Actual Game Command & Conquer Red Alert 1 1-Click Install Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP (Westwood 1996) MY PROMISE My games are genuine, install in one step, look, sound and play in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP like they did in the old days, or your money back. This is my unconditional guarantee for three years. WHAT IS INCLUDEDThis listing includes the original game CDs. An on-screen manual is also included. The box is pictured for reference only and is not included. I will also provide a compatibility CD that will allow the game to run under ALL VERSIONS of Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP, both 32 and 64 bit. INSTALLATIONOne step: Insert my CD and the game will automatically work on your computer. Done. Yes, it's that simple. Want to play? Click the icon. Want the game off your computer? Click Uninstall. Zero hassle. TECH SUPPORTRapid response technical support for three years is always an e-mail or phone call away. In the extremely rare event I cannot get this title to work on your system I will take it back for a full refund. All I ask is minimal assistance from you during the troubleshooting process. The Game Here’s the deal: Old Einstein thought it’d be a great idea that once he’d invented time travel he’d go back and cause some harm to lovely Adolf Hitler and therefore we’d miss out on the fun of World War II. Well he did it you know, good for him we think, not so, now Stalin’s the baddy. The story goes that the old boy Communist had no-one to restrain his plans for domination like Hitler; us Allied folk just have a habit of being a bit slow I guess. Well as the story mode of the game begins Europe’s pretty well been taken over and its you versus the mighty Reds. Well all this is assuming you use the Allied disk after all? You can fight on the side of evil after all, as you will do I expect, we all need to dabble. Graphically the game has just stood the test of time, but let’s be fair, this is a retro gaming review and this game is a fair few years old but graphics were never the games strong point. The top down view means the graphics serve their purpose but no more, they’re simple but effective which does all help in retrospect to help the game run smoothly on today’s machines even in the thickest of scraps. On the other hand the introduction when the game is loaded and the between-mission cinematics are excellent to watch, the story is acted rather than animated which aids to give a more…realistic feel to the story even if it is a slight fantasy, there’s nothing like the human touch. The game’s strength lies here, the gameplay is still superb even in today’s world of high resolution blockbusters. The menus are self-explanatory as are the in-game ones: structures in one column and vehicles/men in the other. Then once you’ve built everything just drag a box over your units and attack, very cut-throat and simple, as war should be. However, while simplicity is bliss, gameplay is also what can harm this game’s appeal. Especially by the contemporary standards the A.I. can be at times… well frankly shocking. The CPU opponents have only one floor in fairness, they don’t build tanks or planes, but on the hardest difficulties they are certainly a match for any man. The A.I. lacks, most frustratingly, in your own units. The sheer bloody determination of your tanks to separate from each other during an attack so they can be picked off by your foe can bring you to the point of madness; just ask fellow staff member Space if you don’t take my word for it. The musical score is second to none; almost every PC user will have heard the opening tune of “Hell March”. The character voices in the cinematic sequences are acted so there’s no problem there either. A simple computerized voice crackles out whenever something’s going wrong so that’s cool too, as is the simple replies of “yes sir” and “affirmative” given by your units. In fact the only complaint about the sound could be that there’s not enough of it, but at the same time there is enough, ahh well take your pick, I’m sitting on the fence here. Red Alert 1 is a classic with almost anyone who’s played it, even those who’ve come to it fairly recently. It’s certainly retro but it paved the way for an entire generation of later games.
