon X1800 or higher end DirectX 9.0c compatible graphics card
Sound	DirectX 9.0c compatible (Creative Sound Blaster Audigy cards require a Intel P4 2.6 GHz or similar under Vista, Yamaha Xwave-512 not supported)
Online Multiplayer	512Kbps or faster Internet connection
Input	Keyboard, mouse

Customer Reviews

A Fun Game Ruined By SecuROM
Red Alert 3 is a great game with fun units, a strong campaign, great multiplayer elements, and fantastic acting and production values. A lot of effort was clearly put into it and I give the developers all the credit in the world.

I played this game on a friend's computer and did not purchase it myself, and in fact cancelled my pre-order for the reasons I give below.

Unfortunately, I cannot give this game a positive review due to the actions of the publisher, Electronic Arts, in including the dangerous SecuROM software that is installed during installation of the game. This software, SecuROM 7.xx, does not uninstall when the game is uninstalled and will provide security loopholes as well as preventing legitimate CD burning or emulation software from functioning, as well as potentially causing other documented errors. I refuse to install software which is effectively rentware and that does nothing but punish its legitimate customers.

Red Alert 3 has already been pirated and is freely available on multiple torrent sites. At least twenty thousand people are downloading it as I write this review. I will not pirate it myself; but I refuse to provide my money to a company that treats me like a pirate. I will go without. SecuROM, by this very fact, has been proven useless. EA has had major backlash on this issue before with Spore and has not learned its lesson. We shall see if it ever does.

SecuROM DRM, Limited Authorizations/Installations
Here are the facts:

Electronic Arts Says:
"Authorization limits
... you are limited to five authorizations. So what's an authorization? The first time you actually run the game on a machine, we will authorize that machine. If you reach the authorization limit, the game will not run on a new machine. If you make major changes to the computer (switching out multiple pieces of hardware, install a new OS, etc.) you might need to reauthorize the machine."

What they don't mention here is that a "major change" to your computer can be quite a bit less than changing out multiple pieces of hardware. In fact, changing a keyboard, mouse, or joystick or any number of USB devices could be regarded as a "major change". Upgrading drivers for you sound or video card might be a major change. The rules are not defined and you will not know for sure what may or may not use up an authorization.

So if you use up all of your Authorizations? Electronic Arts says:
"Just give us a call...
If you had a run of bad luck, some hardware failures, a botched OS install, your notebook was stolen, you spilled a coke on your keyboard - you get the idea - and all five of your authorizations have been used up, just give us a call. We'll work with you and provide as many additional authorizations as are appropriate."

What they fail to mention here is that calling Electronic Arts for technical support is not free. You will be charged 2.50/minute plus any toll charges.

Now consider the idea that you have bought 5 Electronic Arts games over time and one by one they all run out of authorizations. When the authorizations start running out, do you honestly want to call EA every time you make a hardware change to ask them to allow you to play a game you already paid for? What a hassle!

Please don't buy this game; don't support this kind of DRM scheme. I don't know if this scheme is to prevent used-game resales or if they really believe it makes a dent in piracy. It doesn't matter why, they are going too far and punishing the honest consumer, so it's time to punish their sales.

Limited Installations, Relying on EA's Benevolence
#1 - SecuRom.

#2 - Limited installs, requiring EA's servers to always exist if you ever want to reinstall or need new keys.

#3 - Coop play is restricted to the internet through EA's servers, no LAN capability.

Avoid.